Hot Chocolate Cake

Sometimes you want chocolate cake for dessert but without all of the hassle or an entire cake. Here it is. This cake has a short prep time of maybe 10 minutes then a bake time of 30-35 minutes. In under an hour you can have four individual servings of cake made with ingredients you probably have on hand. This is called a Hot Chocolate Cake because it's made with hot cocoa mix and topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with cocoa.

I baked them in my mini pie dishes and sprayed the dishes with non-stick spray and the edges had a hint of crisp to them. It was a lovely contrast to the fluffy, soft, and warm chocolaty interior of the cake. Any mini pie dish or ramekin that holds about 1 cup (8 oz.) will work beautifully with this recipe. The original recipe was made in 8 ounce Mason jars. I have included a recipe for whipped cream although you can use store bought of course. Sometimes the taste of fresh whipped cream adds tremendously to the indulgence. Happy Baking!

Hot Chocolate Cake
Yield: Four 8-ounce cakes

Ingredients:
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons  all-purpose flour
1 cups granulated sugar
¼ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons hot-chocolate mix
1 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup buttermilk
1 eggs
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup coffee, at room temperature
whipped cream

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 300°. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, hot-chocolate mix, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, vanilla extract, olive oil and coffee.
3. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, a third at a time, whisking to incorporate between each addition.
4. Arrange four 8-ounce ramekins on a sheet tray and carefully pour ½ cup batter into each ramekin. Place the tray in the oven and bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven. Top each cake with the whipped cream and dust with cocoa powder. Serve warm.

Whipped Cream

Ingredients:
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Directions:
1. Whip cream in mixer until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Whip until stiff peaks form. Do not over mix or you will have a sweet vanilla butter :).



Printable Recipe


Recipe adapted from Tasting Table