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Hot Fudge Pudding Cake is a delicious, vintage recipe that everyone absolutely loves! A fudge sauce forms under a rich chocolate cake as it bakes in the oven.
If you follow us over on Instagram, then you probably know that we just came home from a family vacation at Hershey Park in Hershey, Pennsylvania! This was our second year visiting the park, and we decided that on this trip we would sign up for the Create Your Own Candy Bar at Hershey’s Chocolate World, located just outside the amusement park.
Each of us had the chance to make a custom chocolate bar – choosing the type of chocolate we wanted as the base, additional ingredients to include such as chocolate or butterscotch ships, pretzel bits and more; we designed our own label for our candy bars; and we got to watch it being made right before our eyes! Here are a few photos from our fun production tour:
So all of that wonderful chocolate had us craving a sweet treat when we got home – and we decided to make this fantastic Hot Fudge Pudding Cake from the Hershey’s Kitchen website.
This Hot Fudge Pudding Cake is outrageously good – and it couldn’t be any easier to make! A simple batter (made from Hershey’s cocoa of course) is first spooned into the bottom of a lightly greased pan or baking dish. Then a dry cocoa mixture is sprinkled on top of the batter. Finally – right before baking – hot water gets poured over the top of the dry cocoa mixture. But don’t stir it in – that process creates this fantastic, almost-crunchy topping on this Hot Fudge Pudding Cake as it bakes!
Then – once the Hot Fudge Pudding Cake comes out of the oven, just use a spoon to serve. You’ll end up with a super moist cake with a warm and fudgy pudding center – plus a sweet crunchy topping! Served with some vanilla ice cream – this is one amazingly good dessert that any chocolate lover will enjoy!
Disclaimer: I was not compensated by Hershey’s for this post. We are simply sharing our vacation story with you today as well as the inspiration behind our recipe.
Additional note: We’ve received a few reader comments below complaining that the cake was very runny and not fudgy. We’ve retested the recipe ourselves and can confirm that it is written correctly. But feel free to bake the cake for a few minutes longer if necessary (ovens may vary), and also make sure that you allow the cake to sit for 15 minutes before serving to give the sauce time to set up.
You may enjoy these other Chocolate Dessert recipes:
- Mexican Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
- Double Chocolate Pudding
- No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Pie
- Chocolate Ranger Cookies
- Homemade Magic Shell
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
Recipe adapted from Hershey’s Kitchens
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened Hershey’s Cocoa powder, divided
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cups hot water
- Vanilla ice cream, if desired for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat a pot of water on the stove to very hot (just under a simmer).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine ¾ cup of the granulated sugar, flour, ¼ cup of the cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, melted butter and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- Pour the batter into an lightly greased 2-quart ceramic dish (as shown in our photos) or a 9-inch square baking pan (if it’s a non-stick pan, you don’t have to grease it) and spread evenly.
- In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ½ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, remaining ¼ cup cocoa and mix well. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the batter in your dish or pan. Pour the hot water over the top – but do not stir!
- Bake 35-40 minutes if using a glass dish (or 30-35 minutes if using a metal pan) – or until the center is almost set. Remove your dish from the oven and allow it to stand for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, spoon the cake into individual serving bowls – making sure to spoon the fudgy sauce from the bottom of the pan over the top of the cake. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired and serve immediately.
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My grandmother ad this recipe for years. The difference is that instead of butter, you put 2 tbsp. of Crisco that has been melted. Hers also had chopped walnuts.
We love the idea of adding nuts Julie! Thanks for sharing.
My Grandmother made this as a treat during the Great Depression. My mother made it during our hard times for a treat while we were growing up. I make it now because it is the best.
I agree Jeanne – this is one of the best classic recipes! Thank you for sharing your memories with us.
So the pudding-y bottom is ahhmazing but the cake-y part tastes like raw flour and despite the amount of chocolate in this recipe (I even added chocolate chips) I don’t get that chocolaty-ness I’m craving! It’s defintely sweet enough, I don’t know it just feels like something is missing!
Thanks for sharing your feedback Ren!
OMG, I made this for dessert for tonight!!! Can’t wait to taste it. I just happen to have ice cream and cold milk.
YUUUUMMMMMMO!!
Enjoy Bonny! (I think you’ll love this dessert!) 🙂
This looks amazing! You had me at hot fudge!! Someone suggested coffee instead of water? That actually sounds pretty good.
I agree DeeDee – swapping in coffee does sound pretty good! It’s a great complementary flavor to chocolate…thanks for writing to us today!
I have used this recipe several times. Always a big hit. Thanks for sharing
You’re very welcome Dianna! So glad you enjoyed it!
I love chocolate🍫
We do too Jessica! 🙂
Is it possible to use a Pyrex dish rather than ceramic?
Yes – no problem at all using a Pyrex baking dish for this recipe Elisa!
This sounds like a recipe I had many years ago but lost. I am going to keep this one. Thanks
You are very welcome Diane! I hope this recipe is as delicious as the one you remember!
Hi Martha
Love the way your cake is photographed. I had been drooling over the pictures for a couple days now and couldn’t take it any longer. What an easy cake to whip together!! Smells amazing and tastes soo darn good!
I literally don’t have any of my baking equipment out since I moved to a new place. Only have a bowl and whisk. Bowl was dirty. So I just whisked the flour mixture directly in the cake pan. Topped it with the sugar mixture and hot water. No dirty bowls to wash afterwards. Lol. I think I will do it this way even if I have a bowl to work with.
Sorry about the rant. Thank you for the recipe! I am sooooo happy to have found something this simple and divine! Will try with coffee instead of coffee next time. Five hearts out of five 😊
Now off I go to explore the rest of your beautiful website.
What a great idea Irma – I can definitely see that this would work as a ‘one-bowl’ recipe! So glad you found us and are enjoying the recipes!