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4.94 from 29 votes

Cake Mix Chocolate Lava Cake

Lava cakes just got easier with my fool proof short cuts: cake mix and muffin tins! This cake mix chocolate lava cake recipe uses devil's food cake mix, chocolate pudding, and is filled with a two ingredient chocolate ganache! Fluffy cake with a molten lava center . . . what's not to love? 
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time50 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cake mix, chocolate, easy
Servings: 24 cakes
Calories: 262kcal
Author: Jennifer Debth

Ingredients

Ganache

  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Lava Cakes

  • 1 (15.25 oz) box devil's food cake mix*
  • 1 (3.9 oz) box chocolate instant pudding
  • 1 1/4 cups fat free buttermilk room temperature
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 3 large eggs room temperature

Instructions

Ganache

  • Heat heavy cream in the microwave until slightly steaming but not simmering, about 90 seconds.
  • Pour over chocolate chips.
  • Stir until melted.
  • Let cool, cover, then refrigerate overnight or until firm (it should still be scoop-able).
  • Keep ganache in the fridge until RIGHT when you’re ready to use it.

Lava Cakes

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease 2 (12 slot) non-stick muffin tins with cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl, beat together cake mix, instant pudding, buttermilk, butter, and eggs.
  • Evenly scoop the batter into the prepared pans (about 3 tablespoons or a big cookie scoop worth - should fill 1/2 the muffin tin).
  • Place 1 level tablespoon ganache into the center of the batter and gently press down. It’s ok if the ganache isn’t fully submerged.
  • One pan at a time, bake 15-20 minutes (I did 19 minutes) in preheated oven. The center will still be gooey, but an inserted toothpick in the edge of the cake will come out *mostly* clean.
  • Let the cakes cool for 5 minutes in the pan.
  • Run a knife along the sides of the cakes. 
Place a baking sheet on top of the muffin pan and flip them. The cakes should pop out.**
  • 
Serve with powdered sugar, ice cream, whipped cream, hot fudge, etc. and enjoy!
  • Take 5 seconds to rate this recipe below. We greatly appreciate it!

Video

Notes

*Basically you’re mixing the cake mix together with the listed ingredients on back of box, but use buttermilk instead of water and butter instead of oil (amounts listed above).
**See video for visuals
See post above for make ahead instructions, how to freeze, and how to store molten lava cakes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cake | Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 339mg | Potassium: 162mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 310IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 2mg