This Chocolate Pudding Cake features two delicious layers that form while baking. Chocolate cake on top and creamy chocolate pudding sauce on the bottom. Serve this dessert warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Welcome to chocolate heaven. Warm chocolate cake topped with creamy chocolate sauce. Part cake, part pudding, with a touch of brownie-like fudginess thrown in because chocolate is THE BEST THING EVER!
This Chocolate Pudding Cake has quickly joined the list of my favorite chocolate recipes: Homemade Brownies, Chocolate Cookies, Chocolate Zucchini Bread, Chocolate Mousse, and Caramel Brownies.
If you’re not a fan of chocolate, try my Pumpkin Pudding Cake, Sticky Toffee Pudding, or Rice Pudding.
What is a Pudding Cake?
A pudding cake is two desserts in one. The top layer is cake, and during bake time a pudding-like sauce forms underneath the cake. This dessert is served warm, by scooping portions of cake into a bowl, then spooning the pudding sauce over the top. There is no need for frosting because the “pudding” serves as the topping.
My goal with this recipe was to create a cake that had a deep chocolate flavor. Sometimes chocolate cakes come out lacking in the flavor department; they just aren’t chocolaty enough for me. I wanted this pudding cake fudgy and cakey with an almost brownie-like quality. By using a mixture of cocoa powder, chocolate chips and a touch of espresso powder, I got the chocolate flavor I was looking for.
Prefer old fashioned chocolate pudding? Try our Chocolate Pudding or Chocolate Pie.
How To Make a Chocolate Pudding Cake
- Start by preparing the chocolate cake: combine, flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, oil and vanilla. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Pour the cake batter into a lightly greased 9×9 square baking pan.
- Sprinkle sugar and cocoa powder over the top of the batter.
- Gently pour boiling water evenly over the cake batter (this is what will form the sauce).
- Carefully transfer to the oven and bake.
While baking, the cake will rise to the top and the pudding sauce will form on the bottom.
Recipe Tips
- After pouring the boiling water over the cake batter do not stir or jostle the mixture. You want two distinctly separate layers, and if you mix it up it won’t bake properly.
- This cake is best served warm, shortly after being removed from the oven. When it is warm the cake is soft and tender and the pudding sauce is creamy.
- Leftovers should be refrigerated and individual servings should be reheated in the microwave.
- This cake is best within 1 day of baking, as the cake will absorb some of the pudding sauce over time.
- Use a baking pan that is at least 2 inches high. You need enough room for the sauce and the cake to bake on top of each other.
- Don’t forget the toppings – Serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream and/or fresh berries.
NEVER MISS A RECIPE! SUBSCRIBE to our free EMAIL LIST – LIKE us on FACEBOOK – Follow on INSTAGRAM
Recipe
Chocolate Pudding Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup light brown sugar*, packed
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup milk, preferably whole or 2%
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- generous ½ cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
Topping:
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar*
- 1 ½ cups boiling water
- Recommended: vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, for serving
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch** square baking pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk flour, brown sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, oil and vanilla and whisk until well combined and smooth. Using a rubber spatula, stir in chocolate chips.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Proceed with the topping.
Topping:
- In a bowl, combine cocoa powder and brown sugar, mixing until well combined (I use a fork). Sprinkle this mixture in an even layer over the top of the cake batter.
- Slowly and carefully pour the boiling water evenly over the top. TIP: I pour the water over the back of a large spoon and slowly move it around the pan while pouring. Do not stir or disturb the cake batter underneath.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the cake layer (on top) is cooked through. The pudding sauce should be bubbling gently around the sides of the pan. Place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Serve warm, scooping the cake into bowls and spooning the sauce over the top. Recommended garnishes: vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Angelica
what would the substitutions be if you were to make this paleo?
Allison
Hi! I’m not the person to ask (haha). You’d have to eliminate more than half of the ingredients to make it Paleo. You’re welcome to play around with it! Best of luck.
Marko
Hi!
Just made these and it was awesome!
One question,
The sugar and cocoa werent fully disolved so once cooled i could taste their crunchiness in the middle. I could visually see the cocoa and sugar, not a lot but here was a layer. What went wrong?
Allison
Hi! Sorry to hear that. I haven’t had that problem before. Was the pudding the mixture bubbling around the edges when you removed it from the oven? Maybe your brown sugar had lumps in it that wouldn’t fully dissolve. Did you see the note about sugar at the bottom of the recipe card?
keeley
Do you think I’d be able to freeze this and reheat it later?
Allison
I haven’t tried it. I would assume that the texture of the cake might get too mushy.