This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
I’m curious about this recipe because I’ve been using this recipie for about 5 years now and it seems the vanilla seems like way too much (5 1/2tsp?) and the hot water seems to have an extra cup added to it 😳
Hi Will – Our version is from the Hershey’s website and seems to work really well as written in our recipe card. Hope you’ll give it a try!
Oh what fun!! I’ve always wanted to visit Hershey, PA but I haven’t yet. I didn’t know you could make your own candy bar. How cool is that!? Love the photos. And this cake, OMG! Look at that ooey gooey goodness! Can’t wait to give it a try. Thanks for sharing!
It was a lot of fun! Hope you enjoy the recipe Christine!
Do you have to use Hershey’s cocoa can I just use cocoa powder?
Hi Jennifer – You can use any unsweetened cocoa powder.
That homemade baked chocolate pudding looked really good and yummy.
Thank you Dylan!
Is there a high altitude recipe for this cale?
Hi Judu – We don’t have a high altitude recipe ourselves, but this article from King Arthur Flour may be helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Can you double this recipe?
Sure Marty – You could use a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or one that is slightly larger. The baking time will probably be longer.
Prepped dry ingredients day before and this was so easy! Checked at 30 min and top was crispy but it was still watery- covered in foil and baked another 8 min and it was PERFECT. Crowd pleaser for sure!
Thanks Olivia – So glad the recipe was a hit!
never went to hersey,pa but my mom made this recipe when i was a child it was as amazing now as it was then
Thanks Teresa – so glad this recipe brought back some nice memories!
found it! I made this or many years and lost the recipe. I saw the pic and knew immediately it was what my kids wanted me to make again.
Blessings.
Yay! I know the feeling of a long lost recipe – finally found again! I hope the pudding cake is as good as you remembered! Enjoy!
This was a spectacular failure for me. I followed the recipe in order to make a great for my daughter and son-in-law but it stubbornly refused to set. Even after an hour in the oven it was still liquid! Not surprisingly, it ended up going down the drain.
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t have good results with this recipe Liz!