This Chocolate Overload Cake is the indulgent, and decadent dessert you have been looking for with the most moist cake you've ever tasted and covered with rich chocolate ganache. This easy cake mix hack is sure to be a family favorite!
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Why You'll Love Chocolate Pudding Cake
I recently changed the name of this cake. This is because it is so loaded with chocolate that a chocolate overload cake recipe seemed like the most accurate thing to call it. And I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the absolute BEST recipe for a moist chocolate cake you will ever taste.
Not everyone has the time to put a ton of work into a fancy, made-from-scratch dessert. But this cake is so perfectly rich and completely moist — your friends and family will beg you for the recipe, and they'll never know that it’s actually an easy cake mix with pudding hack! By the way- if you love a good cake mix hack but aren't craving chocolate- you've got to try my Poppy Seed Cake- everyone goes nuts over it!
So while this isn’t a “scratch” cake, I think it's nice to have an in-between option that takes mere minutes of your time to throw together (the rest is baking time), minimal ingredients, and is virtually foolproof. And of course, the big game changer is the variation of ingredients — or the "hack" — that results in winning dessert that blows your normal boxed cake mix right out of the water! Here's what I love about it:
- Made with pantry staples
- Super moist
- Party favorite
- Easy dessert for any occasion
- Great for holidays
- Fool-proof for beginning bakers (my 9 year old makes it all the time!)
Ingredient Information and Substitutions
- Dark chocolate cake mix - My preference is dark chocolate cake mix but you can use any chocolate cake mix you like, including Devil's food!
- Instant chocolate pudding mixes - It's important that you grab instant pudding not the kind that you have to heat up. And get the regular-size boxes which are 2.03 ounces.
- 5 eggs - Yes, 5! That's what gives the cake mix with pudding the ultimate texture and perfect amount of moisture.
- Vegetable oil - Also enhances the moistness of the cake with pudding. Canola oil also works, or your favorite neutral oil.
- Water - Or you can go wild and swap it for coffee or Kahlua!
- Chocolate Chips- Mini or regular chocolate chips work well for this, it all depends on how much texture you want in your cake.
- Heavy Cream- This is for the ganache and I do NOT encourage you to substitute milk or half and half for this. The high fat content in the heavy cream is what bring the ganache together.
How To Make Chocolate Fudge Cake
Step 1: Make the batter
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a bundt pan. Combine the box of cake mix, instant pudding, warm water, oil, and eggs together. Fold in chocolate chips.
Step 2: Bake
Pour the cake batter into the bundt cake pan. Bake for 1 hour or until the cake is done. Cool completely.
Step 3: Make the ganache
In a small pan, heat heavy cream over medium heat, stirring continuously to prevent scalding until just beginning to simmer. Pour over chocolate chips and let sit for 1-2 minutes. Whisk until it comes together and becomes a smooth and silky ganache. Let sit for a few minutes to thicken slightly for easier pouring
Step 4: Pour over the cake
After the cake has fully cooled, pour the ganache over the cake and if you want, add some sprinkles. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! I’d bake the cake and let it cool overnight.
Sure! Prepare this moist chocolate cake recipe as directed, but don't use a bundt pan. Instead, spray two 9 inch round cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes (begin checking it around 25 minutes just to be safe). You'll probably want to double the ganache so you have extra for filling. You can also whip the ganache for a fluffier frosting.
Yes! It’ll take about an hour to bake at 325 degrees (give or take some time depending on your oven). Check it at 45 minutes and remove when a toothpick comes out clean.
Yup — line a standard size muffin pan with cupcake liners and fill them ¾ of the way (an ice cream scoop works well for this!). Bake for 15-20 minutes at 325 degrees until your cake tester comes out clean.
Yes, just freeze before frosting and wrap it really well. It will last up to 3 months in the freezer.
In this particular chocolate pudding cake recipe, the eggs are what makes it super moist and delicious. Do not cut down the number of eggs (it may seem excessive, but if you’re going to eat a cake, go big and eat a cake!). That said, you do not need to use extra large eggs. They’re ideal, but I’ve made this several times with large eggs, and it’s come out perfect every single time.
My favorite is making chocolate ganache and pouring it over the top. It adds an extra "wow" factor and ganache is pretty fool proof to make. If you really don't want ganache, a simple dusting of powdered sugar adds a little something extra without any additional work.
Tips For Making This Chocolate Ganache Cake
- Warm water works great! Don’t feel like you need to have water that’s so hot it’s boiling. I just run my tap water until it is warm, then fill my measuring cup for this cake recipe.
- Be sure to grease the pan. Grease your cake pan with cooking spray so the cake pops out easily without sticking.
- Chocolate chips can be omitted from the cake batter. The chocolate chips are totally optional, but I personally love the texture they add.
- Don't leave batter behind. Be sure to scrape all the batter out of the large bowl with a spatula when you pour the batter into the bundt pan.
- Check the cake early. Every oven is different, so start checking the cake at 40 minutes. If the tester comes out clean, pull it then.
- Cool the cake completely. I let it cool quite a bit before inverting. Often, I’ll let it cool completely in the pan. It’s fine either way. But make sure it's completely cool before pouring over ganache, so that the ganache sits on top without being absorbed.
- Tips for easy cake removal- When it’s time to remove the cake from the pan, run a butter knife around the outside between the cake and the pan, then place the serving plate on top of the pan and turn it all over. The cake slides right out onto the serving plate.
- Leftovers and storage- the leftovers taste great for up to 5 days covered at room temperature.
Other Chocolate Desserts to Try...
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5 star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below ⬇️ and/or a review in the comment section further down. Check out my Amazon Store for all my favorite tools, including those used in this recipe. And follow @thelifejolie on Instagram and TikTok!
The BEST Chocolate Overload Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 box chocolate cake mix
- 2 small boxes instant chocolate pudding
- 1 cup warm water
- ¾ cup oil
- 5 extra-large eggs (large is also fine)
- 1 ¾ cup chocolate chips divided
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a bundt pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, mix together cake mix, pudding mixes, water, oil and eggs until just combined.
- Stir in the ¾ cups of chocolate chips if you're using them and put batter into the prepared bundt pan.
- Bake for around 1 hour or until a cake tester comes out clean. Check it at 50 minutes, because it can go a little faster depending on your oven. Cool completely.
- When the cake is cool, heat ½ cup heavy cream in a small pan stirring continuously until it's just beginning to simmer (it’ll be steaming).
- Pour cream over 1 cup of chocolate chips and let it sit for a 1-2 minutes, then keep whisking until it turns into a silky, smooth ganache.
- Let the ganache sit for a couple minutes to thicken slightly and then pour over the cake and top with sprinkles if you'd like. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Warm water works great! Don’t feel like you need to have water that’s so hot it’s boiling. I just run my tap water until it is warm, then fill my measuring cup for this cake recipe.
- Be sure to grease the pan. Grease your cake pan with cooking spray so the cake pops out easily without sticking.
- Chocolate chips can be omitted from the cake batter. The chocolate chips are totally optional, but I personally love the texture they add.
- Don't leave batter behind. Be sure to scrape all the batter out of the large bowl with a spatula when you pour the batter into the bundt pan.
- Check the cake early. Every oven is different, so start checking the cake at 40 minutes. If the tester comes out clean, pull it then.
- Cool the cake completely. I let it cool quite a bit before inverting. Often, I’ll let it cool completely in the pan. It’s fine either way. But make sure it's completely cool before pouring over ganache, so that the ganache sits on top without being absorbed.
- Tips for easy cake removal- When it’s time to remove the cake from the pan, run a butter knife around the outside between the cake and the pan, then place the serving plate on top of the pan and turn it all over. The cake slides right out onto the serving plate.
- Leftovers and storage- the leftovers taste great for up to 5 days covered at room temperature.
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