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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.
I made this last night and my husband and I both thought it was good. I personally found the coffee, bourbon and cocoa flavor to be a bit intense(just my personal opinion) so I plan to make again and scale it back some. I’ll probably omit the extra 2 Tbs of cocoa and cut the bourbon & coffee back to 1/2 Tbs.
Also, to those who are asking about the puff pastry, I used a ready made pie shell and it worked fine. I baked it about 10-15 minutes before adding the pie filling. 🙂
Hey Shelley,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, sorry it was not to your liking! xTieghan
I made this last night and followed the recipe to a T. It was a total hit! This resembles the best fudgy brownie with an added crunchy top + a flaky crust = DELISH!
Hey Sara,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! ☀️xTieghan
Could this be made in a cast iron skillet without the puff pastry? Would it turn out? Or is it necessary for it to turn out with the right crusty/gooey ratio?
Hey Britney,
You could skip the puff pastry here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Perfect for a chocolate lover like me! No problems with the recipe. I used all ingredients and my 10″ cast iron skillet. Still yummy the next day at room temperature!
Hey Emily,
Fantastic! I am thrilled you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week:) xTieghan
I’m making this for a picnic tomorrow. I don’t have bourbon or coffee. Hope it’s still good.
I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
How did you like it? I made it yesterday. I thought it was good but next time I will scale back a bit on the coffee, bourbon and cocoa. It’s was a little overpowering for me. I want to try it again tho, I think with these slight modifications I’ll really like it.
I wanted to love this but ended up throwing it away. I didn’t know I could roll out the puff pastry to cover my skillet, but other than that I followed the recipe exactly. At 50 minutes there was a crust but the inside was all liquid. I left it for a bit longer, let it cool for ten minutes and then served it; it wasn’t a hit. The puff pastry was too chewy and tasted out of place with the chocolate. The chocolate filling was overly sweet and the texture was gritty. Both my Dad and my kid disliked it. I kept tasting it, trying to find the redeeming quality but finally called it.
Hey Carolyn,
So sorry you did not enjoy this recipe. Did you allow the puff pastry to bake first? Was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? Let me know if I can help in anyway! xTieghan
Hi, if I don’t have instant coffee is it okay to just use regular coffee grounds?
Thanks!
Hey Genevieve,
Unfortunately, regular coffee grounds will not give the same results as instant coffee, so I would just omit them. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Is it possible to make this recipe in advance at all? Perhaps baking the puff pastry or cooking 1/2 way and finishing later? Maybe in a cake pain instead? Trying to make for a birthday.
Hey Kaila,
You could bake the puff pastry and then finish baking the cake later. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Hi, I only have a 12” skillet, will that work?
Can’t wait to try it!
Hey Sarah,
Yes, a 12 inch skillet will work just fine! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
How can you call this recipe “flourless” when it uses puff pastry?
Hey Elizabeth,
I mean the cake itself is flourless, feel free to skip the puff pastry if you would like:) xTieghan
Crowd pleaser and EASY!!!
I’m making it for another crowd tomorrow as a bday cake for my husband. Ctually, making two! Thank you for keeping things interesting!
Hey Suzanne,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed! Have a great Sunday:) xTieghan
The reviews on this had me ready to not try it. I’m glad I didn’t listen. This was awesome!! I LOVE pasty anything. I prefer that over cake or crust etc. a
And the gooey chocolate with the ice cream. Omg rich so a small portion is plenty but soooo good!! I have been living on planning my families week off your site and everything has been great!! Thank you so much
Hey Cassy,
Awesome!! I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for making it. Have the best weekend:) xTieghan
Delicious! Used Kahlua instead of instant coffee, otherwise followed the recipe. Will make again!
Hey Emily,
So so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try!! xxTieghan
Delish! I agree that the sugar step was a bit confusing because I swear it said add 1/2c sugar in step four before, but I digress. I ended up only adding about 1c sugar, and it ended up fantastic! It is SUPER rich. I think if I make again, I’ll only use 3/4c sugar.
Also, my puff pastry was perfect for my 9″ pan, but it really puffed up no matter how much docking I did! I ended up just pushing it down in the center and pouring the chocolate batter over it. I honestly think this would be great without the pastry tho! I ended up with a lot extra batter, and I baked it in two ramekins that are waiting for me in my fridge! I’ll report back 😉
PS I used whipped fresh cream on one serving of this, and ice cream on another…ice cream totally won!
Hey Sandie,
Fantastic! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Yes, there was originally a typo in the recipe, it is now fixed. xTieghan
I was so excited to make this for Mother’s Day. The recipe has several problems. One – without rolling out the pastry at all, it does not adequately cover a 10” skillet. Two – during cooking, the bottom layer of pastry becomes soggy and tough. Three – the amount of sugar used in the recipe makes the batter overly sweet. The dark chocolate flavor is lost. Four – I would recommend using espresso powder and decreasing the amount in half. So disappointed in this recipe. Two many changes needed to rework it.
So sorry you did not enjoy this recipe Jennifer, thanks for giving it a try! xTieghan
A rare miss for sure!