Get ready to enjoy a delicious gluten-free chocolate pudding cake that is oozing with pudding-like fudge and is moist and soft. This tasty cake can be made vegan with simple dairy-free and egg-free swaps. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
I love chocolate, and I love chocolate pudding. When you combine these two decadent desserts into a single dessert, you naturally have something special.
On top of that, this cake is my son’s favorite dessert. I make it for his birthday every year, and I’ve made it every time he comes home from college for a visit. This cake, he says, feels like home.
My soft and gooey gluten-free chocolate pudding cake recipe is inspired by a recipe I found in the Oh She Glows cookbook. The cookbook isn’t gluten-free, per se, but many recipes were easily adapted to be gluten-free.
When you can’t eat gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, due to celiac disease, gluten intolerance, wheat allergy, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, you know the challenges of adapting recipes to be gluten-free—some work; some don’t. This recipe works!
What I love about this recipe is that it’s made with naturally gluten-free ingredients. However, when working with oat flour, it’s essential to look for brands labeled “gluten-free” to avoid the risk of gluten cross-contamination.
Now get ready to make this soft, moist, and rich gluten-free chocolate pudding cake that is oozing with warm, gooey pudding and sweet chocolate notes.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this delicious recipe:
Oat Flour: Oat flour is the gluten-free flour of choice in this recipe. I recommend using gluten-free oat flour or making your own oat flour using gluten-free rolled oats.
Remember, only use “gluten-free” labeled oats to avoid the risk of gluten cross-contamination. To learn more about safely using oats when following a gluten-free diet, read Are Oats Gluten-Free? Unpacking Confusing and Contradictory Information.
Egg: You’ll need one large egg for this recipe. If you’re vegan, you can alternatively use a flax egg. To make a flax egg, combine one tablespoon of flaxseed meal with three tablespoons of warm water. Allow the mixture to gel for five minutes before adding it to your recipe in place of an egg.
Sugar: You’ll, of course, need white granulated sugar to make this sweet pudding cake. You can alternatively use coconut sugar instead of regular sugar if you like.
Cacao Powder: You’ll give this cake its chocolate richness when you add cacao powder to the mix. I use Navitas cacao powder, but any gluten-free cacao powder will work. You could, alternatively, use cocoa powder.
Milk: You’ll need either milk or, preferably, a non-dairy milk alternative like soy milk, almond milk, cashew milk, or coconut milk. I always use cashew milk because it’s creamy and incorporates well in my morning coffee without separating. I always have a carton of it in my fridge.
Chocolate Chips: Semi-sweet chocolate chips add extra chocolate flavor and texture to this pudding cake. If you’re dairy-free, use dairy-free chocolate chips.
Hot Coffee: The rich coffee flavors and aroma are alive and well in this gluten-free chocolate pudding cake. You can brew the hot coffee needed for this recipe by combining one tablespoon of instant coffee granules (decaf or regular) with 1 1/4 cups of hot water. You could, alternatively, just use hot water; however, I think the rich coffee flavor makes this cake taste extra special.
Baking Essentials: You’ll also need key baking ingredients like vanilla extract, baking powder, salt, and vegetable oil. I use avocado oil, but you could also use coconut or another vegetable oil of choice.
How to Make a Gluten-Free Pudding Cake
I can’t wait to show you how easy it is to make this delicious cake.
Step 1: Make Your Flax Egg (optional)
If you’re using a regular egg, you can skip this step. But for my vegan friends, you’ll want to make your flax egg now to allow it time to gel. Again, make a flax egg by combining one tablespoon of flaxseed meal with three tablespoons of warm water. Mix and let it sit for five minutes to gel.
Step 2: Make the Batter
In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients, including the gluten-free oat flour, sugar, cacao powder, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips.
In a second bowl, combine the wet ingredients, including the [non-dairy] milk, oil, and egg (or flax egg). Mix everything until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet batter and mix, by hand, until well combined and you form a chocolate cake batter. Add the batter to a well-greased 8×8″ square baking dish.
Step 3: Add Topping Ingredients
Combine the reserved sugar and cacao in a medium bowl, then sprinkle it on top of the batter. The cake should look like a mess. If it does, you’re on the right track!
Step 4: Pour the Hot Coffee on Top
Pour the hot coffee (or water) on top of the cake. Again, the cake will look like a hot mess; if it does, you’re on the right track!
Step 5: Bake It
Bake the cake for 27-29 minutes in a 375º F preheated oven until the cake is set and bubbly on top. Here’s what this beauty looks like right out of the oven.
Step 6: Cool & Add Powdered Sugar
Allow ample time to cool the cake before lightly dusting it with powdered sugar (optional). Serve and enjoy!
The Result
You’ll wind up with a moist, soft, and tender lava-like chocolate cake that oozes with gooey chocolate pudding.
Enjoy the cake on the same day, or refrigerate and reheat the next day. I enjoy eating leftover cake cold, too. It’s really fantastic however you want to enjoy it.
Related Recipes
Are you a chocolate lover? Try some of the following recipes:
- This chocolate chip applesauce cake is a family favorite recipe from my grandmother, Bubu. (Bubu is also famous on my website for her dill pickles.)
- My chocolate chunk cookies are soft-baked cookies that have extra chocolate chunks in them!
- This Gluten-Free Chocolate Sheet Cake is an old, trusty recipe perfect for birthday parties and celebrations.
- This Almond Flour Chocolate Cake is a popular recipe that is beautiful and delicious.
Gooey Gluten-Free Chocolate Pudding Cake
Equipment
- 2 medium bowls
- 1 8×8" baking pan
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1 ½ cups gluten-free oat flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup cacao powder cocoa powder okay
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips dairy-free okay
- 1 egg (large) or flax egg (see notes)
- ¾ cup non-dairy milk (almond or cashew milk)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil I used avocado oil, but you could use coconut oil or another vegetable oil.
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
Cake Topping
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 tbsp cacao powder cocoa powder okay
- 1 ¼ cups hot coffee or hot water (see notes)
Garnish
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375º F. Lightly grease an 8×8" square baking dish and set it aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the oat flour, sugar, cacao powder, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips.
- In a second medium bowl, combine the milk, oil, vanilla extract, and egg (or flax egg).
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix well using a wooden spoon or spatula until the ingredients are well incorporated. Pour the batter into the greased baking dish.
- In a bowl, combine the remaining ⅓ sugar and 2 tbsp cacao. Evenly sprinkle the mixture on top of the batter. Don't worry; the cake will look messy.
- Pour the hot coffee over the entire cake. Again, don't worry, it will look like a hot mess.
- Place the cake in the oven and bake for 27-29 minutes until the cake is set and bubbling on top. Allow it to cool for a few minutes before digging in. Once cooled, top it with a sprinkle of powdered sugar (optional).
Has anyone tried it with dairy milk and a real egg? I don’t keep flax on hand.
oh my goodness super yummy!! I twist the recipe with a little bit by adding some sour cream, a few unsweetened coconut flakes, and some extra dark chocolate chips, and I used brown sugar instead of white. it worked perfectly.
Yay thanks for sharing. I’ve never heard of cottage pudding!
We learned to make this, although in a full gluten version, in home economics.class in high school in the 1950s. We knew it as “Cottage Pudding”. I’ll definitely have to give it a try.