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If you want a delicious chocolate dessert all for yourself, you’ve got to make this Single Serve Hot Fudge Chocolate Cake! It is a mini moist chocolate cake with a layer of hot fudge which sinks to the bottom as the cake rises, creating a molten lava consistency.
And if it sounds tricky, trust that it is not – this cake is so simple it takes just 10 minutes of work. As a bonus, this cake is also eggless! Basically, a winner all around.
This recipe is inspired by my viral Hot Fudge Chocolate Pudding Cake. It has been tried and loved by hundreds, and many have requested a smaller portion, and so this recipe was birthed.
Read the full blog post below for detailed notes, tips, tricks, photos and videos.
WHAT IS A HOT FUDGE CHOCOLATE CAKE?
A hot fudge chocolate cake, also known as a chocolate pudding cake or a self-saucing chocolate cake, is a chocolate cake with a layer of hot fudge sauce on the bottom. It is made by covering the cake batter in the baking pan with a layer of sugar and cocoa powder and pouring over hot water. As the cake bakes and rises, the hot water dissolves the sugar and cocoa powder and sinks to the bottom. Over time, the water mixture cooks and becomes thicker, making a delicious chocolate sauce.
This cake is a classic because of how simple it is to make. It’s like a molten lava cake without being tricky, and does not need any frosting, buttercream or ganache as the sauce is already in the cake.
PROCESS WITH PHOTOS
The full recipe is provided in detail in the brown recipe card at the bottom of this post, but here is a quick overview of the method with photos that you may found helpful:
To make the cake batter, whisk together all the wet ingredients and the sugar.
Then, sift in all the dry ingredients and fold them in. That’s it – the cake batter is done:
To make the hot fudge, sprinkle over a mixture of sugars and cocoa powder, and finally pour over boiling water:
That’s it! Bake, and serve warm with a scoop of plain whipped cream:
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This recipe makes the perfect amount to bake in a 0.5 qt mini dutch oven. I used this one from Target. Alternatively, you can use a large ramekin like this one or a 5″ cake pan. If you use something with a larger diameter than 5″, make sure to reduce the baking time!
Yes! You can make this cake ahead of time and keep it covered at room temperature for a few hours, or refrigerate for up to 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave when ready to serve.
Yes, you can. However, if you’re making a larger quantity, I recommend following my full size Hot Fudge Chocolate Pudding Cake recipe.
Check out these recipes I’m confident you will love!
Hot Fudge Chocolate Pudding Cake
Single Serve Fudgy Brownie
Single Serve Red Velvet Cake
Single Serve Chocolate Chip Cookie
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Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp full fat plain or greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp boiling water
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (55g)
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour (45g)
- 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/3 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- Pinch of salt
Hot Fudge:
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup boiling water
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F and lightly brush a 0.5qt mini dutch oven (or a 5″ ramekin / cake pan) with butter
- To make the cake, add the oil, yogurt and 2 tbsp boiling water to a bowl, and whisk until combined. Whisk in the sugar
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently fold until the dry ingredients are just combined
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan
- In a separate little bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, brown sugar and cocoa powder for the hot fudge until no lumps remain. Sprinkle this mixture over the cake batter in the pan
- Carefully pour over the 1/3 cup of boiling water on top of the sugar and cocoa mixture
- Transfer the pan to the pre-heated oven and bake for ~20 minutes until the cake looks done on top. If in doubt, lean towards underbaking vs overbaking as you want a good amount of fudge sauce on the bottom
- Serve the cake warm straight from the pan! Optionally, you can scoop some plain, cold whipped cream or ice cream on top
Comments
Kel
made it multiple times and its amazing.
Khadija
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve made this.
Krupa Patel
this recipe is great. thanks so much for sharing… could I make a much bigger one – or better to make individual ramekins?
Dana
Perfect recipe! I used sour cream instead of yogurt because that’s what I had on hand. Calling this single service is a little generous though (which I don’t mind). But I shared this with my two boys (4 and 7) and it was the perfect sweet treat.
Rose
it was good but waaay too much sugar for my taste I reduced the amount but next time I would halve the amount. the cocoa on top did not mix in,worthwhile to mix before pouring on top.
Henrietta
This was THE BEST dessert I’ve ever had. Really satisfied the intense chocolate craving I had. Will make this again
Thanks Zoha 😊
Zoha
Aww thank you SOOO much!!
UA
love this recipe! easy to make and delicious
Zoha
Thank you!
Ams
This was absolutely amazing!! I topped it with ice cream and devoured it. This was the your first recipe I tried and I cannot stop raving about it. Thank you for the amazing recipes. I plan on trying the brownie recipe next and I am confident it would come out perfect ❤️
Rida
hi, can we make this in a microwave? what should be the cooking time?
Zoha
YAY! I am glad you got to try this recipe and hope you love the others, too!
Saman Imtiaz
My chocolate craving was satisfied after I made this, so easy to make and a better version of lava cake 😄
Zoha
That’s a great way of putting it!!