Chocolate Pudding Cake
This Chocolate Pudding Cake is rich, moist, and deeply chocolatey, with a tender crumb that practically melts in your mouth. A silky Guinness glaze soaks into the warm cake, and a cloud of fresh whipped cream finishes each slice. It’s the kind of dessert that looks impressive on a cake stand but comes together with simple pantry staples and a bundt pan.
This isn’t your average bundt cake. Too often, bundt cakes are heavy and dense, and dry. This easy chocolate bundt cake recipe uses chocolate pudding right in the batter for the moistest, most flavorful, and most incredible bundt cake ever.
This cake has rave reviews – it’s the best “Party Cake” and is always devoured quickly. You can make ahead, it’s easy to transport to a gathering, and it also makes the best holiday cake. It’s moist and delicious and you can serve it with whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.
TIP: Heat up each serving to warm – when serving with ice cream. It gets all melty & delicous!
What is a bundt pan?
You do need a bundt pan for this recipe. What’s a bundt pan? It’s a round cake pan with tapered sides and a hole in the middle. Bundt cakes look a lot like giant donuts. The pans are designed this way to allow air to pass through the middle so that the cake can bake faster.
Bundt pans come in a variety of shapes and sizes. You can even get mini bundt pans! Because they’re all different, cooking times are approximate. Always check your cake for doneness with a cake tester or toothpick.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- It takes a few ingredient shortcuts to cut down on prep time.
- This cake is so chocolatey!
- This cake is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or anytime you want an amazing and easy bundt cake recipe!
Ingredients needed
For the Cake
- Chocolate cake mix: You’ll need a one 15-ounce cake mix. Feel free to use your favorite brand.
- Instant chocolate pudding: This is the secret to an extra-moist crumb.
- Eggs: Four large eggs, at room temperature.
- Guinness stout: The stout adds depth and richness without making the cake taste like beer.
- Vegetable oil: Keeps the cake tender and moist.
- Semisweet chocolate chips: These melt into little chocolate pockets throughout the cake.
Guinness Glaze
- Butter: Use unsalted butter if you want to cut back on added salt.
- Sugar: Sweetens the glaze.
- Guinness stout: For extra depth of flavor.
- Bittersweet chocolate: Use good-quality chocolate for the best flavor.
For the Whipped Cream
- Heavy whipping cream: Make sure it’s chilled.
- Powdered sugar: Sweetened and thickens the mixture.
- Vanilla extract: For delicious flavor.
- Grated semisweet or bittersweet chocolate: For garnish.
How do you make chocolate pudding cake?
Make the Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 12-inch bundt pan, making sure to get into all the crevices.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the chocolate cake mix and instant chocolate pudding. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat the eggs, stout, and oil until well blended.
- Pour the dry mixture into the wet ingredients and beat for 2 minutes, until the batter is smooth and glossy.
- Stir in the semisweet chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Then invert it onto a cake plate.
- While the cake is still warm, brush about 1/3 of the cooled glaze over the cake. Let it soak in.
- Allow the cake to cool completely, then drizzle the remaining 2/3 of the glaze over the top.
Make the Guinness glaze
- In a saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, stout, and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the chopped bittersweet chocolate. Stir until melted and completely smooth.
- Let the glaze cool to room temperature before using. It will thicken as it cools, making it perfect for brushing and drizzling.
Make the whipped cream
- In a chilled bowl, whip the heavy whipping cream until it thickens and holds soft peaks.
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, then gently mix until combined. Be careful not to over-whip.
- Slice the cake into individual servings. Top each slice with a generous dab of fresh whipped cream.
- Sprinkle grated semisweet or bittersweet chocolate over each serving.
Serving
This cake needs nothing more than a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream and shaved chocolate. I love serving it after Irish meals of Guinness Beef Stew, steaks and Colcannon Potatoes, or salmon with this pretty Irish flag salad.
You could also service it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Sandy’s tips and substitutions:
- Type of stout: Guinness stout is my pick for this cake, but any stout will work if you can’t find Guinness.
- Don’t overmix the cake batter: Always only mix until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Unsweetened versus bittersweet chocolate: These are not the same. Bittersweet chocolate has some sugar in it, while unsweetened has zero sugar. You can use unsweetened in the glaze, but taste it and add more sugar if needed to sweeten it up a bit.
- Don’t overcook the cake! A bundt cake has finished cooking when an inserted cake tester or toothpick comes out with a few crumbs clinging to it. A few crumbs are OK! Raw batter means the cake needs more time to cook.
- Chocolate shavings: For the prettiest garnish, either finely chop the chocolate with a knife or use a cheese grater. A vegetable peeler also works well on a thick chocolate bar.
- Make ahead: The cake can be baked and glazed a day ahead. Store it covered at room temperature. Add the whipped cream just before serving.
- Storage: The whipped cream topping won’t keep well or for long, a few hours at most. The rest of the cake, however, will keep fine in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Freezing: The unglazed cake freezes well. Wrap it tightly and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then glaze and serve.
Variations:
- Chocolate orange: Add 1 teaspoon of orange zest to the batter and substitute fresh orange juice for the water in the glaze.
- Mocha twist: Add 1 tablespoon of espresso powder to the dry ingredients for a coffee-chocolate flavor.
- Peanut butter lovers: Swirl ½ cup of creamy peanut butter into the batter before baking, or drizzle melted peanut butter over the cooled glaze.
- White chocolate garnish: Use grated white chocolate instead of semisweet for a pretty contrast.
- No stout version: Substitute an equal amount of strong brewed coffee or chocolate milk for the stout in both the cake and the glaze.
If you enjoyed this pudding cake, be sure to try my Strawberry Banana Pudding Cake and Banana Pudding Cheesecake Bars.
More bundt cake recipes you may want to try:
Get the Recipe:
Chocolate Pudding Cake
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz pkg chocolate cake mix
- 1 3 oz pkg instant chocolate pudding
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup Guinness stout
- ¾ cup vegetable oil, or canola oil
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Guinness Glaze
- 1 cup butter, 2 sticks
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup Guinness stout, + ¼ cup water
- 3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Whipped Cream:
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Grated semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
Equipment
Instructions
Make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350-F. Grease and flour a 12-inch bundt pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and pudding and set aside.
- In another bowl (mixing bowl), beat the eggs, stout, and oil until blended. Pour in the dry mixture and beat for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake the cake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. While the cake is baking, make the Guinness Glaze (because it needs time to cool).
- Remove the cake and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a cake plate. While the cake is still warm, brush about 1/3 of the glaze over the cake.
- Allow the cake to cool completely, and then drizzle the remaining 2/3 glaze over the cake.
Make the glaze:
- Combine the butter, sugar, and stout beer and water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until melted.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the bittersweet chocolate pieces and stir until melted and smooth.
- COOL THE GLAZE to room temperature before using.
Make the whipped cream:
- Whip the heavy whipping cream until thick. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and gently mix together.
- Slice the cake into individual servings. Top with a dab of fresh whipped cream.
- Sprinkle on each serving the semisweet or bittersweet chocolate for garnish.
Notes
Sandy’s tips:
- Type of stout: Guinness stout is my pick for this cake, but any stout will work if you can’t find Guinness.
- Unsweetened versus bittersweet chocolate: These are not the same. Bittersweet chocolate has some sugar in it, while unsweetened has zero sugar. You can use unsweetened in the glaze, but taste it and add more sugar if needed to sweeten it up a bit.
- Chocolate shavings: For the prettiest garnish, either finely chop the chocolate with a knife or use a cheese grater. A vegetable peeler also works well on a thick chocolate bar.
- Make ahead: The cake can be baked and glazed a day ahead. Store it covered at room temperature. Add the whipped cream just before serving.
- Storage: The whipped cream topping won’t keep well or for long, a few hours at most. The rest of the cake, however, will keep fine in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Freezing: The unglazed cake freezes well. Wrap it tightly and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then glaze and serve.
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
I was wondering l don’t like stout beer so l don’t have have any at all so would it be ok just to use regular beer since it’s only a cup was hoping the cake would be just as good with the stout beer
Yes, you can use regular beer, although it might not be as “rich” tasting.