Chocolate Eclipse

Submitted by Courtly

"This recipe is the best chocolate pudding cake I have found. It is from Mollie Katzen."

 

• Ready In: 55mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Yields: 1 nine x thirteen pan

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1⁄2 cups unbleached flour
• 2 1⁄4 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
• 1⁄2 cup unsweetened cocoa (plus 2 tbl)
• 2 1⁄2 cups boiling water

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
3. Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate together in a double boiler over hot water.
4. In the meantime, heat buttermilk gently in a saucepan until just a little warmer than body temperature.
5. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, 1 cup of the brown, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
6. Mix well, using your hands if necessary to break up any lumps to achieve a uniform mixture.
7. Stir in chocolate chips, if using.
8. Pour the butter/chocolate mixture into buttermilk.
9. add vanilla and then pour into the dry ingredients.
10. Stir until well combined.
11. Spread into prepared pan.
12. Combine remaining 1 1/4 cups of brown sugar with unsweetened cocoa in a small bowl.
13. Sprinkle this over the batter in the pan as evenly as possible.
14. Next, pour boiling water gently and evenly over the sugar/cocoa mixture; do NOT stir.
15. Place the pan immediately into the preheated oven.
16. Bake for 30- 35 minutes, or until the center feels firm to the touch.
17. Watch carefully, as it tends to over brown around the edges.
18. Cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
19. Best cooled for 2 hours.
20. The finished result is a cake with a fudgy sauce hidden underneath.
21. When serving, invert the cake so that the fudgy sauce becomes a topping.
22. Serve with vanilla ice cream, creme fraiche or whipped cream.

Reviews

[arriba]

You are so right--this is a winner! Easy and good--deep chocolate flavor. Def. a keeper for me!

 

[Caryn]

Chocolate comfort food in a 9x13-inch pan! The pudding cake is so moist and full of chocolate flavor with the lovely bonus of a chocolate fudge sauce. I used cultured whole buttermilk and one cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (listed as optional but don't leave them out). Each serving was topped off with vanilla bean ice-cream, and everyone was in chocolate heaven! Great recipe!

 

[K's]

I hate being the one to give low ratings, but we did not care for this recipe at all. The brown sugar was the most dominant flavor of all and we could hardly taste the chocolate. I wish this would've worked out, since I've been looking for a really good chocolate pudding cake for a long time, but I was very disappointed with this recipe because of the overpowering brown sugar flavor. I will not be making this one again, sorry.

 

[Lightly Toasted]

mmmmmm... this was fabulous. A huge hit with my extended family, all of whom are very discriminating about chocolate. Very quick and easy to make. Served with a rich vanilla bean ice cream.

 

[Iron Bloomers]

WOW!..... WOW!..... This is elegant, fantastic, easy & sooooooooooo gooood! What eles can I add? Served with French Vanilla Ice Cream it makes the simpliest meals become first class..Thanks for shareing this masterpiece...