I really wasn’t sure what to call this. To my mind, the base is more of a chocolate truffle or mousse than a brownie, but Matt Tebbutt calls it a brownie, so who am I to object? It is his recipe, after all.
Let me back-track slightly. The idea for this ‘puddle cake’ started to grow when I came across both Matt’s recipe for Espresso and Walnut Brownies and Emily’s recipe for Chocolate-Peanut Butter Marble Cake on the same day last week (I actually found Matt’s brownie recipe whilst browsing cookbooks in the supermarket – it’s in his book, Cooks Country, and is very slightly different from the version I found online). The brownies were introduced as ‘one of the most popular puds on the menu at the restaurant’, whilst in Emily’s recipe I discovered what she describes as ‘the most delicious chocolate frosting in in the world’.
Knowing that we were soon to be visited by chocolate-pudding-loving friends from Bournemouth, I was keen to take advantage of their tastebuds by trying out my germinating idea on them …
To put it simply, I was wondering, “Why not bake these brownies in a springform pan and fill the part where it dipped in the middle with Emily’s frosting?” Okay, it’s hardly the thought of a genius, but this idea of mine just wouldn’t go away. As the weekend approached, I even began to dream of chocolate puddles and molten brownies.
I very nearly missed my opportunity. Even on the Monday morning when O had taken the children out of the house to give me a chance to get things ready, I still wasn’t sure that I would really go ahead and make the cake. This was partly because I was supposed to be making gingersnaps to go with the lemon-meringue ice-cream and poached rhubarb we were having for dessert in the evening, but also because I knew my savoury-toothed husband would be less than pleased to return to the copious amounts of washing-up I knew this cake would generate!
Needless to say, the chocolate brownie puddle cake found a way of coming into existence once the gingersnaps were safely cooling. I don’t think there were even too many dirty pots left by the time O returned, but that may be my guilty conscience putting a glossy spin on the proceedings.
I was pleased that it did grind me down into subservience, though. As I wrote at the beginning of this post, it wasn’t really a brownie as such. But it was certainly chocolate heaven.
Chocolate Brownie Puddle Cake (adapted from a recipe by Matt Tebbett and filled with Emily’s most delicious chocolate frosting)
For the base:
300 g (10 1/2 oz) plain chocolate
150 g (5 1/4 oz) unsalted butter
150 g (5 1/4 oz) light brown muscovado sugar)
4 medium eggs
2 oz raisins soaked in hot coffee
150 g (5 1/4 oz) mascarpone cheese
Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees C. Grease and baseline a 9″ round springform cake pan.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave (I used to do it the first way, but it takes far less time in a microwave – you just need to be careful to stir it frequently and to take it out before all the chocolate has melted completely so the last lumps can melt in the residual heat).
Blend the butter and sugar in a food processor until they are fluffy and pale.
Add the eggs one at a time, whizzing to incorporate.
Drain the raisins and whizz them into the mixture.
Add the mascarpone cheese and whizz to combine.
Pour in the melted chocolate and give the whole thing a final quick whizz to fold everything together.
Scrape into the prepared cake pan and bake in the centre of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes. The centre will be dipped and look gooey, but will feel surprisingly firm and springy when you press it gently.
Leave to cool in the pan on a wire rack (don’t be tempted to speed up the cooling by putting it in the fridge – the texture will change from meltingly smooth to densely fudgy).
To assemble:
When the base has cooled to room temperature, remove the sides of the pan and fill the centre of the cake with a half-quantity of Emily’s most delicious chocolate frosting (or make the full amount of frosting and save the leftovers for something else). Decorate with grated chocolate.
Any leftovers can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days, although the texture will be different (and very delicious too, but in a fudgier way).
amerrierworld.com 
Jeannette
/ May 28, 2009My, you have been busy baking! Your chocolate cake looks so yummy and I love the sound of your lemon meringue ice cream, are you going to put up the recipe for that also? Your guests must have gone home happy!
Kate
/ May 28, 2009My Mum made the lemon meringue ice-cream for us all when we were in Normandy – and it is really quite delicious. We all stole her recipe (thanks, Mum)! I’ll email it to you, Jeannette 🙂 .
Jeannette
/ May 28, 2009OOh, thank you Kate, I’ll look forward to that! I make ice-cream every week since I’ve had my super Cuisinart ice-cream machine!
Melinda
/ May 28, 2009This looks so delicious. That was a good idea you had!
Sue
/ May 28, 2009Yum, Yum and more yum. Great combo of 2 great recipes.
Emily
/ May 29, 2009Wow! This looks incredible!
amerrierworld
/ May 29, 2009It certainly didn’t hang around for long, Melinda!
Thanks, Sue 🙂 Yum, indeed!
Thanks for the frosting recipe, Emily – I agree with all you wrote about it!
Roz
/ May 29, 2009Yes, the guests from Bournemouth departed very happy.
Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer
/ May 29, 2009WOW off the charts decedent looking – this just moved to the top of the must make when the people come over list!!
Anne
/ May 30, 2009Ooh wowee that looks gorgeous!
Lois
/ June 3, 2009What is “plain chocolate”? Unsweetened chocolate?
amerrierworld
/ June 3, 2009That’s good to know, Roz 🙂
Thanks, Cathy – I hope you and your guests enjoy it!
Hi Anne – thanks for dropping in 🙂
Hi Lois – Here in the UK, we typically have a choice between plain (or dark), milk and white chocolate (for example, the different types of Cadbury’s chocolate). The Wikipedia article on types of chocolate describes plain chocolate as chocolate without milk as an additive, and suggests sweet chocolate with a minimum of 35% cocoa solids as a US substitute. I like to use the plain/dark chocolate by Divine Chocolate, which has 70% cocoa solids. I hope that helps 🙂 .
amy
/ June 3, 2009i love to jump in puddles! but damn, i would so wanna eat your puddle cake:)
Aimee
/ June 3, 2009Wow, now I’m super hungry! Love this blend of two dazzling recipes. Bookmarked for sure.
Cynthia
/ June 4, 2009If only I were a chocolate lover…
Deborah
/ June 5, 2009No matter what you call it, it looks delicious!
Brian
/ June 8, 2009Sounds like the perfect answer to The War Office’s craving for things chocolate, I shall have to surprise her with this one, she’ll love it! (The War Office is of course my wife :-). ).
arista
/ June 9, 2009wow! chocolate heaven!!
Gayathri
/ July 6, 2009Hi,
I am from India and live in the US currently. Working away from home, I turned to cooking which is a source of relaxation and creativity. My first first baking attempt was your chocolate brownie puddle cake. It took a lot of effort to wait for the cake to cool down and then put a tong to it. It was heavenly. One flaw was I put in a little too much of chocolate and it was kind of bittersweet. But I was glowing with happiness and loving chocolate in any form..It was treat. Thanks for your great recipes..
Regards,
Gayathri
amerrierworld
/ July 6, 2009That is such a lovely comment, Gayathri – thank you for letting me know about your puddle cake. I feel very moved.
Kitchen Goddess
/ October 29, 2009Whatever you want to call it, it looks fabulous 🙂