Description
This Ridiculous Chocolate Pudding Cake is a decadent dessert that combines a rich, moist chocolate cake with a velvety chocolate pudding topping. The cake is enhanced with sour cream and chocolate chips for extra fudginess and topped with a luscious homemade chocolate frosting made from cocoa powder, powdered sugar, butter, and heavy cream. Perfect for chocolate lovers, this recipe yields a crowd-pleasing dessert suitable for any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake and Pudding Mix
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box chocolate cake mix
- 1 (3.9 ounce) box instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Chocolate Frosting
- 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9×13 inch baking dish or line it with parchment paper for easier cleanup.
- Prepare the cake batter: In a large mixing bowl, combine the chocolate cake mix, instant chocolate pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, vegetable oil, and water. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and well combined, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add chocolate chips: Fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips evenly into the batter to ensure every bite has melty pockets of chocolate.
- Bake the cake: Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs but no raw batter.
- Cool the cake: Let the cake cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack to room temperature, which will also allow the pudding to set and the cake to become fudgy.
- Make the frosting: In a medium bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and heavy cream. Beat on low speed at first, then increase to medium-high until the frosting is smooth, fluffy, and spreadable, about 3-5 minutes. Add more cream if frosting is too thick.
- Frost the cake: Once the cake is cooled fully, spread the chocolate frosting evenly over the top using a spatula or butter knife.
- Serve: Slice the cake into 12 servings and enjoy this rich, pudding-infused chocolate dessert. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
- For best texture, do not overbake the cake; keep it moist and fudgy.
- You can substitute sour cream with Greek yogurt for a tangier flavor.
- Use good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips for richer chocolate flavor.
- The frosting can be made a day ahead and refrigerated—bring to room temperature and re-whip before frosting.
- This cake is excellent served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fresh berries.
