Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Raspberry Pudding Cake

Nigella Lawson’s chocolate raspberry pudding cake sits somewhere between a dense chocolate cake and a warm mousse, with sharp raspberries buried inside like garnets in mud. Dark chocolate, coffee and a splash of Chambord make it rich and grown-up. It serves eight and is best eaten warm, about an hour out of the oven.

The recipe is from How to Eat, and Nigella is clear it’s not a firm cake. The texture is deliberately part-pudding, dense but delicate, so the batter goes into the tin alarmingly runny and sets as it cools. The coffee deepens the chocolate without tasting of coffee, and the raspberries cut the richness with a sour-sweet burst.

The one thing to trust is not to bake it to a clean skewer. Nigella says the gunge is the whole point, so you test by the top being firm and slightly cracked, not by a dry centre. Bake it until a skewer comes out clean and you’ve lost the molten, pudding-like middle that makes it what it is.

Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Raspberry Pudding Cake

Recipe by Pinch PerfectCourse: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

580

kcal

Total time

2

hours 

From How to Eat. A rich, part-pudding chocolate cake with raspberries baked through it, deepened with coffee and Chambord, and served warm with cream or crème fraîche.

Ingredients

• 185g self-raising flour

• 30g cocoa powder

• 250g unsalted butter, plus more to grease the tin

• 1 tbsp Chambord

• 95g caster sugar

• 95g light muscovado sugar

• 250g good dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids, broken into squares

• 185ml black coffee and 185ml water, or 2 tsp instant coffee made up with 370ml water

• 2 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten slightly

• 250g raspberries, plus lots more to serve

• approx. ½ tsp icing sugar, to serve

Directions

• Set up the oven: Arrange one shelf in the middle for the cake and one just below it, with a baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any drips. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).
• Prep the tin: Butter a 22-23cm spring-sided cake tin and line the base with baking parchment. Mix the flour and cocoa powder together in a bowl and set aside.
• Melt everything: Put the butter, Chambord, both sugars, chocolate, coffee and water in a thick-bottomed saucepan and stir over low heat until melted and glossily smooth. Take off the heat and let stand a couple of minutes.
• Make the batter: Beat the flour and cocoa mixture into the pan with a spatula or wooden spoon until smooth and glossy, then gradually beat in the eggs. The mixture will be runny; don’t panic and don’t add flour, as the chocolate sets as it cooks and cools.
• Layer with raspberries: Pour about half the mixture into the tin to cover the base by roughly 2cm, scatter over the raspberries, then pour the rest on top, pushing any stray raspberries back under the batter by hand.
• Bake: Bake for 40-45 minutes. Don’t test with a skewer, since you want the gungy middle, not a clean one. It’s ready when the top is firm and slightly cracked. Leave in the tin on a rack for 15 minutes, then remove the sides, keeping the cake on its base.
• Serve: About an hour after it comes out of the oven, dust with a little icing sugar through a tea strainer. Serve with lots of fresh raspberries and Greek yoghurt, whipped cream or crème fraîche.

FAQs

Why is the batter so runny before baking?

That’s exactly right, and Nigella warns you not to panic or add flour. The melted chocolate is what sets the cake as it bakes and cools, so a runny mixture is how you get that dense, pudding-like texture. Adding flour to thicken it would turn a delicate pudding cake into an ordinary heavy sponge.

Why shouldn’t I test it with a skewer?

Because you don’t want a skewer to come out clean, the gungy, molten middle is the whole point of a pudding cake. Instead, judge it by the top being firm and slightly cracked. Bake it until a skewer comes out dry and you’ll have overcooked away the very texture that makes it special.

Why is there coffee in a chocolate cake?

Coffee deepens and intensifies the chocolate flavour without making the cake taste of coffee. It’s a classic trick for making a dark chocolate dessert taste richer and more complex. You won’t detect it as coffee in the finished cake, just a fuller, more grown-up chocolate hit.

What is Chambord, and can I leave it out?

Chambord is a black raspberry liqueur that echoes the fresh raspberries and adds a subtle depth. It’s a single tablespoon, so you can leave it out or swap in another raspberry or orange liqueur if you prefer. The cake still works without it, you’ll just lose a little of that extra fruity resonance.

Why serve it warm, and can I make it ahead?

Nigella says to eat it about an hour out of the oven, at blood heat, when the texture is at its spectacular, molten best. It sets more solid and loses some of that magic once cold. If you have leftovers, wrap in foil and rewarm in the oven, or reheat a slice at a time in the microwave.

What should I serve alongside it?

Lots of extra fresh raspberries are essential, to keep cutting through the richness. Nigella offers Greek yoghurt, whipped double cream or crème fraîche, and the cool, slightly sour options balance the intense chocolate best. A dusting of icing sugar over the cracked top tidies its appearance and is all the decoration it needs.