Chocolate Pudding Cake

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Quick Summary

Chocolate Pudding Cake-a rich and moist chocolate cake with a silky chocolate pudding sauce. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you will be in chocolate dessert heaven! 

chocolate pudding cake in bowl with vanilla ice cream and spoon

I love a good chocolate dessert: One Bowl Brownies, Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Cookies, and the list goes on.

This Chocolate Pudding Cake (hot fudge pudding cake) is an all-time favorite. If you like chocolate, you are in for a real treat!

It is the weirdest cake ever, but SO SO good! You make the cake in a 9×13 pan and before it goes into the oven you sprinkle a mixture of brown sugar and cocoa over the cake batter. And that’s not all, you also pour boiling water over the cake.

It feels SO wrong to pour water over the top, but trust me on this one. The cake will look like a disaster, but don’t worry. When you pull it out of the oven you will feel like a magician because you will end up with a chocolate cake that rich, gooey, and out of this world delicious!

After you spoon into the cake and find the chocolate pudding at the bottom, you will swoon! The chocolate pudding sauce is silky, smooth, and makes the cake extra special.

chocolate pudding cake in pan with spoon

Cake Ingredients

  • Flour- use all-purpose flour, if you need the cake to be gluten-free, you can use your favorite gluten-free flour.
  • Brown sugar– always pack your brown sugar when measuring!
  • Baking powder AND baking soda– look at the dates and make sure they are fresh!
  • Salt– to bring out the flavors.
  • Chocolate chips– I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, Guittard is my favorite brand. You can use dark chocolate or milk chocolate chips.
  • Butter– I use unsalted butter.
  • Unsweetened chocolate– make sure you use unsweetened chocolate, you can find it in the baking aisle.
  • Buttermilk– to keep the cake super moist.
  • Vanilla extract– always vanilla!
  • Cocoa powder– you can use unsweetened cocoa or Dutch processed.
  • Boiling water– to pour over the cake. I know it sounds weird, but this is the secret to the pudding cake! Make sure your water is nice and HOT!
how to make chocolate pudding cake in pan

How to Make Chocolate Pudding Cake

  • Preheat the oven and grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, 1 cup of the brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well combined. If there are lumps of brown sugar, use your hands to break them up. Stir in chocolate chips and set aside.
  • In a small saucepan, melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate together over medium-low heat.
  • In a separate small saucepan, heat buttermilk over low heat until barely warmed. You don’t want it to bubble or boil. Remove from heat.
  • Remove chocolate and butter mixture from heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour mixture over dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk and stir until combined. Spread into the prepared pan.
  • Combine the remaining 1 ¼ cups brown sugar with the cocoa in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth, using your hands to break up any brown sugar clumps. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the chocolate cake batter.
  • Pour the boiling water evenly over the cake. Yes, it will look like a mess, but I promise this is how you make the pudding cake.
  • Bake until the center is firm to the touch. Your house will smell like chocolate heaven.
chocolate pudding cake in bowls

How to Serve

Let the cake cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before serving so the cake has time to set up.

To serve, invert each serving on a plate so that the fudge sauce on the bottom becomes a topping. Spoon any extra sauce in the pan over the top.

I like to serve the cake warm with vanilla ice cream, but it’s good plain too. If you want to eat it right out of the pan with a spoon, go for it! 

three bowls of chocolate pudding cake with vanilla ice cream

How to Store

Let the pudding cake cool to room temperature; cover and store in the refrigerator for up to one week. You can reheat in the microwave, for about 30 seconds or in a 350 degree F preheated oven. The cake will get gooey again after it is heated up.

chocolate hot fudge pudding cake in bowl with ice cream

More Chocolate Cake Recipes



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Chocolate Pudding Cake

This rich and moist chocolate cake with a silky chocolate pudding sauce is easy to make and always a hit! We like to serve the cake with vanilla ice cream.
4.56 from 29 votes

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, 1 cup of the brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well combined. If there are lumps of brown sugar, use your hands to break them up. Stir in chocolate chips and set aside.
  • In a small saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate together over medium-low heat.
  • In a separate small saucepan, heat buttermilk over low heat until barely warmed. You don’t want it to bubble or boil. Remove from heat.
  • Remove chocolate and butter mixture from heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour mixture over dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk and stir until combined. Spread into the prepared pan.
  • Combine the remaining 1 ¼ cups brown sugar with the cocoa in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth, using your hands to break up any brown sugar clumps. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the chocolate cake batter.
  • Pour the boiling water evenly over the cake. Yes, it will look like a mess, but I promise it will turn out!
  • Carefully transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the center is firm to the touch.
  • Remove cake from oven and cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before serving. To serve, invert each serving on a plate so that the fudge sauce on the bottom becomes a topping. Spoon any extra sauce in the pan over the top. You can serve the cake at room temperature or warm. Top with ice cream, if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 402kcal, Carbohydrates: 77g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 12mg, Sodium: 255mg, Potassium: 333mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 52g, Vitamin A: 158IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 155mg, Iron: 3mg

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Maria

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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  1. After making this I have abandoned my trusty self saucing chocolate pudding recipe .. This one is so much better and it is easy to make . Love the chocolate + chocolate + cocoa.  Thank you !

  2. I used to make a cake similar to this and it is always my birthday request though my sister hasn’t got up the courage to make it for me even though I tell her it’s simple 🙂 My recipe uses brewed coffee instead of water which makes it even more dangerous. Some of my family is not to keen on mocha flavor though so I may try this recipe. 

  3. This looks lovely! I want to bake for guest –
    Can the batter be prepared in advance and then baked when needed ?? 

  4. 5 stars
    I usually have no luck with cakes from scratch, but this turned out great! And we ALL liked, which is no small miracle (picky hubby and sons).
    Looks more like a brownie, until you dig in. Yum! Thank you, I found this when looking for a scoop cake, this is close enough, I’m looking no further! And

  5. This looks amazing!  Has you/anyone had any luck using a substitute milk other than buttermilk? Would it make a difference if I just used my 1 or 2% milk?

  6. It looks soooo delicious!!  I’m making it for my son on his birthday, Saturday!

  7. A friend let me taste this cake! She gave the recipe, and then I found it here. OMG! This is so sinfully sweet! I will make my own cake…..but I might not share it!

  8. Good morning Maria,
    Am dying to know did you choose a winner for the contest?
    Didn’t see anything & was wondering!
    Made Greek meat balls last night,we love them over pasta with broccoli.
    Thank you,
    Martha

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