This Chocolate Pudding Cake recipe is so moist and flavourful and perfect for chocolate lovers!! A tender chocolate pudding bundt cake topped with a sweet chocolate ganache glaze!
We don’t know about you, but we just love having a recipe box full of delicious cake recipes just waiting to be made for friends and family! This Chocolate Pudding Cake is one we’ve made over and over, and it’s truly the perfect chocolate cake – it’s super moist and flavourful, and yet it’s a deliciously tender cake at the same time. The chocolate ganache glaze is total perfection and it’s a dessert that our dinner guests always love to enjoy!
As you probably already know boxed mixes and pre-prepared foods aren’t really our thing, but there’s just something about adding pudding mix to cake batter that creates the most beautiful cake texture. We’ve already shared many of our favourite pudding cake recipes with you, like this Best Ever Salted Caramel Pudding Cake and this Best Ever Strawberry Pudding Cake, and this Chocolate Pudding Bundt Cake belongs right there alongside those other favourite recipes!
The key to a light and fluffy pudding cake is the combination of butter AND vegetable oil – the butter creates structure and the vegetable oil lends moisture. And this Chocolate Pudding Cake gets its delicious chocolate flavour not only from the chocolate pudding mix included in the recipe, but also good quality dark cocoa powder!
You’ll need these kitchen items to make this recipe (affiliate links):
- measuring cups and spoons
- a liquid measuring cup
- 9 inch bundt pan
- a stand mixer
- a large bowl
- a spatula
- a whisk
- a cooling rack
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You need these ingredients on hand to make this pudding cake:
- unsalted butter
- white sugar
- instant chocolate pudding powder
- eggs
- milk
- vanilla extract
- vegetable oil
- All purpose flour
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- cornstarch
- baking powder
- sea salt
- powdered sugar
- dark chocolate
- heavy cream
- Mint Chocolate– Add a drop or two of mint extract to the cake batter and top the ganache with crushed mints.
- Salted Caramel– Drizzle salted caramel sauce over top of the warm cake.
- Nuts– For an extra crunch, add crushed walnuts and pecans to the top of the batter before baking.
- Orange– To give the chocolate pudding cake a slight citrus taste stir in orange zest to the batter.
- Raspberry– Make a raspberry puree and stir it into the batter before baking.
Time needed: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Follow these pro tips on how to make chocolate cake with pudding!
- Grease the pan.
Grease the pan with butter and a thin coating of flour evenly on the inside. This will ensure the cake is easy to remove.
- Start with room-temperature ingredients.
Make sure your milk and eggs are at room temperature. This will create a smooth cake batter and help the ingredients combine properly.
- Bake immediately after mixing.
Don’t let an unbaked cake sit out on the counter. Always preheat your oven first and bake the cake immediately after adding the batter to the pans. This will help the cake rise properly in the oven as the leavening agent in the cake batter is activated as soon as the wet and dry ingredients are combined.
- Avoid over-mixing.
Be especially careful after adding the flour. Over-mixing can create a dry, tough cake because it reduces the number of air bubbles present in the batter which give the cake its lift as it bakes.
- Don’t under bake.
Under-baked cakes are partly baked but gummy on top and in the centre. Test the cake with a toothpick to be sure the cake is baked completely.
- Don’t open the oven as it bakes.
Avoid opening the oven during baking unless it’s absolutely necessary to rotate the cakes while baking (if your oven is small or has a hot spot). Opening the oven door at the end of the baking time is ok, especially because testing the cake with a toothpick is necessary to prevent over-baking.
- Frost only after completely cooled.
Don’t try to frost a cake that’s still warm. Wait for the cake to cool completely, then frost.
Can this chocolate pudding bundt cake be made in a 9 x 13 pan?
Yes, it can. You have to adjust the baking time slightly.
Can I use sugar free pudding?
No, sugar free pudding would make the cake too dry.
Can I use buttermilk instead of milk?
Yes, you can use buttermilk as long as it is more on the liquid side.
How much instant chocolate pudding powder do I need?
You need one 4-serving box of instant chocolate pudding powder.
We hope you enjoy this Chocolate Pudding Cake as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite chocolate dessert? We’d love to know!
Looking for more recipes like this? You’ll LOVE these!
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Best Ever Chocolate Pudding Cake
Recipe: Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 100 grams instant chocolate pudding powder approximately one 4-serving box, don’t use low fat or low sugar variety
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use dutch processed)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- butter and flour for greasing the cake pan
For the chocolate glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream, plus more if needed also called whipping cream
- 4 ounces dark chocolate, melted
Recipe: Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare a 9-inch bundt pan by greasing it with butter and coating the inside of the pan evenly with a thin dusting of flour. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes).
- Add the pudding powder and whip on high speed until incorporated.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Combine the milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl or pyrex measuring cup and whisk with a fork to combine.
- Add the milk mixture to the butter mixture slowly, mixing well until combined.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder and salt, and mix on low speed just until the batter forms and no streaks of flour appear.
- Finish mixing by hand with a rubber spatula to be sure the batter is well combined (mixing with the electric mixer at this stage can cause over-mixing, so it’s best to finish it gently by hand).
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 60 minutes (sometimes it requires 65 or even 70 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack before removing the pan to let the cake cool completely. If the pan feels a little difficult to remove, let it cool inverted on a cooling rack for another 10 minutes before trying again to remove the pan. Greasing and flouring the pan well before baking will ensure the cake is easy to remove, and using a non-stick bundt pan is a great choice.
- Let the cake cool completely on a cooling rack before adding the frosting.
For the chocolate glaze:
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave on 50% power for 30-second increments, stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Set aside.
- Whisk together the sifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a medium bowl.
- Add the whipping cream, stirring well until a paste forms. Add one or two more teaspoons of cream if necessary (this will depend on the moisture level of the powdered sugar and cocoa powder you use).
- Pour in the melted chocolate and whisk until a ganache forms, adding a few drops more cream as needed until the mixture pours very slowly.
- Pour the ganache over the cooled cake and let it drip down the sides slightly.
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This cake is delicious! The perfect amount of chocolate without being too over the top….and can we talk about that amazing glaze….WOW!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the positive feedback!
I’ve never had a pudding cake before. Such a great idea!
It’s delicious! Hope you give it a try!
Looks gorgeous! So much flavor packed into each bite. looking forward to trying this!
Thanks so much!
This cake looks DIVINE! Love that glaze on top!
Thank you!!
This cake looks so delicious! Mouth watering!
Thanks!
I want a big slice of this cake right now!
I know, right!? 😀 I hope you give it a try!
Just going through your photos made me drool! I can’t wait to give it a try!
Thanks! Hope you enjoy!
This looks like dessert perfection!
Thanks so much!
Can I make this in a 9”x13” pan?
Yes, but you’ll have to adjust the baking time slightly 🙂
The batter was delicious but it was definitely too thin. I might’ve done the recipe wrong, but I’m not sure. Was this your experience?
I’m curious ….. why not use sugar free pudding? What will happen?
The sugar free pudding would make the cake too dry.
Can I omit the pudding?
This is a pudding cake so…no. But try it out! We promise you’ll like it.
Can I use buttermilk instead of milk in this recipe
As long as you have a buttermilk that’s on the liquid side, you can!
I changed the game. Rather than use a bundt pan, I used two round pans. Just had to decrease the time for baking two cakes. After baking two cakes, I turned them into a layered cake. Which was a success. Definitely gonna save this perfect recipe for future reference. Thanks for making it. I was wanting to find a recipe without using one of those Betty Crocker cake mixes.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback! Your layered cake idea sounds awesome! We’d love to see a picture of it next time you make it, you can leave it here or DM it to us on instagram ☺️