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This Slow Cooker Chocolate Lava Cake is a game-changer: Warm, gooey chocolate cake (made from scratch!) nestled in a river of thick fudge sauce. Make this easy, luscious dessert right in your crockpot. Top with ice cream, whipped cream, or both for an extra special treat.
Meggan’s notes
Many Lava Cakes start with a cake mix and a box of pudding, but I don’t usually keep those around much. As a classically-trained chef with plenty of pastry experience, I wasn’t settling for anything less than a from-scratch chocolate lava cake.
I also thought the idea of doing it in a slow cooker was so great! Fun, unique, interesting, and EASY. So fire up your crockpot and try out this self-saucing chocolate cake. It’s amazing!
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Cocoa powder: Look for the unsweetened baking cocoa powder, not the mix for making hot chocolate. Both natural and Dutch-process cocoa powder will work in this recipe.
Step-by-step instructions
To make the cake batter:
- Coat a slow cooker with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a second bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, and vanilla.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredient in to the well and whisk until smooth.
- Pour into the bottom of a slow cooker.
To make the topping:
- Whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder until evenly combined. Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the slow cooker.
- Pour the hot water over the top of the batter and topping. Do not stir.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours or LOW for 5 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in to the middle of the cake comes out clean with a few crumbs attached.
- Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, spooning the chocolate sauce from the bottom of the slow cooker over the top. Garnish with maraschino cherries if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 6 cups of Lava Cake, enough for 6 servings, 1 cup each. If you’re serving this at a party with other desserts, you can probably feed 10 to 12 guests.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
- Keep it warm: If your crockpot switches to “warm” after it’s done cooking, you can leave it in the crockpot on the “warm” setting for at least 2-3 hours without changing the cake. For example, I cooked the cake on LOW for 5 hours, then left it in the crockpot for 2 more hours on the “warm” setting, and it was still perfect.
- Double recipe: Double the ingredients and it will still fit in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 to 5 hours or LOW for 4 to 6 hours (or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean with a few crumbs attached.)
- Half recipe: Half the ingredients fit nicely in a 2-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 hours or LOW for 3 to 4 hours (or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean with a few crumbs attached.) A perfect dessert for your romantic Valentine’s Day meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, that’s not a good idea. At the request of a reader, I tried it out. The “sugar topping” is actually the underlying fudge layer. If you make just the cake, it is not sweet enough, the chocolate flavor is lacking, the whole cake is dry, and it might even burn in the bottom of your slow cooker. I suggest making the cake as written, sugar topping and all.
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Slow Cooker Chocolate Lava Cake
Ingredients
For the cake batter:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (see note 1)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/3 cup butter melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the cake topping:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar firmly packed
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 1/4 cups hot water
For serving:
- Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream
- Maraschino cherries optional
Instructions
To make the cake batter:
- Coat a slow cooker with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a second bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, and vanilla.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredient in to the well and whisk until smooth. Pour into the bottom of a slow cooker.
To make the topping:
- Whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder until evenly combined. Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the slow cooker.
- Pour the hot water over the top of the batter and topping. Do not stir. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours or LOW for 5 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in to the middle of the cake comes out clean with a few crumbs attached.
- Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, spooning the chocolate sauce from the bottom of the slow cooker over the top. Garnish with maraschino cherries if desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Cocoa powder: Look for the unsweetened baking cocoa powder, not the mix for making hot chocolate. Both natural and Dutch-process cocoa powder will work in this recipe.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 6 cups of Lava Cake, enough for 6 servings, 1 cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
Can this be made with a cake mix?
Hi Jean, I haven’t tried using a boxed mix with this recipe since it was developed to be made without one. If cake mix is what you have on hand, I would recommend following a recipe developed for boxed cake mix so your lava cake isn’t terrible. – Meggan
Just made with heavy cream instead of milk, which turned out fabulously, but I just wanted to leave a tip for anyone considering doing likewise. Substitute a cup of heavy cream in place of a half-cup of milk, as it’s too thick to be able to absorb all the dry material into a single batter otherwise.
Thanks for the tip, Atticus! – Meggan
Will this fit in a 4 quart slow cooker, or should I halve it?
Hi Matilda, thanks for writing! It will fit in a 4-quart slow cooker. A reader shared they made it in a 3/5-quart one just fine. I hope you love it! – Meggan
This was so easy to make and I love that it was not from a box mix!! My chocolate worshipping brother-in-law would not leave it alone. Chocolate heaven in my slow cooker…Yumm! Thanks for sharing.
You’re so welcome, Gayle! I’m so glad it was a hit! – Meggan