Chocolate Pudding Poke Cake

If you liked my Lemon Blueberry Poke Cake recipe, then you’re going to love this Chocolate Pudding Poke Cake! This dessert is made up of rich, dark chocolate cake, filled with pockets of chocolate pudding made from scratch, and has been topped with homemade whipped cream and crushed Oreos.

Chocolate Pudding Poke Cake Recipe Walkthrough

Here I will provide you with a walkthrough on how to achieve this delicious Chocolate Pudding Poke Cake recipe. It is a three part recipe that requires some multitasking, like making the pudding while the cake is baking.

If you keep reading, you will find step by step instructions with visual aids via process shots and recipe notes to help you along the way. My aim is to show you what each step of the recipe looks like so you can see if you’re on the right track as you bake.

However, if you’re feeling confident, feel free to scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post to get started without assistance.

Making the Cake

You may recognize this cake recipe from my Devil’s Food Oreo Cupcakes recipe. However, if not, making this cake is a little bit different than what you may be used to. Instead of using mixing bowls or a stand mixer, this cake is made in a large sauce pan.

Step 1: Melt butter and coffee over low heat in a large sauce pan.

In a large sauce pan, cook butter and coffee over low heat until the butter has completely melted. Be sure to stir constantly while cooking to avoid burning the mixture.

Step 2: Add cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips.

Remove the butter and coffee mixture from the stove and add the cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips. Whisk until the chocolate melts completely and the cocoa powder is fully incorporated.

Step 3: Add light brown sugar, salt, and vanilla.

Add the light brown sugar, salt, and vanilla to the chocolate mixture and whisk to combine. There may be some small lumps from the cocoa powder that will dissolve when these ingredients are added and whisked in.

Step 4: Add the eggs and egg yolks.

Whisk in the eggs and egg yolks until a smooth mixture is achieved. Be sure that the mixture has cooled completely before adding the eggs to avoid the eggs scrambling when added.

Step 5: Add all-purpose flour and baking soda.

Whisk the all-purpose flour and baking soda into the chocolate mixture until fully incorporated. Be sure to whisk gently to avoid flour spilling over the sides of the sauce pan.

Step 6: Pour the batter into the pan and bake.

Bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or it reaches 210ºF. Feel free to check the cake at 25 minutes to be sure not that you are not over baking the cake.

After the cake has cooled for 5-10 minutes, poke holes evenly across the cake using the handle of a wooden spoon (or whatever you prefer).

Making the Pudding

While the cake is baking, you’ll want to get started on the pudding. If you have never made pudding from scratch, you are sorely missing out!

I found this chocolate pudding recipe from Liam Charles’s Mega-Choccy Stack recipe when I was working on My Five Favorite Recipes from The Great British Baking Show blog post.

Once I made that, I was fully convinced to always make my own pudding. It is well worth the effort! All you have to do is put a few ingredients in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat while stirring constantly. Anyone can do that, including you!

Step 1: Add sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and cornstarch into a small sauce pan.

I used a whisk to mix all of the ingredients together to ensure that all of the ingredients are evenly distributed with each other before adding the next step.

Step 2: Add one third of the milk into the dry ingredients.

Whisk the milk in until a thick mixture begins to form. Adding a small portion of the milk first, helps prevents stubborn lumps of dry ingredients from forming and helps the rest of the milk incorporate easier.

Step 3: Gradually add the remaining milk.

Gradually add the remaining milk, whisking constantly, until you achieve a smooth chocolate liquid with no lumps.

Step 4: Cook the chocolate mixture over low to medium heat.

Cook the chocolate mixture over low to medium heat, stirring constantly, until it begins to boil and starts to thicken, about 10-12 minutes.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes to cook out the flour. The pudding will continue to thicken while it simmers. Remove from the heat.

Step 5: Add the butter and vanilla.

Once the pudding is removed from the heat, add the butter and vanilla. Whisk the butter and vanilla into the pudding until the butter melts and the pudding is completely smooth.

Allow the pudding to cool for at least 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, before pouring over the holes in the cake. Place the cake in the refrigerator to cool while you make the whipped cream.

Making the Whipped Cream

Just like in my KIND Bar Brownies recipe, I used homemade Whipped Cream as the top layer of this dessert. It’s a simple one step recipe that will change the way you see whipped cream forever! You’ll never buy the store bought stuff again.

All you need is some heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a stand mixer.

Step 1: Add heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla.

Be sure that the heavy cream is cold and straight out of the fridge before getting started with the whipped cream.

Once you’ve added the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla to the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, whisk on high speed for 3-5 minutes until stiff peaks begin to form.

Assembly

Now that you have made all of the components, you are ready to assemble your Chocolate Pudding Poke Cake 🙂

Step 1: Pour pudding over the holes in the cake.

Be sure to fill each hole with pudding when pouring it over the cake. This will ensure that you get a pocket of pudding in each slice of cake when it is cut.

After the pudding has been poured over the cake, chill in the refrigerator before spreading the whipped cream on top. This will ensure that no warm layers melt the whipped cream when it is added.

Step 2: Spread the whipped cream on top of the cake before topping with crushed Oreos.

Spread the whipped cream across the top as evenly as you can. The crushed Oreos will cover any imperfections, so no need to stress over perfection!

If you prefer to use another topping or none at all, feel free! We love Oreos in our house and will put them on any dessert if given the chance, but they are not necessary for this recipe.

And there you have it, a Chocolate Pudding Poke Cake! Pretty easy right? You’re sure to be the star of the show wherever you bring this cake. Or keep it at home just for you, we won’t judge 😉

Let me know what you think of the recipe in the comments down below! Or feel free to let me know what flavor of poke cake you would like to see next. We love your input!