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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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I lost this recipe and another one that used peanut butter. The hot water really scared my friends who requested my recipe and they thought I was joking. Well let me say this No One complained about this delicious dessert! Everyone will love this !
Thanks Evone!
Do you know if I can use almond milk instead of regular milk?
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I’ve never tried it Carol – please let us know how it works out!
Will 1 or 2% milk work for this?
Yes – 2% will work.
Before I try your recipe how much water do i put in the pot to simmer?
Hi Angelina – The ingredients list states that you’ll need 1 1/4 cups. Unless you plan to boil it for a long time (and some of it evaporates), that’s all you’ll need.
This is my favorite dessert growing up. My grandma made it for us all the time. love it best recipe yet
Thanks Denise!
In your comments, you said to use 1 1/4 c. hot water. The recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups of water. Which is it?
Hi Kathy – I’m not sure where you see 2 1/2 cups in the recipe? The ingredients list states 1 1/4 cups.
So my mother made this but I never got her recipe before she passed. Thank you for the reminder!! Any chance this could be adapted for a slow cooker? This would score me big points at the Christmas family party!!
Hi Julie – We haven’t tried them, but I know that there are some slow cooker versions of this recipe out there…some made with cake mixes and others from scratch. Our recipe is written for the oven but you could start with this one https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/slow-cooker-hot-fudge-cake/
Hot Fudge chocolate cake or Pudding is my favorite recipe. Its really delicious 😋, the taste of the chocolate is unbelievable.
Thanks son much Carole!
Can this recipe be doubled?
We haven’t tried doubling to 9×13 pan ourselves, but I believe we’ve had some readers comment to tell us that they successfully did that. I suspect the baking time might be different so keep an eye on it while it bakes to avoid overbaking or underbaking.
This is the easiest and most wonderful recipe a chocolate lover can possibly ask for. I made it, it came out perfect, and thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks Mary!