When I was in high school, my friends and I loved Chili’s. This was before Durham, NC was quite the foodie town it is today, and before our metabolisms started to slow down. So, eating there sometimes even weekly was perfectly acceptable and normal. We’d all head there and get a big entree each, and then we’d order molten lava cakes…one each of those as well.

I remember being a sophomore and having a group of older girls from our school walk by our table one time (because yes, everybody was at Chili’s), and with a look of shock one said something like,”Wow, did you all really order one each?” Up to that point I guess we hadn’t considered the fact that maybe some people would split this giant dessert. To us, seven girls meant seven molten lava cakes. It just made sense. Long story short, we didn’t let that judgment faze us, and continued to order our individual molten lava cakes for years.

The best thing about molten lava cakes is that you have multiple different elements all coming together at once. The cake is warm, the lava center is hot, and the ice cream is cold. When you cut into the cake with your fork, the heat from the chocolate core starts slightly melting the ice cream and the “lava” and ice cream flow out in chocolatey glory. It’s incredible. When consumed following a giant plate of Chicken Crispers it will also send you straight into a food coma, but it’s worth it.

I try to eat at local restaurants rather than chains these days (fast food chains not included), but Chili’s is one of the few restaurant chains that holds a soft spot in my heart. Since I’m no longer close to one, this homemade version of the molten lava cakes does the trick. I think it’s probably even better than the real thing. I debated taking a shortcut and using some leftover hot fudge for the filling, but opted to make the homemade version. If you have time I highly suggest doing this. The recipe as a whole is a breeze, so one step that takes slightly longer is worth it.

For the cake I used Duncan Hines Triple Chocolate Cake. I topped it with Smucker’s Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell, and used just plain store-bought ice cream. I didn’t have caramel around for the sauce and didn’t feel like making it, but I have no doubt that would take things to a whole new level.

Enjoy!

• 1 Duncan Hines Fudge Cake Mix and ingredients
• Vanilla Ice Cream
• Chocolate Shell Ice Cream Topping
• Caramel Sauce
• Hot Fudge, recipe follows
Hot Fudge
• 1 Cube Butter, Unsalted (1/2 cup)
• 1 Cup Evaporated Milk
• 1 Cup Chocolate Chips
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 Pinch of Salt
• 2 Cups Powdered Sugar

1. Mix
   the cake mix according to instructions and bake in a Texas size muffin
   tin according to package instructions. Turn out to cool. (Remember you
   will be eating these upside down so you’ll want them level)*
 Hot Fudge
2. Melt
   all of the ingredients in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to
   a boil, stirring constantly. Continue to boil and stir for two
   minutes.Remove the pan from the heat and continue to stir for one
   minute. Allow the fudge sauce to cool.
3. Once
   the cupcakes and fudge are cool, use a serrated knife or another sharp knife to level the top of the cupcakes. Once level, turn the cupcakes over and at a slight
   angle carefully cut a well out of the bottom of each cake. Do not cut all the way through!
4. Fill the cake with the fudge sauce, wrap in saran wrap and freeze for 1 hr or up to a few days.
5. Once
   you are ready to serve, heat each cake in the microwave for 35-45
   seconds or until warmed through. Drizzle caramel over the cake and the
   plate.
6. Quickly top with vanilla ice cream and pour the chocolate shell topping over the ice cream. Serve IMMEDIATELY. 

*Note: I believe a Texas size muffin tin is just an oversized muffin tin. The only jumbo pan I had made six muffins, which, when using all of the batter, resulted in me having to cut off a lot of cake to make it level. I think this amount of batter would probably make 8-10 cakes, filling each section no more than 3/4 full. When making these again (since that will be happening), I will probably bake up six, wait for those to cool, and then re-use my pan for the remaining batter instead of just pouring it all in the six pan at once!