Only 5 ingredients and a 5 minute batter stand between you and this cake. Gooey, fudgy, sticky, brownie-like with the most intense chocolate flavour, without any melted chocolate. My mind is blown and I think yours will be too!
My sister saw a Swedish Chocolate Cake (Kladdkaka) being made on MasterChef Australia and instantly sent me a Buzzfeed Tasty recipe for it. It sounded incredible! Absolutely basic ingredients and a batter that came together in minutes, leading to the most decadent chocolate cake.
I was sceptical about how much sugar that recipe used though, and reduced it knowing that the crackly crust is largely because of all that sugar. But, once the cake cools and sinks, the crust magically forms on its own! It’s the perfect contrast to the gooey inside, that’s half brownie, half flourless cake. Just so good. My cake took longer than I expected to bake and the batter was thinner than the original recipe made it seem. I went through a lot of the comments on that recipe and realised I wasn’t doing anything wrong and so if you notice these differences while baking this cake, keep in mind that you’re doing just fine!
Dusting the cake with cocoa powder is highly recommended. It cuts through the sweetness and while I didn’t think whipped cream or vanilla ice cream were essential, you do you! The cake is certainly sweeter than I would usually make it, but not cloyingly so, I promise. It’s important not to over-bake because you’ll lose that wonderful soft texture. It might look super soft straight from the oven, but let it cool, let the center sink, let that crackly crust form and that’s the cake at its best. The longer it sets, the better it tastes! The cake doesn’t rise very much because it only has eggs as leaveners, much like this Swedish Visiting Cake so it’s dense and fudgy, in the greatest possible way.
I baked this cake in a cast-iron skillet because it doesn’t need a lot of room to rise. The cake is sticky, so using a lined or very well greased skillet or cake tin is essential. And finally, because it requires nothing fancy, you’re likely to have all the ingredients on hand and so I hope you’ll make this cake soon!
Please read the recipe notes before beginning.
Swedish Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter (115 gms)
- 1 cup caster sugar (190 gms)
- 2 eggs (see notes)
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (60 gms)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder (20 gms)
- Pinch of salt if using unsalted butter
- 2 tbsps cocoa powder to dust on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line an 8" skillet or round cake tin with greased baking paper. The cake is sticky, so I highly recommend using paper for easy removal and slicing. If you don't have it, make sure you grease the skillet or tin very well.
- Melt the butter, making sure it doesn't get boiling hot. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugar and whisk very well until pale and slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Use a balloon whisk here for the best result, or a hand mixer on low speed. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Now sift in the flour, cocoa and salt (if using). Gently fold it all together to combine using a silicone spatula preferably. Finally, pour in the melted butter and stir to get a smooth, not super thick batter.
- Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the surface no longer looks wobbly or liquidy, but is still soft to touch. Don't over-bake the cake or it'll harden too much as it cools.
- Let the cake cool for about an hour at room temperature. The surface will sink and feel crusty. Before diving in, sift the top with 2 tbsps cocoa powder. When you slice it, the inside will be fudgy and gooey! The longer it rests, the more the texture and flavour improves.
- This cake can be stored at room temperature for a day or two. Since it is so soft and gooey, I prefer storing it in the fridge after day one, where it will keep for about a week (the cocoa dusted on top will become a bit wet). Gently reheat as needed. Happy baking!
Notes
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I tried out a cake with the above recipe. The cake was very soft and tasty. Thank you.
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Can I add some kind of alcohol to add more flavor to it.. like baileys or whisky and if yes at what step and how much??
Add it in step 3 and the quantity could be a couple of tablespoons or more, it’s up to you
Can I use oil instead of butter? Pls reply fast as I need to bake this tomorrow.
I don’t recommend it, you’ll lose a lot of flavour and the texture might change too. If you still want to try, check some guides on replacing butter with oil, it varies a bit so I can’t say for certain.
Thanks a lot,turned out great
I really loved this recipe last time I made it and need to remake it eggless.checked out other Kladdkakka recipes but yours is best.can you please test it with aquafaba as there are some kladdkakka recipes with aquafaba but I want to use yours.aquafaba is said to be an amazing substitute
How long should I bake this if am making this in a pressure cooker ?
I don’t have any experience with pressure cooking baking, you might need to look it up!
I baked it with pressure cooker.keep on high flame for 5 mins then on low flame keep checking every 20-30 mins.took bout an hour for me but I’m pretty sure it will vary.only rule is keep on low flame and check after 30 mins,keep checking
Can we replace eggs with something???
They’re crucial to this cake, check the recipe notes
This looks absolutely delicious! I’d like to try it but only have a 9″ pan. Given how thin this cake is, do you think that would work?
Hmm it would be a bit too thin for that size, maybe double the recipe ? Baking time will increase a bit, maybe 10 mins more or so