Chocolate self saucing pudding is a dessert that bakes into two layers: a fudgy chocolate cake on top and a warm chocolate sauce underneath. This self saucing chocolate pudding comes together with a simple batter and no water bath needed.
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TL;DR (Quick-Answer Box)
What it is: A single chocolate batter that separates into a cake layer and a chocolate sauce layer as it bakes, no water bath or double-cooking required.
Why you'll love it: It comes together with pantry ingredients, takes 10 minutes of hands-on prep, and gives you dessert and sauce in the same dish. A touch of coffee in the sauce deepens the chocolate flavor without tasting like coffee at all.
How to make it: Mix a simple chocolate batter and spread it into a 9x13 dish, then stir up a chocolate sauce mixture in a jug and pour it straight over the top before baking. The sauce sinks to the bottom as it bakes, while the batter rises and sets into cake on top.top.
Why This Recipe Works
- One batter, no separate sauce to make, this self saucing chocolate pudding does all the work in a single dish.
- The sauce mixture is combined in one jug rather than sprinkled and poured separately, making it even simpler to put together.
- Instant coffee in the sauce intensifies the chocolate flavor without adding a coffee taste.
- Comes together with pantry staples, nothing specialty needed.
- Ready in under 30 minutes of bake time, most of it hands-off.
- Works with either US or Australian cup and spoon measures
Ingredients Used
- All purpose flour is the base of the batter, giving the cake its structure.
- Baking powder lifts the batter as it bakes so you get a proper cake layer rather than something dense.
- Caster sugar sweetens the cake batter itself, separate from the brown sugar in the sauce.
- Cocoa powder appears in both the batter and the sauce, giving the sauce its chocolate flavor and the cake its color, key to getting that classic self saucing chocolate pudding texture. Dutch-processed cocoa gives the richest result if you have it.
- Eggs bind the batter together.
- Butter and milk keep the batter moist and give the cake its texture.
- Vanilla extract rounds out the chocolate flavor in the cake.
- Brown or raw sugar forms the base of the sauce along with the boiling water, it dissolves and combines with the cocoa to create the glossy chocolate layer underneath the cake.
- Instant coffee powder is optional but worth adding to the sauce, it rounds out and deepens the chocolate flavor.
How to Make Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding
Start by preheating your oven and greasing your 9x13 dish so it's ready to go. Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar, cocoa powder and salt together in a large bowl.
Add the eggs, melted butter, milk and vanilla straight to the dry ingredients. Mix well until you have a thick, brownie-style batter.
Spread the batter evenly into your prepared dish.
In a jug, whisk the boiling water, brown sugar, cocoa powder and instant coffee powder together until fully dissolved.
Slowly pour the sauce mixture over the top of the batter. It'll look a little strange at this point, that's exactly how it should be.
Bake until the top has set into a cake-like texture. Let it rest for a couple of minutes, then serve warm. Top with fresh strawberries, blueberries and a scoop of ice cream, then serve straight away while the sauce is still warm underneath.
Pro Tips & Troubleshooting
- Mix the sauce ingredients together in one jug before pouring, it's simpler than sprinkling a topping separately and gives you more control over an even pour.
- Pour the sauce mixture slowly and evenly over the batter rather than all in one spot.
- The pudding is done when the top has a set, cake-like texture rather than looking wet.
- Serve it as soon as it's out of the oven and rested for a couple of minutes. The sauce firms up the longer it sits.
Storage & Serving
This pudding is best eaten fresh from the oven while the sauce is still warm and pourable. If you do have leftovers, reheating gently in the microwave will bring the chocolate back to a melted, gooey state, though you won't get quite as much loose sauce as you did the first time around.
Variations
- Chocolate chips or chopped chocolate: Stir ⅓ cup through the batter before spreading it into the dish for pockets of melted chocolate throughout the cake.
- Raspberries: Scatter a handful of fresh or frozen raspberries over the batter before adding the topping, they add a tart contrast to the rich chocolate.
- Mint: Add a few drops of peppermint essence to the batter along with the vanilla for a chocolate-mint version.
- Orange: Swap the vanilla for orange essence, or add a bit of finely grated orange zest to the batter, for a chocolate-orange twist.
What to Serve With Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding
- I always go for easy vanilla ice cream, it melts straight into the warm sauce
- Caramel ice cream or peanut butter ice cream if you want something a bit different.
- Fresh raspberries or a spoonful of raspberry sauce cuts through the richness.
- Extra chocolate hot fudge sauce if you're a true chocolate lover.
Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding Questions, Answered
This usually happens if the pudding sits too long before serving. The sauce is at its best straight out of the oven, after a few minutes it starts absorbing into the cake and you lose that pourable layer underneath.
Not really, this one's best made and eaten the same day. You can measure out the dry ingredients and the topping mixture in advance and keep them separate, but the batter itself should be mixed and baked just before serving.
This can happen if the batter wasn't thick enough, or if too much water was used. Stick to the measurements as written and make sure your batter is a thick, spreadable consistency before you add the topping.
Yes, as long as it's roughly the same volume as a 9.5 inch pie dish. A smaller dish will give you a thicker cake layer with a longer bake time, and a larger dish will spread thinner and bake faster, so keep an eye on it either way.
No, it's entirely optional. It won't add a coffee flavor, it just deepens the chocolate taste in the sauce, so leave it out if you'd rather keep things simple.
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Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding
INGREDIENTS
Batter
- 2 cups all purpose flour also known as plain flour
- 2½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup sugar fine caster sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder unsweetened
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs large
- 7 tablespoon butter 100g melted, extra for greasing
- ⅔ cup milk full fat
- 3 teaspoon vanilla more or less to taste
Chocolate Sauce
- 1½ cups water hot from the kettle
- 1 cup raw sugar or light brown sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
Optional Garnishes
- Berries
- Ice Cream
- Powdered Sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 160°C fan/180°C/355°F and grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter.
- Spread the batter evenly into your prepared dish.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a large bowl, stirring until evenly mixed.
- Add the eggs, melted butter, milk and vanilla straight to the dry ingredients and mix well until you have a thick, brownie-style batter.
- In a jug, stir the boiling water, brown sugar, cocoa powder and instant coffee powder together until fully dissolved, then slowly pour this over the top of the batter. It'll look a little strange at this point, that's exactly how it should be.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. You're looking for a top that's set and puffed up. there will be pools of chocolate sauce.
- Rest for 1-2 minutes out of the oven, then divide between bowls, spooning plenty of that sauce from the bottom of the dish over each serving. Enjoy warm with vanilla ice cream and fresh berries.
NOTES
- This recipe is written for a 9x13 baking dish. A different sized dish will change the bake time, watch for a set, cake-like top rather than relying on time alone.
- The instant coffee in the sauce is entirely optional, but it's worth adding if you have it on hand. You won't taste coffee in the finished pudding, it just deepens and rounds out the chocolate flavor.
- Dutch-processed cocoa powder gives the best result here, it's darker, smoother, and more intensely chocolatey than regular cocoa. Regular unsweetened cocoa powder will still work fine if that's what you've got.
- This pudding is best eaten within a few minutes of coming out of the oven. The longer it sits, the more the sauce underneath firms up and loses its saucy consistency, so serve it hot and don't let it wait around on the counter.
- This recipe uses standard cup and spoon measures and works fine with either the US or Australian versions, the slight difference between the two (US cup is 240ml, Australian is 250ml) isn't enough to affect the result here.
Diane says
Am I missing something, like the egg listed in the recipe?
Fay Khoury says
Great pick=up Diane! Thank you for letting me know! The recipe card has been updated 🙂