Easy Chocolate Pudding Cake
A rich, self-saucing dessert, this Easy Chocolate Pudding Cake is simple to whip up and absolutely delicious! You’ll never guess the secret ingredient! I first tasted this Chocolate Dessert nearly 20 years ago when visiting with our lovely neighbors about traveling to Ireland.
My friend, Shelli, served it again for our holiday book club meeting and I easily found it thanks to Google, though I knew I was just a text away from another source if needed. It was time to make this easy chocolate dessert for my family!
Why You Must Make
- Using Bisquick in place of a number of other ingredients makes this pudding cake easy to throw together!
- Who wouldn’t love a dessert that makes its own fudge sauce?
- Simply served with a scoop of ice cream, it’s perfect for a casual family dinner but delicious enough for guests.
Chocolate pudding cakes are not new to our family, but this one had a shortcut, that you’d never guess by tasting it. I finally weaned the hubby off of Bisquick and he now makes homemade pancakes and waffles for his Sunday morning fare. But that same Bisquick helped cut down on prep time without compromising the taste of this decadent chocolate self-saucing dessert.
How to Make
- Preheat the oven.
- Melt ⅓ cup of the chocolate chips.
- Whisk together the melted chocolate, Bisquick, ⅓ cup of the sugar, milk, oil, vanilla, and egg.
- Scrape into an ungreased baking dish, then spread evenly. Set aside.
- Heat the water and the remaining ⅔ cup of sugar until it boils.
- Stir in the remaining ⅔ cup of chocolate chips until melted.
- Pour this over the batter in the pan.
- Bake as directed, until the top of the dessert is firm.
Expert Tips
This unassuming pudding cake only reveals its magnificence when a spoonful is removed from the baking dish. That’s when the underlying fudgy sauce is exposed as it oozes to fill the void.
- The chocolate in this Bisquick (affiliate link) pudding cake recipe comes from melted chocolate chips. I prefer to use the microwave for melting, stopping to stir at 15-30 second increments until smooth. Feel free to use the stovetop if desired, but use low heat.
- Sometimes chocolate chips don’t completely melt, but small bits of chocolate in this batter will be fine.
- PRO-Tip: The key to making a pudding cake is to pour on the hot liquid without stirring it into the batter. Through some magic of baking chemistry, this liquid works its way to the bottom of the dish turning into a rich chocolate sauce.
- This is a retro recipe from Bisquick that once may have been featured on their box. For a recipe from scratch, my family also loves this Hot Fudge Pudding Cake. And if you’re looking for a candy recipe, this No-Fail Chocolate Fudge will hit the spot.
Frequently Asked Questions
A chocolate version was not my first taste of a pudding cake. My mother-in-law treated us to a lemon pudding cake years ago, and it was terrific, too. Note to self: track down that recipe!
A pudding cake, by definition, is a dessert that separates into a cake-like layer and a saucy, pudding-like layer when baked. It’s like having two desserts in one!! Fine Cooking calls it a souffle with too much liquid, but since this version does not contain whipped egg whites, like a souffle, it doesn’t quite meet the criteria.
This dessert casserole is cooked at 350° for over half an hour, so the egg will heat to above 140°, the temperature that will kill any potential bacteria.
You May Also Like:
- Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake from Two Peas and Their Pod
- Chocolate Tart
- No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake
- Quadruple Chocolate Cookies
- Molten Lava Cakes
- Chocolate Mousse Cake
- More of the Best Dessert Recipes
- More Homemade Chocolate Recipes
Easy Chocolate Pudding Cake
A self saucing chocolate cake that magically makes a fudge sauce while baking!
Ingredients
- 1 cup chocolate chips, divided
- 1 ½ cups Bisquick baking mix
- 1 cup sugar, divided
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cups hot water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt ⅓ cup of the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, stopping to stir at 15-second increments until melted and smooth.
- In a large bowl, vigorously whisk together the melted chocolate, Bisquick, ⅓ cup of the sugar, milk, oil, vanilla, and egg. Scrape into an ungreased 9 x 9-inch (or comparable-sized) baking dish, then spread evenly. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, heat the water and the remaining ⅔ cup of sugar until it boils, stirring occasionally. Stir in the remaining ⅔ cup chocolate chips until melted. Pour this over the batter in the pan.
- Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the top of the dessert is firm.
Notes
I used semisweet chocolate chips, but you can use bittersweet chocolate chips for a more intense chocolate flavor.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 411Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 501mgCarbohydrates: 64gFiber: 2gSugar: 41gProtein: 5g
18 Comments on “Easy Chocolate Pudding Cake”
Gah. I don’t believe in Bisquick, but damn this looks good! Hope your guy heals quickly. And hopefully the surgery is successful. I have a rod in my back – 15 years ago – and I’ve never had a problem. There are great surgeons out there.
This sounds and looks amazing…a perfect dessert for chocolate fans.
angiesrecipes
http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com
You sold me on it!! Sounds delicious. Yum
It’s been awhile sinceI’ve headed your way! Hope you are well! What a great idea to use Bisquik in this chocolate pudding cake! I’ve made it many times but never thought to do this!
Yum, save me a bowl.
I’ve never tried this recipe but I’ve made a hot fudge pudding cake since college. It came about because that recipe required no eggs so was perfect to make when I was out! In any case now I better add Bisquick to my list. I used to use it all the time!
Intrigued by the Bisquick, great time saver. Self saucing recipe served warm are so delicious on these cool winter nights. Pinned to some of our favorite boards.
I never have Bisquick on hand unless I buy a pouch just for a recipe. This looks so good. I have just used my Betty Crocker recipes for chocolate and lemon pudding cakes since back in the late 60s. I love pudding cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
I’ve never had a pudding cake and that’s about to change. You’ve got to love finding a recipe that you have every single item already in the pantry.
Warm, chocolate and amazing. I want this right now!!
What’s not to love about this. I haven’t had a pudding cake in ages but remember how incredibly moist and flavorful and they are. This looks wonderful!
Can’t wait to try this! Looks amazing!
Wow – I never knew you could use Bisquick for such recipes! I’ve made a chocolate pudding cake before and loved it. Nothing like warm, saucy, sweet chocolate deliciousness! Pinned 🙂
Pudding cake sounds like an absolute dream, save me a serving! 🙂
I love self-saucing chocolate!!!! I have a recipe I have used for years too but I really enjoy the idea of trying it with the biscuit shortcut!
This was the perfect weekend comfort dish. My family loved it with a scoop of homemade whipped cream on top!
I’m so excited to make this today! Looks like the perfect dessert!
Looks phenomenal! Save me a portion 🙂