This rich chocolate pudding cake recipe is the perfect dessert for chocolate lovers!
Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding Cake
The homemade chocolate pudding cake might just be the best chocolate recipe ever, because you get two delicious chocolate desserts at the same time!
A layer of gooey dark chocolate cake hides thick and creamy chocolate pudding underneath. When I first learned about the extraordinary chocolate dessert, I knew that I needed to try it as soon as possible.
Who wouldn’t fall in love with a recipe that is both cake and pudding, with no need to choose one over the other? Life is already filled with enough difficult decisions!
Try topping the cake with Coconut Milk Ice Cream
Chocolate Cake Ingredients
Having never made any sort of pudding cake before, I first looked to a chocolate pudding cake recipe in Taste of Home as a reference.
Never one to follow a recipe, I then changed it completely, cutting back on the sugar and adding extra cocoa powder, because more chocolate is always a good idea.
Adding pure vanilla extract heightens the recipe’s flavor and sweetness.
I also made mine egg free and decreased the fat considerably. The original version called for butter, which can be substituted with vegetable or coconut oil, or peanut butter or almond butter if preferred.
To make a vegan pudding cake: To make this a plant based dessert, use your favorite nondairy milk for the liquid and vegan chocolate chips if you opt to add those. Just like with my Vegan Chocolate Cake, there are no eggs required for the pudding cake.
For a low carb or keto recipe: Try this reader favorite recipe for chocolate Keto Cake. Or if you want to experiment, I haven’t tried the pudding cake recipe below with almond flour so be sure to report back with results if you do try it.
Gluten free pudding cake: The recipe works with all purpose gluten free flour. If you try any other gluten free or grain free flours – such as sorghum flour, coconut flour, or oat flour – with success, leave a comment below and I will update this post.
For sugar free pudding cake: Feel free to use granulated xylitol or erythritol instead of sugar, and use an unsweetened milk such as almondmilk. Omit the optional chocolate chips or use sugar free chocolate chips.
How to Make Pudding Cake for Dessert
To bake the chocolate pudding cake in an oven, first preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease an 8-inch baking pan.
Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, and optional instant coffee in a large mixing bowl.
Add in the milk, oil or nut butter, and pure vanilla extract. Stir until just evenly combined. (Over-mixing can cause baked goods to be overly chewy and tough.)
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Stir the remaining four tablespoons of brown sugar or sweetener into the boiling water. Then pour this water mixture on top of the cake batter in the baking pan, but do not stir it into the batter.
Place the pan in the middle rack of the oven, and bake for 35 minutes. It will look like a regular chocolate cake on top when you take it out.
If you reach your spoon into the chocolate cake, you will find a layer of rich chocolate pudding underneath!
Looking for a non chocolate recipe? Try this Applesauce Cake
Chocolate Pudding Cake in a Crock Pot
Don’t want to heat up the oven? No problem, just use a slow cooker or crock pot!
Start by greasing the bowl of your slow cooker. Set it aside. (Note: The recipe was tested in a 4-quart crockpot.)
Stir all of the ingredients except the four tablespoons additional sweetener and the boiling water in the machine, just until evenly combined. Do not over-mix.
Dissolve the brown sugar or sweetener in the water. Pour over the top of the batter in the crock pot, but do not stir at all.
Close the lid and cook on high for one and a half hours. Turn off the machine, and open the lid slightly. Let it sit another full hour with the lid opened just barely to let some of the steam escape. The cake and pudding will thicken during this time.
Baking and Storage Tips for Success
If you want to make changes to the recipe below, I highly recommend making it once according to directions and not omitting or cutting back on any ingredient. This way you’ll know how the taste and texture are supposed to turn out and will have a baseline to compare the two versions.
For freshness, it’s best to store leftovers in a covered container or covered crock pot in the refrigerator. It can be left out for a few hours if serving to guests.
The crock pot dessert will be more like pudding the first day, but if you let it cool completely and then refrigerate overnight, it gets much thicker and creamier by the following day.
Above, watch the chocolate pudding cake recipe video
Chocolate Pudding Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup spelt, white, oat, or gf all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sweetener of choice
- 1 tsp instant coffee powder, optional
- 1 1/2 cups milk of choice
- 1/4 cup oil, butter, or nut butter
- 2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1/4 cup brown sugar or any granulated sweetener
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- *If you prefer to make the recipe in a crock pot, see directions earlier in the post.Pudding cake recipe: Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8-inch baking pan. Stir all ingredients together except the water and 1/4 cup sweetener. Don't over-mix. Pour into the pan. Mix the 1/4 cup sweetener into the boiling water. Pour this over the batter in the pan, but do not stir it into the batter at all. Bake on the oven's center rack for 35 minutes. Let cool. The pudding layer underneath will get thicker as it sits. (I store leftovers in the fridge, and it thickens even more overnight.)View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
Easy Chocolate Desserts
Do you think this would work with almond or coconut flour? I might have to test that out!
If you try it, definitely report back! 🙂
Just made this and it is delicious! I am going to try with coconut flour next time. Will let you know. YUM!!!
Did you a chance to try? Sounds amazing
Hey, I think I have all the ingredients for this on hand…I know what we’ll be trying for dessert soon!
Oh man, I am so very tempted to adapt this for my oven once it cools down enough for me to bear turning it on.
Happy birthday! Hehe, I just had mine too and my friends gave me a lot of dark chocolate. We have smart friends;)
Do you think you could try to make a healthier tiramisu? I have been craving it so much lately!
I do have a recipe… just need to find a good time to post it :).
This looks so yummy. Can’t wait to try it. I am wondering what is the difference between different cocoa powders, unsweetened, dutch process, etc. Do you know if there is a difference? I am reluctant to use stevia. I like when you give alternatives to sweeteners and other ideas. I love reading your blogs and trying your recipes….keep having fun and enjoy 🙂
The quality of your cocoa powder makes a HUGE difference in the quality of your baked goods. Unless you’re not picky, of course. Just think of cacao beans like you do coffee beans and count on each type having its own flavour. But in my paranoid opinion, manufacturers sell “sweetened” cocoa powder, which is cocoa powder mixed with some sort of sugar, to compensate for not-so-awesome beans. Otherwise, sweetened cocoa powder is usually for making drinking chocolate. Dutch process powder is alkalized and I think it may be darker, but I don’t buy it because I prefer to just use straight cocoa powder and not have to adjust how much base I use. Have yet to try CACAO powder, which is relatively raw beans ground up into powder without exceeding 116 F.
If it is at all within your means, you should get a few types of powder and if you dislike one, you can always turn it into shower products if you can’t return it. Hey, just cuz it doesn’t taste good doesn’t mean it isn’t great for your skin and hair 😀
So ,I just made this now in my oven since I don’t have a crock pot.It took almost 30 to 40 minutes ,And I left it there for about 15 minutes after turning heat off.I made it in a 28 inches round pan ,but I believe it’ll also work in a 9 inch square pan too.You said in the fridge the next day it’ll be thicker and creamer ,does that mean you serve it cold?
*24 inch round pan
Sorry for the mistake ,I meant 24 cm ,about 10 inches.
Hi Ry –
I was looking up the oven options online and it does seem like the people that had leftovers for the next day still recommended microwaving it. I suppose it depends on your preference, but it must be a cake that it is exceptional warm. 🙂 My guess is it taste good either way. Sam
Uuuuuhhhh I really wanna make this now! There is just nothing better than “guilt free” chocolate!! 😉
Oh my gosh this looks amazing. I will have to try this out soon. Thank you for sharing!
xx
youngmildandfree.wordpress.com
I saw a sign like that that said
“Chocolate-it’s not just for breakfast anymore”
Had I discovered your blog before I discovered that sign, I would have thought of you.
Want! NEED! Question though: are the nutrition facts calculated with sugar and chocolate chips, or with the lowest sugar option? I’m making this regardless, but I need to know how many carbs I’m eating (I’m diabetic, or I would just scarf the whole thing lol)
They are calculated with the lower options. However, xylitol is not a calorie-free sweetener so that part shouldn’t matter much.
Thank you!