Julie Knott

Chocolate Self-Saucing Cake

Ever get a craving for a chocolatey, decadent dessert but don’t know what to make? This. This is the recipe you should make! It’s like brownies, but a bit better in my humble opinion. It’s warm. It has its own sauce, and it’s light and fluffy.

In England and Australia, this would be a warm pudding. But here in the US, it’s a warm cake. 🙂 Whatever you call it, it’s delicious. There’s no denying that!

I found out about this cake from my Aussie from, Lauren, the other day. She was trying to explain this to me and I had just never heard of making a cake like this (pouring boiling water over it to make the crust and sauce). It made me want to make it right then and there, so when I realized I had everything to put it together, I did just that. And, you’ll be pleased to know she said I did it right. 🙂

I’m curious though – what are some other kinds of desserts that you make in your family but maybe others have never heard of? Let me know in the comments below! I want to make them! Happy baking! 🙂

Chocolate Self-Saucing Cake

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

Topping

  • 1 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
  • 1 1/4 cups boiling water

Batter

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
  • Pinch of salt
  • 4 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a small, rectangular baking dish.
  2. Make the topping – whisk brown sugar and cocoa in a bowl, set aside.img_9565
  3. Whisk flour, baking powder, sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl.img_9566
  4. In a separate bowl or jug, whisk together the butter and milk, then whisk in the egg and vanilla.
  5. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture. Mix until combined – it will be a thick batter.img_9568
  6. Spread into baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar / cocoa mixture. Shake gently to spread out thinly.
  7. Carefully pour the hot water over the back of a dessert spoon all over the top of the pudding.
  8. Transfer to oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back when poked lightly. The top will be a bit crusty, like the top of brownies. img_9589Remove from oven, stand for just a few minutes (no more!), then serve immediately. Enjoy!

 Original recipe can be found here. 

2 comments

  1. I have been making this cake for 40 years – got the recipe from the newspaper and it is my (now 50) daughters favorite birthday cake with vanilla ice cream. I always add a handful of chocolate chips on top of the brown sugar and cocoa before the batter, just to make it saucier. So here I am at my daughters visiting for the weekend without my recipe box and this is what she requested. Thank you! For providing me with exactly what I need and for sharing this magnificent easy dessert with the public. Happy baking.

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