oh ma lorrdt. This is going to be a goodie. Ok, so after the whole “me going to places down under” (as in australia) and the holiday “end of the season” craziness I have been dropping balls everywhere, and no, not THAT kind of balls. What I mean is that my idea maker has been a bit dry lately and I have lost track of time and space. I guess that’s what happens when you have too much stuff happening at once (and too little booze to compensate).

Anyways, long story short, last weekend I reached a point where I needed to do some sort of recipe to keep my sanity. Obvs it had to include chocolate, and LOTS of it. Cue: self saucing sex..er..chocolate cake!

This self saucing chocolate cake is SO easy to make! It took me less than an hour and the rewards of baking it rippled throughout the weekend. Luckily I got some help from buddy Stefan (a new Vancouver transplant who’s all about shooting food!) to take a few portrait pictures of this handsome chocolatey fella.

So, here’s one wrecking ball of a chocolate recipe for ya!

Ingredients

For the sauce
– 2 cups of boiling water
– 2 teaspoons of instant coffee
– 1/3 cup of sugar
– 1/3 cup of unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder

For the cake
– 3/4 cup of all purpose flour
– 1/4 cup of unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder
– 1/4 teaspoon of salt
– 2 teaspoons of baking powder
– 1 large egg
– 4 tablespoons of unsalted melted butter
– 1/3 cup of sugar
– 1/3 cup of milk
– 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
– Handful of chopped, roasted walnuts

For the creme fraiche
– 1/2 cup of creme fraiche
– Splash of milk
– 2 tablespoons of sugar
– 1 tablespoon of bourbon

Make it!

– Preheat the oven at 350F
– Heat up the water and while that’s going….
– Start making the cake by sifting in a bowl the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Mix them up a little, then add the melted butter, egg, sugar, milk, vanilla, and mix JUST until everything comes together. Fold in walnuts.
– Once the water starts boiling, remove from the stove and mix in the coffee, sugar, and cocoa powder.
– Place your cake batter in a buttered pan, press it down with your fingers so it evenly covers the bottom of the pan. Pour the boiling hot cocoa mix on top of the batter (it’ll look really weird!).
– Place in the oven and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the sides get a bit crusty. Don’t over bake or you’ll dry the sauce!
– For the creme fraiche, simply mix all ingredients and add as much milk as needed to make it nice and drizzly.

Serve at room temperature or right out of the oven and top with the creme fraiche. You can go the extra mile by dusting a bit of cocoa on top OR by adding some chocolate shavings. OH YAAAHH.

That’s it! Easy peasy no? This dessert is SUPER cozy and perfect to nibble late at night watching a movie. Or while doing laundry. Or while doing absolutely nothing. It’s good at any given time, really.

Enjoy!

Credits:
Photography: Stefan Berube
Styling: The Artful Desperado