Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

This cake has only 7 ingredients.

Seven (7).  Siete (7).  Sept (7). Sieben (7). Sete (7).

The recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks: Short and Sweet: Sophisticated Desserts in 30 minutes or Less.

The author writes:  "I have no idea why this dessert, which has liquid on the top and batter on the bottom before it goes in the oven, emerges with cake on the top and pudding on the bottom.  But the recipe works every single time and is one of the easiest crowd-pleasing desserts I've ever served.  While very warm, the pudding will be like a chocolate sauce; at room temperature, it will be like pudding.  If refrigerated, the pudding is absorbed to make a moist, fudgy cake.  All temperatures are delicious."

Get your forks ready!  This is going to be good!

I serve it with whipped cream spruced up with vanilla extract and a dash of cinnamon.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

8 servings

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa, preferably European-style

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup very hot brewed coffee

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Butter a 2-quart (about 9-inch by 9-inch) baking dish.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, 3/4 of the brown sugar, 1/4 cup of the cocoa, and the baking powder.  Stir in the cream and vanilla to make a stiff batter.  Scrape the batter into the prepared dish, smoothing to cover the bottom.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa.  Sprinkle over the batter.  Pour the hot coffee over the batter.  Do not stir.

Bake until the cake is dark chocolate, with sauce bubbling up through the batter, 25 to 30 minutes.  Let cool slightly, then serve warm or at room temperature.