This rich and incredibly moist chocolate dump cake is a decadent and indulgent dessert that is incredibly easy to make.
This delicious treat requires just a few simple ingredients, including chocolate cake mix, chocolate pudding mix, and chocolate chips.
The name "dump cake" refers to the method of simply dumping all the ingredients into a baking dish and letting the oven do the work.
As it bakes, the cake forms a fudgy layer on top with a gooey, molten chocolate center. It's a perfect dessert for any chocolate lover and is sure to satisfy even the sweetest tooth.
Whether served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or enjoyed cold as a midnight snack, this chocolate dump cake is the perfect treat for any occasion.
For more chocolate recipes, check out my chocolate bread, almond flour chocolate cake, small chocolate cake, dark chocolate sheet cake, Ferrero rocher cake, matildas chocolate cake, and ding dong cake.
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Why this recipe works
- Ease- this dump cake recipe couldn’t get easier than this! It is made with a cake mix and a few simple ingredients and is made by throwing all the ingredients into a baking pan, mixing them, and bake!
- Chocolate flavor- this cake is loaded with chocolate flavor, is made with chocolate cake mix, chocolate instant pudding mix, and lots of chocolate chips for the ultimate chocolate flavor.
- Texture- this cake is chocolatey, fudgy, and has a gooey melt in your mouth texture that goes perfectly with the melty chocolate chips.
- Time- this whole recipe takes an hour to prep and bake from start to finish. All you need to do is throw the ingredients in a pan, mixing them, top with chocolate chips, and bake!
What is a dump cake?
A dump cake is a type of dessert that is incredibly easy to make. It typically consists of just a few ingredients, which are "dumped" into a baking dish and then baked.
Dump cakes are loved for their convenience and versatility, as they can be easily customized with different fruits or added toppings like nuts or chocolate chips.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Chocolate cake mix- We used Betty Crocker's cake mix, but you can use your chocolate yellow cake mix for this!
Chocolate instant pudding mix- use your favorite brand of instant chocolate pudding. This adds extra moisture to the cake and also adds richness and soft texture.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of this delish cake.
Chocolate chips- you can use any kind of chocolate chips for this cake, We like to use either dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or semisweet chocolate chips.
Milk- use unflavored whole milk for this recipe.
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 180c (350) and grease the pan with room temperature butter or oil spray.
To a 13 by 9 inch baking pan, add the chocolate cake mix, and chocolate instant pudding mix and mix it with a whisk until combined.
In a medium mixing bowl, add the milk and melted butter and mix it with a whisk.
Evenly pour the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients in the pan and mix it slightly with a whisk until the dry ingredients are completely covered with the wet ingredients and there are no big clumps of the dry mixture.
Top the batter with lots of chocolate chips and bake the dump cake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, depending on how gooey you want your cake to be and depending on how hot your oven is.
Allow the dump cake to cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes, scoop it into a bowl or a plate and serve with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like milk. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. You don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Do not open the oven door in the middle of baking, this can cause the cake from sinking in the middle. If you want to check its doneness, check it 5 minutes before the baking time ends.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Grease the pan with softened butter or oil spray to prevent the cake from sticking to the pan.
- Allow the cake to cool for 10-15 minutes, but serve it warm. Top it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. The contrast of the hot chocolate cake with the melty ice cream or whipped cream is irresistible!
Faq's
The term "dump cake" comes from the simple method of making this dessert. It involves "dumping" all the ingredients into a baking dish, without any complicated mixing or layering.
The concept behind dump cake is to "dump" all the ingredients into a baking dish and let the oven do the rest of the work.
With just a few basic ingredients, such as cake mix, fruit, and butter, dump cake creates a deliciously moist and flavorful treat with little preparation required.
When making a dump cake, the biggest mistake to avoid is overmixing the batter. Overmixing can lead to a dense and tough texture in the final cake. It is important to gently fold the ingredients together just until they are combined, ensuring a light and fluffy result.
Since dump cakes are gooey and moist, it is hard to tell when it's done baking.
Bake the dump cake according to the baking time written and be aware that it is normal to see some wet spots that are extra tender, it does not mean that the cake is raw, it just means its very gooey.
Storing
Store this cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, and in the fridge for up to 3 days.
This cake is very moist, so if you live in a warm climate, store it in the fridge in an airtight container for 4 days with no days at room temperature to stop the molding process.
Freezing
This cake is very easy to freeze. After baking, let the cake cool to room temperature, transfer it into a freezer-friendly Ziploc bag, or wrap it tightly with a plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To thaw: place the cake in the refrigerator overnight or place it a room temperature for a few hours. Then warm it up in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until its warm enough and serve!
Substitutions
Dairy-free - If you are dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter or plant-based butter. Also, swap the milk with dairy free milk.
Gluten-free- make this recipe gluten-free by using a gluten-free cake mix!
Make it ahead of time
You can make and bake this dump cake two days ahead of time, store it in the fridge covered with plastic wrap, and when you are ready to serve, warm it up in the oven at 180c (350f) for about 8-10 minutes or until the chocolate chips is melty again and the cake is warm.
Variations
Cake mix flavor- use your favorite cake mix flavor like red velvet cake mix, yellow cake mix, vanilla cake mix, etc.
Nuts- add your favorite nuts to the cake batter. We love adding chopped pecans and walnuts.
Toppings- add some of your favorite toppings like toffee chips, chopped candy, peanut butter chips, caramel sauce drizzle, peanut butter drizzle, etc.
Fruit- add your favorite fruit to the batter of the cake. Some of my favorite fruits to add to chocolate are strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, oranges, etc.
Zest- lots of people like the orange and chocolate combinations. If you do, add 1 tablespoon of orange zest to this cake to add a zesty orange flavor.
Espresso powder- add 1 teaspoon of your favorite espresso powder to the dry ingredients at the beginning of the recipe to enhance the chocolate flavor.
Serving Tips
Whipped cream- top each slice of cake with a dollop of whipped cream.
Vanilla ice cream- add a large scoop of ice cream next to a slice of this cake.
Berries- top this cake with sliced berries like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries for a fresh and delicious flavor.
Hot fudge sauce- make this cake even more decadent and chocolaty and top it with a drizzle of hot fudge sauce.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl (set of 3)
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
- 9x13 baking pan
- Chocolate cake mix
- Chocolate pudding mix
More cake mix recipes
3 Ingredient Peach Cobbler (W/ Cake Mix)- This 3 ingredient peach cobbler is the easiest peach cobbler recipe out there and has a crispy top and juicy peaches!
Apple Cobbler With Cake Mix- This apple cobbler with cake mix also known as a dump cake, is made with a few simple ingredients and is the perfect dessert for fall!
3 Ingredient Banana Bread (With Cake Mix)- This insanely tender and moist 3 ingredient banana bread is the easiest way to make banana bread and is versatile.
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment below. We love hearing from you.
If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Fudgy & Easy Chocolate Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 15.25 oz Chocolate cake mix
- 5.10 oz Chocolate instant pudding mix
- 2 ½ cups Milk whole milk, unfavored
- ½ cup Butter melted
- 1 cup Chocolate chips plus more if desired
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180c (350) and grease the pan with room temperature butter or oil spray.
- To a 13 by 9 inch baking pan, add the chocolate cake mix, and chocolate instant pudding mix and mix it with a whisk until combined.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the milk and melted butter and mix it with a whisk.
- Evenly pour the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients in the pan and mix it slightly with a whisk until the dry ingredients are completely covered with the wet ingredients and there are no big clumps of the dry mixture.
- Top the batter with lots of chocolate chips and bake the dump cake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, depending on how gooey you want your cake to be and depending on how hot your oven is.
- Allow the dump cake to cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes, scoop it into a bowl or a plate and serve with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like milk. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. You don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Do not open the oven door in the middle of baking, this can cause the cake from sinking in the middle. If you want to check its doneness, check it 5 minutes before the baking time ends.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Grease the pan with softened butter or oil spray to prevent the cake from sticking to the pan.
- Allow the cake to cool for 10-15 minutes, but serve it warm. Top it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. The contrast of the hot chocolate cake with the melty ice cream or whipped cream is irresistible!
Kat says
Very easy to make and extremely heavenly to eat.
Rose Ferro says
So rich and delish!!!!!!!!!
Lillie Hinkelman says
Thank you so much for this recipe. It was everything you reported it to be. I did include the espresso powder, which added wonderful depth to the cake. It was quite light and airy and so easy to make. We enjoyed it with a scoop of caramel gelato and whipped cream that I just happened to have on hand. Actually, all of the ingredients were from a pantry pull, so easy-peasy! And, with the price of eggs continuing to increase, no need to include. This is going to become a staple in our house! Delicious❣️🥰😋