Black and White Chocolate Pudding Cake

ingredients

1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar, divided (2/3 cup and 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup sifted, unsweetened cocoa, preferably Dutch-processed, divided (1/4 cup and 1/4 cup)
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup canola or other mild vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup white chocolate, very coarsely chopped, or white chocolate chips (largest size available) or semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup boiling water

directions

1
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 350˚F. Butter an 8” square baking pan and set it aside.
2
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, 2/3 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir to blend, then mix in the milk, oil, vanilla and white chocolate. The batter will feel quite stiff. Spread it in the baking pan.
3
3. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1/4 cup cocoa with the remaining 2/3 cup sugar. Spread this evenly over the batter in the pan and pour the boiling water on top. Do not stir.
4
4. Bake the cake 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top looks crisp and crackled and a cake tester inserted in a cakey area comes out clean. Cool the cake a few minutes, then serve warm, spooned directly from the pan. Top with vanilla ice cream or unsweetened heavy cream.

Carol’s notes:

Very easy to make, batter not quite as stiff as recipe implies. Rich, tastes good, forms a fudge consistency at the bottom but the rest is cakey. Can be a good substitute for lava cake if want to make in one pan. Not quite as rich or “high end” tasting as lava cake though. More homey.