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This easy Chocolate Pudding Cake recipe only needs 4 ingredients! Rich, moist, and perfect for holiday gatherings or any occasion. No frosting needed!
Easy and Delicious Cake Recipe for Holiday Gatherings
I got this recipe at a women’s retreat many years ago and it has been a favorite ever since. This cake is a perfect dessert for holiday entertaining because it is so easy to make, yet it tastes so good! You can put it in the oven right before dinner and it is ready right when you are ready to serve it for dessert. In this recipe, I usually use a Devil’s Food Cake mix, but a German Chocolate mix or regular chocolate cake mix work just as well. If you like nuts on your cake, you can also sprinkle chopped pecans or walnuts on top with the chocolate chips.
Ingredients in Chocolate Pudding Cake
This decadent chocolate cake comes together with just four ingredients! Every bite is rich with chocolate flavor. Your chocolate cravings are sure to be satisfied with this easy dessert. Here’s all you need:
- A box of Devil’s Food cake mix – you’re just going to use the dry mix. Don’t make the cake according to the box. Don’t have a cake mix handy? You can use 3 ⅓ cups of our homemade cake mix for this recipe with 9 tablespoons of cocoa powder.
- Chocolate pudding – you’ll need the good old fashioned pudding mix – the cook and serve, NOT instant
- Milk – you can make this recipe with boiling water or hot water but the cake batter is just more creamy and rich with milk. Use any kind of milk you have on hand.
- Chocolate chips – I like semi-sweet chocolate chips but you can add any kind you like.
That’s it! You’ll whisk the milk and chocolate pudding on the stovetop until it boils, then pour the pudding sauce over the dry cake mix in a large mixing bowl. Fold it all together, or use an electric mixer to blend, then spread in a prepared pan (for this size you’ll need a 9×13 inch baking dish and bake.
No Frosting Necessary
What I love most about this cake is that you don’t need to frost it. The amount of pudding used in the recipe makes the cake so rich, moist, and delicious, that you can eat it as is. You can also simply add a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream. During the holidays, I love to serve this cake with a scoop of peppermint ice cream or with a big mug of hot cocoa!
How to Serve and Store Chocolate Pudding Cake
I think this cake is best served warm right out of the oven. It makes the house smell wonderful! However, if you need to make it ahead of time to serve later, it is also moist and delicious served cold. To reheat leftovers, simply pop a slice or two in the microwave for about thirty seconds and it’ll be nice and gooey again. Store leftover cake in the refrigerator.
Substitutions and Variations for Chocolate Pudding Cake
This chocolate pudding cake recipe is perfect just as it is, but you can also dress it up depending on when you’re planning to serve it.
- Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Drizzle hot fudge sauce over the top.
- Dust lightly with some unsweetened cocoa powder for garnish.
- Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter for an extra rich flavor.
- For a thicker cake, bake in a square baking pan instead of a rectangle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this pudding cake can easily be made as a lemon pudding cake, a banana pudding cake, or a vanilla pudding cake. Simply swap out the chocolate cake mix and chocolate pudding mix for the flavors you want to make.
For the topping use vanilla or white chocolate chips instead of chocolate chips. Another option is to bake the cake without melting flavored chips on top, and instead add fresh berries.
Yes. Store leftover pieces of cake in an airtight container in the fridge. It also keeps in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake in the fridge for a day before serving.
Yes! All you need to do is use a gluten free cake mix instead of a regular cake mix.
When you add a pudding mix to a cake, it makes the cake more moist and more dense. In this recipe, it is even more so because we don’t just add the mix, we cook the pudding and then add the cake mix. You will love the rich texture and taste of this cake!
Easy Desserts That Start With a Cake Mix
Using a cake mix for a dessert makes preparation quick and easy, but you don’t have to settle for a basic cake. There are so many fun and fancy desserts that start with a cake mix. These are some of our favorites.
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nothing Bundt Cake – A rich, moist, and delicious chocolate cake that tastes just like the cake you can buy from the Nothing Bundt Cake store.
- Raspberry Lemon Cake – This cake is so cold and refreshing. The Jell-O gelatin in the cake makes it so moist and flavorful.
- Better Than You Know What Cake – Turn a basic chocolate cake mix into a decadent dessert. A chocolate cake filled with sweet, caramel filling and topped with toffee bars.
- Cake Mix Coffee Cake – If you like coffee cake, you are going to LOVE this Cake Mix Coffee Cake! I am a big fan of coffee cake and I am even a bigger fan of it when I can skip a couple steps to get it done quicker!
- Coca-Cola Cake – This Coca-Cola Cake is a moist, chocolatey dessert flavored with the popular, fizzy, soft drink. Topped with frosting and maraschino cherries.
How To Make Chocolate Pudding Cake
Chocolate Pudding Cake
Equipment
- 9×13 inch pan
- Hand Mixer
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 box Devil’s Food cake mix dry
- 5 ounces chocolate pudding mix cook and serve, not instant
- 3 cups milk
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gather your ingredients.
- Pour contents of cake mix box into a large bowl.
- Stir dry pudding mix and milk together in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring constantly.
- Fold cooked pudding into the dry cake mix.
- Pour mixture into a 9×13 pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly on top.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes.
- This cake is delicious served warm with whipped cream or ice cream.
When I made this before it was perfect. This time the pudding didn’t seem right as I was cooking it, and by mistake I’d used instant. Still, I forged ahead, so it’ll be interesting. In the oven now…I used M&M peanut butter candies on top rather than chocolate chips. Hopefully still edible, but maybe not. Next time I’ll pay attention, but meantime thank you for this wonderful dessert!
How did it turn out for you, Linda? Hopefully it was still good using instant pudding.
A bit messier with the instant pudding, but I’m making it again using the cooked pudding and in either case, it tastes superb! Planning to add some mini marshmallows to the batter and maybe some nuts…with Rocky Road ice cream to top it off!
My grandmother used to make this cake for our Sunday family dinner nights. I was my absolute favorite and still is. My grandmother would never share the recipe. I have to say how happy I am to have it back in my dessert rotation.
So glad you liked it! How funny she wouldn’t share the recipe, recipes are for sharing! Please share this recipe with anyone you would like 🙂
Best dessert I ever made!!!
Wow! So glad you liked this so much. It is a winner every time we make it too!
This is a SUPER recipe! Easy smeashy. Oh so tasty and moist.
Whoever thought this one up deserves an award.
Why can’t you use instant pudding for this recipe?
If you use instant it may not set up right. Hope this helps!
This is so good, have been making it for years, also. Along with the chocolate chips, we also add walnuts and coconut. When it comes out of the oven we drizzle it with a powdered sugar and milk glaze. Every time we make it someone always asks for the recipe.
Is the cake mix 18 oz or 15 oz box.
15 ounce!
I think the box sizes have shrunk to 13.25 ounces. My cake looks more like pudding than cake.
UGH, shrinkflation is a real thing! So frustrating!
I added 3 tablespoons of flour to the cake batter to make up for the missing 1.75oz
Sounds good and so easy!
Has anyone tried this with a gluten-free box chocolate cake mix?? I want to make this for my daughter’s birthday next week but I need it to be gluten-free so the whole family can enjoy.