How to Make Cake with Hot Water

This is how to make cake with hot water, like a brownie cake. This makes a dense flourless chocolate dessert recipe you just dump together and bake in an 8×8 pan. If you loved how easy our cake mix brownies were but want to make that homemade, this is the best dessert for that.

Eggless Chocolate Cake

So normally to get the ooey gooey nature in your baked goods you need a few large eggs, not this time. Using hot water is a good way to get that same sticky result. A great alternative for those who cannot eat eggs at all. This one is baked and perfect for a square pan, feeds more than our pressure cooker brownies (but those are incredible too).

Chocolate Brownie Cake

Other than possibly adding 1/4 cup of crushed nuts or mini chips into the cake layers I wouldn’t add anything else or it will change up the ratio of it all. If you wanted to make a version of our cherry brownies with this one you’d need to wait until they are done and spoon some pie filling on top.

Why should you use hot water to bake brownies?

It can help dissolve certain ingredients more effectively. For example, it can be used to dissolve cocoa powder or instant coffee granules, enhancing their flavor and ensuring they mix evenly in the batter. Same goes for Hot Water Cornbread, just works better.

This can also make the chocolate or peanut butter brownies batter smoother and more liquid, which can result in a fudgier texture in the finished product. AND it intensifies the chocolate flavors by helping to bloom the cocoa. Blooming cocoa involves mixing it with hot water, which can deepen its flavor.

Ingredients in Hot Water Chocolate Cake

• 1 c all purpose flour
• Cocoa powder
• Baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Milk
• 1/3 c butter melted
• Vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 c sugar
• Brown sugar
• 1 1/4 c hot water

dairy free

To make dairy free, Country Crock has a great vegan plant based butter and almond milk or cashew is just fine too. You can serve this with Chocolate Gravy on top too.

gluten free

Another option is if you need to use gluten free flour. This changes the whole ratio of everything so the cake batter bakes to fudgy too. Follow this gluten free hot water brownies instructions if you need that.

What does hot water do to cake?

It creates the lightest and fluffiest texture ever. Another plus is that it intensifies the cocoa ingredient making a deeper richer punch to your dessert. Almost transforms it from a milk to dark chocolate flavor just with the heat of the liquid.

How to Make Hot Water Chocolate Cake

Now for the size of the cake pan you could use a pie pan as you see here or a square one. You do want to either spray the inside so it slides out or lay a piece of parchment across one direction so you just have to loosen the sides and lift it right out to slice. For a smaller batch follow our Brownie Bread.

• In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients like; 3/4 sugar, flour, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, mix together. 
• Add the milk, melted butter and vanilla. Mix. Spread batter in a greased 8×8 baking dish or 9 inch pie pan works too. 
• In a small bowl combine, 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa powder and mix. Sprinkle dry mix all over the top of the batter.
• Add boiling water all over the top of the batter evenly. Do not stir.
• Bake at 350° F for 30-35 minutes or until outer edges have stiffened and cracked but middle is still tender (but not raw – you don’t want to over-bake, it is better to be gooey)
• Remove from oven and scoop out and add vanilla ice cream, chocolate ganache or whipped cream with it and enjoy!
• OR let it cool completely and make Christmas Brownies out of them. For these I will bake on the longer side so they are a bit firmer so they stay together better.

So most of the time you need to use quite a few eggs to make a fluffy treat, like our chocolate coffee cake uses 3. If you don’t have any on hand or there is an allergy in the house this one is worth a try.

How do you keep leftover cake moist?

Now if you do have leftovers you want it to cool completely first. This will take about 25 minutes. Once it is at room temperature transfer to an airtight container and seal shut. Keep it on the countertop to stay the most moist. Then enjoy as two bite brownies from scratch with a little cookie cutter to make them even more fun.

Before you go I want you to sign up for my free newsletter!! You will get all my new recipes emailed to you a few times a week that will help with meal planning for the week.