Chocolate Pudding Cake

This fudgy, old-fashioned chocolate pudding cake is separated into two delicious layers as it bakes: a chocolate cake and a gooey pudding-like sauce.

I’ve been invited to a few birthdays lately, which means I had quite a few cakes to make. I took one of my mom’s old recipe notebooks and leafed through the yellowed pages to try and find some of our family’s all-time favorite sweets. Almost every recipe consisted of notes added over the years, each in a different pen color. I then came across this pudding cake that I loved as a kid. It had no noted, and I like to believe that’s because it’s perfect as-is.

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Pudding cakes consist of 2 layers – a comforting, gooey chocolate cake and a thick chocolaty sauce that tastes just like pudding. This old-fashioned cake goes by many names: chocolate upside down cake, hot fudge pudding cake, brownie pudding cake, or self-saucing pudding cake.

The process of making it might seem strange at first, but it basically consists of 3 layers: the cake batter, a cocoa-sugar mixture, and hot water (or coffee). The last 2 parts are what ultimately create the sauce. The first layer is the cake batter, which is made by mixing together a few basic ingredients such as flour, cocoa, sugar, and milk. The second layer consists of a “dry” mixture of cocoa and sugar. We then pour the hot water evenly on top. I like to add coffee powder to the water because it enhances the chocolate flavor and keeps the cake from being too sweet.

While baking, the water sinks to the bottom and crates a chocolate sauce, and the cake rises to the top. Spoon out slices, serving each slice upside-down, and drizzle with warm sauce. The more sauce, the better 😉

This cake is perfect for baking in individual 6-ounce ramekins. For each ramekin, pour about 1/4 cup cake batter, 2 tablespoons cocoa-sugar mixture, and 3 tablespoons coffee/hot water. Bake for 15-20 minutes.