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This Chocolate Pudding Cake has a soft, brownie-like chocolate cake with a warm, fudgy sauce hidden underneath. Chocolate chips melt into the cake as it bakes, so every scoop has tender cake, pockets of chocolate, and plenty of rich sauce from the bottom of the dish.
This self-saucing chocolate cake is easy enough for a casual dinner but still feels special when you want a warm dessert to share. Serve it with Homemade Whipped Cream, or try my Pumpkin Pie with Sweetened Condensed Milk and other easy dessert recipes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It makes its own sauce: The chocolate cake rises to the top while a thick, hot fudge-like sauce forms underneath.
- Easy from scratch: There’s no instant pudding mix, frosting, or separate chocolate sauce to make.
- Rich without much fuss: Hot coffee deepens the cocoa flavor, while semisweet chocolate chips melt into soft chocolate pockets throughout the cake.
What Is Chocolate Pudding Cake?
Chocolate pudding cake is a self-saucing dessert with baked chocolate cake on top and a warm chocolate pudding sauce underneath. A thick cake batter goes into the dish first, followed by a much thinner cocoa topping. Don’t stir them together. The cake rises while the fudgy sauce forms underneath.
Despite the name, this isn’t chocolate cake made with instant pudding mix. The “pudding” is the fudgy chocolate sauce that forms underneath as the cake bakes. You may also see this style of dessert called hot fudge pudding cake.
Once you scoop into it, it can look a little like a family-style lava cake. The difference is that lava cake relies on a soft or molten center. Here, the cake bakes through while a separate chocolate sauce stays soft underneath.
Ingredients Needed
Grab the exact amounts for this chocolate pudding cake recipe from the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Cake Batter
- All-purpose flour: Gives the cake enough structure to rise above the sauce.
- Granulated sugar: Sweetens the cake batter.
- Brown sugar: Adds sweetness with a little more depth.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: Use unsweetened cocoa powder, not hot cocoa mix.
- Baking powder: Helps the cake rise while the pudding sauce forms underneath.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and chocolate flavor.
- Whole milk: Adds moisture to the thick batter.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter and melt it before mixing.
- Vanilla extract: Rounds out the chocolate flavor.
- Semisweet chocolate chips: Melt into soft chocolate pockets throughout the cake.
Pudding Topping
- Light brown sugar and granulated sugar: Sweeten the sauce and give it a richer flavor than using one sugar alone.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: Creates the chocolate base for the sauce.
- Salt: Keeps the topping from tasting overly sweet.
- Hot brewed coffee: Deepens the chocolate flavor without making the dessert taste strongly like coffee. Boiling water works too.
For Serving
- Vanilla ice cream or lightly whipped cream: Both are especially good against the warm chocolate sauce. My Homemade Whipped Cream is an easy option if you don’t want ice cream.
- Flaky sea salt: Optional, but a small pinch is a nice contrast to the rich chocolate.
How to Make Chocolate Pudding Cake
Mix Until the Batter Looks Like Brownie Batter
Combine the cake ingredients, then fold in the chocolate chips. The finished batter should be thick and spreadable rather than pourable, similar to brownie batter.
Spread the Batter Into a Thin, Even Layer
Work the batter all the way into the corners of the buttered baking dish. It may look surprisingly shallow at this point, but that’s what you want. The cake rises quite a bit in the oven.
Whisk the Pudding Topping Until Mostly Smooth
Slowly stir the hot coffee into the cocoa and sugars. Adding it gradually helps the cocoa mix in with fewer lumps. Press any stubborn ones against the side of the bowl with the back of a spoon.
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Pour the Topping Over the Batter and Don’t Stir
Pour the thin chocolate mixture evenly over the batter and leave it alone. The dish will look very wet before baking. That separation is what allows the cake and chocolate sauce to form into distinct layers.
Bake Until the Top Is Set and the Sauce Is Bubbling
Look for a slightly cracked cake layer that springs back lightly when touched, with chocolate sauce bubbling around the edges. A little movement underneath is good. You don’t want to bake until the entire dish looks firm.
Rest Until the Sauce Turns Thick and Fudgy
The chocolate sauce will be fairly loose when the cake first comes out of the oven. Let it sit before scooping so the sauce can thicken while staying warm and spoonable. When you serve it, dig all the way to the bottom so every portion gets both cake and plenty of sauce.
Why I Mix the Pudding Topping First
Typically, pudding cake is made by sprinkling the cocoa and sugar over the batter while they’re still dry, then pouring the hot coffee or water over the top. That method works, but I found that it can leave some stubborn cocoa clumps.
After making this a few times, I started mixing the cocoa and sugars with the hot coffee first. It gives me a smoother topping, and it’s much easier to press out any lumps while everything is still in a bowl than after the topping is sitting over the cake batter.
The other thing I do is pour the coffee in slowly while stirring. That gives the cocoa a chance to mix in gradually and cuts down on the lumps quite a bit.
Pro Tips
- Use a similar-size baking dish: I use a 10.5 x 7.5-inch ceramic dish. A much larger or shallower pan will change the depth of both the cake and sauce and may change the baking time.
- Add the coffee slowly: I get a smoother topping with fewer cocoa lumps when I pour the hot liquid in gradually while stirring.
- Leave the layers alone: Once the pudding mixture goes over the cake batter, don’t stir them together.
- Don’t bake away the sauce: Pull the cake once the top is set and slightly cracked and you can still see sauce bubbling around the edges.
- Give it time to rest: The sauce thickens considerably during the 15-minute rest, so don’t judge its final texture as soon as it comes out of the oven.
How to Serve Chocolate Pudding Cake
This hot fudge pudding cake is best while it’s still warm and the chocolate sauce underneath is soft and spoonable.
I like to scoop it into bowls with plenty of sauce from the bottom, then add vanilla ice cream so it starts melting into the warm chocolate. You can also use Homemade Whipped Cream and finish it with a small pinch of flaky sea salt.
As the cake cools, the sauce firms up and the dessert becomes more cake-like. It’s still good, but warming it brings back more of the soft, saucy texture that makes this dessert so good in the first place.
For another easy homemade dessert, try my Pumpkin Pie with Graham Cracker Crust or Pumpkin Pie with Sweetened Condensed Milk. Banana Pudding, Bread Pudding, Peach Cobbler, and Blackberry Cobbler are also great options when you want another classic comfort dessert.
FAQs
No. This pudding cake is made from scratch. The pudding-like part is the warm chocolate sauce that forms underneath the cake while it bakes.
That’s normal. The thin chocolate topping sits over the much thicker cake batter before it goes into the oven. Don’t stir the two together.
Look for a set, slightly cracked top that springs back lightly when touched, with chocolate sauce still bubbling around the edges. A slight jiggle from the sauce underneath is fine.
It was probably baked a little too long. As the cake continues baking, it can absorb more of the sauce. Pull it once the cake layer is set rather than waiting for the entire dish to become firm.
Yes. Use the same amount of boiling water instead. The coffee deepens the chocolate flavor, but it isn’t required for the cake and sauce to form.
Storage & Reheating
- Store: Cover the pudding cake and refrigerate it for up to 3 days.
- Reheat: Microwave individual portions for 20 to 30 seconds, or until warm and the chocolate sauce has softened again.
- For the best texture: Serve leftovers warm. The pudding sauce firms as it chills, so reheating brings it back closer to its freshly baked, spoonable consistency.
Chocolate Pudding Cake
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Recommended Equipment
- 10.5 x 7.5-inch ceramic baking dish 2.5 quarts
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup White Sugar, granulated
- ½ cup Brown Sugar
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Natural Ancient Sea Salt
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- 6 tablespoons Butter, unsalted and melted
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Chocolate Chips, semisweet
Pudding Topping
- ⅓ cup Brown Sugar, light and packed
- ⅓ cup White Sugar, granulated
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ⅛ tsp Natural Ancient Sea Salt, just a pinch
- 1¾ cups Coffee, brewed and hot, or water, boiling
For Serving
- Vanilla ice cream, or lightly whipped cream
- Flaky sea salt, optional
Instructions
- Prepare the oven and baking dish: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 10.5 x 7.5-inch ceramic baking dish well.
- Mix the dry ingredients: Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- Make the batter: Add the milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Stir with a spatula just until smooth. The batter will be thick, similar to a stiff brownie batter.
- Add the chocolate chips: Fold the chocolate chips into the batter.
- Spread the batter: Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and spread it into an even layer, working it into the corners. The layer will look relatively thin, but it will rise considerably as it bakes.
- Make the pudding topping: Whisk the light brown sugar, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, and salt together in a small bowl. Slowly pour in the hot coffee or boiling water while stirring. Continue stirring until mostly smooth, pressing any remaining cocoa lumps against the side of the bowl with the back of a spoon.
- Pour over the batter: Slowly pour the hot pudding mixture evenly over the batter. Do not stir.
- Bake: Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is set and slightly cracked and springs back lightly when touched. The sauce should be bubbling around the edges, and the center may still have a slight jiggle from the sauce underneath.
- Let it rest: Let the pudding cake rest for 15 minutes before serving. The chocolate sauce will thicken into a fudgier consistency as it sits.
- Serve: Scoop into bowls, digging all the way to the bottom so each serving gets both cake and chocolate sauce. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or lightly whipped cream and flaky sea salt, if desired.
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Recipe Notes
- Add the hot liquid slowly: Pour the hot coffee or boiling water into the cocoa-sugar mixture gradually while stirring to help prevent cocoa lumps. Press any remaining lumps against the side of the bowl with the back of a spoon.
- Do not stir after pouring: Once the hot pudding mixture is poured over the batter, leave the layers separate so the cake can rise while the chocolate sauce forms underneath.
- Do not overbake: Look for a set, slightly cracked top with sauce bubbling around the edges. A slight jiggle from underneath is fine. Overbaking can cause the cake to absorb too much of the sauce.
- Let it rest: The sauce will be thinner straight from the oven. Rest the cake for 15 minutes so it can thicken while remaining warm and spoonable.
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used.
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