Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
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Hot Fudge Pudding Cake is easy to make and magically bakes chocolate cake with a hot fudge pudding sauce in the same pan. It’s gooey, chocolatey, and delicious! Serve it warm with ice cream for an even tastier dessert!
Cold winter days require a warm dessert, and this old fashioned hot fudge pudding cake is perfect for enjoying at the end of a chilly day. With double the chocolate in one dessert, your chocolate cravings will be satisfied.
And I’m all for double the chocolate desserts like these Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and Double Chocolate Banana Cake. You can never have too much chocolate, in my opinion.
If you’re thinking, “But I can’t handle that much chocolate!” Adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream will help cut through some of the richness, and nothing beats a warm chocolate dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
This hot fudge pudding cake is super easy to make. It has two different elements, but it’s baked up in the same pan.
First, a thick batter is spread into the bottom of a lightly greased pan or baking dish. Then a dry cocoa mixture is sprinkled on top of the batter. (I love using Hershey’s Special Dark Baking Cocoa for this cake.)
Hot water gets poured over the top of the dry cocoa mixture and the cake goes straight into the oven. NO STIRRING.
Then the magic begins. The mixtures flip-flop during baking and a hot fudge pudding sauce forms underneath a rich chocolate cake as it bakes in the oven.
When you spoon into this cake the sauce emerges like a hidden volcano. Except it doesn’t explode, but flows like lava. Everyone loves this gooey chocolate cake. Add it to your “must make” list ASAP!
Tips and Helpful Hints
- Use a tea kettle, pot on the stove, or microwave to heat the hot water for the sauce. Bring water to a simmer, then it’s ready to use.
- Feel free to bake the cake for a few minutes longer, if necessary (ovens may vary). Check the gooey-ness with a toothpick to determine how “saucy” you want it. The cake should have a nice crust on top and the toothpick should be just slightly wet when inserted into the middle.
- Allow the cake to rest for 15 minutes before serving to give the sauce time to set up (thicken). Do NOT skip this! (The batter may seem really runny when it’s hot straight from the oven, but will thicken as it cools.)
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake is easy to make and magically bakes chocolate cake with a hot fudge pudding sauce in the same pan.
Ingredients
Cake Batter:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (stir, spoon, & level)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Hot Fudge Pudding Sauce:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 cups HOT water
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 9-inch square or 2-quart round baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- For the cake: Whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Mix until combined. Spread batter into the prepared pan.
- For the hot fudge pudding sauce: Stir together the sugar, brown sugar, and cocoa powder. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter. Pour HOT water over the top. DO NOT STIR.
- Bake at 350˚F for 35-40 minutes or until the center is almost set. Remove from oven and let cake rest for 15 minutes, so the sauce will cool slightly and thicken. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.
Notes
*Heat hot water for cake with a tea kettle, pot on the stove, or in the microwave until simmering.
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Welcome!
Hi, I’m Amber! I am a culinary graduate and dessert lover! This is where I share my favorite sweet and savory recipes alongside my knowledge and skills as a culinary graduate. I hope you find something you like!
7 Comments on “Hot Fudge Pudding Cake”
Hi there! Making this tonight! Can you double the recipe? Or is best to do two separate 9×9 pans?
I haven’t doubled it, but I would probably do two separate pans because otherwise you’d have to cook it longer and then it might be more cake and less pudding, if you get what I mean.
That’s what I was thinking!! Thank you for the quick reply!!
First time I made this (dark chocolate version) and it was perfect but substituted oat milk for water/milk. Second time I got cocky and tried to sub almond flour for the regular flour. Immediately knew the proportions were off, added more, but still a little “soupy”. A little extra time in the oven and it set but the end result was a cake that was thinner, more compact (think brownies) and much more sauce.
My mouth does not care either way as both were delicious and I plan next to sub peanut butter and/or avocados for the butter.
I am glad you are enjoying this recipe John, and that you’re brave enough to try making it with different ingredients for your personal preference. You might want to try adding an egg to help absorb some of the liquid if using almond flour. Glad it was still tasty!
Made the recipe as instructed and it came out soupy. Cake never set. Were there supposed to be eggs?
I’m sorry you experienced some issues. There are no eggs in this cake. The bottom layer should have been wet, but the top layer should have been cakey. The longer it sets the thicker the bottom pudding layer gets. Ovens vary, so it may have needed extra time. Next time you can check the gooey-ness with a toothpick to determine how “saucy” you want it. The cake should have a nice crust on top and the toothpick should be just slightly wet when inserted into the middle. Also make sure to wait 15 minutes so the pudding thickens. It will be really thin and runny/soupy straight from the oven. Hope this helps!