If you’re searching for a show-stopping dessert that’s as comforting to make as it is to eat, look no further than the Chocolate Pudding Cake. This magical treat bakes up into a warm chocolate cake with surprise pockets of gooey, fudgy pudding hidden beneath the surface. Each spoonful offers contrasting layers of fluffy cake and molten chocolate sauce, and the best part is how effortlessly it all comes together. Whether you need something easy for a weeknight or impressive for guests, this classic delivers indulgence every single time.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You’ll be amazed at how just a handful of everyday essentials can create the most luscious Chocolate Pudding Cake. Each ingredient plays an important role, offering structure, sweetness, or that irresistible chocolatey depth.
- All-purpose flour: Gives the cake structure, ensuring a soft but sturdy crumb.
- Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness and balances the cocoa’s rich flavor.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: The hero ingredient for deep chocolate flavor in both cake and pudding layers.
- Baking powder: Gives your cake its lovely rise, making it light and fluffy.
- Salt: Just a pinch brings out all the other flavors.
- Milk: Adds moisture and helps create a smooth batter.
- Melted butter: Adds richness and a hint of buttery flavor.
- Vanilla extract: Boosts the overall flavor, making the chocolate sing.
- Brown sugar (for topping): Deepens the sweetness and helps build that gooey pudding layer.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder (for topping): Intensifies the chocolate pudding sauce.
- Hot water: This might seem unusual, but it’s the secret to that self-saucing magic underneath the cake.
How to Make Chocolate Pudding Cake
Step 1: Prepare Your Equipment
Preheat your oven to 350°F and lightly grease an 8×8-inch baking dish. This step ensures that nothing sticks, so you get those perfect, intact squares of warm cake and gooey pudding when you serve.
Step 2: Mix the Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. This blend creates the base flavor and texture for your Chocolate Pudding Cake, ensuring the dry ingredients are evenly distributed.
Step 3: Add the Wet Ingredients
Pour in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Stir everything together until you have a smooth, thick batter—don’t overmix, as you want the cake to stay tender.
Step 4: Spread the Batter
Scoop the batter into your prepared baking dish and spread it out evenly. This sets up the cake layer that will float atop that gooey chocolate lava.
Step 5: Make the Magical Topping
In a separate small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder for the topping. Sprinkle this evenly across the top of your batter. It may look like a lot, but trust the process!
Step 6: Add Hot Water (Don’t Stir!)
Carefully pour the hot water over the mixture, making sure to cover the entire surface. Resist the urge to stir—this is crucial! The hot water melts the cocoa topping and seeps through the batter, creating that iconic self-saucing chocolate pudding layer beneath.
Step 7: Bake to Gooey Perfection
Slide your dish into the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The top will look set, but beneath, you’ll have a silky chocolate pudding waiting. Let your freshly baked Chocolate Pudding Cake rest for about 10 minutes—this gives the pudding layer time to thicken just right.
How to Serve Chocolate Pudding Cake
Garnishes
Serve your Chocolate Pudding Cake with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream, a dollop of fluffy whipped cream, or even a sprinkle of dark chocolate shavings. Fresh raspberries or a few mint leaves also add a pop of color and freshness.
Side Dishes
Since this dessert is blissfully rich, serve with a bowl of fresh fruit salad, simple shortbread cookies, or perhaps just a mug of piping hot coffee to balance all that decadent chocolate.
Creative Ways to Present
Impress your guests by serving individual portions in ramekins, or add extra flair by dusting with powdered sugar and drizzling with caramel sauce. You can even serve it family-style, inviting everyone to dig straight in with big spoons for a cozy chocolate feast.
Make Ahead and Storage
Storing Leftovers
Store any leftover Chocolate Pudding Cake covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. The pudding layer will thicken as it sits, but the cake remains moist and satisfying.
Freezing
For longer storage, tightly wrap cool slices (or the whole cake) and freeze for up to two months. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating for the best texture.
Reheating
To bring back that just-baked warmth and gooey pudding, simply microwave individual servings for 30 seconds or reheat the pan gently in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes, until hot throughout.
FAQs
Can I make Chocolate Pudding Cake ahead of time?
Absolutely! You can bake the cake earlier in the day and reheat before serving. It’s extra dreamy when served warm and fresh, but leftovers reheat beautifully too.
Why do I pour hot water over the topping without stirring?
This is the genius behind Chocolate Pudding Cake: the water melts the sugar and cocoa, which sinks to form a rich chocolate sauce while the cake rises to the top, all without mixing!
Can I add chocolate chips or nuts?
Definitely! Stir a handful of chocolate chips or chopped toasted nuts into the batter for even more decadent flavor and texture.
Is this recipe suitable for vegans?
With a few swaps like plant-based milk and vegan butter, you can create a delicious vegan version. Substitute as needed, but be aware the result may be slightly different in texture.
How do I know when the cake is done?
The top should look set and cakey, while the bottom stays soft and saucy. You can gently press the center—it should bounce back, but still feel a bit giggly underneath from the pudding.
Final Thoughts
There’s just something irresistible about Chocolate Pudding Cake—it’s the union of cake and pudding, baked together in one magical dish. It’s cozy, chocolatey, and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, so I hope you’ll treat yourself and your loved ones to a warm, gooey serving soon!
Print
Chocolate Pudding Cake Recipe
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Indulge in this decadent Chocolate Pudding Cake that creates its own rich chocolate sauce as it bakes. A gooey, self-saucing dessert that pairs perfectly with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 cups hot water
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8×8-inch baking dish.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Stir in milk, melted butter, and vanilla until a thick batter forms.
- Layer Batter: Spread the batter into the prepared dish.
- Make Topping: Mix brown sugar and cocoa powder; sprinkle over the batter.
- Add Water: Carefully pour hot water over the top without stirring.
- Bake: Bake for 35–40 minutes until the top is set but still gooey underneath.
- Rest and Serve: Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
- This cake forms a chocolate sauce on the bottom while baking.
- For extra indulgence, mix chocolate chips into the batter before baking.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 290
- Sugar: 32g
- Sodium: 210mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 20mg
