Chocolate Coffee Fudge Pudding Cake {Recipe}

I've made it no secret that coffee plays a large part in my life and, as much as I try to limit the amount that I consume in a day... I'd pretty much like a cup morning, noon and night.

Would it be too much if I started pouring it into my bowl of cereal? Making my own coffee-based salad dressing? Coffee-butter sandwich, perhaps?

Okay, yes, too much. However, just because those ideas sound slightly unappealing, that doesn't mean that the only way to incorporate coffee into my life is by drinking it out of my mug. In fact, the more that I've browsed recipes in books and online, the more that I've come across mentions of using coffee as a baking ingredient, resulting in a thicker, fudge-like consistency to chocolate.

Chocolate + coffee = my dreams.

Therefore, inspired by a recipe that I found over at Delish, I couldn't wait to brew up a cup of my favorite coffee from Cross Country Cafe and get to work baking it into something delectable.

Chocolate Coffee Fudge Pudding Cake

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup nonfat milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup chocolate chips (could substitute nuts)
¾ cup brown sugar
1⅓ cup hot strong coffee

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Combine milk, egg, oil, and vanilla in a glass measuring cup. Make a well in center of the dry ingredients and gradually pour in the milk mixture, stirring until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

Dissolve brown sugar in coffee; spoon over batter (don't be concerned if the pan looks like it has far too much liquid, much of it will be absorbed and the rest will turn into the pudding).

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes; serve hot or warm.

The aroma of coffee and chocolate filled the air as soon as this cake was out of the oven and, with a large dollop of whip cream, ice cream or frozen yogurt, this is an absolutely delicious dessert.

Or, for a coffee-lover like me, breakfast. Win-win!

Have you ever tried baking with coffee as an ingredient?

As a Cross Country Cafe Ambassador, I have been provided with products in exchange for my continued work with their company and affiliate links are included in the above post. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.