Name: Chocolate Pudding Cake (Reduced Sugar)
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet chocolate , chopped fine; 1 cup (5 ounces/142 grams) all-purpose flour; ¼ cup (¾ ounces/21 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder; 2 teaspoons baking powder; ½ teaspoon salt; ¾ cup whole milk; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted; 1 large egg yolk; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1 cup boiling water

Why This Recipe Works

Most hot fudge pudding cakes end up looking rich and fudgy, but have very little chocolate flavor—and a hefty amount of sugar. For a low-sugar pudding cake with robust chocolate flavor, we ditched the granulated sugar entirely, so that the semisweet chocolate could shine. We decided to melt half the chocolate and incorporate it into the batter for a fudgy, chocolaty base; we chopped the other half and folded it into our batter, giving us plenty of gooey pockets of chocolate in the baked cake. We also bumped up the chocolate flavor further with Dutch-processed cocoa; because it is less acidic than natural cocoa powder, it produced a richer chocolate taste. Traditionally, pudding cake batter is baked with a layer of boiling water on the top, which hydrates the cake and sinks to the bottom during cooking, producing a chocolaty pudding layer. After some testing, we found that 1 cup of boiling water produced the perfect pudding cake consistency.

Before You Begin

We’ve had good luck using Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Premium Baking Bar in this recipe; other brands may contain different amounts of sugar. For an accurate measurement of boiling water, bring a full kettle of water to a boil and then measure out the desired amount.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8-inch square baking pan. Microwave half of chocolate in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, 2 to 4 minutes; let cool slightly.

Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. In separate bowl, whisk melted chocolate, milk, melted butter, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth. Stir chocolate mixture into flour mixture until just combined. Fold in remaining chopped chocolate.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Gently pour boiling water over top; do not stir. Bake until top of cake looks cracked, sauce is bubbling, and toothpick inserted in cakey area comes out with few moist crumbs attached, about 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.

Let cake cool for 10 minutes before serving. To serve, scoop warm cake into individual serving bowls.