Chocolate pudding cake, sans wheat

I am now going to hand down an ancient family recipe that has been ritually served on many a birthday and holiday. This recipe is wonderfully easy, and for those of us who are gluten-free but don’t want to spend lots of time measuring out four different kinds of flour, this cake is a good alternative.

I used these two brands my first time making the cake by myself, and they worked great.

Also, if well-meaning family members have surprised you with gluten-free cake mixes, here is a way to use them! I’ve found that most gluten-free baking mixes tend to rely on rice flour, and while it has a good flavor, produces dry and crumbly baked goods. In this recipe, the pudding balances out the dryness, giving a good, moist cake.

A few things to keep in mind: you will need “cook and serve pudding” (which is made without gelatin!) not the normal kind of pudding. Don’t worry about the other ingredients the cake mix calls for— you won’t need them. Just use the cake mix. Last, your mixing bowl will need to be a good ceramic one, as you’ll be pouring boiling hot chocolate into it.

This recipe is very easy to make, and the result is between cake and brownies. Also: it transports very easily.

Name brands.

Ingredients:

1 package chocolate gluten-free cake mix (15 oz)

cook and serve pudding

6 oz. chocolate chips (1/2 bag

3 oz. chopped walnuts (optional)

Cake mix, waiting for pudding to be added.

Directions

1. Grease the pan with butter and preheat the oven, according to the directions on the cake package.
2. Cook the pudding according to the package directions— boiling on the stovetop.
3. When at a full boil, turn the heat down, and add pudding to the cake mix— without the other ingredients. (ie, no eggs, extra milk.)

   

   Stirring pudding into cake mix.

4. Spread the chocolately mixture into the pan, and carefully smooth out the batter.

   

   Cake, waiting to be topped with walnuts and chocolate chips, and baked.

5. Sprinkle liberally with walnuts (or other nut of your choice) and chocolate chips.
6. Bake the cake according to the cake directions from your box.
7. When a toothpick poked in the middle comes out clean, it’s done.

Voila! Easy chocolate cake.

• Servings: 8-10
• Time: about 45 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

1 package chocolate gluten-free cake mix (15 oz)

cook and serve pudding

6 oz. chocolate chips (1/2 bag

3 oz. chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Grease the pan with butter and preheat the oven, according to the directions on the cake package.
2. Cook the pudding according to the package directions— boiling on the stovetop.
3. When at a full boil, turn the heat down, and add pudding to the cake mix— without the other ingredients. (ie, no eggs, extra milk.)
4. Spread the chocolately mixture into the pan, and carefully smooth out the batter.
5. Sprinkle liberally with walnuts (or other nut of your choice) and chocolate chips.
6. Bake the cake according to the cake directions from your box.
7. When a toothpick poked in the middle comes out clean, it’s done.