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This Warm Chocolate Fudge Skillet Cake is my go-to easy cake that rivals all others. A super simple flourless chocolate cake made with eggs, cocoa powder, vanilla, a splash of bourbon, and sweet chocolate chunks. All baked together until puffed on top and warm and gooey in the center. The cake gets baked inside flaky puff pastry for a delicious and unique twist. This rich cake is warm, fudgy, and almost molten-like, while the outside is flaky and delicious. And even better when served with ice cream on top. It’s the perfect Mother’s Day cake…or maybe just your Friday night dessert!
I really do love each and every recipe I share with you guys, but there are some that I just really, really love. This cake is one of them. It started out as a simple flourless cake concept, but while testing, it turned into so much more.
With Mother’s Day on Sunday, I wanted to share a dessert that I knew my mom would LOVE. I’ve been really into fruit recipes lately, so chocolate has kind of taken a back seat. We all know how my mom feels about chocolate. She’s what you call a chocoholic. And while she’s really tried to cut sugar out of her daily life (except for her morning and evening cacao/cocoa sessions), there are some things she just can’t resist.
Homemade chocolate cake is one of those sweets she can never turn down. And if it’s warm? While geez, all bets are definitely off. She might even have a second slice.
I’ve really been wanting to share a flourless chocolate cake with you guys for a while. But I just couldn’t quite figure out a way to make my flourless cake extra special. There are a lot of basic flourless cakes out there. And most sound totally delicious, but I wanted to share something new.
I’ve had an idea in my head for a while now. But before I started testing this cake, I gave it another thought. Hmm, can cake have a crust? So I tested my cake recipe concept inside of an easy puff pastry crust, and wow, it worked. And just in time for Mother’s Day. All I can say is that I’m so excited!
In Asher’s words, “this cake is unreal….delish”.
Let’s talk details
If you’ve ever made a flourless cake, you probably know that most are really pretty simple. And that’s the cake we are making today, just in a skillet.
You’ll want to start with the pastry. I use a sheet of thawed frozen puff pastry. I take an eight-inch skillet, butter it, then fit the pastry inside and pre-bake it. This ensures that the pastry gets a little cooked before adding in the cake.
The secret here is to use a good heavy-duty skillet, preferably cast iron. It will give you the flakiest, butteriest pastry. That said, if you don’t own a skillet to bake this in, use an eight or nine-inch baking pan. Both options work, but I prefer the skillet!
While the pastry is baking, make the cake. It’s easy and you don’t even need a mixer. What you do need are eggs, a little cocoa powder, sugar, instant coffee, and butter. Plenty of butter for this one!
Then simply whisk it all together and done. I do like to brown the butter first for added flavor, but it’s also not necessary if you’re short on time.
The two ingredients I love to add are bourbon and vanilla. If you have vanilla beans, that’s even better. The rich bourbon really helps to highlight all the chocolate within the recipe. And something about the combination of vanilla, bourbon, and chocolate is just magical.
And lastly, don’t skip out on those chocolate chunks (or chips). You’ll fold them into the batter just before baking. The chunks help to create that warm and gooey center that everyone will find delicious.
When the cake comes out of the oven it will be pretty proofed up on top and wiggly in the center. But as the cake cools, it will set up a bit.
Wait a handful of minutes before diving in. Then cut and serve this skillet cake while still warm and gooey…with ice cream on top. CRAZY DELICIOUS!
My suggestion…make this for Mom on Sunday, but give it a test run tonight. Trust me, you’ll be very happy you did. Also? If you have siblings, mom will love you most if you make this for her…a little dramatic, but honestly probably true.
This cake really is that good!
Looking for other sweets to serve mom this weekend? Try these:
Old Fashioned Chocolate Cream Pie
Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Custard Cake
Vintage Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
Lastly, if you make this Warm Chocolate Fudge Skillet Cake be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Warm Chocolate Fudge Skillet Cake.
Servings: 10
Calories Per Serving: 491 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 5 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
- 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
- ice cream, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375° F.2. Butter an 8-10 inch skillet. Fit the puff pastry into the skillet, allow the sides to overhang. Lightly prick the bottom of the dough with a fork. Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights, beans, or rice. 3. Bake until the pastry is set, 15 minutes. Remove pie weights, sprinkle the pastry with 1 tablespoon sugar and continue baking until the pastry is golden, 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Reduce the oven temp 350°F.4. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and 1 1/2 cups sugar until well combined. Add the cocoa powder, instant coffee, and salt. Whisk in the melted butter, bourbon, and vanilla, until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chunks. Pour the mixture into the baked pastry.5. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the cake is puffed on top, but still wiggly in the center. The longer you bake, the more set your cake will be. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes. Serve the cake warm with ice cream.
Made this on Mothers Day with my kids and we were extremely dissapointed, ingredient list calls for 1-1/2 cup sugar, but directions only say to add 1/2 cup sugar, very confusing, rich chocolate cake does not go with puff pastry
Hey Lori,
So sorry you did not enjoy the recipe, you actually will use the 1 1/2 cups of sugar in step 4. So sorry if you missed this. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xTieghan
I swear when I watched your insta story you used yolks only. Is it eggs or only yolks? Thx!
Hey Barb,
I used the entire egg, please follow the recipe as is:) I hope you love the cake! xTieghan
My daughter and I made this for Mother’s Day and it was AMAZING. It was a quick recipe, which I appreciate. I left out the bourbon because I didn’t have any on hand, but I think it would be a good addition. It is extremely rich – next time I’ll serve it with vanilla ice cream. Definitely a keeper! Thanks for this great recipe.
Hey Pam,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
I hoping to try this for my family. Is the instant coffee a must? What is it needed for? Also for my kids- will they taste the bourbon?
Hey Christina,
The instant coffee really enhances the chocolate flavor, but you can skip both the bourbon and the instant coffee. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I want to make this, but I can’t have the puff pastry… can I just make the cake in the skillet by itself? I know that it’s the puff pastry that makes this extra special, but the cake itself looks pretty amazing!
Hey Leticia,
Yes, that will work just fine for you. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Omg the new site is so ugly and hard to navigate!!!!!! Noooooo!!! I liked being able to click on the date under the recipe and seeing everything you made this month. Also I just think this looks dated compared to your old site!
Hey Mandy,
Thanks for your feedback, you can still search for recipes by month:) xTieghan
Wow, rude much?? There are kinder ways to say that you don’t like something.
I think the new site looks great – it is very similar to the old one, just fresher!
Wow! I can’t believe how rude people are! And just so you know, I think the website looks great!
Can I no longer save your recipes to my Pinterest account?
Hey Stacie,
You should still be able to save them! xTieghan
I can no longer save them to my Pinterest account either. I had to make an account on your website to save the recipes. Not a big deal because I love what you make. Just a pain that I need to remember to look here to get a recipe when I’ve saved all the other ones to my Pinterest
Again, so sorry, we are working to find a solution for this!!
Hey Tieghan, can we substitute regular coffee grounds? If so, what amount would you recommend? Making tomorrow for Mother’s Day and don’t want to get instant coffee just for a tablespoon. It looks great!
Hey Cody,
Unfortunately regular coffee ground just won’t work the same as instant coffee, so you can skip it if you don’t have them. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I usually love HBH recipes, but this one just wasn’t my favorite. I think I wasn’t expecting the eggy texture, and it was way too heavy. The chocolate/ espresso/ bourbon flavors were delicious, though!
So sorry you did not enjoy the recipe Whitney! Please let me know if I can help in anyway! xTieghan
I made this tonight and it was to die for!! My husband is not a big chocolate fan, but he thought this was absolutely delicious – me too! Thank you for your delicious recipes!!
Hey there,
I am so so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Happy Sunday! xTieghan
The bottom of my Staub (double handles) measures 10 inches. Is this too big for cake???
Hey Heidi,
Your 10 inch skillet will work just fine here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I see only a 1/2 cup of sugar used?
Hey Alex,
Sorry for the confusion, the recipe is all fixed, you can follow as is now and use 1 1/2 cups of sugar in step 4! I hope you love this cake! xTieghan
Is there any way to make this ahead of time and reward before serving?
Hey Laura,
I would highly recommend making this and serving warm from the oven. You could complete through step 3 and then finish off the cake when you want to serve. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Is it 1 1/2 cups sugar or 1/2 cup? There is a discrepancy between the ingredients and the instructions. Looks yummy!
Hey Suzanne,
Sorry for the confusion, the recipe is all fixed, you can follow as is now and use 1 1/2 cups of sugar in step 4! I hope you love this cake! xTieghan
I made this for a dinner party last night to rave reviews! So delish, but I could not sleep all night. Next time I’ll try without the instant coffee, should I make any other changes to compensate?
Also I did not see the change to the sugar quantity before I made, so I guessed at 1/2 cup sugar and found it sweet enough, especially with the addition of pistachio ice cream. Maybe I’d use 3/4 cup sugar, but likely no more.
Hey Andrea,
Thanks so much for making this recipe! Sure, next time you could certainly omit the instant coffee! xTieghan
Where does the other 1 cup of sugar go? There’s only 1/2 cup in the recipe + sprinkling.
Hey Rose,
Sorry for the confusion, the recipe is all fixed, you can follow as is now and use 1 1/2 cups of sugar in step 4! I hope you love this cake! xTieghan
The ingredients call for 1 1/2 cups sugar but the instructions use 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon. 1 1/2 cups seemed like too much but what do you intend?
Hey Jan,
Sorry for the confusion, the recipe is all fixed, you can follow as is now! I hope you love this cake! xTieghan
Hey, Tieghan it looks delish! But I have a question. Can you skip the puff pastry? I don t really have any on hand.
Hey Miriam,
Yes, this should work just fine without the puff pastry. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan