Chocolate Pudding Cake

Do you like chocolate?  Do you like cake?  Do you like pudding?  Do you like ganache?  Assuming your answer to all those questions is “yes” (as it should be), then you’ll LOVE me because I’m giving you a recipe that contains all those things!

I’ve been inspired by some recipes lately (that aren’t necessarily healthy), so I combined elements from all of them as an experiment of sorts.  What resulted was this chocolate cake held together by chocolate pudding and topped with chocolate ganache-like frosting.  This Brooklyn Blackout Cake from Half Baked Harvest is what inspired the pudding layer idea.  I wanted a deeply dark chocolate cake like the author’s, but that didn’t quite happen.  We’ll work on that later.  The chocolate cake layers that I came up with have an interesting ingredient: mayonnaise.  For the longest time I’ve wanted to use mayonnaise for moisture in a cake, so I decided that while I was experimenting I might as well go all the way.  It worked!  I added some coffee for depth of flavor, to set off the chocolate.  The cake layers turned out well.  They’re quite moist, and remind me a lot of my fudgy chocolate layer cake recipe that uses cauliflower for moisture.  This cake recipe doesn’t include vegetables, though.  Bo-ring.  I dedicate this one to all you “safe” people out there that would never try a cauliflower cake.  Haha…

If I had to rate this cake against my Basic Chocolate Layer Cake (that uses zucchini), I would say that the Basic Chocolate Layer Cake would win by a smidgen.  This is a good option if you don’t want vegetables in your cake, though.  You could easily use the Basic Chocolate Layer Cake in this chocolate pudding cake recipe if you like.

Like most low-carb cakes, this pudding cake gets better and better the longer it sits in the fridge.  The pudding and cake layers come together into a moist, gooey, chocolatey wall of…well, chocolate.  Pour some decadent ganache-like frosting over the top, and…wait, did I tell you about the ganache yet?  No?  Keep scrolling…

The frosting on this cake was also an experiment, this time inspired by the frosting on these brownies over at Amy’s Healthy Baking.  I thought that the idea of a ganache-like frosting using Greek yogurt was really intriguing, so I tried it.  I could taste the Greek yogurt.  It left a tang that I didn’t care for, so I took pictures of the cake as-is and retested the ganache.  It is now perfected and absolutely delicious, but it will look just a little different from what you see on the cake in this post.  The ganache recipe I’m sharing here will be a little thinner (you can adjust the thickness according to how much almond milk you add).  The ganache frosting/glaze tops off this cake perfectly.

Sigh…I just love chocolate experiments.

This cake is very dense and rich.  You may wish to add more sweetener.  I like my chocolate stuff dark, and I usually err on the side of less sweetener rather than more anyway.  If you find that the cake needs to be sweeter, just serve it with some healthy homemade vanilla ice cream and it should be just right!

Psst…are you following me on Pinterest?  Check out my Desserts board here.  You can pin this recipe by clicking the “pin-it” that appears when you hover over any of the recipes in this post, or you can click here to snag my official pin.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Chocolate Pudding Cake

 

Author:

Briana Thomas

Serves: 10-14 servings

Print

 

Low-carb, Sugar-free, THM:S, Gluten and peanut free if using non-contaminated ingredients - Feel free to substitute your favorite sugar-free, low-carb chocolate cake and frosting recipes, if you like. Feel free to adjust sweetness levels to your taste.

Ingredients

Cake layers:

• ½ cup strong brewed coffee
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ cup egg whites
• ¼ cup sour cream
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tsp. imitation vanilla flavoring
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• ½ cup store-bought coconut flour
• ⅓ cup ground golden flax (almond flour could probably be substituted)
• ⅓ cup oat fiber (use gluten free if necessary)
• ¼ tsp. xanthan gum
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 6 doonks THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder (a doonk is 1/32 tsp.)
• 6 packets Truvia (4½ tsp. or 2¼ tsp. THM Sweet Blend)

Pudding:

• ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tsp. gelatin, such as Knox brand (add an extra ¼ tsp. if using beef gelatin, such as Great Lakes brand or THM Just Gelatin)
• Rounded ⅓ cup cottage cheese
• ½ cup water
• ½ tsp. glucomannan
• 2 doonks THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder
• 3 packets Truvia (2¼ tsp. Truvia, or 1⅛ tsp. THM Sweet Blend)
• 2 T cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. imitation vanilla flavoring
• Scant ⅛ tsp. salt
• 1 T oat fiber (use gluten free if necessary)

Ganache frosting/glaze:

• 2½ oz. unsweetened baker's chocolate
• 2 T salted butter
• 2 T refined coconut oil
• ⅛ tsp. salt
• 3-4 tsp. Truvia, powdered (or 1½ - 2 tsp. THM Sweet Blend, powdered)
• 6-8 T unsweetened almond milk, divided (I'm guessing you'll want less rather than more almond milk for a thicker frosting)

Instructions

1. *Be sure to measure flours correctly by spooning the flour into a measuring cup and leveling off with a knife.
2. First, make the cake layers. In a mixing bowl, beat the liquid ingredients together until well-combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. Add wet to dry and mix thoroughly (batter will be thick). Divide among 3 well-greased 9-inch cake pans and smooth out (a moistened offset spatula works well for this). Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly *and* the middles aren't soggy. It's better to leave this under rather than over-baked, though. Immediately transfer the cake layers to wire racks to cool. Refrigerate until chilled completely.
3. Make the pudding. Boil the unsweetened almond milk, then stir in the gelatin. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool a bit. Blend all ingredients, including the gelatin mixture, together until smooth(a Ninja single-serve cup works perfectly). Transfer to a bowl or container and refrigerate for several hours or until firm.
4. Make the frosting. In the microwave, heat the chocolate, butter, and coconut oil together on "defrost" in small intervals, stirring frequently until everything is melted. Add the sweetener, salt, and 4 T of almond milk. Whisk. If it's separated, don't worry. Add another 2 T of almond milk and whisk again until everything comes together and is smooth. Add 2 more T of almond milk if desired for a thinner glaze. Set the frosting aside at room temperature until you're ready to assemble the cake.
5. When the cake layers are chilled and the pudding is firm, assemble the cake. Place one layer on a cake stand, top it with half of the pudding, add another cake layer, add the rest of the pudding, add another cake layer, top with the frosting. Refrigerate overnight for best results. Serves 10-14.

Notes

Feel free to adjust the sweetener levels to your own personal taste. I've found that chocolate recipes taste best with a blend of sweeteners or with granulated sweeteners (i.e. do not just use stevia).
Do not attempt to substitute for the flours unless you know what you're doing. Coconut flour and oat fiber can be finicky and soak up much more liquid than low-carb flours such as almond flour.
For the pudding, be sure to use a gelatin that actually gels (like Knox brand, which can be found at your local grocery store or bulk food store).

3.5.3208

Suggested products:

• Ninja blender
• Hershey Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• Coconut flour
• Oat Fiber (click here for a gluten-free option)
• Xanthan Gum
• THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder and Sweet Blend can be purchased at the Trim Healthy Mama online store.
• Truvia
• Unflavored gelatin
• Glucomannan

You may also enjoy:

Strawberry Pudding Cake Basic Chocolate Layer Cake Fudgy Chocolate Layer Cake Chocolate Ganache Frosting/Glaze