Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake

Fourteen years. Seven hundred sixty-eight posts. One new recipe every single week without missing a week. That number feels worth celebrating.

Riegl Palate turns 14 this week, and every year I like to mark the occasion with chocolate cake. It feels festive, a little indulgent, and entirely appropriate for a birthday. Since I can’t deliver a chocolate cake to each of your homes, sharing one here is the next best thing.

This year’s choice is a Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake, known in Sweden as kladdkaka, which literally translates to ‘sticky cake.’ It’s a fitting name for a dessert with a gooey center, a dense texture, and enough chocolate flavor to make any chocolate lover very happy. Think brownie but in a cake form.

There’s also something wonderfully unfussy about it. The ingredient list is short, just seven ingredients, and the cake is quite easy to make. Browning the butter adds a subtle nutty depth, while dark brown sugar brings a hint of molasses that makes the chocolate taste even richer. You can use either Dutch-processed cocoa (a bit more of an intense chocolate flavor) or natural cocoa works, just be sure it is unsweetened. I used 60% bittersweet chocolate chips, though anything in the 60 to 70% range will work well.

One quick note before you begin: when the sugar and cocoa are first stirred into the browned butter, the mixture will look quite grainy. Don’t panic. Once the eggs are added, the batter smooths out beautifully. Just be sure the melted butter has cooled a bit first so the eggs don’t cook.

The result is fudgy, dense, and not overly sweet. A small slice truly goes a long way, which makes this the ideal cake for serious chocolate people.

Most importantly, thank you for reading, sharing, and bringing Riegl Palate into your kitchens. There’s nothing more meaningful than knowing these recipes are part of your table. Cooking has always been how I connect, and even at a distance, it makes me feel like we’re sharing something together.

Cheers to the art of good eating and to many more years of Riegl Palate!

P.S.  If you aren’t already following Riegl Palate on social media please consider doing so. Check out Riegl Palate on Facebook and Instagram.

Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake

Fudgy chocolate cake

5 from 2 votes

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Course Dessert

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 1-tablespoon pieces
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus more for dusting see Notes
• 1-1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar see Notes
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (3 ounces) bittersweet chocolate chips (60 to 70%)

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Mist a 9-inch springform pan (see Notes) with cooking spray and line the bottom with a round of kitchen parchment.
• In a medium saucepan over medium-high, cook the butter, stirring, until the milk solids at the bottom are browned and the butter has a nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes.
• Whisk in the cocoa and sugar into the browned butter. Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool until barely warm to the touch, about 10 minutes.
• One at a time, whisk the eggs into the cocoa-sugar mixture, followed by the salt and then the flour.
• Add the chocolate chips and stir until evenly distributed.
• Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
• Bake until the edges of the cake spring back when lightly pressed, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then remove the pan sides.
• Serve dusted with cocoa powder.

Notes

• You can use either Dutch-processed cocoa or natural cocoa works, just be sure it is unsweetened.
• You can use light brown sugar in place of the dark brown sugar.
• If you don’t have a 9-inch springform pan, you can use a 9-inch cake pan.

Source:  Variation on a recipe from Milk Street