The $3.79 Trader Joe’s Dessert So Good It Tastes Homemade

There’s one refrain that fills my head whenever I go to Trader Joe’s: Don’t forget the chocolate lava cakes. One of my first childhood memories of TJ’s is sitting down at the kitchen table to have one as a dessert. Even as newer treats fill the aisles, nothing beats these decadent little cakes. 

Why I Love Trader Joe’s Chocolate Lava Cakes 

You can find these lava cakes in the freezer aisle, priced at $3.79 for a pack of two. The warm, gooey, chocolate sitting inside the chocolate cake is perfectly comforting at the end of the day, especially since they’re so easy to prepare.

I’m a cake lover through and through, but I don’t always have the energy to pick up a slice from the bakery or make a whole cake from scratch when I only want a single serving. I love that I can keep these in my freezer and pop one in the microwave whenever the mood strikes. 

What’s even more impressive is that they’re not some sad store-bought dessert—I swear these are restaurant-quality lava cakes. You could easily fool someone into thinking they were homemade or purchased from a fancy shop. 

How To Enjoy Chocolate Lava Cakes 

While the microwave instructions call for cooking the lava cakes for 45 to 55 seconds (which is oddly specific), I find that 90 seconds is best to achieve the perfect warmth. The package also has instructions for warming them up in the oven, but let’s be real, who has time for that? They each come in a small black plastic cup that you pop the cake out of before cooking, leaving a small amount of chocolate behind. I like to scrape the left-behind bits out with a teaspoon while waiting for the lava cake to finish cooking eat as a pre-dessert appetizer.

These cakes call for something creamy on the side to balance out the rich chocolate. I typically pair them with whipped cream or a small cup of milk since that’s what I typically have on hand, but vanilla ice cream would be even better. If you like fruit with chocolate, I’d recommend serving with fresh raspberries or heating up a small amount of raspberry preserves thinned out with a little water to drizzle on top. 

^{To learn more about our approach to product recommendations, see HERE.}