This chocolate pudding cake recipe is a rich chocolate cake that’s made with pantry staples and is ready from start to finish in less than an hour. It also happens to be low fat!
Chocolate pudding cake has a fudgy cake layer with molten chocolate pudding underneath. It takes just minutes to put together and is elegant enough to serve to company.
I’ve mentioned a couple of times that I used to have a food blog a while back before I had kids. This chocolate pudding cake was the most popular recipe on my old blog, and it also happens to be low in fat!
My mom found this easy chocolate pudding cake recipe in a magazine more than 20 years ago and we’ve been making it ever since. I still have the original page of the magazine, the advertisement next to the recipe is for a brand new product called mini M&M’s, that’s how old it is! The reason we’ve been making this recipe for so long is because it’s unique, super easy to make and the ingredients are so basic that I always have them in the house.
How do you make chocolate pudding cake?
This recipe starts off with a basic cocoa-based cake batter. The magic happens when a mixture of cocoa powder and brown sugar is sprinkled over the top and then boiling water is poured over the whole thing. It looks like a terrible mess going into the oven but what comes out is a chocolate lover’s delight.
A rich moist cake forms the top layer and a chocolate pudding sauce forms on the bottom. It’s great served warm or cold and it only has three tablespoons of butter in the entire recipe so it’s not going to break your calorie budget for the day. The cake batter also happens to be egg-free, which means you can let your helpers lick the spoon!
This easy chocolate pudding cake is great for a quick and casual dessert or you can dress it up by serving it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and some fresh berries. Either way, I hope it becomes a tradition in your family like it has in mine.
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More easy dessert recipes
Chocolate Pudding Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 3/4 cups boiling water
- cooking spray
- berries whipped cream and mint for garnish if desired.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch square baking dish or round souffle dish. Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1/3 cup cocoa in medium bowl. Add milk, butter and vanilla, stir until just blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared dish.
- Combine brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa in small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Pour boiling water over entire mixture; do not stir.
- Bake 35 to 38 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the top layer comes out clean. Cool at least 10 minutes. Serve in bowls with garnishes if desired.
5 stars! I’ve made this countless times and it’s always a hit. It’s my go-to when we host a get together, we serve it hot out of the oven. Can’t say enough good things about it!
can you use partial oil instead of all butter in this recipe?
I’ve never tested it that way so I can’t say for sure!