Friday Pieday :: Fudgey Pudding Cake (vegan/gf)

This week for Friday Pieday Josie and Zeb wanted to help with my date night in prep for Dinner at Eight and they were excited about the fudgey chocolate pudding cake I had picked out for dessert. I thought it would be the perfect thing to bake together this week even though it wasn't technically a pie - it was fun for them to get to help with mommy and daddy's special evening together and this healthy version of a pudding cake was so fun to make with them!

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks ever - Oh She Glows, Angela Liddon is basically my hero and her vegan recipes are always a hit around here! This pudding cake called for all kinds of healthy stuff like oat four and almond milk and raw cocoa powder. There is a little bit of coconut sugar in the recipe but otherwise nothing guilty going into this dessert including flax eggs and coconut oil.

Josie was a huge help of course and I even caught her licking the bowl - she loves chocolate just as much as her mama that is for sure!

The recipe calls for hot coffee and oh that sounds so divine to me but my family isn't as big on the flavor of coffee as I am so we opted to use the hot water instead. I have a feeling the addition of the coffee would've taken this one up a few more notches in the yum factor!

While the cake cooked the kids helped me set up all of the candles and lights for the evenings date - it was really fun to do together and since I was surprising Chris they couldn't wait to see his face when he came home to the romantic scene.

I let all four of the kids taste the cake too before dinner and there were certainly no complaints on this one. It did have a distinct oat flavor and you cold tell it wasn't laced with tons of butter or eggs but it was really yummy and so guilt free - will be making it again for sure!

I will be back tomorrow with pictures from our fun date night in - hope you have a wonderful Friday! xo

Fudgey Mocha Pudding Cake from the Oh She Glows cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 T ground flaxseed
1.5 cups oat flour (I ground mine from rolled oats in the vitamix)
3/4 cup plus 1/3 cup of coconut or granulated sugar
1/3 plus 2 T of raw cocoa powder
1/3 cup chocolate chips
3/4 tsp sea salt
1.5 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup almond milk
2 T coconut oil, melted
1.5 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup of hot decaf coffee or hot water

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease an 8-inch (2-L) square glass baking dish.

In a small bowl, whisk the flaxseed and 3 tablespoons (45 mL) water together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the oat flour, 3⁄4 cup (175 mL) of the sugar, 1⁄3 cup (75 mL) of the cocoa powder, and the chocolate chips, salt, and baking powder.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flaxseed mixture, almond milk, oil, and vanilla. 

Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth out the top evenly with a spoon.

In a small bowl or mug, combine the remaining 1⁄3 cup (75 mL) sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons (30 mL) cocoa powder. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter in the baking dish.

Slowly pour the hot coffee over the cocoa powder mixture, ensuring that the coffee completely covers the mixture. The cake will now look like a complete disaster, but this is normal. Promise.

Bake for 27 to 33 minutes, uncovered, until the cake is semi-firm on top but bubbly and gooey around the edges.

Let the cake cool for 5 to 10 minutes before digging in (that's if you can wait that long!). If desired, serve with vegan ice cream, along with a dusting of confectioners' sugar and toasted walnuts on top. 

Tip: For a nut-free option, swap the almond milk for a nut-free non-dairy milk (such as coconut milk) and leave out the optional walnuts. For a soy-free option, use soy-free non-dairy chocolate, such as Enjoy Life brand.