Rich, warm molten chocolate lava cake doesn’t have to be a special night-out dinner dessert. You can whip this decadent cake up in minutes. I made mine right on my grill.

If you’ve read any of my last few posts, you’ll know that I am so very ready for cooler weather so I can live in my yard, garden, and grill. You’ll also know that I’ve been cooking nearly every single meal outside on my Weber grill. Dessert is not to be missed out on when the grill is already hot, ready, and so incredibly capable to bake in. I’ve posted several desserts on the grill recipes, and don’t see any sign of slowing down. Using my Weber Connect Smart Grilling Hub, I was able to figure out the most hands-off, precise way to whip up a seriously sweet and gooey chocolate lava cake. All while I am enjoying the dinner that I just grilled and without a single extra pan or hot kitchen oven.



Chocolate lava (or molten) cakes can be a biiiiit trick or treaty. They can seem complicated if you are using the traditional method of a rich batter with perfect intuition to know when the center is cooked but still super smooth and the perfect point of melty. You can toss some chocolate candies or ganache in the center if you’d like, but learning to bake these cakes straight from the batter from the bowl will give you a flavor and texture combination that just can’t be imitated. In comes the Weber Connect Smart Grilling Hub – my new favorite gadget that has seriously elevated my grilling game.

This recipe was born out of curiosity and a splash of laziness. I was making dinner, Buffalo Blue Sliders (for the 2nd time this week) because they are ahhhhmazing, and was thinking about making one of those mug cake things for dessert. Ya… I’m always thinking of dessert even before eating an entire meal. Normal, right? — If you’ve ever tried one of those, you’ll know that they are ehhh, ok. But it does the job of putting a single serving dessert into your hands in minutes. I’m always trying to play around with new recipes and techniques, but my grill was hot, and my oven (and therefor my kitchen) was cool. The way I like to keep things, honestly. Why not use the grill to bake in? I had noticed that I usually keep it around 350-400 F anyway for most things I cook up for dinner. Happens to be a great go-to oven temp, right? Bumped the Weber down to low, closed it and started whipping up a rich, chocoholics dream cake batter.

This was so simple to do that I did it while the burgers were grilling. Popped the ramekins in the freezer (optional, really, but I find it helps for consistent molten cake results), and finished making dinner. When I took all of the food off of the grill, I kept the Weber grill burners on low and closed it up. It needed just a few minutes until it was back to a perfect 400 F.
Since the Weber Connect Smart Grilling Hub has four ports for temperature probes, I used one probe to keep an eye on the grill temperature and two others to watch each individual cake. You could certainly only bake one cake with the probe, but this way you will be sure that the center is ooey-gooey on each one. Mine both came to the correct temperature at the same time, but that may vary a bit with where you place them to bake, etc.

Using the manual program option on the Weber Connect Smart Grilling Hub, I set the final temp. to 165 and closed ‘er up. Clipped to the sides, the probes stayed perfect in place and the cake bakes evenly around it. By the time I was finished eating dinner, my phone (that I can monitor from anywhere in my house) beeped and told me that I was juuuust about finished with baking. I managed to get myself out of my chair after eating far too much, and it was at exactly 165 F in the center – the perfect molten chocolate melty, gooey, warm, rich, sweet center. Removed from the grill, I let them rest for a few minutes and eagerly grabbed spoons. I had totally intended on some vanilla bean ice cream with these (because we all know that ice cream and a warm cake or brownie is a first-place dessert every single time) but got far too excited about the first scoop. It melted on my counter. Don’t worry… I used it to make something else. Keep an eye out for that one soon.

Using the manual program option on the Weber Connect Smart Grilling Hub, I set the final temp. to 165 and closed ‘er up. Clipped to the sides, the probes stayed perfect in place and the cake bakes evenly around it. By the time I was finished eating dinner, my phone (that I can monitor from anywhere in my house) beeped and told me that I was juuuust about finished with baking. I managed to get myself out of my chair after eating far too much, and it was at exactly 165 F in the center – the perfect molten chocolate melty, gooey, warm, rich, sweet center. Removed from the grill, I let them rest for a few minutes and eagerly grabbed spoons. I had totally intended on some vanilla bean ice cream with these (because we all know that ice cream and a warm cake or brownie is a first-place dessert every single time) but got far too excited about the first scoop. It melted on my counter. Don’t worry… I used it to make something else. Keep an eye out for that one soon.

LOOK at that masterpiece, y’all. I barely have any words for how happy I was with this one. A dessert recipe that is perfected on the grill to keep you outside during the end of summer and beginning of fall. One that will make your friends and family think you’ve been watching those fancy chef competition shows. Warm, rich chocolate surrounded by a stellar light cake. Made for you to dig into. You’re gonna want to try this one, guys and gals. – Enjoy!
Check out the Weber Connect Smart Grilling Hub to up your own grillin’ game.

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake
Molten chooclate lava cakes made with perfection. Rich, warm smooth chocolate center. Recipe from SouthernFatty.com.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (115 g) chocolate, chopped, I used 65% semisweet
- 8 tablespoons (115 g) butter, unsalted
- 5 eggs, whole
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
- 1 cup (100 g) flour, all-purpose
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a heat-safe bowl that will fit on top of a small saucepan, add chopped chocolate.
- Place an inch of water in saucepan over low-medium heat. Place bowl of chocolate on top and stir until fully melted.
- Remove from heat and stir in butter until smooth.
- Butter ramekins and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, additional egg yolks, and sugar.
- Add in chocolate mixture. Whisk well.
- Add the flour and salt, mixing until just combined fully. Do not overmix.
- Portion equally into ramekins.
- Place ramekins into freezer for 30 up to 60 minutes.
- This will allow the center to set at the correct temperature and allow for the perfect end result when baked.
- Pre-heat oven or grill (I grilled mine!) to 400 F.
- For best results, place leave-in thermometer probe into center.
- Bake for 10 minutes. The outside will feel set. Remove and cool slightly.
- Thermometer should read 160-165 F when finished.
- Enjoy warm.
- Find more recipes on SouthernFatty.com anbd tag your photos of your bakes with @southernfatty.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 296Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 278mgSodium: 153mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 7g
James
Hi! Love your site and recipes. Was wondering what sized ramekins for this work best?
Phillip @ SouthernFATTY.com
Hey James — Thanks! I used an 8oz ramekin for these in my recipe. I would assume you could adjust the bake time for a 6oz, if desired. I would try to bake one but cut a minute off of the time (or better yet, check internal temperature).
Ramekins that work can be found here.
-Phillip
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