Saturday, April 19, 2014

Cooking With Kids--Chocolate Pudding Cake

From Peg Cochran

My four-year-old granddaughter recently had a "sleepover" at Grandma and Pop-Pop's house.  She loves to help me in the kitchen (even emptying the dishwasher!  Go figure) so I wanted to have a baking project for us to do together.  This cake is super easy, and she was able to help with most of the steps.  And even though it's called chocolate pudding cake, it's sophisticated enough for company.  When baked, you have a delicious, chewy, almost brownie-like cake with what is more chocolate sauce than pudding.  It is delicious with ice cream, and you can spoon the "pudding" over the ice cream.  It's somewhat like those volcano cakes but without all that work.

I used Hershey's dark chocolate cocoa powder in this, and I think it made it better than when I've used the milk chocolate version.  I suppose you could splurge and get a tin of one of those really high-end cocoa powders because I think you will want to make this a lot!  Served in a pretty glass, it would be the perfect end to a dinner party.  

The batter for the cake part is much thicker than a typical cake batter.  Even thicker than brownie batter.  The directions said to smooth it in the pan with an offset spatula, but we ended up using our hands to pat it into place.  I don't know if that was a result of our using Splenda instead of sugar in the cake or not.  It certainly didn't detract from the deliciousness of the final product!

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Topping

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups HOT water

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees

Cake:

Whisk together the sugar flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.  Stir in milk, butter and vanilla (hint: don't use the whisk to stir it because it will all stick to it--trust me.)

"Pour" (???) the batter into an ungreased 9" square baking pan.  (It will not come close to pouring--it will fall out of the mixing bowl in a clump.)  Level it with an offset spatula (use your hands to pat it into place in the pan.)

Topping:
Whisk together the sugars and cocoa and sprinkle evenly over the batter.  Pour the hot water on top but DO NOT STIR!

Bake approximately 30 minutes (my oven runs hot and yours may differ). It should look like an undercooked brownie with delicious chocolate sauce bubbling up on top.  Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes (if your husband and/or grandchildren can wait that long).  Serve by spooning the "sauce" over the cake.  A scoop of ice cream is really the icing on the cake (pun intended.)  

PS We also made "campfire stew" together and she had a blast.  It's a very kid-friendly dish.  Recipe here.  

Bon appétit!





Wearing Grandma's glasses (upside down!) to read the recipe



Dough is very stiff so you will have to put some elbow grease into mixing it.


It's probably easier to pat mixture into pan and smooth out.


Don't forget to lick the spoon! Note she has tucked the glasses into her shirt like
Grandma does!


Sprinkle sugars on top then pour the hot water over all but do not mix.


Bubbly, gooey and delicious!


Serve with a scoop of ice cream if desired.



Out now for all e-readers!




Stop by my web site for a visit or my Facebook Page or chat with me on twitter @pegcochran.







10 comments:

  1. She's adorable Peg--what fun to have an interested helper in the kitchen!

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    1. Thanks, Lucy. She's the light of my life as you can imagine!

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  2. What a cutie! And it's funny (and so heartwarming) when they copy us, like with the glasses.

    This is a recipe my 22-year old granddaughter would be happy to help me make! All that chocolate.

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    1. Sometimes Grandkids are like holding up a mirror to ourselves! I find her imitating a lot of things I do and get such a kick out of it. Hopefully she picks up some good things, too...it reminds you of what a role model you are to children. If your granddaughter likes chocolate, she will love this cake! And I would recommend going for the dark cocoa powder for a more intense chocolate flavor.

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  3. Your granddaughter is adorable (as if you didn't already know that!)
    The cake sounds divine! It goes on my TBC (to be cooked) list.

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  4. Nifty recipe and beautiful child, Peg! I love this post. We will try this too.

    Hugs,

    MJ

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  5. What a cute grandchild, Peg! Sounds like you both had fun preparing this delectable recipe ~

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  6. My aunt used to bring this, or something very like it, to family dinners.

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  7. What a doll baby, Peg! So glad you got some private time with her. This looks yummy.

    Daryl / Avery

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  8. Kids and chocolate just go together, don't they? Adorable photos of your granddaughter, Peg, thanks for sharing. (I do my own version of this cake. It's addictive!) Have a lovely Easter weekend, the bunny should love this cake!

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