Saucy Chocolate Pudding Cake

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 cup cake flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder, plus
• 2 tablespoons dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder, dissolved in 1 teaspoon hot water
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water

Recipe

• 1 position the oven rack in the center of the oven; preheat oven to 350°; butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan.
• 2 in a mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, 2 tablespoons of the cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• 3 in a smaller bowl, combine the milk, butter, vanilla, and espresso mixture; add, along with the pecans, to the dry ingredients and stir until blended.
• 4 scrape the batter (it will be fairly thick) into the prepared pan; smooth the top.
• 5 add brown sugar to a small bowl; using your fingers, break up any large clumps.
• 6 add in the remaining ¼ cup cocoa powder and stir to blend.
• 7 sprinkle the mixture evenly on top of the batter.
• 8 slowly pour the boiling water over the top (don’t stir, just let it stand as is).
• 9 bake the cake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is set.
• 10 cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for about 15 minutes.
• 11 serve the cake warm, spooning it into bowls and drizzling a generous amount of the sauce over the cake (the water sinks to the bottom and mingles with the cocoa powder and brown sugar, forming a chocolate sauce).