Chocolate Budino Cakes
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Soft, warm chocolate pudding cakes with lusciously-rich chocolate flavor. This easy dessert will satisfy any chocolate craving! Chocolate budino cake is like a gooey brownie cake with a molten chocolate interior.
Chocolate budino cakes are like having two desserts in one — a soft-centered brownie you can eat with a spoon. Chocolate pudding cake!
You’ll want to savor every bite of these little cakes. They’re perfect to serve individually for a date night or dinner party dessert. Just like any decadent chocolate recipe, they turn out rich and super-chocolatey, with a brownie-like crust and a tender, molten texture inside.
What is budino?
Budino is a type of rich and smooth Italian pudding. It can be either sweet or savory.
I got a little creative with this chocolate budino recipe — it’s my version of the delectable Italian chocolate pudding, but it’s not as fussy to make.
It’s also a lot less tricky than a cooking a traditional pudding base, which involves making a custard, letting it set and allowing it to chill before serving.
My recipe is more like baking rich little cakes in custard cups. Plus you get to eat them warm, straight out of the oven!
Ingredients in chocolate budino cake
- Dark chocolate: Use a good quality dark or bittersweet chocolate, ranging between 66-70 percent cacao. You can either buy it in a bar or in the form of ready-to-use baking discs (my absolute favorite for convenience).
- Sugar: This recipe uses both light brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Eggs: To quickly bring eggs to room temperature, crack them into a small bowl while you assemble the rest of the ingredients for the recipe.
- Almond flour: Use fine (blanched) almond flour for the best texture.
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
- Salt: I recommend fine sea salt because it dissolves easily.
- Cacao nibs: These crunchy crushed cocoa beans add texture and an extra layer of chocolate flavor. If you don’t have them, shave some chocolate to decorate the whipped cream when serving or top with mini chocolate chips or finely chopped hazelnuts.
Recipe steps:
Melt butter and chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth.
- To gently melt the chocolate and butter, put them in a heatproof bowl (such as stainless steel or glass) that will easily rest on top of a saucepan. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer (not boiling) in the pan and set the bowl on top. As soon as you see the chocolate and butter melting into a puddle, remove from the heat. The residual heat will melt the chocolate — stir until the mixture is smooth.
- Put your buttered baking cups or ramekins in a baking dish and divide the batter into each one. Top with the cacao nibs if you’re using them. Pour in enough water to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Baking in a water bath ensures that the cakes have a smooth, creamy texture.
Spoon batter into baking cups and top with cacao nibs. 
Bake 15 minutes, until firm on top and gooey inside.
Serving the cakes:
- You can make the batter up to 3-4 hours before serving. Fill the custard cups and refrigerate them until you’re ready to bake. This will make it easier to serve a warm dessert if you’re having people over.
- The cakes are best served warm. Spoon a little soft whipped cream (or ice cream!) on top of each one, and sprinkle with more nibs if you like.
- Leftover cakes will keep at room temperature 1-2 days.
Chocolate Budino Cakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (225 g) dark chocolate baking discs or chopped dark chocolate
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 4 tablespoons (60 g) butter, cut into pieces
- ¼ cup (50 g) brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup (30 g) blanched almond flour
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) cacao nibs
To serve
- 1 cup soft whipped cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 (200 C) degrees. If you're baking in a convection oven, set the temperature to 375 (190 C) degrees. Brush (6) 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups with the melted butter. Arrange them in a baking dish.
- Add a few inches of water to a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Put the chocolate and 4 tablespoons butter in a medium heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over the saucepan (adjust the temperature to low so the water doesn't boil).
- When the butter and chocolate start to melt, remove the bowl from the heat, using a towel or oven mitts to protect your hands. Stir until the mixture is completely melted and smooth.
- Beat the sugars, eggs, vanilla and salt in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until pale and thickened, about 5 minutes at medium-high speed. Lower the mixer speed and add the flour, stirring until just combined. Pour in the chocolate mixture and stir until blended and smooth, about 1 minute.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the ramekins. Sprinkle some nibs over each one. Pour enough water into the baking dish so that it comes halfway up the sides of the cups.
- Bake 15-17 minutes, or until the cakes are puffed on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out coated with moist batter. Let them cool for 2 minutes, then carefully remove the cups and set them on a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Serve the budino cakes warm, with whipped cream spooned on top.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- To quickly bring eggs to room temperature, crack them into a small bowl while you assemble the rest of the ingredients for the recipe.
- If you don’t have cacao nibs, shave some chocolate over the whipped cream when serving or top the cakes with mini chocolate chips or finely chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts or hazelnuts)
- You can make the batter and fill the cups up to 3-4 hours before serving. Refrigerate them until you’re ready to bake. This will make it easier to serve a warm dessert if you’re having people over.
- The baked cakes will keep 1-2 days at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Web story: https://familystylefood.com/web-stories/chocolate-budino-cakes/
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
Why does this recipe not require baking powder or baking soda?
I tried making it and didn’t get a cake result at all. After all the time in the oven, the batter still looked and tasted like batter. Did I beat my batter too much?
I’m very new to baking and this is my first time to try baking anything resembling a cake. I thought it would be forgiving because it requires ramekins and the center can be molten.
Hi there – The cakes should turn out with more of a fudgy texture, like brownies. If they are still like batter after baking you might want to check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer – yours might run cooler which would require more baking time. Also, once cooled they will firm up a bit.
Easy to make, but I would love a good recipe for Chocolate Budino
so i totally just halved the recipe and microwaved it for 15 minutes checking every 20-30 seconds and ohmygod stupidly delicious.
oh my goodness … yes, yes, yes! Those look and sound like little ramekins of chocolate heaven!
Wow! if the pictures alone are anything to go by this is sure to be good.
Wow! I love this dessert. It’s a cross between a brownie and molton lava cake. It was so simple and quick to make. I love warm desserts! The cake was luscious, rich, and decadent. Thanks so much for this awesome cake recipe. I definitely will be making this again!
Add a big dollop of vanilla ice cream and I am there! Yummmmmmmm!!!!!