This Cranberry Chocolate Fudge Cake may be the best little chocolate cake in the world. Or at least under certain conditions. Condition one being there's half a cup of cranberry sauce you need to use. Condition two, you want chocolate cake, but hardly feel like baking. This recipe is all that and more.
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Cranberry Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipe
This was adapted from a recipe in the Ocean Spray recipe database. It's an 8-inch round not-quite-flourless chocolate cake which you make in a microwave-safe mixing bowl. No electric mixer required! The texture is kind of dense but light and the cranberries soften it up and add a little flavor. There's also an easy glaze which calls for a little bit more cranberry sauce, but you can leave the sauce out of the glaze if you'd like.
Six Inch Version
If you only have a half cup of leftover cranberry sauce to use and would like a smaller cranberry sauce cake, you can halve the recipe and make it in a six-inch cake pan.
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Recipe
Outrageous Cranberry Sauce Fudge Cake
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup semisweet chocolate chips (114 grams)
- ½ cup salted butter or margarine (114 grams)
- 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate or use 3 tablespoons cocoa and add a tablespoon of oil
- 1 cup cranberry sauce
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Glaze
- ¼ cup whipping cream (56 grams)
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (84 grams)
- ¼ cup cranberry sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line an 8-inch round cake pan with foil. Grease and flour the foil.
- In a microwave safe mixing bowl, heat ⅔ cup chocolate chips, butter and unsweetened chocolate on High for 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Microwave for 30 more seconds if necessary to melt chocolate.
- Add cranberry sauce and sugar; mix well. Add eggs, vanilla, flour and baking powder and mix well. Pour batter in prepared pan.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until center is set and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 30 minutes. Refrigerate 1 hour or until cold.
Glaze
- Microwave cream and chocolate chips together in medium microwave-safe bowl for 1 minute on High. Stir until smooth. Microwave for 30 more seconds if necessary to melt chocolate. Add cranberry sauce; mix well.
- Turn cake out onto serving plate; remove foil. Spread glaze over top allowing some to drip down sides of cake. Chill 1 hour or until glaze is firm. Can be made a day ahead of time. Store at room temperature.
jess☆ @ Multicultural Melbourne says
Ohh love this idea!!! I'm going through a cranberry obsession at the moment, but hadn't thought of trying it with chocolate cake... thanks!
Mackenzie@The Caramel Cookie says
How interesting! I wouldn't of thought to use cranberry sauce in a cake either!
vanillasugarblog says
i can clearly see why this is the best.
I am so going to try it this way the next time.
and yes, add in some spice next time. I do it all the time and it adds just the right amount of something something, you know?
Leslie says
Ohhh Anna..this looks out of this world!!!
Anna says
Julia, I hope your day got better. Make the cake!
Mary, I really am interested to hear how pumpkin works. You might not need to use a full cup since it's dense, but I just don't know...
Adam, homemade is the best! I'm probably going to post this recipe again near Thanksgiving when people are looking for ways to use leftover cranberry sauce. Based on my experience with the recipe, I think thinner cranberry sauce would be fine.
Katrina, I guess the cranberry sauce goes where the eggs would normally go.
Katrina says
Mmm, I'd like to try the cranberry, cherry and pumpkin please. I know this seems nit picky, but for me, I like that this cake only has 2 eggs. Seems like most of the almost flourless chocolate cakes have 3-4 eggs. Which makes this one healthy, right--that and with the fruit. Pumpkin has fiber, too, right? I've been aching to open a can of pumpkin...hmm, I just might have to try that.
Raspberry puree?--I've been loving chocolate and raspberry lately.
Adam says
I really dislike canned cranberry sauce but I love the fresh kind (more like jam) I'm curious how this would work with cranberry sauce that's a little thinner. If it did then the possibilities are endless :).. all jams are up for grabs :).
And your picture nearly floored me....
HeartofGlass (Chewthefat) says
I'm glad to hear it wasn't too sweet--it's an awesome 'easy' dessert that looks really, really elegant. If I try the pumpkin I will tell you how it goes...
Julia says
Ha! I'm having another one of those "I need cheering up at work" days and you've just done a great job! What a yummy looking cake 🙂
Anna says
Mary, I am going to have to try pumpkin for sure -- that and a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. However, it wasn't too sweet with the cranberry. I did use 70% chocolate rather than chocolate chips, so that also must have helped make it less sweet.
Lisa Ernst says
Who'd imagine that cranberry sauce in chocolate cake would be good. This looks like a great recipe.
Sue says
The cherry pie filling thought makes me think of that cake where you take a chocolate cake mix and add a can of cherry pie filling. That is the only cake one of my friends makes. 🙂 Goes without saying the kitchen isn't her favorite room in the house. It is a tasty cake though!
HeartofGlass (Chewthefat) says
Interesting! For a less-sweet version, I wonder if canned pumpkin or strained unsweetened applesauce might also work.
Irma says
This is really yummi! 🙂
Irma
Anna says
Gloria, Thanksgiving is around the corner! I'm thinking about it too.
Sue, we really, really liked this one. I never would have thought to put a cup of cranberries in the cake. I may try making this again with a little cherry pie filling and some cherry extract or cherry liqueur.
Sue says
The glaze on that cake looks elegant! While the source for the recipe may seem obvious, the combination isn't obvious at all. At least not to me!
Gloria says
This cake looks moist and chocolatey! It looks like you went through a lot more effort than it takes...Perfect for me! Plus it has fruit so it is health food!!! Good thanksgiving chocolate cake with the cranberries and all...I can't believe I'm thinking TG!!!! Wed night I think it is supposed to be in the LOW 30s up here in the North....I'm not ready, will never be ready for that...but the flip side is there will be more comforting baking fragrances permeating the house!