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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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Family loved it.
Thank you!
Excellent and soo easy. Was ordered to make 2 pans next time. (Already doubled this one…). Pickiest family members dug in.
Wow – Thanks Jane!
I will be making this in a few days. If I make it in advance of serving – can it be reheated? If there are leftovers how are they stored?
Hi Rjoel – This cake and sauce will be best freshly baked – as it cools, the cake will absorb (but probably not all) of the sauce. It will still be delicious, but you won’t have as much sauce. To store – we cover the baking dish with plastic wrap. You can reheat/warm individual servings in the microwave or put the entire dish back in the oven to warm through.
Instead of hot water, I poured hot coffee over the pudding cake. Devine!
Great idea!
This is a delicious recipe! I have been making this cake 50 years!
Thanks Gigi! (Agree!)
Very good, nice and chocolary! A little sweet though, so next time I will cut out a bit of the white sugar.
Thanks Janie
This is a family favorite! It’s so simple, I can throw one together on a moment’s notice and it’s so good that everyone goes back for a second helping.
Thank you Amy!
This is so easy to make and tastes great too.
Thank you Sassy!
This is the most delicious cake and easy to make
Thanks Debbie!
Made it to bring to a dinner party! It was a big hit .
So glad to hear this Chris!