January 8, 2024
Review RecipeChocolate Dump Cake
This decadent chocolate dump cake is impressive looking, delicious tasting and a quick dessert you can put together any day of the week.
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This chocolate dump cake is full of rich chocolate, three yummy kinds to be exact. Chocolate cake mix, chocolate pudding, and chocolate chips are baked together to create this amazingly moist cake. The best part is that you just pour all of your ingredients into the pan, bake, and enjoy; with only five simple ingredients, it couldn’t be easier than this.
Love this old-fashioned chocolate dump cake recipe? Try our other favorite dump cakes, including our chocolate cherry dump cake recipe that combines cherry pie filling with rich chocolate cake.
Chocolate Dump Cake Ingredients
You will need:
- ½ cup of unsalted butter (1 stick, 113 grams), melted but not hot
- 1 box of chocolate cake mix
- 1 (5.1-ounce) box of instant chocolate pudding
- 2 ½ cups of whole milk
- 1 (12-ounce) bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
PRO TIP:
When buying the cake mix, it is best to pick one that doesn’t have pudding mix in it; check the label to make sure.
Substitutions And Additions
Toppings: Chopped candy, nuts, toffee chips, or other types of baking chips (peanut butter chips) would also be great sprinkled on top. Drizzle caramel sauce on top for a more gooey flavor.
Chocolate chips: You could also substitute dark chocolate chips for the semi-sweet chips in this easy dump cake recipe.
Cake Mix: You could use either a plain chocolate cake mix or a devil’s food cake mix for this recipe for an even richer chocolate flavor.
How To Make This Chocolate Dump Cake Recipe
STEP ONE: Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly in the dish.
OUR RECIPE DEVELOPER SAYS
You’ll want to use a 9”x13″ pan so that the texture and consistency are right. I’ve used an 11″ x 7″ pan before, and it turned out a little too thick, which changed the delicious texture of the dump cake.
STEP TWO: Sprinkle the instant chocolate pudding mix evenly across the cake mix.
STEP THREE: Add the milk to the melted butter – make sure the butter is at room temperature and not hot, so the milk doesn’t curdle.
STEP FOUR: Pour the milk/butter mix on top of the cake and pudding mix.
STEP FIVE: Use a whisk to mix slightly – you don’t need to stir entirely, but you do want it slightly incorporated so that it bakes evenly.
STEP SIX: Sprinkle the entire bag of chocolate chips across the top.
STEP SEVEN: Bake in an oven preheated to 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes.
PRO TIP:
Because dump cakes are so gooey and moist, it can be hard to determine if they’re done. It’s normal to see some wet spots and some spots that are more crisp and done.
How to Serve
Make this chocolate pudding dump cake even more indulgent by serving it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and a drizzle of hot fudge sauce.
Enjoy a glass of our iced tea, raspberry iced tea, sweet peach iced tea, or our southern strawberry sweet tea to wash this delicious cake down.
What about non-chocolate options such as cherry dump cake, peach dump cake and blueberry dump cake?
MORE CAKE RECIPES
Storage
IN THE FRIDGE: Store this easy chocolate cake in the fridge covered tightly with plastic wrap for up to 5 days.
IN THE FREEZER: Store this chocolate chip dump cake in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight when you want to serve it, then bake at 350°F for 10 to 20 minutes until it’s warmed back through.
Dump cakes are so easy because you pour the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together in a single pan and bake; no mixing is required.
Next to our brownie cake, this must be one of the easiest chocolate cake recipes out there. That also means no dishes afterward, which is fantastic in my book!
This chocolate brownie dump cake, full of all that heavenly chocolate, will be an easy dessert you can make time and time again.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a dump cake?
A dump cake is an easy cake in which the recipe calls for the ingredients to be dumped into the baking pan and baked. Usually, they use a boxed cake mix and a handful of additional ingredients.
Can you make chocolate dump cake ahead of time?
You can make chocolate dump cake up to 2 days ahead of time. Since it is best served warm, make sure to warm it up again before serving.
How to serve chocolate dump cake?
This moist chocolate cake is an easy recipe that is completely customizable. Sprinkle whichever sweet toppings you wish, including coconut, toffee bits, chocolate chips, sprinkles, or nuts. You could also add frosting, whipped cream, or a drizzle of chocolate sauce on top and a scoop of ice cream on the side.
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Chocolate Dump Cake
This decadent chocolate dump cake is impressive looking, delicious tasting and a quick dessert you can put together any day of the week.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 12
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted but not hot (1 stick or 113 grams)
- 1 box chocolate cake mix
- 5.1 ounces instant chocolate pudding
- 2 ½ cups whole milk
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick spray and preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Sprinkle the chocolate cake mix evenly in the dish.
- Sprinkle the instant chocolate pudding mix evenly across the cake mix.
- Add the milk to the butter – make sure the butter isn’t hot, so the milk doesn’t curdle.
- Pour the milk/butter mix on top of the cake and pudding mix.
- Use a whisk to mix slightly – you don’t need to stir entirely, but you do want it slightly incorporated so that it bakes evenly.
- Sprinkle the entire bag of chocolate chips across the top.
- Place in the oven to bake for 40 to 45 minutes.
- Serve warm with ice cream.
Nutrition
Calories: 463kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 495mg | Potassium: 377mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 334IU | Calcium: 133mg | Iron: 4mg
Have You Tried This Recipe?Follow me on Pinterest @spaceshipslb
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Comments
Gloria says
This recipe is irresistible – so rich and delicious!
Libby says
Do you have to use whole milk?
Layne Kangas says
It is definitely my recommendation for this recipe.
Chris Apao says
I used Almond Breeze milk and it turned out great! So it doesn’t even have to be dairy!
Tracy says
I can’t imagine I wouldn’t like this!!! Can it be made in a crockpot? High or low and for how long?
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Tracy – I haven’t tried this one in the crockpot yet. We do have this crockpot chocolate caramel cake you will probably enjoy! 🙂
Elizabeth says
I made this last night for my husband’s office and you would not believe the rave reviews I am getting! All guys and not all chocolate lovers but they all love this one! I told him to give out the recipe because they (or their wives) do not need to be experienced in the kitchen to make this one…it could not be easier! I covered it and stored it in the refrigerator overnight and they are cutting a piece and popping it into the microwave for a bit to warm/gooey it up. The only thing to make it better would be a scoop of vanilla ice cream. P.S. We may or may not have tasted it before sending it in and it was absolutely incredible!
Donna says
Can it be stored at room temperature?
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Donna – this is how we suggest storing leftovers. Enjoy!
IN THE FRIDGE: Store this easy chocolate cake in the fridge covered tightly with plastic wrap for up to 5 days.
IN THE FREEZER: Store this chocolate chip dump cake in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight when you want to serve it, then bake at 350°F for 10 to 20 minutes until it’s warmed back through.
Elise says
What size baking dish would I use if I make half the recipe?
Thank you!!
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Elise – We haven’t tried halving this recipe so I’m not sure if it would need any adjustments. I would use a 9×9. Enjoy!
zelma says
Made this last week when I needed a desert fast. It was easy and delicious!! Everyone said it is now their new favorite!
Bobbie says
Can I’you use a German chocolate cake mix? And use a 13×9 pan
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Bobbie – we haven’t tested it with a German chocolate cake mix but I would assume it would be yummy. And yes, this goes in a 9×13 pan. Enjoy!
Glenda Knox says
Awesome! Great taste, easiest cake recipe I have ever made. Thanks
Cheri says
I am now going to try it with white cake and pistachio pudding
Jeana says
How did it turn out with white cake mix and pistachio pudding? I love those flavors together.
Jen Salas says
How do you stop the butter & milk from curdling? Is the milk supposed to be room temp? Help I really wanna try this recipe
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Jen – you add the milk to the cooled butter so that it doesn’t curdle. Enjoy!
Jan says
I gotta try this-thx!
Terry L Ross says
Never mind I figured it out…lol🥺
Allyson says
Looks decadent and perfect for a chocolate craving! Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty. Southern Sunflowers
Alison says
Would it work the same if I used cook and serve pudding instead of instant?
Layne Kangas says
No, it’s important to use instant pudding in this recipe. Enjoy!
Roxie says
Made this and it was yummy. Big hit with family. Was so easy too!
Teresa R Plowman says
This is by far the best dessert I’ve had and I am not a chocolate lover! Well now with this cake I can say I am a chocolate lover!!
Vicki says
I’ve never made a dump cake before! Yum!
Vida says
This recipe is great for a kids sleepover during movie time snack! Adding peanut butter chips was so scrumptious! The cake taste like a gooey reeses peanut butter cup! Yummy! Thank you spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com
Jan'l Adair says
I have made a lot of dump cakes in my time but never chocolate. Can’t wait to try this. I would use the dark chocolate chips since that is what my family likes.
Magdalena Lubbe says
I have never bake a dump cake before.
I am going to try this recipe for sure it look delicious
Regards
Magdalena
Donna says
I have made a few varieties of dump cakes. I think this one would be great with chopped chocolate peanut butter cups on top in place of chips! Yum!
Anna says
I have make a dump cake but it didn’t come out very good , I love chocolate , I can’t wait to make this .
Deena Resnickoff says
Ive made dump cakes before but never a chocolate one! Thanks
Teddie says
Would definitely try dark chocolate.
Maybe try coconut and almonds as topping like an Almond Joy Nar!
Diane says
Cake sounds awesome. Will try this recipe today. Thanks
Colleen says
I will make this today! What I enjoy about your site, you show each step which is terrific. Thank you!
Kristin Threlkeld says
I’ve made several dump cakes before and they’re always a hit. I think this would be fantastic with cheesecake pudding mix, caramel bits, and coconut…maybe a drizzle of caramel sauce right before serving! Sounds delicious as is, as well!
Pauline kulp says
I would add cheesecake pudding
Wendy says
This cake was my first dump cake and it is delicious! I’ll definitely make it again!! Thank you for sharing it.
Nancy A. says
This chocolate cake looks absolutely delicious and decadent!! I have never made a dump cake, but I am going to make this one. My daughter and I would be in heaven!! I think the addition of chocolate chips would be great addition.
Cathy says
I HAVE made dump cakes before – but only with fruit. This was amazing, especially served with ice cream – we liked it with chocolate chip ice cream – or mocha chip!
I think the cheesecake pudding would “lighten” the chocolate a bit and the dark chocolate chips would be heavenly. My family (all but one) is dark chocolate all the way!
I wonder if a mix of chocolate chips and toffee chips would be great – or maybe the already created for us “Heath” bar chips?
Thanks for the recipe.
Kelly Kardos says
Ooohhh my! Chocolate heaven right here!! I’ve never made a dump cake before.
Lori Pennington says
Chocolate dump cake is the bomb diggity I make it with oreo pieces it is to die for we love it on any occasion 😋
Cindy P. says
Wow!! Looks delicious
!
Anika H says
I would try cheesecake pudding mix and white chocolate chips.
Teresa Gerber says
I’ve never made this…can’t wait to try:)!!
Melissa says
I can’t wait to make this cake for my family! It looks so easy and delicious! I would definitely like to try it with white chocolate chips and/or cream cheese.
Carla Dotson says
Haven’t made this but will be trying it! It looks absolutely delicious! Especially me being a chocolate lover! Lol. I think I will white chocolate chips on it as well to give it a little contrast.
TeAuna Drayton says
I’ve never made a dump cake before but I wanna try soon!
Elizabeth Olsen says
How would I use this recipe using homemade cake ingredients. I don’t use box cakes.
annette denucci says
Love this quick and delicious cake! So glad you posted thus recipe.
Deanna Brown says
Add Heath chips to the top
Noreen Thompson says
This sounds so good. I think I would add mini peanut butter cups, yum.
Elizabeth M Heimlich says
I have made dump cakes before, but none that looked this good!
Olivia says
I love how easy this looks! I’ve never tried to make a dump cake before. Since it’s a moist cake will it still leave chocolate on a toothpick test? How do you know it’s really done?
Tiffany Whiteside says
• Have you ever made a dump cake before? No, I haven’t tried it but it looks really good. I am going try it.
Susan DeBerardinis says
I have never made a dump cake. This sounds so easy and delicious.
Donna Edwards says
Yes, I have made several dump cakes and everyone loves them.
Barbara G LIGHTFOOT says
Haven’t tried this one yet. But have made dump cakes before. This 1 I will try
Susan May says
This cake is rich, moist & unbelievably wonderfully good. My grandkids love it better than my usual chocolate cake. I will definitely keep this receipt very handy. Thank you!!!
Tiffany Boll says
I have to make this. But I am going to try adding with chocolate chips. Mini marshmallows and butterscotch chips. I think that combo would be amazing!
Karen says
I would do dark chocolate everything!
Theresa Krier says
Hi, I have never tried making a dump cake before but I think my husband would love this since he is a chocoholic. Thank you !
Pat Scott says
Yes, I have made dump cakes, but always of the fruit variety. Cherry pie filling with pineapple are a favorite. This really sounds good. I’d probably go with some caramel sauce or caramel bits. Butterfinger bits would be good! Oh the things you could do with chocolate!
Terri says
This sounds amazing! Definitely going to try it with peanut butter chips – yum!
Heather says
I would try this with devil’s food cake and Cheesecake pudding.
Cynthia Olivero says
Have you ever made dump cake before?
No, I have never made dump cake before.
I believe another question was about using dark chocolate?
Since I love dark chocolate I would definitely think that would be a delicious option.
Doris McCann says
I have made many Dump Cakes, but not one quite like this. It sounds really good. I will try this one for sure. Love Dump Cakes because they are fast and easy to make and always so good. I serve mine with Cool Whip or Ice Cream.
NJ says
Looks delish…..I will definitely be making it.
Emily Kasper says
Cheesecake pudding makes everything better, so that would be a delicious addition to this recipe! Yummmm!!
Meredith says
Great recipe as is. I tried it with a box of German chocolate cake mix, a box of coconut cream instant pudding, and added chopped pecans along with the semi-sweet chocolate chips. My family of German chocolate cake lovers enjoyed it!
Beverly Lloyd says
This looks delicious. I have made a pumpkin dump cake many times and people love it.
Laura Leigh says
How do you make a pumpkin dump cake? I love pumpkin anything and am very interested in that!!! Please share that recipe or a link for it!
Thank you.
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Laura – here is our pumpkin dump cake, enjoy!
Stephanie says
I am looking forward to trying this recipe with cheesecake pudding because honestly who does not like cheesecake😋😋😋
Pam says
I’ve never made a dump cake before. I made hundreds of cakes over the years but this recipe seems so easy.
Jackie says
This sounds like a great cake but my problem is that I like to make things like this when I make it for Church suppers. I tried to copy the 2X and 3X recipes so that I would be able to do that but it did not work. I was able to get the 1X recipe but not the other 2. This would be OK for my family but not for my church family. On second thought it might not be enough for my family. My husband is a chocoholic.
Jackie says
I was just thinking that I could add nuts, white chocolate chips, filled chocolate chips, Carmel chips and a lot more. It could be made so many ways that I could make a different version and not repeat it all year. I could also put cherry pie filling it it also . I better stop I am making myself hungry.
Jackie says
I didn’t know there was such a thing as cheesecake pudding
Jacqueline Yacey says
I love chocolate and I would add the white chocolate chips for a contrast in appearance.
Sherri says
Has anyone tried adding pecans ir walnuts to this recipe? My family loves anything chocolate with nuts!!
Thank you,
Sherri
Teresa says
I’ve never made a dump cake but I’m definitely going to try this for one of our cookouts! Chocolate dump cake with homemade vanilla ice cream!
Alex S says
i have only made a peach dump cake. cannot wait to try this. 🙂
Teresa says
I’ve made many dump cakes, but usually with fruit. I think I’d love to add mint chocolate chips for a fun flavor!
Sue says
This recipe will temporarily appease your chocolate craving. Box cakes are not the same anymore.
Dorothy says
I have made dump cakes before.
I am going to make this as the recipe states.
The next time I make it, I will try it with cheesecake pudding and dark chocolate.
Lulu says
That sounds fantastic!
Lynn Velier says
Never made a dump cake like this before. I would add cheesecake pudding to it & invite a bunch of people over to eat it. It would give me a migraine for sure even though it would taste great I’m sure!
Cynthia L Crawford says
Looking forward to trying this recipe.. It sounds delicious! I have made box cakes and added pudding to the mix, and they turn out to be so moist!
Wendy says
I would definitely try cheesecake pudding in this recipe.
Linda says
I saw that someone used almond milk – could you also use Earth Balance instead of butter?
Kassi says
I used almond milk and margarine and it turned out fine, I assume that’s what earths own is? I’m from Canada
Morgan says
Yummy! My kids would would be thrilled if I add some mini m&ms to it! I might make one for the grown ups with dark chocolate 🤤
Marilyn says
This looks delicious going to have to try it like chocolate recipes
Jo says
Would using 1% milk instead of whole be ok?
Donna Adams says
Haven’t made it yet but I love that your recipes are so easy
CJ says
I just made this last night and it was a huge hit. It is definitely a dish for chocolate lovers.
Mary says
Can I use peanut butter chips instead of chocolate chips? I’m a huge PB/chocolate fan.
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Mary – we haven’t tried that but I bet it would be so yummy!
Chasity Miller says
I used peanut butter chips and chocolate chips! Very good!
Lu says
My family & I really enjoyed it. I’ll be making it again & again…..
John says
I used half ‘Evaporated Milk’ and half ‘Half and Half’ in this recipe for a richer flavor!
I’m going to try Yellow Cake Mix and Banana Pudding the next time I make this!
Chasity Miller says
Now that sounds delicious also! I will have to try that! Love 🍌
Chasity Miller says
Just made this. Was very easy and very moist. Will definitely make this again. Delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Tyler says
I’ve never had something like this before so I didn’t know what to expect. Was too chocolately for me but if that’s what you’re after this is for you. Couldn’t be easier!
Marilyn Lewis says
All recipes look Great 👍
Lynnae says
Could this be doubled?
Layne Kangas says
Hi, Lynnae – I would suggest making two 9×13 pans instead of doubling in one pan, I don’t think it will bake up right if it’s combined into one dish. Enjoy!
April says
This cake is so good! And so easy to make! I mixed the wet and dry ingredients in a bowl then dumped in pan and then just topped with milk chocolate and semi sweet chips… the consistency of the cake is phenomenal… will definitely make again!
Rachelle Odom Nadh says
Husband approved!!!
Taking to our Thanksgiving family dinner!
Yummmm!!!
I took pictures
Kim Gutendorf says
I made this for the first time yesterday for our family Thanksgiving instead of my usual chocolate pies and it was a huge hit! Everyone raved about how delicious it was! There were practically no leftovers. I’ll be making this again!