This chocolate sponge cake creates its own rich, fudgy sauce while baking, making it the ultimate gooey pudding.
It’s not overly sweet, but deeply chocolatey, using olive oil for a rich flavor and perfectly moist texture.
This dessert is egg-free and can be made without dairy or gluten, perfect for a quick and easy midweek treat! And if you haven’t tried olive oil with ice cream yet, now’s the time—it’s the perfect topping for this pudding.
Dark Chocolate Olive Oil Pudding
Ingredients
Sponge:
- 2 cups self-raising flour or gluten-free flour
- 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cups soy milk + 1 teaspoon vinegar or dairy-free buttermilk
- 1/2 cup yogurt dairy-free or 5-10% fat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Pinch of salt
Topping:
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 6 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).
- Lightly grease a square baking pan (approximately 22cm or 8.5 inches).
- Mix together soy milk and vinegar; set aside to thicken (this substitutes for dairy buttermilk).
- Mix in the remaining wet ingredients: yogurt and olive oil.
- Sift in the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- Gently mix until just combined.
- Pour the cake mixture into the greased baking pan.
- Sprinkle the light brown sugar and cocoa powder over the cake batter.
- Carefully pour the boiling water over the back of a spoon onto the pudding (this prevents the batter from splitting).
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center is almost set.
- Allow to cool slightly before serving with ice cream and an extra drizzle of olive oil.