Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Published February 1, 2007.

Why this recipe works:

Most hot fudge pudding cakes end up looking rich and fudgy but have very little chocolate flavor. For a Hot Fudge Pudding Cake recipe that tasted as good as it looked, we folded semisweet chocolate chips into the batter, which added another layer of chocolate flavor and ensured plenty of gooey pockets in the baked cake. Vegetable oil, which most recipes call for, was flavorless, and we found substituting melted butter improved our Hot Fudge Pudding Cake’s flavor. Using Dutch-processed cocoa, which is less acidic than natural cocoa powder, produced a richer chocolate taste.
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Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

We use an unusual technique to make a rich chocolate sauce for this rich dessert, which is truly part cake and part pudding. Watch the Video

Serves 6 to 8

Do not overbake this cake or the pudding sauce will burn in the pan and the cake will be dry, not fudgy. Store leftovers, covered with plastic, in the refrigerator. Reheat individual servings in a microwave on high power until hot (about 1 minute).

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup boiling water
• Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Instructions

1. 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8-inch square glass or metal cake pan with cooking spray. Whisk 1/2 cup sugar with 1/4 cup cocoa in small bowl.
   
   2. Whisk flour, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, remaining 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Whisk milk, butter, egg yolk, and vanilla in medium bowl until smooth. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips (batter will be stiff).
   
   3. Using rubber spatula, scrape batter into prepared pan and spread into corners. Sprinkle reserved cocoa mixture evenly over top. Gently pour boiling water over cocoa. Do not stir.
   
   4. Bake until top of cake looks cracked, sauce is bubbling, and toothpick inserted into cakey area comes out with moist crumbs attached (see photos), about 25 minutes. Cool on rack for at least 10 minutes. To serve, scoop warm cake into individual serving bowls and top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
   
   Baby Cakes:
   Put a fancy spin on this homey recipe by baking up individual pudding cakes. Spray eight 6-ounce ovenproof ramekins or coffee cups with cooking spray. Fill each with 2 tablespoons batter. Top each with 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa mixture, followed by 2 tablespoons boiling water. Arrange cups on rimmed baking sheet and bake until tops are just cracked, 20 to 25 minutes.
   

Kitchen Know-How: Is it Done Yet?

This highly unconventional cake breaks most of the usual rules, including how to judge when it's ready to come out of the oven.

1. When the top is crackled like a brownie and the sauce is bubbling up from the bottom, it's time to start testing for doneness. For the most accurate test, insert the toothpick close to the edge, where the cake is firmest. (Don't insert the toothpick in the center, where the cake should be gooey.)

2. The toothpick should have large, moist crumbs-but no gooey batter- attached.Check at least 2 spots to be certain that what's sticking to the toothpick isn't just a melted chocolate chip.