Super easy, self-saucing chocolate pudding cake! The perfect amount of sweetness. While baking, this dessert separates into a layer of delicious chocolate cake over the top of rich, hot fudge pudding. This pudding cake is sure to impress! Serve with vanilla ice cream for the best chocolate dessert!
Growing up, I remember my mom making chocolate pudding cake! I loved it so much! I recently had a craving for it, so I gave my mom a call. In true fashion, my mom didn't know the exact recipe because she never writes any of her recipes down. She's a wing it kind of gal. She gave me some pointers and I went to recipe testing. Well, we nailed it!!
My mom and I both like there to be a lot of pudding and a thin layer of cake. It's just best that way. It's so saucy!! And once the cake cools, it starts to absorb some of the pudding, so the more pudding, the better. So, when making the cake, it may seem like a lot of liquid, but trust me, it will work out perfectly.
Ingredients.
Flour. Just all-purpose flour works great.
Unsweetened cocoa powder. I use Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa 100% cacao.
Sugar. White granulated sugar for the cake and brown sugar for the hot fudge pudding.
Baking soda. To help the cake rise.
Salt. All dessert needs salt to balance the sweetness.
Milk. I recommend whole or 2%.
Butter. For both the cake and pudding. I always use salted when baking and cooking, but you can also unsalted.
Vegetable oil. To help keep the cake moist.
Vanilla extract. For extra flavor.
Instant espresso powder. I like to add one teaspoon of instant espresso powder to chocolate desserts. Coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate, but the small amount won't make the cake taste like coffee.
Water. Two cups of water to make the pudding. It seems like it's a lot, but trust me, it's the perfect amount.
Tips & tricks.
When you remove the dessert from the oven, let the it cool before serving. Let the dessert cool for at least 15 minutes, but ideally 30 minutes. If you scoop into the dessert after about 15 minutes of cooling, the pudding will be consistency of hot fudge. After about 30 minutes, it'll be more like pudding consistency and what you see in the pictures.
Reheat in the microwave. As the dessert sits, the pudding starts to absorb into the cake. So, if you have leftovers, I recommend reheating the dessert before serving again. Dish up one serving in a bowl and microwave for about 30-45 seconds. The pudding will warm up and thin back out.
More delicious desserts!
Easy Eggless Tiramisu
Dark Chocolate Mocha Chip Cookies
Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Easy Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Hot fudge pudding
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- â…“ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Chocolate cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degress F. Lightly grease a 9 x 9 inch or larger baking dish with butter (ideally smaller than a 9 x 13 inch baking dish).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and instant espresso powder.
- Add the milk, butter, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients. Whisk until smooth and combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer. Set aside.
Hot fudge pudding
- Add all of the pudding ingredients to a small saucepan over medium-hight heat. Whisk frequently until combined and lightly simmering, about 5 minutes.
- Gently pour the liquid all over the top of the cake batter. Do NOT mix together. The liquid should sit on top.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top of the cake is set and cracked and is pulling away from the sides. Remove from the oven (the cake will jiggle because of the pudding below) and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.
Tara Sykes says
This is sooo good! I needed something chocolatey and this did it!
I only had an 8x8 or 9x13 pan, so I used the 9x13, I just baked it for 25 minutes!! Turned out perfect!!
Modern Farmhouse Eats says
Thank you so much for leaving a review!! 🙂
Theresa says
Made this after my daughter in law tried something similar in a restaurant. I told her I could make it better. She told me prove it. (I thought the restaurant's was dry and it just tasted like chocolate syrup on the top) There was no comparison, this recipe was far better than the restaurant's. After tasting this recipe, she went back for seconds and thirds...will be adding it to my favorite list.
Modern Farmhouse Eats says
Theresa, oh my gosh that makes me so happy!! Thank you so much for sharing that story with me! My mom and I developed the recipe together 😊
Sandy says
This is sooooo incredible!! Brilliant!! But I used Allulose and monk fruit for the sweetener and my pudding was way too runny, I only put half of it on the cake and it was perfect! I'm wondering if that's because the sugar helps thicken the pudding and the Allulose didn't? Either way it was incredible!! :))
Modern Farmhouse Eats says
Hi Sandy! I'm so happy that still loved the recipe!! Before serving, I let the cake sit for about 30 minutes after it comes out of the oven to cool a bit and thicken up to a pudding-like consistency. However, using sugar substitutes could have very likely been the reason the pudding didn't thicken up!