1 hour 15 minutes
Ina Garten’s Brownie Pudding (Viral Recipe)
Ina Garten’s Brownie Pudding has rightfully gone viral for its unforgettably rich, fudgy, and gooey goodness! With only 15 minutes of prep time and minimal ingredients, this brownie pudding delivers a molten-like dessert that’s impressive yet easy enough for anyone to make!
The Viral Pudding Cake For Any Occasion!
One bite of this Viral Brownie Pudding will forever change the way you look at brownies. In the most delicious way possible! The slightly crunchy top pairs with the molten middle for a luxurious texture that’s pure magic yet SO easy to make!
Serve this gooey brownie warm with an oversized scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you’ll enter dessert dreamland. But what makes this so good? High-quality cocoa powder and baking the brownie pudding in a water bath.
I started by making this recipe exactly as Ina Garten’s Food Network version states, then improved it through three rounds of recipe testing. We take brownies very seriously around here, so we aimed for perfection and, after a few tweaks, landed on what, dare I say, could be even better than Ina Garten’s original recipe!
Rebecca’s Recipe Review
Taste: Rich chocolate flavor!
Texture: Slightly crunchy top with a soft and gooey filling.
Ease: 4/10
Pros: Simple to make and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients!
Cons: Does make a lot of dishes.
Would I Make This Again? Yes, this is a recipe I’d reach for when I have company coming over and want to make a chocolate cake without the hassle of frosting and layers.
Ingredients For Ina Garten’s Brownie Pudding
- Hot Tap Water
- Unsalted Butter
- Large Eggs
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla Bean
- Coffee Extract
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- All-Purpose Flour
- Fine Sea Salt
- Vanilla Ice Cream for serving
Brownie Pudding Substitutions & Variations
- Unsalted Butter – I tested this recipe with both salted and unsalted butter. I preferred using unsalted butter and then adding salt to have more control over the final flavor of the cake. You can use salted butter instead of unsalted; to do so, just then reduce the additional salt by 1/8 teaspoon.
- Framboise Liqueur – Some recipes call for this liqueur, bringing out the fruity flavors in the cocoa powder. This ingredient does give the overall pudding a different flavor. I opted not to use this and instead chose coffee extract.
- Vanilla Caviar – This ‘caviar’ is just the seeds scraped out of a vanilla bean. We tested this recipe with vanilla bean paste and fresh vanilla caviar and found that the caviar from the beans gave the cake a much better flavor. However, you can substitute the vanilla bean seeds with vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, and the cake will still be delicious!
- Eggs – We tested this recipe using both 4 extra-large eggs and 5 large eggs. Both ways worked just fine, so if you already have large eggs on hand, use those!
How To Make Ina Garten’s Brownie Pudding Recipe
- Preheat the oven, then grease a baking dish with butter. Then transfer it into a deep roasting pan.
- Fill the roasting pan with hot tap water until it’s halfway up the sides of the buttered baking dish.
- Melt unsalted butter in a pot, then remove it from the heat and let it cool.
- Beat the large eggs and granulated sugar together until the mixture is thick and pale yellow.
- Slice the vanilla bean in half and then scrape out the seeds (vanilla caviar). Mix the vanilla seeds and coffee extract into the egg and sugar mixture.
- Mix unsweetened cocoa powder, all-purpose flour, and fine sea salt into the egg mixture until just combined.
- Pour the melted butter into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running at low speed.
- Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then fold the batter to thoroughly combine.
- Pour the brownie pudding batter into the buttered baking dish. Use the rubber spatula to smooth out the top.
- Transfer the baking dish with the batter into the water bath and then into the oven to bake.
- Allow the cake to rest before scooping it out and serving it with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Rebecca’s Brownie Pudding Tips
- This recipe NEEDS the additional salt to balance the brownie pudding’s overall flavor. Do not omit it!
- It’s best to sift the cocoa powder and all-purpose flour to break up any lumps.
- For the best brownie pudding, it’s highly recommended to use a high-quality cocoa powder. Store brand or Hershey’s cocoa powder just won’t do it here. I suggest using Ghirardelli or another high-quality cocoa of your choice. Trust me, it’s worth the splurge in this recipe!
- You can use either a stand mixer or a hand mixer for this recipe. I prefer using a stand mixer because it lets you spend 5 minutes hands-free measuring and prepping other ingredients. Either way, just make sure you use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- We tested this recipe with three different style pans and found that this pie dish yielded the best results. Any 9-inch deep, round casserole or pie dish should work well, though. You can also use a 9×9-inch metal baking pan. I tested this recipe in a 9×11 casserole dish and just found it was too big for the cake.
- You have to trust the baking time! We don’t want to overcook the brownie pudding and dry it out, losing its molten-like texture! I found 45 minutes was the perfect timing. When baked for a full hour, the brownie pudding wasn’t as gooey as it’s intended to be. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick or cake tester into the pudding about 2 inches from the edge. The tester should come back mostly clean when done; however, the center should still be jiggly and a bit saucy. Again, trust the process and don’t over-bake!
- Baking this recipe in a water bath is absolutely necessary to achieve the classic texture the dessert is known for. The water bath helps the cake bake evenly without overbaking, while the center remains soft and molten. This gives us a fudgy, pudding-like middle instead of the typical brownie texture.
Tasty Ways To Serve & Enjoy Brownie Pudding
This Brownie Pudding is incredibly delicious as-is! But if you want to elevate it even further, here are some tasty (and easy!) ideas to try:
- A light sprinkle of powdered sugar.
- Topped with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream or coffee ice cream.
- Add a dollop of Homemade Whipped Cream.
- Sprinkle with chopped pecans or walnuts.
- Served with fresh fruit such as strawberries or raspberries.
- A drizzle of caramel or hot fudge.
Storage Instructions For Brownie Pudding
When a recipe is this good, it’s highly unlikely there will even be leftovers to store! But if you do, you can either tightly wrap the baking dish with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, or transfer left overs into an airtight container.
Then store the leftover brownie pudding in the fridge to enjoy for up to 3 days.
How To Reheat Brownie Pudding
This Viral Brownie Pudding can easily be reheated in individual servings in the microwave until it becomes soft and spoonable.
You can also reheat this baked pudding in the oven at a low heat. Just be careful not to over bake it and dry it out.
Try More Delicious Viral Recipes
- That Viral Ditalini Pasta Recipe – A 15-minute recipe smothered in a creamy buttery garlic sauce!
- NYC Hot Chocolate – Dark, rich hot chocolate topped with an iconic marshmallow rim!
- Viral Onion Ring Chips – Deliciously seasoned, crispy, crunchy baked onion slices!
- French Toast Iced Latte – Cozy coffee made with maple syrup, brown sugar, and cinnamon!
- Viral One-Pan Dumpling Bake – A 30-minute dinner that’s packed with mouthwatering flavor!
Did You Make This Recipe?
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let leave a review in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Don’t forget to tag me – @sugarandsoulco – on Instagram and Pinterest with your photos, or join our Sugar & Soul Show-offs Community and share them there.
Viral Brownie Pudding Recipe
Ina Garten’s Brownie Pudding has gone viral for its rich, fudgy, and irresistibly gooey texture. With just 15 minutes of prep and simple pantry ingredients, this easy brownie pudding recipe bakes into a molten-style chocolate dessert that feels impressive but is effortless to make at home.
Ingredients
- hot tap water for water bath
- 1 cup unsalted butter 227g, plus more for greasing the dish
- 4 x-large eggs room temperature, or 5 large eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar 400g
- 1 vanilla bean scraped or 1 teaspoon extract
- ¾ teaspoon coffee extract optional, see notes
- ¾ cups unsweetened cocoa powder 75g, see notes
- ½ cup all-purpose flour 65g, spooned and leveled
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ice cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325℉, grease a 2-quart baking dish with butter, and place it in a deep roasting pan, or similar. Pro Tip: Use the butter wrappers to grease the dish.
- Add enough hot tap water to the roasting pan so that it's halfway up the sides of the baking pan the batter will go in.
- Melt 1 cup unsalted butter in a medium pot, then remove from heat and allow to cool while you prepare the rest of the batter.
- Add 4 x-large eggs and 2 cups granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or to a large bowl with a hand mixer, and beat on speed 6 for 5 to 7 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula every couple of minutes. The mixture should be thick and pale yellow.
- Slice the 1 vanilla bean in half with a paring knife, then use the flat edge of the knife to scrape out the seeds (vanilla caviar). Mix in the vanilla seeds and ¾ teaspoon coffee extract until combined.
- Sift ¾ cups unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ cup all-purpose flour, and ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt into the egg mixture and then mix just until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the melted butter into the bowl, ensuring you scrape any remaining butter out of the pan and into the bowl.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula and fold the batter for 15 to 30 seconds to combine thoroughly.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth out the top with the rubber spatula.
- Place the baking dish with the batter in the water bath and bake for 45 to 60 minutes. A cake tester, when inserted into the pudding 2 inches from the edge, should be mostly clean when done; the center will be very jiggly and saucy.
- Let the cake rest for 5 to 10 minutes before scooping out and serving in a bowl with ice cream. You can also serve with fresh berries or a drizzle of heavy cream instead of ice cream.
Notes
- This recipe was made exactly as Ina Garten’s Food Network version states and was improved upon through three test rounds.
- This recipe was tested in three different style pans. This pie dish yielded the best results, and any 9-inch deep, round casserole dish should work well and produce similar results. I also used this 9×9-inch metal pan, and it worked well. The last dish was a 9×11 casserole dish, and I felt that it was too big for the cake. I did not have a 9x12x2 oval baking dish like Ina calls for, but I’m sure that size works great.
- 45 minutes was the perfect timing for me; a full hour in our first test resulted in a non-gooey cake. The 45-minute test cakes were gooey but not raw-looking. So definitely check around the 40/45 minute mark and don’t necessarily go with the full hour Ina Garten’s recipe calls for.
- I tested both Dutch-process cocoa and unsweetened cocoa, and the unsweetened tasted much better overall – I recommend going with Ghirardelli or a higher quality cocoa, not Hershey’s or store brand.
- This recipe NEEDS salt. We made it without for the control round, and it was relatively flavorless without.
- This was tested with both salted and unsalted butter. If using salted, I would reduce the additional salt by only 1/8 teaspoon. Remember, this recipe needs the salt!
- We also preferred using coffee extract over the liquor – the flavor was better, and it’s more affordable and easier to access, and has more uses in other recipes.
- We tested with vanilla bean paste and fresh vanilla caviar, and the caviar straight from the beans gave the cake a much better flavor. I like getting my beans from Costco.
- We tested with both 4 x-large eggs and 5 large eggs; both worked beautifully.
- We tested both with a stand and a hand mixer, and both worked well. The stand mixer lets you spend 5 minutes or so measuring and prepping other ingredients, since it’s mostly hands-off.
Nutrition
Calories: 423kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 127mg | Sodium: 226mg | Potassium: 150mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 45g | Vitamin A: 736IU | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 2mg
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