Pudding Cake

Dessert. Old school.

A lot of the "pudding" that I ate as a kid was not the typical custardy stuff that most people think of. Pudding is a bit of an all purpose word for dessert in some parts of the world, and most of the ones I ate were usually baked, and looked kinda like big sweet dumplings served with a caramel-like sauce.

And then there was the chocolate version. 

Granted, my mom was a fan of all things boxed and so hers was a little more instant than this one. Hers also advertised that no bowl was needed. The packets were emptied and mixed right in the baking dish.

No dishes! I'm in.

Chocolate Pudding Cake

Cake

• 1 c flour
• 5 tbsp cocoa
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/2  butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla

Pudding

• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 5 tbsp cocoa
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1-1/2 c boiling water
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven. Do it now. 350 degrees. (yes, I forgot this time)

Since we're doing this with no bowls, get out a baking pan. My mom used to make the boxed stuff in a corningware casserole dish, so that's what I'm doing. A glass pan would also work nicely.

Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and cinnamon.

Sifting removes lumps not only from cocoa,

but also from baking powder.

Now, the sugar.

Mix, mix, mix.

Okay, so far, I've used the baking pan, and one dry measure, and a measuring spoon. Things used to measure dry stuff can be rinsed and put away and therefore don't count as dishes.

Measure out half a cup of milk, and then drop in blobs of butter until the liquid level rises to 1 cup. This means you've added half a cup of butter.

Microwave this for about 30 seconds until the butter is just about melted. It should finish melting as you stir it. You want it warm, but not hot, since you're going to add the egg to this. And the vanilla.

I actually measured this time.

Beat the liquid until the egg is nicely mixed in, then pour it into the dry stuff.

Stir, stir, stir.

You'll have a lovely dark, glossy, brownie-like batter.

Okay, so since we mixed the liquid in the measuring cup, you're going to have to either get a bowl or wash the cup. I washed the cup, because all that's going into it now is dry stuff, which means I can just rinse it and put it away, and therefore it is washed only once and counts only as one dish.

You have no idea how often I rationalize shit like this.

Now, for the pudding part. More brown sugar, more cocoa, and more cinnamon. Mixed all together in the measuring cup

and then sprinkled over top of the batter.

DO NOT MIX.

A cup and a half of boiling water, with a teaspoon of vanilla in it (wait, does this mean I have to wash it again?? dammit) gets poured over the back of the mixing spoon.

This does two things: one, it removes momentum from the flow of the water so that it sprinkles gently over the batter and topping, and two, it rinses the spoon off.

DO NOT MIX.

I know it looks weird, and I know you want to mix it, and I know you don't believe me that this is going to work.

Ha, totally did.

30 minutes later it comes out of the oven looking like a pan of rich, dark brownies, with hot fudge sauce bubbling all around them.

Freaky.

Tasty.

Chocolatey.

Do you think I should try the caramel version?

Missing My Mazurkas

Back when I lived in Utah, there was a bakery called Great Harvest.  Well, not only did they have fabulous bread, they had one called savory loaf that had artichokes, sundried tomatoes, parmesan… sorry, I digress.  In addition to those fabulous breads, they also had delicious baked treats.  My favorite was something they called mazurka bars.  Basically, it’s a buttery, chewy, oatmeal cookie bar topped with sweet, juicy berries.  Anyway, I doubt they’ll actually give up the details of their recipe, so I did some playing and came up with my own. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 cup blueberries

As always with cookies, make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature.  If you’ve forgotten to pull something out ahead of time, here’s a tip to get you baking right away anyway.  Before you get started, go ahead and turn your oven to 350°.  Put your softened butter into a mixing bowl along with the sugar. 

Cream those together until they’re nice and light and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla.

Mix until the egg is thoroughly incorporated, scraping down the sides at least once. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.  A lot of times I don’t bother doing that with cookies, but because there is such a small amount of flour in this, it’s necessary.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. 

Mix just until combined and stir in the oats.  The dough will be very soft and somewhat sticky.  That’s just how you want it. 

Glop the dough into an 8x8 pan.  Don’t worry about greasing or parchment or anything. 

Spread it around until it’s all the way in the corners and level on top. 

Now here comes the fun part.  Sprinkle all those beautiful berries on top.  Yay colors! 

I know you’re thinking that is way too many berries, but trust me, it’s not.  Bake at 350° for about 40 minutes.  You want the bars to be dry on top and a beautiful golden brown.  I’m telling you, magic happens in the oven. 

Now comes the hard part.  Cool them completely before cutting.  If you don’t, they’ll just fall apart.  With the sweet and tart of the berries, the buttery, chewy base and just a hint of cinnamon, these are to die for.  They’re even worth turning on the oven in the summer. 

What special treat does your local bakery make that you just can’t pass up?