Simply Magical Hot Fudge Cake Recipe - Creations by Kara (2024)

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Home » Recipe Index » Crock Pot » Hot Fudge Cake

June 15, 2009 by Kara Cook 37 Comments

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This rich and absolutely scrumptiousHot Fudge Cake can be made in the oven or a slow cooker. It makes its own hot fudge sauce as it bakes!

I got this wonderful recipe for hot fudge cake from my mom. It was a favorite dessert at our house and I remember having it often as a child. We all love it! One year when my mom asked my little brother Matt what treat he wanted for family night, he told her “Water Brownies”.

None of us had any idea what the heck he was talking about. We couldn’t figure it out, so she just made something else. A few weeks later, she made this dessert. When Matt saw her pull this out of the oven, he exclaimed excitedly, “Yay, you made water brownies!!!” I have called it that ever since.

It’s simple to make. You spread the batter in the bottom of your pan (or slow cooker). Then you sprinkle a brown sugar/cocoa mix on top.

And here’s the reason why we call these “water brownies”. You pour hot water over the sugar mixture. No stirring. It will magically mix with the brown sugar and cocoa and sink to the bottom to make a decadent fudge sauce. Cool, right?

No matter what you call it, it is sure to become a family favorite at your house too. It tastes fantastic. It makes its own hot fudge sauce. It is economical. And it is super easy to make with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

You must serve it with ice cream though, or the dessert police will come to your house and haul you off.

I’ve been making this for years in the oven, but just found instructions for making it in the crock pot. I’ve tried it, and it works like a charm. I am including the instructions at the bottom of the recipe.

(To skip my tips and just see the recipe card, scroll to the bottom of the post.)

How to make Hot Fudge Cake

Ingredients:

all purpose flour
baking powder
salt
sugar
unsweetened cocoa powder
milk
vanilla
oil
nuts (We like pecans)
brown sugar
hot water

Stir together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add milk, vanilla, oil, and nuts. Stir till well blended and spread in a greased 8″ square pan. Mix brown sugar and cocoa and sprinkle over the top. Pour hot water on top- do not mix in! Bake for about 40 minutes at 350°. Serve warm with ice cream.

Crock pot instructions: Spread batter in a well greased 3 1/2 quart crock pot. Bring to a boil the hot water, brown sugar, and cocoa. Pour over batter in crock pot. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours. That’s it!

More chocolate desserts:

Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe
Oreo Chocolate Ice Cream
Chewy Brownies Recipe
Easy Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate Truffle Cookies
Homemade Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Cookies with Powdered Sugar
German Chocolate Pie
Chocolate Bundt Cake

HOT FUDGE PUDDING CAKE

Yield: 8 servings

Hot Fudge Cake

Hot fudge pudding cake that makes its own fudge sauce. Can be made in the oven or slow cooker.

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time40 minutes

Total Time50 minutes

Ingredients

Batter

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp oil (I used canola)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Topping

1 cup brown sugar
2-4 Tbsp cocoa
1 3/4 cups hot water

Instructions

Stir together dry ingredients. Add milk, vanilla, oil, and nuts. Stir till well blended and spread in a greased 9" square pan.
Mix brown sugar and cocoa and sprinkle over the top. Pour hot water on top- do not mix in!
Bake for about 40 minutes at 350°. Serve warm with ice cream.

Notes

-This recipe really doesn't contain eggs, it's not a typo. 🙂

-If you are a true chocoholic, you can add chocolate chips to the batter.

-My favorite way to serve this is with pecans in the batter, and vanilla ice cream. So yummy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 333Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 234mgCarbohydrates: 60gFiber: 2gSugar: 41gProtein: 5g

Did you make this recipe?

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Comments

Theresa
October 30, 2017 at 4:32 pm
This recipe is suspiciously similar to a recipe in A Hershey’s Chocolate cookbook. The original recipe calls for 3 Tbsp of cocoa in the cake; 4 Tbsp in the topping mixture. You’ve also added an extra 1/2 cup of Brown sugar to the topping and replaced butter with oil in the cake. While it’s ok to adapt a recipe to your taste, For those who think it’s too sweet or the cake isn’t setting properly, I would revert to the original measurements. Kara, you should also give credit to Hershey’s for the original recipe, known as Hot Fudge Pudding Cake.
Reply
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- Kara Cook
  October 31, 2017 at 9:17 pm
  Thanks for the tips Theresa. I got the recipe from my mom over thirty years ago, so that could be why her ingredients are slightly different from the Hershey’s recipe. Since I got the recipe from a dog-eared recipe card in my mom’s file, I’m going to stick with giving her credit. I have no idea who she got it from, but she didn’t own a Hershey’s cookbook.
  Reply
Deandra
January 15, 2017 at 6:57 am
Made this last night for dessert was a little hesitant because of the past comments, I baked mines and wow it came out so delicious huge hit in my house will be adding this one to the recipe box !!!!thank you God bless
Reply
Jamie
February 8, 2014 at 6:18 pm
Tried to do this in the oven tonight. It’s been in there for a bit an hour and is still no where close to being done. I don’t really know what went wrong. Followed to recipe to a T… Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Reply
- Kara
  February 10, 2014 at 10:47 am
  Jamie, I’m sorry to hear it didn’t turn out for you. It isn’t a regular cake, so it is meant to have a liquid layer at the bottom. But the brownie part should be set up. If you followed the recipe/pan size exactly and it still didn’t get done, I’m not sure why. Maybe your oven doesn’t cook quite hot enough? I have two ovens, and they bake totally differently. It can be frustrating for sure!
  Reply
kara
August 7, 2013 at 8:29 pm
Ohh oops. Ok thanks
Reply
kara
August 7, 2013 at 10:26 am
When it says batter into crackpot u mean the powder or the mixed oil n water n eggs because then it’ll contain eggs
Reply
- Kara
  August 7, 2013 at 1:38 pm
  This recipe doesn’t use a brownie mix it is made from scratch. And unlike brownies, there are no eggs.
  Reply
Sandy Jones
February 2, 2013 at 4:29 pm
I found this on Pinterest and made it the other night and I’m not sure if it turned out right. The cake part came to the top and the sauce was on the bottom. Also the sauce seemed rather watery too me. Is it 1 & 3/4 cup water or 1 to 3/4 cup water?
Reply
- Kara
  April 17, 2013 at 7:47 am
  Sandy, yes that’s right, the sauce sinks to the bottom and the cake rises to the top. If the sauce was too watery, I’d try baking it on a lower rack in your oven. It is 1 and 3/4 cups water. 🙂
  Reply
Christi
February 2, 2013 at 2:56 pm
I made this and it smelled AMAZING, and the “sauce” it made was great, but the cake had a weird texture… kinda heavy, and chewy/rubbery… is that normal? I was questioning the baking powder on the recipe, should it have been baking soda? Or maybe the texture is normal, I don’t know. I think I may try it again in the oven but was wondering about the soda/powder thing
Reply
- Kara
  April 17, 2013 at 7:46 am
  Sorry it’s taken so long to reply, somehow this comment slipped through the cracks. If the cake was rubbery, it was probably just overcooked. I do prefer the texture when baking it in the oven though. 🙂
  Reply
Anonymous
January 26, 2013 at 7:22 pm
I also cooked this in the crockpot and it burnt after a few hours.
Reply
Kathy
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January 3, 2013 at 12:23 pm
When you double the recipe, do you use a 9″ x 13″ pan?
Reply
- Kara
  January 3, 2013 at 9:28 pm
  Yep, a 9×13″ works just great!
  Reply
Lisa
November 28, 2012 at 6:00 am
This was always my families all-time favorite recipe! Vanilla ice cream was a requirement not an option. And the fudge sauce was magically made. Anxious to try it in my crockpot for sure.
Reply
- Kara
  November 29, 2012 at 9:44 pm
  I agree, vanilla ice cream is a must!!
  Reply
Lauren
November 27, 2012 at 8:44 am
I’m excited to try this out today! I’ll be using the smaller crockpot. I’m glad I read your comment saying you used a smaller crockpot otherwise I’d be using my huge one (you may want to mention that in your instructions??). I’m sure it would not turn out the same!! My hubby will be pleasantly surprised when he comes home 🙂
Reply
Tessa
November 21, 2012 at 1:30 pm
Hi Kara,
I wanted to make this tonight in my crockpot but unfortunately it burnt!!! After 3 hours or so I could smell something else than chocolate..;-)
Next time i’m making it on low, or in the oven!
Greetings from Holland!
Tessa
Reply
dawn
October 30, 2012 at 4:30 pm
either I did something wrong or this isnt very good :(. Should the cocoa be sweetened or unsweetened?
Reply
- Kara
  November 2, 2012 at 7:13 am
  Sorry it didn’t turn out for you Dawn. It should be regular unsweetened cocoa powder, like the kind in the brown Hershey can. Is that what you used?
  Reply
Kara
October 18, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Juliann, it serves about 8-10 people, depending on serving size.
Reply
Cathy
August 27, 2012 at 9:36 am
Does it matter what size crock pot I use? This looks delicious
Reply
- Kara
  August 27, 2012 at 10:17 pm
  I used a 3qt crock pot. I bet a larger one would work too, it would probably just cook faster. Let me know if you try it. 🙂
  Reply
Laura
July 30, 2012 at 11:49 am
When you double the recipe (for the oven) do you double the water mixture as well or does it become too runny?
Reply
- Kara
  July 30, 2012 at 11:54 am
  You double the water mixture as well, and nope, it doesn’t turn out too runny. 🙂
  Reply
Beverly
April 21, 2012 at 8:57 pm
Kara,
Just discovered your blog today. Have found some great recipes I definately need to try. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work.
Reply
- Kara
  April 25, 2012 at 9:58 am
  Thanks so much Beverly!!
  Reply
Melinda Krueger
April 6, 2012 at 11:51 am
anyone tried double recipe for a crowd in crock pot? Longer cook time I’m guessing
Reply
- Kara
  April 6, 2012 at 12:34 pm
  Melinda, I’ve doubled it and baked in a 9×13″ pan for about 45-50 minutes, but I’ve never tried doubling in the crock pot. I’m sure it will take longer, but not sure how much longer. Maybe 5 hours?
  Reply
- Anonymous
  April 6, 2012 at 2:26 pm
  We’ll see what happens!! Smells wonderful!
  Reply
Lora
December 18, 2011 at 4:30 pm
Anyone think you could use a cake mix?
Reply
- Brittany
  January 19, 2012 at 11:18 am
  Lora, I wouldn’t recommend using a cake mix. The cake batter here is very thick-thicker than a brownie. I don’t think a cake mix, which is lighter and fluffier, would separate properly to make a dense cake and thick sauce.
  Reply
Dee
November 18, 2011 at 9:53 am
Wow, this is so great!!! Thanks for linking up this week. You are always Fabulous!!!
Hugs
Dee
CSI girl
Reply
Steph @ Crafting in the Rain
November 17, 2011 at 5:18 pm
Yum! I love this cake, but haven’t had it in ages. I’m intrigued by trying it in the crock pot. Also, I think I’m really going to like your blog 🙂
Reply
Julie Anne
November 17, 2011 at 2:23 pm
I am a fan of chocolate and a fan of my crockpot… this is a great idea!! 🙂
Reply