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This Chocolate Lava Cake is absolutely fabulous. It’s served warm, has a moist top layer, and an ooey-gooey bottom that is rich, smooth and full of chocolate goodness. Add a cool scoop of ice cream and you will be in heaven, my friends. Not only is this cake delectable, but you can put it together in just about 15 minutes. Then it cooks in the crock pot for 2 1/2 hours. It’s great for summer gatherings when you don’t want to heat up your oven. Make it for Sunday dinner, make it for a friend, make it for your 4th of July celebration!
Let me show you how to make it happen. ๐
1. Grab a 3-4 quart crock pot and line it with parchment paper. Spray the inside of the paper with cooking spray. The parchment paper helps the cake cook without burning along the edges. You can make it without the paper, just be sure to watch it closely.
2. Find yourself a nice chocolate cake mix and pour it into your stand mixer or medium-sized mixing bowl.
3. Add 1 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup oil and 3 eggs. Beat on low-speed for 1 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the bowl and beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the batter in nice and glossy.
4. Pour the batter into the lined crock pot.
5. Pour one small box of chocolate pudding into your stand mixer or medium-sized mixing bowl. Add 2 cups cold milk and beat it until the pudding thickens. Should take about 3-4 minutes.
6. Pour the pudding over the top of the cake batter. Don’t stir it. Really, cross my heart and hope to die. It will cook up best if you leave the layers be.
7. Grab a bag of milk chocolate chips and pour the pretty little things all over the top of the pudding. Again, please do not stir it.
8. Cover the crock and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours, or until the top of the cake is set. ***NOTE: Some readers have had a hard time getting this cake to cook in the 2 1/2 hour allotted cooking time. Every crock pot cooks a little differently. You may want to leave yourself 3-3 1/2 hours cooking time. If your cake isn’t cooking quickly enough, you could also turn the crock pot setting to high for the last 15 minutes or so. This recipe takes a little experimenting with, depending on how fast your crock pot cooks.***
Like this. ๐
The bottom layer of the cake will be all gooey and soft. Yum.
Double yum.
9. Place some on a plate…
and add a cool scoop of ice cream or whipped cream right on top.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 box chocolate cake mix
- 1 1/4 C milk
- 1/2 C vegetable or canola oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 (3.9 ounce) instant chocolate pudding
- 2 C milk (I used 1 %)
- 1 (12 ounce) bag milk chocolate chips
- parchment paper
Instructions
1. Grab a 3-4 quart crock pot and line it with parchment paper. Spray the inside of the paper with cooking spray. The parchment paper helps the cake cook without burning along the edges. You can make it without the paper, just be sure to watch it closely.
2. Find yourself a nice chocolate cake mix and pour it into your stand mixer or medium-sized mixing bowl.
3. Add 1 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup oil and 3 eggs. Beat on low-speed for 1 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the bowl and beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the batter in nice and glossy.
4. Pour the batter into the lined crock pot.
5. Pour one small box of chocolate pudding into your stand mixer or medium-sized mixing bowl. Add 2 cups cold milk and beat it until the pudding thickens. Should take about 3-4 minutes.
6. Pour the pudding over the top of the cake batter. Don't stir it. Really, cross my heart and hope to die. It will cook up best if you leave the layers be.
7. Grab a bag of milk chocolate chips and pour the pretty little things all over the top of the pudding. Again, please do not stir it.
8. Cover the crock and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours, or until the top of the cake is set.ย ***NOTE: Some readers have had a hard time getting this cake to cook in the 2 1/2 hour allotted cooking time. Every crock pot cooks a little differently. You may want to leave yourself 3-3 1/2 hours cooking time. If your cake isn't cooking quickly enough, you could also turn the crock pot setting to high for the last 15 minutes or so. This recipe takes a little experimenting with, depending on how fast your crock pot cooks.***
The bottom layer of the cake will be all gooey and soft. Yum.
9. Place some on a plate and add a ย cool scoop of ice cream or whipped cream right on top.
Enjoy!
Notes
ย ***NOTE: Some readers have had a hard time getting this cake to cook in the 2 1/2 hour allotted cooking time. Every crock pot cooks a little differently. You may want to leave yourself 3-3 1/2 hours cooking time. If your cake isn't cooking quickly enough, you could also turn the crock pot setting to high for the last 15 minutes or so. This recipe takes a little experimenting with, depending on how fast your crock pot cooks.***
Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens
Are you able to just double the recipe to make for a large group? If so, would the cooking time change at all? (I’ve made it before and it’s awesome!)
I hate the taste of instant pudding. Anyone have any suggestions on what I can use instead??
Tara, You won’t taste the instant pudding. It mixes with the cake and chocolate chips…its more to help with the texture of the “lava.”
Would LOVE to know if this could be prepped ahead and frozen to then pop in the crock pot? Looking for some desserts to prep/make ahead that would be good for the slow cooker.
Hi April,
Thanks for your question. I wouldn’t suggest freezing it in the prep stage. Not sure how it would defrost in that form. Best to prep it just before it goes into the crock pot.
Best of luck!
~Jamie
My oven is sadly not working at the moment, I wanted to make a dessert in the croc pot that my family would love, this looks like the one! However, I only have a box of ‘cook and serve’ pudding, and no chocolate chips, but I do have a jar of hot fudge sauce, I’m wondering if anyone has tried the cook n serve pudding and if you think just putting hot fudge on top at the end of cooking would be an ok substitute for the chocolate chips?
It was AMAZING! Ours were finished 2 1/2 hours on high. It was so easy to make and so worth the wait. It was -surprisingly- not too sweet and turned out so rich and decadent. We had ours with vanilla ice cream-which helps us cope with the richness- and homemade caramel. It looks just like the photo and we will DEFINITELY be making again very soon!
Can i use a crock pot liner instead of parchment paper?
I have made this recipe several times and I absolutely LOVE it. I’m thinking about adding nuts to the recipe. I’m not sure at what point in the recipe I should include the nuts. Has anyone tried this?