In the world of dessert, nothing illustrates the miracles an oven can perform the way pudding cake does. The fall issue of Sift presents a wide-ranging collection of pudding cake flavors, to surprise and delight. A great way for a beginning (or any) baker to impress, try your hand at some of these unique and comforting treats.

 

Through a clever bit of kitchen magic, pudding cakes create their own sauce as they bake. They're transformed from ordinary cake batter to surprising, saucy delight. You can bake them as one large cake, or in individual dishes. These self-saucing sweets combine the very best parts of cake and pudding in one creative dessert.

pudding cake via @kingarthurflour

Caramel Pear Pudding Cake

Pears, pecans, butterscotch sauce, tender cake. Comforting and elegant, this is a perfect fall dessert. A happy dollop of lightly spiced whipped cream would take this one right over the top.

pudding cake via @kingarthurflour

Raspberry Pudding Cake

An unusual flavor for the genre, fresh berries create their own brightly-flavored sauce. A lightly spiced, tender cake sits on top, creating tasty buried treasure with every spoonful. Any berry you please will do in this recipe, should you decide to branch out and explore.

pudding cake via @kingarthurflour

Gingerbread Pudding Cake

Just the thing for a cold-weather reward, these moist, spicy pudding cakes capture long-cherished dessert flavors. A drizzle of custard sauce or a scoop of vanilla ice cream complete the picture nicely.

Lemon Pudding Cakes


Lemon Pudding Cakes

Every spoonful of this saucy dessert is a delight to lemon lovers. It's tangy, sweet, and buttery: pure happiness in every bite.

pudding cake via @kingarthurflour

Vanilla Bean Pudding Cake

Vanilla brings a head-turning take on these saucy desserts: they're the perfect partner for fresh berries, caramel sauce, or any other flavor you choose to add.

pudding cake via @kingarthurflour

Fudge Pudding Cake

Finally, there will always be a place in our hearts for warm chocolate, and this Fudge Pudding Cake brings it to the table at its best.

We love the magic that happens to this quick stir-together batter that's sprinkled with cocoa and brown sugar, then covered with liquid. Since liquid on top bakes down through the cake, everything stays wonderfully moist. The warm chocolate pudding on the bottom is heavenly, and beautifully set off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Happy, satisfying, warm, saucy desserts. Pudding cakes are the ultimate comfort food, fancy enough for individual desserts, and homey enough to be a spur of the moment indulgence. If you haven't yet, pick up your fall issue of Sift magazine and get in on the magic at your house.

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About Susan Reid

Susan Reid is a chef, baker, teacher, writer, and swimmer. She’s been cooking since her mother drafted her to make appetizers for family dinner parties at the age of 12. Like most liberal arts majors (Bates College), she ran away from home after graduating. After landing in Chicago, she backed into ...
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Comments

Diane Dorothy Smith

November 8, 2016 at 9:33pm

Oops! Skip my second question about the sky blue mini cocottes. Had I read through the all the comments first, I would have realized that I am not the only reader captivated by your choice of bakeware. You've got such excellent style and taste! I'll bet Martha Stewart's crew has already asked you the same question about where you got these, too! :-)
Diane Dorothy Smith

November 8, 2016 at 9:27pm

Chef Reid, could you please briefly explain what tool or technique you used to create the gorgeous whipped cream decoration on top of your lemon pudding? The whipped cream decoration looks like a little white cloud that is shaped like an ocean wave, effortlessly floating above the sky blue mini cocotte. I am so excited to not have to see another bizarre-looking quenelle or rocher plopped on top of or next to every dessert! (I am a culinary student, and I am also working in fine dining.) One more question: Are these sky blue mini cocottes pictured above made by Le Creuset or Staub?
Susan Reid, post author

November 9, 2016 at 2:55pm

So, Diane, the whipped cream you see there was definitely on the soft side of soft peaks; part of what makes it so moist and luscious-looking. I've worked some dessert stations where they forbid you to whip cream by machine - whipping cream by hand just to the point where it will make a mound like that and no more. That's an artful dollop with just a teensy bit of back-of-the-spoon sculpting. Susan
Irene from T.O.

October 24, 2016 at 7:54pm

If somebody wants to cut sugar, do so in the sauce. I never use more than half the sugar that the sauce part calls for. I also make 2X sauce that these recipes give, so that the leftovers really are saucy on the bottom. I am also a 50+ year fan of pudding cake. First thing I learned to bake. You can add any chopped fruit to bottom of pan before batter goes in. And if anybody wants to make the batter ahead, put batter into pan and pan in fridge overnight. Try to have the sauce warm or room temperature (mix but do not refrigerate). Otherwise baking the whole thing from refrigerated takes very much longer.

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