Self-Saucing Chocolate Fudge Cake
This cake does something a bit magic in the oven. Sprinkle a sugar and cocoa mixture over the batter, pour boiling water on top, don’t touch it, and it bakes into a proper fudge sauce underneath.
The key is pulling it out of the oven as soon as the centre is almost set, not fully firm. This is meant to have a soft, saucy middle, and overbaking will cook away the sauce you worked for.
Serve it warm with strawberries and ice cream, and don’t forget to spoon that fudge sauce over the top. It’s best eaten fairly soon after baking, while the sauce is still silky.
Self-Saucing Chocolate Fudge Cake
DESSERT · BAKING · EASY
A proper fudge sauce, baked right in
Not stirring the boiling water into the batter is the key step. It needs to sit undisturbed on top so it can sink down and form the sauce layer underneath as it bakes.
Pulling it as soon as the centre is almost set, rather than waiting for it to look fully firm, is what keeps that soft, saucy middle intact instead of baking it away.
It's genuinely simple to make, no complicated technique required, but it looks and tastes like something a lot more impressive.
Self-Saucing Chocolate Fudge Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 150 g Plain Flour All Purpose
- 165 g Caster Sugar Fine
- 20 g Cocoa Powder
- 8 g Baking Powder
- 2.5 g Sea Salt Flakes
- 170 g Full Fat Milk
- 70 g Unsalted Butter
- 5 g Vanilla Extract
- 150 g White Chocolate Chips Optional
Chocolate Fudge Sauce
- 105 g Caster Sugar Fine
- 85 g Brown Sugar
- 20 g Cocoa Powder
- 310 g Boiling Water
To Serve
- Strawberries Sliced
- Ice Cream To Serve
- Icing Sugar Garnish
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 26cm x 12cm baking dish with melted butter.
- To make the cake batter, add all of the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix to combine. Once mixed, add the wet ingredients and whisk together until fully incorporated and smooth. Add the white chocolate chips (if using), then transfer the batter to the greased baking dish.
- In another mixing bowl, combine the caster sugar, brown sugar and cocoa powder, and mix well. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the cake batter, completely covering the top.
- Carefully pour the boiling water over the top of the cake and fudge mixture. Don't stir or mix it.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the centre is almost set. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Serve in bowls with freshly sliced strawberries and ice cream. Be sure to spoon over the warm chocolate fudge sauce and dust with icing sugar. Dig in.
Seriously easy and delicious recipe. It’s a winner.
Thank you, Adam. So glad you enjoyed this one.