Get ready for a fudgy, soft, and delicious chocolate pudding cake that is gluten, egg, and dairy free. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
I love chocolate. I love pudding. So naturally, if you combine these two chocolatey desserts into one single dessert, you’ll most certainly have something special. Right?
This recipe is inspired by a pudding cake recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks, Oh She Glows, by Angela Liddon. (Please note Angela is not a dedicated gluten-free blogger, so not all her recipes are gluten free.)
Ingredients for Pudding Cake
To make this recipe, you’ll need a few key ingredients:
Oat Flour:Â Oat flour is the gluten-free flour of choice in this recipe. I recommend using gluten-free oat flour from Bob’s Red Mill or making your own oat flour using gluten-free rolled oats. Remember, only use gluten-free oats for this recipe.
Flaxseeds:Â Flaxseeds make an excellent egg alternative and give this dish added texture, moisture, and healthy fats. Bob’s Red Mill also makes flaxseeds you can use in this recipe.
Sugar:Â You’ll need sugar to make this sweet pudding cake. You can use coconut sugar as Angela instructs in her recipe or swap out coconut sugar and use regular sugar instead, as I do.
Cocoa Powder:Â 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 just fine.
Non-Dairy Milk:Â To make this cake dairy-free, use a non-dairy milk alternative like soy, almond, cashew, or coconut milk.
Chocolate Chips:Â To get that ooey, rich chocolate pudding texture, you’ll want to be sure to add chocolate chips to the mix. Keep it dairy-free when you use Enjoy Life chocolate chips.
Coffee: The rich coffee flavors and aroma are alive and well in this gluten-free chocolate pudding cake. I use Mount Hagen instant coffee when I make this recipe. Use decaf if you prefer.
Of course, you need some key baking ingredients like vanilla extract, baking powder, oil, salt, etc.
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
Make the flax egg by combining 1 tbsp of flaxseeds with 3 tbsp of water and allowing them time, about 5 minutes, to gel together. Alternatively, if you’re not worried about if the recipe is vegan, you can use a regular egg.
Step 2: Combine the Dry Ingredients
Next, combine the dry ingredients, including the oat flour, sugar, cacao powder, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips, in one bowl.
Step 3: Combine Wet Ingredients
In a second bowl, combine the wet ingredients including the non-dairy milk, oil, and flax egg. Mix everything until well combined. Add the batter to an 8×8″ square baking dish.
Step 4: Add Topping Ingredients
On top of the batter, sprinkle the remaining sugar and cocoa powder.
Step 5: Add Hot Coffee Mixture
Next, pour the hot coffee mixture over the cake. The cake will look like a hot mess, but trust me, it works and this is how the pudding will form in the cake.
Step 6: Bake
Bake the cake for 27-30 minutes until the cake is set and bubbly on top. Here’s what this beauty looks like right out of the oven.
Step 7:Â Cool & Add Powdered Sugar
Allow the cake time to cool before adding a light dusting of powdered sugar on top, if desired. Dig in!
The end result is a soft lava-like cake that oozes with chocolate pudding. I love it right out of the oven, but it tastes great even after a few days in the fridge.Â
Related Recipes
Are you a chocolate lover? Try some of the following recipes too.
- Chocolate chip applesauce cake is a family favorite recipe from my grandmother, Bubu. (Bubu is also famous on this blog for her dill pickles.)
- Chocolate chunk cookies are soft-baked cookies that have extra chocolate chunks in them – yum!
- Devil’s Food Cake gives new meaning to death by chocolate.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Pudding Cake
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 1.5 cups gluten-free oat flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup cacao powder
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/3 cup non-dairy chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup non-dairy milk (almond or cashew milk)
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
Cake Topping
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1.25 cups hot water or coffee decaf ok
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º F. Lightly grease an 8×8 square baking dish and set aside.
- Make the flax egg by combining flaxseeds with three tablespoons of water (Alternatively, you can use an egg.) Mix the flax and water together and set the mixture aside for five minutes until it turns into gel.
- In a large bowl, combine the oat flour, sugar, cacao powder, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips.
- In a second bowl, combine the milk, oil, vanilla extract, and flax egg.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix well by hand until the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Add the batter to the greased baking dish, then evenly sprinkle the top of the batter with the reserved 1/3 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of cacao powder.
- Pour the hot water or coffee mixture over the entire cake. Don't worry, it will look like a hot mess but it's fine.
- Bake the cake for 27-30 minutes until the cake is set and bubbling on top. Allow it to cool for a few minutes before digging in. Once cooled, you can 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.