Can you make a chocolate pudding cake fast in your microwave? Yes, and I’ve got the deets on this viral dessert. (TL;DR: make the delicious NYT Nutella chocolate pudding cake in the microwave in five minutes with three ingredients: one egg, Nutella, and baking powder.)
Hi, Again, Dear Readers:
Well, it happened again; life got away from me. We’re okay, just busy with stuff going on. This week, we managed to go to the Trader Joe’s in New Orleans on Tulane Avenue without an incident like the last one. Thankfully, they weren’t sampling that day, either. Got a couple more bottles of their Liquid Stevia for the pantry.
What follows is what happened when I was scrolling on the ‘Gram, and this wonderful recipe came up. It’s fast and wonderful, and could be a great accompaniment to the fast-to-make keto meals I posted about last time. I’ve made it twice, and if I can find more of that no-sugar-added hazelnut chocolate spread, this will be a regular recipe. But of course, the chocolate-hazelnut spread I found is so good you can eat it straight from the jar. It’s almost as good as an entire pint of Blue Bell Moo-llenium Crunch ice cream, only thicker with more chocolate.
Remember, a while back, when I found a bunch of recipes on Instagram? Well, I found another one. Apparently, it’s viral, too. This one, I have to say, is really good anytime. And today, we’re not using any of my AI “friends” to write anything. (Note: all pictures are mine, taken in the kitchen of the Casa de Rurale.)
Now, when I say this, I’m talking about the ubiquitous chocolate-hazelnut spread you can find in grocery stores everywhere. Since Nutella has become popular, there are also store-brand versions available. Walmart has its own version under the Great Value label in small and large jars, and a “white hazelnut spread” in its Bettergoods line. (White? Whose absurd idea was this?) French jellymaker Bonne Maman also has its own version. Our local Walmart carries the Bonne Maman version, but it’s currently out of stock.
When I went looking on Walmart’s website to see what was available, I discovered a version from Belgium called GoodGood Choco Hazel that has about 85% less sugar than the other types of the spread. When I made it to Walmart, they had one or two jars left. I bought one, because, well, you never know how you’re going to like it. Wish I’d bought more.
Never seen this before!
There’s a reason why our Walmart is fully stocked with the GV and Nutella versions, but this is out of stock. It’s that rich, thick, and sweet that you may just want a jar of this for your low-sugar dessert. But I digress. If you’re able, get more than one. You can also order it from Walmart’s website. Thankfully, Amazon also sells it in singles and in multiples. They bring it right to your door!
The Good Good company is based in Austin, Texas (yes, of course it is) and has a full line of spreads, peanut butters, jams and jellies, all with no added sugar and much less sugar than other brands. This is my first encounter with the company’s product, but I’ll keep looking.
Chocolate? Hazelnut? Dramatically less sugar than the other products? One taste and I knew it needs to be a pantry staple with plenty of jars.
Now that I’ve told you about a delicious low sugar alternative, they’re only two other ingredients made needed for this little cake: one egg, and a quarter teaspoon of baking powder.
The setup
Since you want to make this as fast and easy as you can, you just mix everything in the bowl you’re going to cook it in. For this one, I used one of our dinnerware dishes. First, add a quarter cup of the hazelnut spread to the bowl.
Then add in the egg:
And carefully whisk these two together, which takes a minute or so:
Once you get them all mixed, they’re smooth.
Now sprinkle the baking powder, just a quarter teaspoon, over the top, and whisk everything together.
And whisk it some more:
Because it looks a bit messy, I decided to put it in another Bowl just for the sake of the picture. This is for the blog, after all.
Now, everybody’s microwave is different, so you have to kind of keep an eye on it here.
Our microwave is a 700 watt, so it might take a little longer to finish. A 1,000-watt microwave is going to cook much faster. And it worked!
Ready for cake?
I ended up having to cook it just a tad bit longer because it was still partly liquid around the edges. However, it’s supposed to finish cooking after removing it from the microwave. And this is what you get:
It’s cake–simple, chocolate, and tasty.
This was the second iteration, just for a blog post. The first time I made one, James reluctantly agreed to try some. James doesn’t really care much for hazelnut anything. But because there was so much chocolate, he didn’t seem to mind. We split the original, and it was just a couple of bites each.
And you know what? He liked it! This would have been really good with some whipped cream, ice cream, or something else, but we didn’t have any around that day.
The original recipe calls for adding ice cream or Greek yogurt when it’s done, but you could pair it with just about anything and it would be pretty good. If you’re using regular Nutella, some whipped cream from the can wouldn’t go wrong here. If you’re doing “dirty keto,” some sugar-free Cool Whip might be good, too.
It was so simple, I took a screenshot from my phone off Instagram:
You can also get the recipe here on the New York Times Cooking website. There’s also a video on YouTube of the same lady making this recipe. Apparently, it’s “viral,” because Parade Magazine says so. But because I have that wonderful WordPress Recipe Maker plugin, I’m also going to use it here. That way, you can print a copy if you want one.
The Parade writer started talking about variations, and I don’t think they’re necessary. But being the nosy type, there was one I wanted to try.
I had a sneaking suspicion that the hazelnut chocolate spread might sell out, and I wondered if I could use some of the almond butter I have in the pantry. Well. . .what I got was something similar but not quite the same. I’m not saying it’s bad, mind you, but it’s not the same, and it has five ingredients, not three.
That’s pretty much what I did, tossed a few things in to see what comes out. It’s not bad, but not as tasty as the original chocolate hazelnut variety. In addition to the quarter-cup of almond butter, I added:
Almond butter isn’t really sweet, so it needed help from the Liquid Stevia. Microwaved it for about a minute or so, watching it the whole time.
It’s OK. I mean, you can make this in the microwave quickly, but it’s just not the same. I’m sticking with some kind of chocolate hazelnut to make this one.
More tasty things are planned. For now, have a little cake whenever you need some.
Enjoy!
