Chocolate Pudding Cake

4.88 from 55 votes
91 Comments

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This Chocolate Pudding Cake is probably the easiest chocolate cake recipe out there. There are only 4 ingredients! One of the best tasting chocolate cakes I have ever had.

Spatula of Chocolate Pudding Cake coming out of the dish.
Featured with this recipe
  1. Ingredients in Chocolate Pudding Cake
  2. No Frosting Necessary
  3. How to Serve Chocolate Pudding Cake
  4. Additions and Substitutions for this Recipe
  5. Questions
  6. Easy Desserts That Start With a Cake Mix
  7. How To Make Chocolate Pudding Cake
  8. Chocolate Pudding Cake Recipe

I got this recipe at a women’s retreat many years ago and it has been a favorite ever since. It was a suggested 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.
  • 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 – we 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.

Ingredients to make Chocolate Pudding Cake.


No Frosting Necessary

The amount of pudding used in the recipe makes the cake so moist and delicious. What I love most about this cake is that you don’t need to frost it. The hot fudge pudding cake itself is so rich that you can eat it as is. You can also simply add a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream. One of my favorite treats during the holidays is to serve it with a scoop of peppermint ice cream or with a big mug of hot cocoa.

How to Serve 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 to serve later, it is every bit as 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.

Two slices of Chocolate Pudding Cake topped with vanilla ice cream.

Additions and Substitutions for this Recipe

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.

Questions

Can this pudding cake be made with different flavors?

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.

Should pudding cake be refrigerated?

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.

Can this cake be made gluten free?

Yes! All you need to do is use a gluten free cake mix instead of a regular cake mix.

What happens when you add pudding mix to cake?

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

4.88 from 55 votes
This Chocolate Pudding Cake is probably the easiest chocolate cake recipe out there. There are only 4 ingredients! One of the best tasting chocolate cakes I have ever had.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 servings

Video

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.
    Ingredients to make Chocolate Pudding Cake.
  • Pour contents of cake mix box into a large bowl.
    Bowl of chocolate cake mix.
  • Stir dry pudding mix and milk together in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring constantly.
    Saucepan of pudding mix and milk combined.
  • Fold cooked pudding into the dry cake mix.
    Dry and wet chocolate ingredients folded together in a bowl.
  • Pour mixture into a 9×13 pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly on top.
    Chocolate Pudding Cake batter sprinkled with chocolate chips.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes.
    Full 9x13 dish of baked Chocolate Pudding Cake.
  • This cake is delicious served warm with whipped cream or ice cream.
    Two slices of Chocolate Pudding Cake topped with vanilla ice cream.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 323kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 5gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 494mgPotassium: 312mgFiber: 2gSugar: 30gVitamin A: 105IUCalcium: 134mgIron: 2.7mg

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About the author

Echo Blickenstaff

Echo lives in Pleasant Grove, Utah with her husband, Todd, who works in advertising, and her four kids: two girls and two boys. She deploys her accounting degree as the blog’s resident problem solver. In her time outside the kitchen, Echo loves to get away from the phones and busy schedules and spend quality time with the family. Anywhere’s great – but getting out into nature in the mountains or on the beach – is the best kind of getaway.

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Comments

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

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