Kladdkaka, also known as Swedish chocolate sticky cake, is amazingly gooey, delicious and only calls for 8 ingredients. This recipe includes a traditional (and whole wheat) option as well as a gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan version.
I’ve mentioned this in a few posts, but I was an exchange student in Sweden twice. The first time was when I was in the 10th grade.
Then I went back for 3 months the next summer and then visited again the next summer. And the next. You get the idea!
I loved it so much that I did another year there as a junior in college, which is where I met Mr. Texanerin. In case some of you were wondering where I met my German! He was also an exchange student there.
I’ve shared quite a few Swedish recipes on the blog and this kladdkaka is my favorite. Just like kanelbullar (and to a lesser degree, Swedish apple pie), you can find kladdkaka in just about every other cafe in Sweden.
We’d often go to cafes for fika and I always got kladdkaka. And ate half of Mr. T’s kanelbulle (cinnamon bun). :D Fika is coffee and cake time but is so much more. It’s an important part of Swedish culture – a social institution even.
Kladdkaka is really popular and for a good reason. It’s kind of like a cross between a brownie and a cake and it’s super gooey!
This cake is great on its own, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or with just a light dusting of powdered sugar. It also goes great with raspberries. It would be perfect for Valentine’s Day!
Vanilla sauce is also wildly popular in Sweden and sometimes served with kladdkaka. This paleo vegan vanilla sauce would be great on this cake!
Kladdkaka is traditionally made with all-purpose flour and butter but by using buckwheat and coconut oil, it was super easy to make gluten-free, and dairy-free. And I swear – it’s just as good and you can’t tell any difference!
I also tested this cake recently with a chia egg and it worked perfectly. I imagine a flax egg would also work.
If you don’t have buckwheat, whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour work just as well for a non-gluten-free version. I’m pretty sure whole spelt would also work well. For a flourless treat, try this Flourless Chocolate Torte!
This is one ridiculously easy cake to make and the only way you can really mess it up is if you overbake it. When you take the cake out of the oven, it will still be gooey in the middle.
Hopefully you can tell by the photos! The toothpick test definitely does not work here.
Substitution questions about this kladdkaka?
- Can I use something instead of the four listed flours?
I’ve “only” tested this recipe with the four flours listed. You could try another gluten-free baking blend that’s meant as a 1:1 sub for all-purpose flour but since I haven’t tried them, I can’t say they’d work as well as the one I used (from Bob’s Red Mill).
- Can I use regular cocoa powder or does it have to be Dutch-process?
I have another recipe, these zucchini brownies, and some people have mentioned how when they make them with regular cocoa powder, they’re more cakey and less gooey. So I’m hesitant to recommend it here. But if you try it out, please let us know in the comments how it turned out!
- Can I use other egg subs?
I’ve only tried regular eggs and chia eggs but believe other egg subs would work fine.
- Can I use something instead of coconut sugar or granulated sugar?
Another type of granulated sugar would probably work, as long as it’s something you would use in place of granulated sugar. Using a liquid sweetener wouldn’t work because it’d make the cake more cakey and it’d lose its gooiness.
Can I use something instead of coconut oil or butter?
I never use it but I’m guessing ghee would work! Not so confident about olive oil and other liquid oils.
That’s it. Hope you’ll enjoy it. :) If you try out this kladdkaka, I’d love to hear how you like it!
And here are a few resources if you’re new to the vegan or gluten-free diet:
- Is Cocoa Powder Vegan?
- Is Cocoa Powder Gluten-free?
- Is Hershey’s Cocoa Powder Gluten-free?
- Is Baking Powder Gluten-free?
Kladdkaka (gluten-free, vegan options)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 8-12 slices
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (141 grams) light buckwheat flour or 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (155 grams) Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-free Baking Flour for gluten-free or for a non-GF version, use 1 cup (125 grams) whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (58 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy (I think Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder would also work)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large (50 grams each, out of shells) eggs, room temperature, or 2 chia eggs1 for vegan
- 1 cup (200 grams) coconut sugar, tightly packed (it's best to weigh this) or 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) refined2 coconut oil, melted or 1/2 cup (113 grams) butter, melted (use coconut oil for dairy-free / vegan)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease the sides of an 8" (20 cm) round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients (eggs through vanilla). It's okay if the mixture starts to separate. It'll come together after you add the dry ingredients.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet and stir just until combined. It'll likely be very thick and sticky.
- Pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 14 minutes or a toothpick inserted in the very edge of the cake comes out clean. (A toothpick inserted in the middle will come out wet.) The edges should be crisp and the middle still moist and sticky. It'll look underbaked but it won't be totally liquidy.
- Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then run a paring knife around the edge of the pan.
- Invert the cake onto a serving plate and remove the parchment paper (if using a springform pan, no need to invert). If you made the gluten-free version, it may be a little gritty while still warm. Let it cool and the grittiness will go away.
- Serve warm, room temperature, or cold. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days or refrigerate for 5 days.
Notes
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122 comments on “Kladdkaka Recipe (gluten-free, vegan options)” — Add one!
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I made this and it’s super easy!
I would say that the buckwheat flour gives it a bit of a grainy texture (and I sifted mine and discarded some of the fibre too). I think making it with a standard gluten free flour would yield a much smoother texture. The cake is fudgy and I found the graininess of the flour took away from the smoothness.
Because it’s quite rich and dense I served it with lots of berries which was delightful.
Will give this recipe another try with a different flour!
Also, I doubled the salt and used sated butter. Because of the volume of sugar and the earthy chocolate, I found this amount was perfect.
Hi Katie! Your comment had me very confused. I’ve been buying “100% whole grain buckwheat flour” (it says it right on the package!) only to find out that it’s not really. Where I live, we have several brands, and they all look the same. They’re super fine and there’s nothing to sift out. So I went to Amazon and see that Bob’s Red Mill’s buckwheat flour has black specks in it. They use the husks in it. The other brands I have don’t. Yikes! I’ve changed the recipe to say light buckwheat flour. I’ve also ordered some Bob’s so I can test the recipe out ASAP with the other type of flour! Thanks so much for your feedback here! I really appreciate it. :)
Haven’t sifted through all comments but I made a gluten free and dairy free kladdkaka yesterday using vegan butter ratio 1:1 with regular butter and as for the gf part I find it works great with almond meal! Love the texture and tast of it and I would recommend giving this a try if you’re not allergic to nuts. Tbh I didn’t use this recipe but I am sure it can work to (suppose you need to up the amount of almond meal). Next time I will definitely try to veganise this by using flax eggs as chia seeds are so expensive in the country I live in.
I’m sorry for just now seeing this! I bake a ton with almond flour but haven’t tried it in this recipe. That’s a great idea! Thanks so much for your tip. :)
Can anybody find the footnotes for 1&2? I want to know if I can use unrefined coconut oil. Thank tou
I’m sorry for just now seeing your question! The footnotes can be found at the bottom of the recipe, below the directions. They say that you can use unrefined coconut oil if you don’t mind some coconut taste.
Hi! This was awesome. I ended up making it with sorghum flour as I was out of EVERY other gf flour I usually have. Turned out really well. A little crumbly on the edges, but OMG it is so delicious. I topped it with a little coconut milk (denser cream portion from the can of coconut milk) and freshly plucked raspberries from the backyard and it was PERFECT. Thank you for a wonderful recipe :)
Hi Abbey! I feel ridiculous and like a jerk for just now seeing this. It was in the spam with a bunch of other comments for some reason. But I wanted to say thanks so much for the nice review! It’s great to know that sorghum flour works well. That is pretty much the one GF flour I haven’t used. I’ll have to give that a try! Thanks a ton for the tip and sorry again for only seeing it half a year later. 🤦♀️
Hi this is really urgent can you please reply fast.may I replace the chia eggs with aquafaba-it is said to be a great vegan substitute
I really would like if you answered fast.also last time I made the non-veg version of this cake the butter added a lot of flavour so will oil make a difference
Hi! I replied to your last comment from 4 minutes ago within 2 minutes. :)
Thank you so much for replying fast I really appreciate it amazing recipe
No problem! I’m glad you liked it. :)
Can you let us know how it worked with the aquafab and the oil? It works well with the chia eggs.
Hello! I don’t think that the person who asked about aquafaba will see your question because they didn’t have comment notification turned on. Hopefully, someone else will see your question and answer (if they’ve made it with aquafaba!).
Hi this is really urgent can you please reply fast.may I replace the chia eggs with aquafaba-it is said to be a great vegan substitute
Sorry, but I’ve never tried it so I really have no idea. :/