Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery

I absolutely love this place. I’ve been to this location two or three times and love the molten lava cake here.
One of the things that really attracted me was the décor. The restaurant is relatively small but is a very cute shop and I love how they serve the lava cakes on these small wooden boards with a scoop of delicious vanilla ice cream.
Great for desserts and coffee and I would definitely recommend it as a date spot or a post dinner dessert spot! Fits in great with the rest of Ballard.

Got the Dark Decadence and Smores molten cakes. Really good and served with delicious ice cream. Order a cappuccino to compliment.

The peanut butter cup was a chocolate cake that had a delightful peanut fudge center. The ice cream had several cubes of peanut butter caramel (soft and powdery). Perhaps there could have used more ice cream to accompany the slightly larger cake, but the dish has a wonderful combination of texture, temperatures, and taste.
Yeah, this place is heavy duty. The cakes are extremely rich and definitely something that can be considered for sharing. The atmosphere has an upscale café attitude to it. There’s a slight wait for each serving, but it’s worth it.

OMG… I don’t even know where to begin. All I can say is the DARK DECADENCE is BOMB DIGGIDY GOOD!!! I love the richness of it. Just melts in your mouth. Delicious!!! A must go to place where in you’re Seattle (Ballard area). LOVE LOVE LOVE this place. It gets really busy and the line is usually out the door… But it’s so worth the wait!≠P

I understand why this place is a neighborhood institution. The smell alone would have me coming back for more. We stuck to the classic hot cake, and were not disappointed. Warm, chocolate goodness & a well made latte as a perfect compliment. They’ve got a local/​sustainable commitment, which makes this dessert (almost) guilt free. Get your hot cakes here-​you will not regret it.

Absolutely delicious molten chocolate cakes!
I forget which cake I ordered but I think it was Dark Decadence. Whatever it was, it was chocolate-​y and caramel-​y and delicious! These are made with top-​notch ingredients, and you can definitely taste the quality.
I don’t live in Seattle but next time I go, it will definitely be back!
Side note: It was really, uncomfortably warm inside the restaurant! Most likely from a mixture of over-​use of heaters and packing so many bodies in one small place!

I’m not sure how anyone can complain about this place. They specialize in molten chocolate lava cake and that is exactly what you will get. It’s decadent and delicious — but you have to love this kind of stuff in order to appreciate this. Not only that, but they are extremely big on using healthy and organic ingredients. Best part, it smells amazing upon entrance. It’s my go to dessert spot for anyone visiting Seattle. Note: it’s so amazing that even my diabetic friend risked diabetic shock to share in this delightful treat!

After seeing so many Unilocal friends rave about this place, I bookmarked Hot Cakes. Decided to come here after work one day for some dessert before dinner. Yes, I have a sweet tooth and sometimes will eat dessert before dinner. Ordered the Dark Decadence molten chocolate cake. It’s made with Theo chocolate, caramel and toffee and comes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Its the best of both worlds! Vanilla and chocolate, hot cakes and cold ice cream! Definitely want to go back and try more desserts!

Vegan Molten chocolate cake!!! It was so rich and decident that I don’t think I will go back unless I have someone to share it with. It was almost too much to finish on my own, BUT it was soooooooooooo good.
The cashier told us that all of the molten lava cakes are Gluten free EXCEPT the vegan one which was fine with me. I only needed dairy free.
I like how they have caramel to the side to try so I was able to see if I’d like the vegan caramel first. It wasn’t GREAT but on the ice cream it totally was great.
This place is super busy but they do well getting people in and out in a timely manor.

My visit to Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery was an impulsive one. It was cold and rainy and the middle of a day on a Saturday and I found myself searching Unilocal for cupcakes and, well, I ended up at HCMCC.
I entered the space and it immediately reminded me of my husband and I’s favorite coffee shop/​bakery in London called Gail’s. I always ordered the chocolate chip cookie at Gail’s, so it was no surprise to me when, out of my mouth came an order for a chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream instead of an order for molten cake.
The cookie was delivered to us a few minutes after ordering and we were impressed with the giant scoop of ice cream on the top. Having been living abroad for the past 4.5 years, we’d become accustomed to European-​size scoops of ice cream which were never large enough for the cake, pie, cookie or whatnot. So, five stars on the cookie-​to-​ice cream ratio!
We devoured our chocolate chip cookie whilst we admired the cute décor, happy we had stumbled upon this place.

Small and semi inconvenient location considering parking is the biggest struggle. It was pretty exciting once we got our parking spot. Exterior and interior decorations were super cute and festive, IMO. It’s kind of dark in there but it sets the mood so that’s okay with me. Luckily for us, my boyfriend and I didn’t have to wait in line and we were fortunate to get a seat before a crowd of people came. The employee who rung us up was very friendly and told us how things work there: you get your own spoons and napkins, there’s water available there for your convenience, and putting your own dishes away after you’re finished eating is recommended. Each cake takes about 15 minutes to make so you know it’s fresh. For a Smores molten cake and a spirited shake (we got the drunken sailor shake which consisted of pb, caramel, and whiskey), the total came out to be almost $ 25. A bit pricey but I didn’t mind it considering it was our first time there and I was excited to try it. The Smores cake came out with some vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce, which TBH, was my favorite part of the whole thing. The cake is pretty small but I was okay with it since we had dinner before coming here. However I was pretty bummed since I think our cake tasted kinda burnt? I mean, I ate the whole thing since it was good but I had to eat the cake in unison with the ice cream to cover up the burnt taste. I also really enjoyed the spirited shake. All the flavored shined through and I actually wish I had some more, it was that delish! After much thought, I think I would come back to try another cake and a spirited shake and their butter beer but I hope parking won’t be such a b next time around. I think everyone should try out this place at least once. No «ragrets» here! Definitely do it for the Instagram pic!
²⁄₅ location and parking
⁵⁄₅ atmosphere and décor
3.5÷5 for the cake itself but ⁵⁄₅ for the ice cream and shake
Average of 3.875÷5
Soooo 3 stars is «a-​ok» and ⁴⁄₅ is «yay! I’m a fan.» So I’m conflicted but I think I’ll just give them a 4 because the cake is photogenic as heck. Way to make my friends drool via Snapchat and Instagram

I first discovered Hot Cakes at Heath Ceramics in San Francisco. I purchased a small bottle of their smoked chocolate chips not knowing that there was an amazing bakery that I could visit behind these tasty chips. Fast forward a year and a visit to Seattle later and I am walking down a street in the cold looking for a warm and tasty treat! Inside there’s a warm and toasty ambiance to go with your warm and toasty hot cake experience. The staff was helpful in proposing a cake for us to try since we had never been. We also took home a bag of smores edges which I highly recommend. Who doesn’t love the crispy edge of a baked good? Their bourbon caramel syrup is also delicious.

This is a spot you might want to come to before you stuff yourself at dinner; I make a rookie mistake by eating dinner first.
We came late in the evening and the line was still out the door. The line moves fast, but getting a spot to sit is not so easy. I felt like a vulture waiting for someone to get up.
We ordered a brownie and a peanut butter cup. I don’t even feel bad that I got the last brownie of the day. Both are very rich and the side of ice cream is welcoming. We happen to sit up at the bar and watch the desserts get prepped and come out. Seeing everything be made was a nice treat and now I really want to try the crème brulee.
I will be back to try a boozy shake when its not in the 30’s outside.

I always order the warm chocolate chip cookie with the vanilla ice cream… so good, but a little pricey. The cookie is huge so it’s best to share with someone else unless you’re able to eat it all. It gets pretty sweet so the ice cream is a good pairing.
The Ballard Hot Cakes is much smaller than the Capitol Hill one, and there’s usually a line out the door at night so come during off hours and you don’t have to deal with the wait.

I am conflicted. I have been here for years but haven’t written a review because I am both YAY and a little MEH. Unilocal cognitive dissonance in it’s finest. Le sighh.
This is not a 4 star review from someone who stands in the damn rain down the sidewalk waiting for a $ 9 cup of oozey chocolate cake or boozey post dinner dessert. Hundreds of people do a day, that’s their bag. It’s not mine. It’s a little silly. I can undercook my chocolate mug cake in my microwave any day. I can do that in my underpants and not stand in the rain prior. I’m not comparing mine to that, cause Hot Cakes is much better, but I don’t need to hit up Hot Cakes for that. This is not what the review is about.
It is about the ROCHER (baked whipped meringue with roasted almonds and chocoate nibs. Crunchy on the outside and soft and spongey in the middle. Sounds weird? It is. Save it for me please.) The smoked S’MORE end pieces (found in a little bag so you can take them home and have small pieces at a time cause it’s so rich). The smoked chocolate chip COOKIE (they passed these out on Halloween to the adults. Bad. assery). Their drinking chocolate has the essence of Douglas fir in it so you walk back home in the rain and think of how effing Seattle you are sometimes, Douglas Fir even shows up in your chocolate.
I stop in my tracks for that Rocher. If you eat the Rocher, you better love it as much as I do.

I’ve been to the location in Ballard 2 times. Never disappointed with their molten chocolate cake, ever! It tastes just like hot melted brownie, mixed with creamy goodness of ice cream when mixed together! The only thing I would hate is the wait. And it is rather small in there, so it does get crowded and so you would have to literally grab the seat that is empty right then and now! But I would recommend to eat with another person because it does get a little too much to eat by yourself as it is rich.

This place always has a line but it’s worth it in my opinion especially if u love ooey gooey chocolate peanut butter lava cakes this is your spot. I’ve tried all of the lava cakes and my favorite are as you could tell the chocolate PB and the vegan chocolate. I always get the vegan coconut ice cream anyways cuz it’s delicious. This place is small so expect to be swift to snag a seat when it’s busy. I have yet to try their milkshakes but I mean I just have to go back for that. Darn

I’ve actually never had their molten lava cake, I’m never in the mood for it. Maybe it’s partly because it’s usually crowded in there, the temperature inside is pretty warm too in which I need a certain level of comfort before I delve into such a dessert.
I usually stop by here to check out their cookie selections and get it to go and enjoy it at home. They have great flavors, the best one so far is their Lemon Sugar Cookie! Its perfectly lemon-​y and just oh so delicious! And also a close favorite is also the S’mores Cookie… its quite delicious as well, s’more flavor but not too camp fire-​y in your mouth, all with a slightly burnt marshmellow on top.
It’s a great location for me, I go to HH/​dinner on Ballard Ave a lot so it’s perfectly convienient to stroll by afterwards to see what they got. It does get busy so prepare to wait a bit, not too big of a shop but there are some seats available depending on what time you get here.
Staff is pretty friendly and will help make suggestions as well. Great place to come by and indulge yourself in delicious desserts!

Mmm. Hot molten cakes and ice cream in a jiffy? Yes please.
I came in w/​the hubby and a friend, who had already been, and tried the Vegan Hot Cake w/​Coconut Ice Cream. I’m not a vegan, but I really wanted it with the coconut ice cream. I asked for the Decadent Hot Cake (non-​vegan) with the coconut ice cream and the staff started asking me all these questions about the sauceI said never mind, just give me the Vegan Hot Cake.
Anywho, the hot cake was very rich and delicious. Tasted kind of like bananas? Not sure if that was a substitute for something in the vegan option. It was still really good. The ratio of cake to gooey-​ness was to me a little disproportionate (too much gooey), but still yummy. I would want a little more cake I think. Ice cream was good and sweet and perfect combo with the hot cake.
We came on a Saturday evening and it wasn’t too busy, although it did take us a while to get up to the register to order and it may have just been indecision of the people ahead of us. However, the cakes came out quickly once we ordered. Seating was pretty open, but getting busier as time went on.
Cute décor, great staff, a typewriter in the bathroom in case you wanna type up a note while you relieve yourself. Would come back if I’m in the area and craving sweets. You can also take home to bake yourself too. Nice option.

There are so many reviews online about the Dark Decadence that it seems kind of redundant to write more about it.
It was neither the best chocolate lava cake that I have ever had, nor the best vanilla ice cream, but the combination, the presentation and the atmosphere of the place took it to the level of perfection.
Having said that, an AC would be a good addition to this place, because it gets crazy crowded at nights and it gets harder to breath. It can also get really loud in here and there is zero privacy while you are indulging into your dessert due to the lack of seating.
Long long line of patrons are always waiting to be served, so be prepared to wait for a while.