Eileen's Mother-in-Law Spite Cake (Chocolate Pudding Cake)

Submitted by Eileen Murphy, Executive Director of Development

My Story

My husband grew up eating chocolate pudding cake, and he raved about it from our first date. During one of our visits with his family, I asked his mom for the recipe, and she said, “It’s a family recipe. I wouldn’t share it with anyone who isn’t family.” I was a bit stunned, but I said, “understood” and decided I wouldn’t bring it up again. We married a couple of years later, and my new mother-in-law gave me her pie crust recipe, but I was too proud to ask about chocolate pudding cake.

Soon after, I made Mollie Katzen’s Eclipse Cake from "Still Life with Menu" for a dinner party. When I served it, my husband said, “my mom gave you the recipe?” So I learned, this was chocolate pudding cake!

This recipe, though, is much richer than the Depression-era version that Mike’s mom fixed. My in-laws (siblings, too) now prefer this to their family’s recipe, which is where the spite in the name comes in.

Recipe

15 minutes to prepare, 35 minutes to bake

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 ounces (2 squares) unsweetened chocolate 2 cups buttermilk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2-1/2 cups unbleached white flour 2-1/4 cups (packed) brown sugar 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa 2-1/2 cups boiling water

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.

2. Melt the butter and chocolate together.

3. In a separate saucepan, heat buttermilk gently until just a little warmer than body temperature (don't boil or cook it). Remove from heat, and combine with chocolate mixture and vanilla.

4. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, 1 cup of the brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well (using a whisk) to break up any little lumps of brown sugar, making as uniform a mixture as possible. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Pour in the wet ingredients, and stir until well combined. Spread into the prepared pan.

6. Combine the remaining 1-1/4 cups brown sugar with the unsweetened cocoa in a small bowl. Sprinkle this mixture as evenly as possible over the top of the batter.

7. Pour on the boiling water. It will look terrible, and you will not believe you are actually doing this, but try to persevere.

8. Place immediately in the preheated oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the center is firm to the touch.

9. Cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Invert each serving on a plate so that the fudge sauce on the bottom becomes a topping. Serve hot or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

Credits: Mollie Katzen; alexandracooks.com