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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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Great recipe, Martha! We’d made something very similar, however we’d used a Ghiradelli boxed brownie mix in a 9×13 pan and began with step 4 only using slightly more ingredients; 1 1/2 cup boiling water, remove from heat and dissolve 1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 c granulated sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla in the hot water, gently pour the chocolate liquid over the “cake” so as not to disturb the brownie mix. I’m guessing it will produce the same result so I’m making this tonight to compare notes. Tank you so much for sharing!!! :o)
Thank you.
Thanks Kelly! Hope our version is just as good!
This looked really good, so I tried it. It was really good! My husband liked it too. But he commented that his mom made something similar, but only vanilla. I was wondering how I could make his mom’s version of this. Any help would be appreciated.
Oh wow Laurie – A vanilla version sounds delicious! Was the cake vanilla with chocolate fudge? Or was there a warm vanilla pudding with a vanilla cake? I did a quick google search and found this recipe: http://www.leannebakes.com/2014/01/self-saucing-vanilla-fudge-pudding-cakes.html (Sounds like she grew up with a similar recipe and sized hers for individual servings.) Hope this helps!
Can’t wait to make this today for Sunday School Social-have you or any one made it with Pecans instead of Almonds we love Pecans.thanks.
Hi Betty – We’ve only made the recipe without nuts, but I’m sure it would be delicious with either chopped pecans or almonds added to the batter. Enjoy!
When people use Betty Crocker or etc and complain, they are told “bakers who live at high or low elevations have to add or subtract flour to their mixes all of the time”.
Thanks Judy!
Will this recipe turn out ok if doubled and baked in a 9 x 13 cake pan? We have a larger family. Thanks for your help
Hi Judy – I’m not sure…part of the secret to this recipe is getting that hot water poured on top just before baking to seep into the batter as it bakes, and that creates the hot fudge sauce/pudding in the middle of the cake. A 9×13 doesn’t have the same surface area as two 9-inch square pans…I’m afraid it would come out too soft and liquid. Instead, I’d suggest baking two separate cakes. We’ve made this in both a 9×9 square metal pan as well as a round, glass casserole dish – both worked well! Hope that helps and enjoy!
Thank you for the information, I will use 2 9×9 pans. love this site and the posts.
You’re very welcome Judy! And thank you for your kind words – they made our day! 🙂
Exactly how much hot water do you pour over the cake?
1 1/4 cups
I’m so sorry to say we didn’t care for this recipe…The cake texture was moist and lovely but the cocoa was so over powering I actually tossed it…Way to much cocoa to enjoy 🙁
Thanks for sharing your feedback Sharon – sorry you were disappointed in the recipe. (It is indeed very rich and chocolaty!)
Did you use unsweetened or dark
Unsweetened cocoa
I’m having 8 people around for dinner tonight will this comfortably serve 8??
Hi Laura – Sorry for the delay in responding – I realize you might already be serving your guests by the time this gets to you! It’s super rich so I think 8 servings is definitely doable – especially served with ice cream on the side. Hope you enjoy(ed) the recipe!
This has been a family favourite in our house for over 20 years! I first got the recipe from a Betty Crocker cookbook I received as a wedding shower gift. So so good!
Wow Teresa – it is for sure a delicious classic!