This recipe, labeled Elizabeth’s Fudgy Chocolate Pudding Cake, is so rich and moist! The syrup is baked with the cake, so it soaks in and makes the cake so syrupy and sweet. I would compare it to a chocolate lava cake, except the lava is on the bottom. It is a must try.

A super simple dessert that you can get ready in a hurry any weekday dinner, or if friends drop by unexpectedly! Top with cream and berries!

My husband, who is not a chocolate lover, adores this Fudgy Chocolate Pudding Cake as it bring back a lot of childhood nostalgia for him. I don’t remember having anything like this as a child. But his family made a dessert like this often. So, I’m so glad we found this recipe in my grandmother’s recipe collection!

Elizabeth's Fudgy chocolate pudding cake on a blue floral plate. In the background the rest of the cake a bottle of milk and a cup of cream. In the foreground, raspberries and lavender.

Cooking with Kids

My daughters love cooking with me. This recipe was so simple that they could do the entire dessert prep on their own. I only had to help them with the boiling water part, and putting it in the oven. If you have budding chefs in your kitchen this might be the perfect dessert to try out.

When I was a child my friend and I loved to cook together. We had this Companies Coming cookbook for kids and I think we made every recipe from it. Does anyone remember Tomato soup cake?, or the ginger snaps. Oh my, my little-kid-self was in love with those recipes!

Ingredients For Elizabeth’s Fudgy Chocolate Pudding Cake

For the cake:

1 cup all purpose flour

½ cup white sugar

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 Tablespoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 egg

½ cup milk

2 Tablespoons melted butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ cup Add-ins: examples chocolate or mint chips, nuts, chopped candy bars. (optional)

For the syrup

½ cup white sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 ¾ cup boiling water

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C)
In a large bowl add the dry ingredients for the cake. Mix with a whisk to distribute the ingredients evenly.
Mix in the egg, milk, melted butter, vanilla, and any add-ins (optional). We didn’t bother with any add-ins. The cake on it’s own is just perfect.
Pour the batter into a greased 9×9 in. square pan.
(Syrup) In a medium bowl add the dry ingredients for the syrup and mix.
Pour over the boiling water and stir until everything is dissolved. This is the only part I did myself in this recipe!
Pour gently overtop of the cake batter.
Bake in your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.
Let it cool a few minutes. Serve it warm. Spoon the syrup, from the bottom, on top of each piece.

How to serve Elizabeth’s Fudgy Chocolate Pudding Cake

We served ours with some fresh raspberries from our back garden and some whipping cream. It was perfect!

I think another great choice would be to serve the cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It would start to melt into the cake right away, since it is served so warm. That sounds amazing!