Today I have got a really great start to your weekend in the form of chocolate. No, not just chocolate. A warm chocolate cake with a rich fudge sauce.
When I was growing up my mother had an old Betty Crocker cookbook that I used to love to peruse. One of my favorite recipes from this book (alongside popcorn balls, popovers, and cheese sauce) was hot fudge pudding. It was easy and utterly delicious. So naturally when I was looking for a new dessert to whip up for Joe, I figured I would go back to this classic. But wanted to make sure the flavors balanced right once I pulled out the salt, so I decided to move toward another favorite – cinnamon-spiked chocolate. And that is the story of how this lovely spiced hot fudge pudding came to being. 🙂
If you’ve never made a hot fudge pudding cake, you may not know that it comes together in three basic steps. Step 1: mix up a batter and spread it in a pan.
Step 2, mix up some dry ingredients (hello, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and sugar!) and sprinkle it on the batter.
Step three, pour boiling water on top.
Oh and I guess I actually missed the fourth step where you bake it. (The cake ends up on top and a sauce forms underneath.)
And the fifth step where you dish it (upside down with ice cream, of course).
And we all know what comes next; I hope you have room for dessert. 🙂
PrintSpiced Hot Fudge Pudding
SODIUM COUNT: 16.9 mg sodium per serving; 152 mg in the entire recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 9 1x
Ingredients
Base layer: Batter
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp no sodium baking powder
- 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup milk
- 2 Tbsp melted shortening
- 1 cup chopped nuts ((optional*))
Middle Layer: Dry Topping
- 1 cup brown sugar ((packed))
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
Top Layer: Liquid
- 1 ¾ cups boiling water
Instructions
Base Layer: Batter
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder. Whisk in the cinnamon and sugar.
- Stir in the milk and shortening, then fold in the nuts.
- Spread the batter in a 9×9 baking dish and set aside.
Middle Layer: Dry Topping
- Mix together the brown sugar, cocoa powder, and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly on top of the batter in the prepared pan.
Top Layer: Liquid
- Pour the hot water over the entire batter and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. During baking, the cake mixture will rise to the top and the sauce will settle to the bottom.
- To serve, cut into squares and invert into serving bowls. (Serve with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream on top for an extra treat!)
Notes
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION – Yield: 9 servings
Sodium: 16.9 mg, Calories: 328.9, Total Fat: 12.2 g, Saturated Fat: 2.0 g, Cholesterol: 2.1 mg, Carbohydrates: 55.4 g, Fiber: 2.9 g, Sugar: 40.7 g, Protein: 3.7 g.
* Chopped pecans were used to calculate the nutritional information.
Would I be able to make this a couple hours ahead of time and just not add the water until right before baking? Wanting to make this for dessert tonight, but was hoping for a bit of prep ahead of time…