What if I tell you that its absolutely possible to make a luscious and indulgent chocolate cake without an oven? And you really don’t have to go anywhere else, because I’ve got just that foolproof Cake Recipe for you. With the recipe of Pressure Cooker Chocolate Cake that I have shared on this post, you can easily make a cake sans oven, which is also just as soft, fluffy, moist and delish. The recipe is also eggless.
Why You Will Love This Pressure Cooker Chocolate Cake
One of the recipe requests that I have been getting over the years is on how to make a cake without using an oven. So, it was essential for me to add this recipe of a fuss-free stovetop Pressure Cooker Chocolate Cake that can be easily done even if you don’t have an oven or don’t want to use it.
I have made this cake many times in an oven. But when I made this the first time, I made it in the pressure cooker. This recipe is roughly adapted from a cake recipe which I have been making from many years.
The recipe of this Pressure Cooker Chocolate Cake is simple and you do not need any special ingredients. This eggless cake is made with all-purpose flour (maida). So, use organic or unbleached all-purpose flour, if possible.
You can also prepare this cake with whole wheat flour (atta). Some more water may need to be added, if using whole wheat flour. You can also check this simple and plain Wheat Cake recipe for the same.
Like I mentioned earlier, this Pressure Cooker Chocolate Cake is soft, moist and light and tastes somewhat similar to a Dutch truffle cake. Basically, it is best had directly from the pan.
It is so moist that even when you slice, you have to do that carefully and only once the frosting sets. Without the frosting too, the cake tastes good.
This cake can also be made in the oven. I have used curd (yogurt) and vinegar in this preparation.
The curd can be substituted with buttermilk too. I also used Hershey’s cocoa powder. But you can use any other good quality cocoa powder.
The cake has a gooey chocolatey frosting that adds a dimension of richness and fudgy flavors to the cake. You could opt to skip the frosting and only make the cake.
Without the frosting, the cake tastes good, but I would suggest to make this frosting as it simply rounds up the flavors and makes it top notch in this chocolate cake made in pressure cooker.
Other Cake Recipes Without Oven
- Cooker Cake – Spongy and soft, light-textured delicious egg-free sponge cake made in a pressure cooker.
- Biscuit Cake – This is one of the easiest and yummiest cake recipes one can make. This no-bake cake also has chocolate in it and tastes too good.
- Baath Cake – Light, nutritious steamed cake made with yellow cucumber, semolina, jaggery and coconut. A traditional recipe of Goan cuisine where it is also referred to as ‘tavsali.’ In this recipe, the cake is steamed instead of getting baked.
How to make Pressure Cooker Chocolate Cake
Preparation & Make Flour Mixture
1. Grease a baking pan or baking bowl with butter or oil. Make sure that the pan you use fits inside a 5 or 6-liter stovetop pressure cooker.
2. In a bowl, take 1 cup all purpose flour (125 grams) and ¼ teaspoon salt. You can also sift the flour prior to mixing it with the other ingredients.
3. Then, add ½ cup sugar (100 grams).
4. Mix everything very well with a spoon or wired whisk. Set aside.
Make Chocolate Mixture
5. Then, in a pan, take ¼ cup unsalted butter (30 grams), ¼ cup oil and ¼ cup cocoa powder (20 grams).
If using salted butter, skip adding salt in step 1.
6. Add ½ cup water.
7. Keep the pan on low heat and with a wired whisk, continuously stir so that all the cocoa powder dissolves and the mixture becomes uniform. There should be no lumps.
8. The butter will start melting on low heat.
9. Bring just to a boil over medium heat, stirring continuously with the whisk.
Mixing Chocolate Mixture and Flour Mixture
10. As soon as the chocolate mixture comes to a boil, immediately pour it into the flour mixture.
11. Mix lightly. If you don’t mix, then also its fine. Keep aside.
12. In a 5 or 6-liter cooker, spread 1 cup salt evenly. Place the cooker on low heat.
Make Curd (or Yogurt) Mixture
13. In another small bowl, take ¼ cup fresh curd or yogurt.
14. Add ¼ cup water to the curd.
15. Mix very well.
16. Then, add 1 teaspoon vinegar to it. Mix again.
17. Next, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon vanilla essence.
18. Lastly, add ½ teaspoon baking soda.
Since only baking soda is used, make sure that the baking soda is fresh and active. To check the freshness, dissolve a bit of baking soda in solution of vinegar and water and it should fizz and bubble.
19. Mix very well. This mixture will begin to froth.
Make Batter
20. Immediately, add this mixture to the chocolate-flour mixture.
21. With a wired whisk mix very well making sure there are no tiny lumps.
22. However, do not over do the mixing.
23. Pour the batter into the greased baking tin.
24. Gently, tap and shake the pan.
Making Chocolate Cake In Pressure Cooker
25. Place a rack or stand carefully on the salt layer.
26. Place the cake pan on the stand.
27. Cover and close with the cooker’s lid.
Important: The rubber gasket (rubber ring) and the whistle should be removed before you close the cooker with its lid.
28. Bake the cake on low heat for 40 to 45 minutes.
If baking in an oven, bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree C (350 degrees F) for 35 to 40 minutes.
29. Check with a toothpick to see if the cake is done or not. The toothpick should come out clean.
The time for the cake to bake in the pressure cooker will depend on the size and thickness of the cooker, the size of the cake pan and the intensity of stovetop heat.
I have used a heavy 5 litre aluminum pressure cooker and it helps in uniform heating, which results in evenly baked goods.
30. Remove the cake pan carefully from the pressure cooker. While the cake is still hot. Poke a lot of holes in it using a fork or a toothpick or a bamboo skewer.
Make a lot of holes as this is where the frosting seeps into and they cannot be seen once the frosting has been cooled.
Make Chocolate Frosting
31. In a saucepan, take ¼ cup butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon vanilla essence, 10 tablespoons brown sugar, ¼ cup milk and ¼ cup cocoa powder.
Instead of brown sugar, you can also use regular white sugar or unrefined cane sugar.
32. Keep the pan on low heat and with a wired whisk stir and mix very well to combine the ingredients.
33. The brown sugar granules should completely melt and the cocoa powder should dissolve. Stir continuously to get an even mixture.
34. Bring this mixture to a boil.
35. Once the chocolate frosting mixture comes to a boil, immediately pour it all over the cake. You don’t need to spread it as the frosting seeps down inside the cake.
36. This cake tastes good warm also, but you cannot slice it and you can just eat it directly from the pan with a spoon.
You can also cool the cake in the refrigerator and then eat it. Cover the pan with a lid or foil when refrigerating.
I kept the cake in the refrigerator and thus I was able to slice them for the final pictures.
37. Slice and then serve the Pressure Cooker Chocolate Cake as a lovely treat or dessert.
The remaining cake can be refrigerated for about a week. Store in a covered air-tight container and refrigerate.
More Cake Recipes To Try!
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Pressure Cooker Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Flour Mixture – 1
- 1 cup all purpose flour – 125 grams (maida)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar – 100 grams
Liquid Mixture – 2
- ¼ cup cocoa powder – 20 grams
- ¼ cup unsalted butter – 30 grams; if using salted butter then skip adding salt
- ¼ cup oil
- ½ cup water
Curd Mixture – 3
- ¼ cup Curd (or yogurt)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Chocolate Frosting Mixture
- ¼ cup cocoa powder – 20 grams
- ¼ cup Butter – 30 grams, salted or unsalted
- 10 tablespoons brown sugar – regular sugar can also be used
- ¼ cup milk you can also use cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
Instructions
Prep
- Grease a baking pan or baking bowl with softened butter.
Flour Mixture – 1
- In a bowl, take the flour, salt and sugar. You can also sift the flour.
- Mix everything very well with a spoon or wired whisk.
Liquid Mixture – 2
- Then in a small pan, take the butter, oil, cocoa and water.
- Keep the pan on a low heat and with a wired whisk, continuously stir so that all the cocoa powder dissolves and the mixture becomes even and uniform. There should be no lumps.
- Bring just to a boil over medium heat, stirring continuously with the whisk.
- As soon as the chocolate mixture comes to a boil, immediately pour it into the flour mixture.
- Just light mix. If you don't mix then also it is fine.
- In a 5 or 6 litre stovetop pressure cooker, spread 1 cup salt evenly. Place the cooker on a low heat to preheat it.
Curd Mixture – 3
- In another bowl, take curd (or yogurt), water, vinegar and vanilla extract. Mix very well.
- Lastly add baking soda.
- Mix thoroughly. This mixture will begin to froth.
- Immediately add this mixture to the flour and chocolate mixture.
Mixing and making cake without oven
- With a wired whisk mix very well. However do not over do the mixing.
- Pour into the greased baking tin or pan. Gently shake and tap the pan.
- Carefully, place a rack or stand on the salt layer. Place the cake pan on the stand.
- Cover and close cooker with its lid. The rubber gasket and the whistle should be removed before you place and close the lid on the cooker.
- Bake cake for 40 to 45 minutes on a low heat. If baking in an oven, then bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C (356 degrees F) for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Check with a tooth pick to see if the cake is done or not. The tooth pick should come out clean.
- Remove the cake pan carefully from the pressure cooker. While the cake is still hot poke a lot of holes in it using a fork or a toothpick or a bamboo skewer. Make a lot of holes as this is where the frosting seeps into and they cannot be seen once the frosting has been cooled and is set.
Making the chocolate frosting
- In a saucepan, take butter, vanilla extract, brown sugar, milk and cocoa powder.
- Keep the pan on a low heat and with a wired whisk stir and mix very well. The sugar should melt and the cocoa powder should dissolve. Keep on stirring continuously to get an even mixture.
- Bring this mixture to a boil.
- Once this frosting mixture comes to a boil, then immediately pour it all over the cake. You don't need to spread it as the frosting seeps down inside the cake.
- This cake tastes good warm also, but you cannot slice it but you can just eat it directly from the pan.
- You can also cool the cake in the fridge and then enjoy it. Cover the pan with a lid or foil when keeping in the fridge.
- Once the frosting has set, slice the cake and serve.
- Store the cake in the refrigerator covered in an air-tight container. The cake keeps well in the fridge for about a week.
Notes
- You can use whole wheat flour (atta) also to prepare this cake. If using whole wheat flour, then sift the flour once or twice with salt first.
- For whole wheat flour, use ⅔ to ¾ cup water in the second mixture. The amount of water to be added depends on the quality of whole wheat flour. So you can keep some hot water handy, in case the batter becomes too thick.
- Instead of brown sugar, you can use regular granulated sugar or raw sugar.
- You could use salted butter, but do not add salt in the cake.
- Keep in mind that the time taken for the cake to bake in the stovetop pressure cooker will depend on the size & thickness of the cooker, the size of the cake pan and the intensity of stovetop heat.
- Nutrition info is for one slice of cake.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Pressure Cooker Chocolate Cake from the archives was first published on December 2016. It has been updated and republished on May 2024.
Hi.. i have tried various other recipes from this site n have always found them to be superb but this time this cake didnt turn out well at all.. it took almost two hours to get baked n even then the lower part has turned rubbery n the inside has halwa like texture. Also it’s tasting a little sour.i dont know what went wrong..
Thanks Namrata. I think the batter has not been mixed well.
I tried n got same thank u
Welcome Sunita
Thank you so much for sharing this. I tried this for my mom’s birthday and it came out very well. I had a bad experience when I had tried for the first time. The steps, quantity mentioned here is so perfect that nothing can go wrong even for a novice like me!
Welcome Snehashree. Glad to know that cake came out well. Your Mom must have felt very good on her birthday.
I hd made thid cake yesterday though as i was hvng many doubts abt the measurement coz u wrote in ur recipe 1 cup or 125 gms so i was bit confused coz i was hvng measuring cup written 250 ml den properly n patiently i read ur recipe thorough n went ahead for baking n i must tell u cake came out so so wonderful my husb loved it like nethng… earlier i cooked this cake bt it didnt came out well n i was disappointed as it didnt cooked wel reason i dnt knw may b i used small cooking pan as used in sponge cake… bt this tym using larger pan it went well n came out aswsum.. my husb said at his childhood dr was a bakry he usd to go whr in jus 5 rs he usd to get pastry n hv it n he said that the pastry was so so tasty n yummy that aftr eating that he used to feel heaven n yestrdy aftr eating my cake he said im feeling same now… i was so so overwhelmed bt credit goes to u thnxa ton for ur recipe luv u fr this recipe
megha, 1 cup of flour when weighed separately weighs 125 grams. the pan size is important when baking. but i think a small pan will also work. not sure what must have gone wrong before.
thanks for sharing about your husband’s memories. felt nice to read. food is memories and we all have nostalgic memories related to food. thanks again and hugs ? ?
Can i use the same pan for baking cake here as u hv used in sponge cake… coz i hv the only pan available
you can use the same pan.
Can i use ghee or oil instead of butter
megha, i have already replied to your query. refresh the page and you will see the query.
Hi can u please tell me wat can be use as a substitute for butter as i dnt hv it at hand now… can i use ghee or regular refined oil? Wil dat b ok to use
megha, use oil. ghee can give a taste like chocolate halwa. if you are fine with it, then you can use ghee too.
Thank you. I made the cake. I used the atta flour and buttermilk since I did not have yogurt, I also replaced some most butter with oil and used just a little butter. I baked the cake in the oven and it came out very nice. The cake was nicely leavened and tender. I also liked the topping, though it had a bit of a overcooked taste. Maybe I would use melted chocolate instead of the cocoa in the icing.
thank natasha for the feedback and also for sharing the variations you did. i personally found the icing to have a good taste and never felt it to be overcooked. with cocoa, its always better to use a good quality cocoa powder. i have used many brands and by now i know how the final taste in a cake or an icing depends largely on the quality of cocoa powder. you can use melted chocolate.
You can use sand instead of using salt .try it
i know, but sand is not easily available everywhere.
Hey hi! I m going to try N make my second cake.
The first time was sometime ago N I have forgotten the how’s N what’s
I want to try this cake recipe, but can I also add in dry fruits N nuts in it, I m cooking it in pressure cooker so how much time should I keep it inside the cooker. Do tell me plz. Also plz do include simple cake decorating ideas for beginners. Thank u.
gayathri, if adding dry fruits, then add less as the cake is soft, moist and fudgy. walnuts and roasted almonds will be a good option. you can add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of finely chopped dry fruits. coat the dry fruits in some flour and then add to batter. timing i have mentioned in the post itself. but depending on the size, make and heaviness of the cooker, it can takes less or more time. after 20 to 25 minutes you can open the lid and check the cake. please remove the whistle (vent weight) and gasket (rubber ring) from the lid while baking.
i will try to add simple cake decorating ideas. have a taken a note of the same. happy baking ?
nd icing cn we put melted chocolate or dark chocolate
you can use either. if using dark chocolate, then add some powdered sugar or else there can be bitter tones in the icing.
in a cake if it is eggless then i thnk cndnsd mlk is must bt if thr is no milkmaid wl it tst good…..if yes dn u r fabulous bcoz milkmaid is expensive
milkmaid or condensed is not necessary while preparing eggless cakes. there are many other egg substitutes and even they work good. eg curd, tofu, apple sauce, fruit purees, buttermilk. thank you nuzhath ?
Hi,
Cake looks awesome. Want to have it right away.
Can i use lemon instead of vinegar?
Can you mention the size of baking tin? Will make it and let you know how it turned out.
Thanks in advance.
you can use lemon juice instead of vinegar. the size of the baking tin is 7×2 inches. 7 is the diameter and 2 inches is the depth of the pan. sure do let me know.
Thank you so much for your reply.
One more question. Want to confirm the quantity to butter used.. recipe says 1/4 cup OR 30grams, but when i weighed 1/4cup butter, it turned out more than that.. almost double. It was 57-58g..
Want to know how do you measure butter.. what measurement(for butter) is best to use for this recipe, 1/4 cup or 30 grams.
Thanks!
welcome AG. when i measure butter, i use the tare option in the weighing scale. so the scale gives me the exact measure of butter minus the weight of the cup used. at times i first measure cold butter in the cup, then remove it from cup and measure it on the scale. do not measure both the cup and the butter together. the weight of the cup will also be included. in electronic weighing scales, there is a tare option that can be used when weighing the ingredient with the cup.
for this recipe use 30 grams butter, where just the butter is measured and not the cup.
Hi Dassana, i baked the cake.. it was yummy.. n my son liked it a lot. I will definitely make it again.
One question.. it was very dense.. is it right texture for this cake?
Thanks.
AG, the cake is soft and not dense. it is soft and fudgy. wondering what must have gone wrong. in fact its so soft it breaks when slicing it. was the baking soda fresh enough. when the baking soda is mixed with the solution of curd+vinegar it will bubble and fizz. but still nice to know that your son liked it. thanks for sharing.
Not sure. may be I should have baked for few more mins.. What do you say?
Will try again and let you know.
Fine AG. do try again and let me know. use fresh baking soda. it should not be near its expiry date.
It came out well,so delicious I found,thanks
thanks for the feedback diprekha. glad to know.
Hi Dassanna… Thank you so much for the recipe. I don’t have Vinegar and Baking Soda with me can I use Baking Powder instead?
anitha, baking powder alone will not work. also baking powder can be substituted for baking soda. baking soda is essential. instead of vinegar you can use lemon juice or buttermilk.