Kladdkaka Recipe (gluten-free, vegan options) - Texanerin Baking (2024)

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.

  See Also

  Soft Caramel Snickerdoodles Recipe

• 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?

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