Ultra rich, extremely decadent and super chocolaty, this Chocolate Brownie Pudding Cake is one for the books!
So as dumb as this sounds, I didn’t realize how much stuff I have to pack for this whole moving-out business.
I have SO much crap.
I’ve been selling a lot of things on eBay and whatnot, and donating a ton of stuff, too. And there’s STILL a ton of crap!
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Granted, I have a lot of food props – cake stands, miniature plates, an assortment of tarnished forks, and the like – ALL of which need to be bubble wrapped.
And who knew bubble wrap was so dang expensive!? Clearly I was ill-prepared for this whole moving business.
In between throwing old socks out and carefully wrapping cake stands, I’ve been stuffing my face copiously with this Chocolate Brownie Pudding Cake. I know you guys are probably on diets with the whole New Year’s resolution business, and I respect that. That’s why this cake is just under 200 calories a slice. YOU ARE WELCOME.
But those of us who aren’t on diets, you will not be able to tell that this cake is somewhat diet-friendly. I promise you. There’s no dry, crumbly cake in sight and there’s certainly no fakeness, either. It’s all real-deal ingredients, ready for consumption and a lot of moaning at how delicious it is. What can I say? I aim to please.
So this cake recipe was inspired by a new cookbook I picked up recently called Incredibly Decadent Desserts by Deb Wise. It’s from the makers of Cooking Light Magazine, and normally I’m not a big diet person, but the cover (of what appears to be a thick slice of a s’mores concoction) won me over. And once I saw this recipe, the rest was history!
This cake is a cross between a brownie, a regular cake, and a molten lava cake in one decadent treat. It has the crackly top that everyone loves from brownies, a fluffy and moist cake texture, and the molten lava sauce built in. It’s truly a one-stop shop kinda dessert. (You’re doubly welcome).
And like I said, one piece (the pan yields about 9 pieces or so) clocks in at just about 200 calories, plus 1 Tablespoon of the sauce. Of course, you may want to add low-fat ice cream or froyo on top, but who am I to tell you how to live your life?
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to bubble wrap ALLTHETHINGS and eat ALLTHECAKE.
*adapted from Incredibly Decadent Desserts cookbook
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar, divided
- ½ cup cocoa powder, divided
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup skim milk
- 3 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 & ¼ cups strong HOT black coffee
- Additional chocolate sauce, vanilla low-fat ice cream or vanilla fro-yo, optional
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally grease an 8" or 9" square baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, ½ cup of the granulated sugar, ¼ cup of the cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a bowl until combined. Add in the milk, oil, and vanilla, stirring until just combined.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Batter will be very thick. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup cocoa powder and the brown sugar together in a small bowl until combined. Sprinkle this mixture liberally over the cake batter, covering it completely. It seems like a lot, but use it all! Then generously pour the hot strong black coffee over the top.
- Carefully bake for 23-28 minutes or until the top appears set and the edges are bubbly. Cool for about 10 minutes before cutting into slices to serve, making sure you spoon the sauce (on the bottom) over the top!
I guarantee that if you whip this up for your Valentine, they’re going to fall in love with you fast.
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
cakeSpy says
Sign me up, matey! This looks amazing.
Kim says
I have been making (and eating!) a very similar recipe for years, but I never checked the calorie count. I think I love it even more now that I now it is low-cal. Also, I always just used water for the topping. I definitely need to try it with coffee!
thedomesticrebel says
Right?! Who knew something so sinful could be low-cal, too! 🙂 The coffee really adds a wonderful depth of flavor. Not coffee flavored, but it makes the chocolate pudding sauce more rich!
Jacqueline says
We call this pudding in Australia. ALso nice served with custard.
Jim Anderson says
Sounds good, but what’s a reasonable substitute for the fluids in the coffee (which MUST be excluded)?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Jim! If you don’t want to use coffee, use boiling water.
Sammie says
Hi Hayley! Can I use 2% milk? Or must it be skim?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Sammie, any type should work!
Sammie says
Awesome! I’m making this for dessert tonight then!
Sammie says
So I tried it tonight but it just didn’t work for me. I followed the recipe to a T (except used 2% milk) and I cant figure out what went wrong. Maybe you can help! My batter was more like a dough after incorporating the dry ingredients and I was careful not to overmix, and the sauce didnt pool underneath the cake it just sat on top and wasn’t very saucy. It was thicker, but not quite like pudding. Flavour was okay…just wasn’t very brownie like, closer to just a cake. Any idea what I can do to get it like yours? I’d love to try it again!
Thanks Hayley!