Kladdkaka (Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake)

Before you start

Kladdkaka means roughly "sticky cake" in Swedish, and that describes it well. It is a thin, flat chocolate cake made from melted butter, sugar, eggs, cocoa and a little flour, with no baking powder at all. The top bakes into a thin, crackly crust, the edges set, and the center stays dense and fudgy, somewhere between a brownie and a pudding.

The key decision is when to take it out. Kladdkaka is meant to look underbaked: the middle should still wobble slightly when the oven comes out, and it firms as it cools and chills. Bake it in a springform pan so you can release the soft cake without turning it over, and serve it cold or at room temperature with whipped cream and berries.

Ingredients

• 150 g (⅔ cup) unsalted butter — plus a little for the pan
• 270 g (1⅓ cups) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs — room temperature
• 90 g (¾ cup, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 30 g (⅓ cup) unsweetened cocoa powder — plus 1 tbsp for the pan
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• to serve powdered sugar, whipped cream and raspberries or lingonberries

Method

1. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F) with a rack in the center. Butter the springform pan and dust it with cocoa, tapping out the excess.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Take it off the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes.
3. Whisk the sugar into the melted butter, then whisk in the eggs one at a time until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Do not beat in air; you want a dense cake.
4. Sift the flour, cocoa and salt over the pan, add the vanilla, and fold with a spatula until no dry streaks remain. The batter will be thick and shiny.
5. Scrape it into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the edges are set and the top looks dry and slightly cracked, while the center still jiggles a little when you shake the pan gently.
6. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 30 minutes; the center will sink slightly. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
7. Run a knife around the edge and release the springform ring. Dust with powdered sugar and cut into wedges with a hot, dry knife. Serve with lightly whipped cream and berries.

Tips for success

• Pan size changes everything. In a 20 cm (8 in) pan the cake is thicker and needs 20 to 23 minutes; in a 25 cm (10 in) pan check at 12 minutes.
• Wipe the knife between slices; the sticky center clings to the blade.
• For a firmer, more sliceable cake, bake 2 to 3 minutes longer. For a gooier one, take it out at the early end of the range.

Substitutions

All-purpose flour

Use 90 g almond flour or a one-to-one gluten-free blend. Almond flour gives a softer, nuttier center.

Granulated sugar

Replace a third of it with light brown sugar for a chewier, more caramel-tinted cake.

Cocoa powder

Dutch-process cocoa makes a darker, milder cake and works equally well here, since there is no leavening to balance.

Variations

Kladdkaka with chocolate

Melt 50 g chopped dark chocolate with the butter for an even fudgier cake, and reduce the sugar by 20 g.

Salted caramel kladdkaka

Drizzle 3 tbsp thick caramel over the batter just before baking and swirl it with a knife.

Troubleshooting

Center is cakey, not sticky

It baked too long. Take it out while the center still jiggles; it will firm as it chills.

Cake collapsed into a liquid pool when cut

It needed more baking or chilling. Bake until the edges are clearly set and chill for at least an hour before slicing.

Top has no crackly crust

The sugar was not dissolved or the eggs were too cold. Whisk the sugar into warm butter and use room-temperature eggs.

Storage

Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days; the texture gets denser and even fudgier. Kladdkaka also freezes well, wrapped tightly, for up to 2 months.

Safety notes

Because the center is intentionally soft, the eggs may not reach 71°C (160°F). For young children, pregnant people, older adults or anyone with a weakened immune system, use pasteurized eggs or bake until set. Contains wheat, egg and milk.