This ridiculously easy Crock Pot Lava Cake makes its own decadent hot fudge sauce as it cooks. Just spread in the batter, sprinkle some dry ingredients over the top, and pour water over the whole thing.
Four hours later, voila! Moist chocolatey cake on the top, and a magic hot fudge sauce on the bottom. This chocolate pudding cake is divine!
The Story Behind the Recipe
Cake, in a Crock Pot?! Ummm, yes! A resounding yes, actually. Crock Pot cake recipes are big right now, and I guess I can see why. Nobody wants to turn on their oven in the height of summer; slow cookers are the perfect keep-the-kitchen-cool appliance for the season.
Plus, the prep-now-enjoy-later quality that comes along with Crock Pot cooking can’t be denied. Especially for dessert. What could be better than to slap some batter into a slow cooker (and that’s practically what you do with this ridiculously easy recipe), step away, and come back a few hours later to a moist, fudgy, piping-hot cake, just waiting to get all melty with a plop of icy-cold vanilla ice cream by its side?
A Chocolate Lava Cake That Makes its Own Sauce
This Slow Cooker Hot Fudge Pudding Cake is a spin on this chocolate lava cake, a rich and decadent comfort food classic.
It’s so interesting – and a little magic – how this chocolate lava cake comes together.
- Spread a layer of batter.
- Sprinkle a dry mix of sugar and cocoa powder over the top.
- Pour hot water over the top.
- Think to yourself, seriously? This is going to become cake?!
- And then it bakes and comes out all glorious with a cake layer on top and an incredibly hot fudge sauce layer underneath.
To adapt my original chocolate lava cake recipe for the Crock Pot, I simplified the ingredients list a bit, and then – because Crock Pot recipes take about half the liquid of their traditionally cooked counterparts because steam doesn’t escape as easily – I reduced the amount of hot water in the recipe.
Crock Pot Lava Cake Recipe Ingredients
- All-purpose flour – asdf
- Sugar – You’ll use granulated white sugar for the batter, then some brown sugar for the dry mix that you sprinkle over the top. You can totally swap in more white sugar for the brown sugar, I just like the extra touch of rich flavor that brown sugar brings.
- Cocoa powder – Dutch process cocoa powder is best for this one.
- Baking powder
- Salt – Kosher salt or a finer salt like sea salt are fine.
- Milk – Any milk will do. I use dairy milk or oat milk.
- Butter – Melted. I like to use unsalted so that I can better control the overall salt content in a recipe.
- Vanilla – Pure vanilla extract. If you shop at Costco, get your vanilla there! It’s by far the best bang for your buck (other than making your own).
- Water – Hot tap water, poured over the top. Trust me!
Adaptations/Variations
- Dairy-free/Vegan Hot Fudge Pudding Cake: Swap in a plant-based milk like oat milk and use vegan butter or coconut oil.
How to Make It
- Mix the batter ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Spread the batter in the bottom of your slow cooker.
- Mix together the sugars and additional cocoa powder and sprinkle it over the top.
- Pour the hot water over the top of that.
- Cook on high until the cake is puffy and a little dry on top (the fudgy goodness is underneath!)
I hope you love this Chocolate Lava Cake as much as we do! I love how just a few simple ingredients transform into fudge chocolate bliss in the Crock Pot. Magic!
More Chocolate Cake Recipes
Crock Pot Chocolate Lava Cake
Ingredients
Batter layer:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour*
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dry layer:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
Plus:
- 3/4 cup hot water (it doesn’t need to be boiling; I just use the hottest water from the tap)
For serving:
- vanilla ice cream
Equipment
- 3 quart Crock Pot 2.5 – 3.5 quart works
Instructions
- To a medium bowl, add all of the batter ingredients (flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, milk, butter, and vanilla extract). Whisk together until blended and smooth. Using a spatula, spread batter in the bottom of a Crock Pot.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry layer (granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cocoa powder). Sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter.
- Slowly pour the hot water over the top.
- Cook on high until cake has puffed up and it springs back when you poke it with your finger, 3 to 4 hours.
- Use a spoon to scoop cake and sauce onto dessert plates along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Serve.
Hi! I’m Karen – I’m a real person with real, vetted recipes – over 900 of them! Since 2009, every recipe on Kitchen Treaty is thoroughly tested and loved before I hit “publish.” I’m a home cook, certified plant-based pro, and mom. I’m a vegetarian married to a carnivore, and my goal is to coexist deliciously.
Definitely trying this. Does it matter if you use dutch process cocoa? Also can the milk be low fat?
I have used several different kinds of cocoa including dutch process and it (so far) always works out great. I’m no baking expert, but I believe that because the recipe calls for baking powder instead of baking soda, using a cocoa powder with lower acid content shouldn’t matter. And I’ve used both 2% and whole milk with equally good results! I hope you love it!
I cannot believe you can make this in a slow cooker!? Incredible! Looks delicious!
Oh my this looks AMAZING!! And your photography is incredible and so beautiful! Pineed!
Can you make it in a 6 at crockpot?
I’ve not tried it in a larger Crock Pot. I worry that it will be too flat in a larger one. Perhaps try doubling the recipe if going that route? Let us know how it turns out!
Made it in a 6l slow cooker and turned out fine
Thank you for including the recommended crockpot size. I have slow cooker cookbooks that leave the info out and they are practically unusable. This sounds delicious!
Can regular table salt be used successfully in this recipe? I don’t purchase kosher salt on a regular basis.
Absolutely – I would use about 1/2 the amount though, as table salt tends to have a stronger taste.
This is the most amazing treat! I grew up with my Mother making this very recipe. I was wondering if it would work to double the recipe in 3.5 slow cooker?
Doubling the recipe in a large crockpot worked beautifully!
I made this for dessert tonight, and it is very good. I did however add peppermint to the batter part, and it reminded me of a Girl Scout thin mint cookie. Thank you for sharing this recipe , wi be making it again!
Re the slow cooker chocolate pudding cake. Could l put some marshmallows on top during the last half of cooking?
Do I have to use vanilla powder because I don’t have vanilla available in my house
Do you need to grease the sides/bottom of the crock pot at all?
I can’t wait to try this.
This sounds great. How many servings does it make?
Hi there, this is an older recipe that I’ve been needing to update with current information (I didn’t always used to include the # of servings, crazy to think of that now!) I’d estimate that it serves about 6 but I’ll remake this one soon and update with accurate info. Thanks for asking.