Wacky Chocolate Pudding Cake

It might look like a bowl of sludge under that scoop of vanilla ice cream, but don't be fooled. It's a bowl of chocolate heaven. Think hot fudge sundae combined with a little bit of cake and you're on the right track. It's a wacky chocolate pudding cake and when you see how it's made you'll know why it's called that. It's easy too, and makes enough to serve at least eight (with some ice cream, naturalmente!)

It's a recipe I got from one of the seasonal food magazines published by my local supermarket - McCaffrey's. 

It starts out with a batter that's really, really dry - almost a paste. Press it down into an 8 inch square pan.

Then it's topped with a mixture of brown sugar and cocoa.

And last, a covering of hot coffee (I used espresso). DON'T MIX. Just put it in the oven like this.

And 30 minutes later, you'll have a wobbly mixture that you're sure is uncooked. Fear not. Remove it from the oven and let it sit for a half hour - otherwise, you'll have a soupy mess.

After a half hour, it's ready to serve. The top will be cake-like, while the bottom will be more like chocolate pudding - or a hot fudge sauce. Perfect with vanilla ice cream or a big dollop of whipped cream.

Wacky Chocolate Pudding Cake

from McCaffrey's Supermarket "Real Food"magazine

printable recipe here

1 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1/2 cup whole milk

3 T. unsalted butter, melted

1 cup (6 ounces) bittersweet chocolate chips

1 t. vanilla extract

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 3/4 cups hot coffee

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 8 inch square pan.


• Sift the flour, sugar, 1/4 cup of the cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the milk, melted butter, chocolate chips and vanilla until smoothly blended. Spread the batter (it will be thick - more like a paste) in the pan. In a small bowl, stir the brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa powder together, pressing any lumps out of the brown sugar. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture evenly over the batter in the pan. Pour the hot coffee evenly over the top.


• Bake until the top feels firm and the edges just begin to bubble from the sauce that has formed underneath, about 40 minutes. As the cake bakes, it separates into dark chocolate sauce on the bottom and chocolate cake on top.


• Let the cake sit about 30 minutes to cool slightly.  Spoon out portions of cake and sauce. Serve with ice cream. The cake can be made one day ahead and warmed in a low oven (about 275 degrees F.)