This quick and easy Chocolate Dump Cake is full of chocolate flavor. And the best part? It takes only a few minutes to make with just 5 simple ingredients!
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Why I love this recipe!
This Chocolate Dump Cake recipe is just right for those nights when you crave a rich and decadent dessert but don't want anything elaborate.
Dump Cake Recipes are my favorite to make when I need to satisfy my sweet tooth and this one is perfect for chocolate lovers.
I know, I know. The name is terrible. Just ask my teen boys. And with this chocolate version, it's even worse.
But if you can get passed the gross name of this simple dessert you'll end up with a delicious treat.
My mom first made Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake when I was a kid. And I totally remember the buttery, golden cake mix crust. As a grown up, I stick with fruity versions for the most part.
But when I made this Chocolate Dump Cake with Candy Bars last year for Halloween, a whole new world opened up.
A dump cake with chocolate cake mix just makes sense. Like, how could that be wrong, you know?
Chocolate Dump Cake is the perfect quick and easy dessert to make when you want a treat but don't want to put much effort in.
How does dump cake work?
If you've never made a dump cake before you might not understand what they are.
A dump cake is a super simple dessert idea where you layer the ingredients in a baking dish and bake. No stirring is required. (Learn even more about dump cakes).
The liquid from any fruit filling and butter mixes with the dry cake mix to create a delicious crust on top.
While this chocolate version doesn't have any fruit, the melted butter and milk work together to make a decadent chocolate dessert.
For this dump cake recipe, though, it's kind of inverted. Instead of the crust being on the top, it's on the bottom.
Be warned, this recipe is for a legit dump cake with one minor change.
If searching online for a recipe, you may come across a "dump cake" imposter where people actually stir and the texture is very cake-like.
This one will not have a traditional cake-like texture but more of a mess of ingredients that looks pretty terrible and tastes absolutely delicious in your mouth.
Ingredients
*As with any dump cake, you do not follow the directions on the back of the cake mix box. Instead, you use the powdered mix as is. Same with the pudding.
Semi-sweet chocolate chips help contribute to that rich chocolate flavor and creamy texture when baked. But you can use milk chocolate if you prefer.
And I know that people with actual baking skill and food knowledge always suggest unsalted butter in recipes.
But I like that sweet and salty taste combo and regularly reach for the salted variety.
Just try and tell me you can taste a difference in which butter is used in a dessert. I've got a big old eye roll for you.
The photo above shows 1 cube, but I use a little bit more on top before baking!
Directions
I've made this dessert several ways. It might not seem like there is a reason to dump the ingredients in, in a certain order, but there is.
When done this way, you get a delicious crumbly chocolate dessert.
When done differently, you end up with a weird gloppy chocolate dessert that I will still eat but it's not right.
Preheat the oven
To start, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Spray your baking dish with some baking spray.
Step 1
Add your melted butter to your baking dish.
Even though you have butter on the bottom, it is quickly absorbed by the next layer so the spray is really helpful.
Step 2
Evenly sprinkle the dry cake mix and dry chocolate pudding over the melted butter in the baking dish.
Step 3
Pour the milk over the top of the dry ingredients.
Here is where I take a slight shift from traditional dump cakes. I use a fork and do a quick little move around.
It's not a stir. It's just to ensure that the top of the dry ingredients are touched by the milk.
Step 4
I like to finish the top with a few pats of butter on top before I put it in the oven.
The pats of butter are slowly melted as it bakes and helps to ensure the top gets that buttery crust that is delicious.
You can skip the extra butter but why? Butter makes everything better.
Bake it for 30-45 minutes.
See, not pretty. But this easy Chocolate Dump Cake is DELICIOUS.
But, you'll notice the top of this dump cake in the photos is crusty.
This is because I went rogue and made this wrong. I wasn't paying attention. But I was too far in and decided to roll with it.
If you follow my printable directions correctly, the crust is on the bottom and the top needs to just be "set".
At some point I will update the photos. But this recipe is too yummy to make you wait!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can top it with some whipped cream, ice cream or even caramel sauce. YUM.
Because this chocolate dump cake with cake mix has milk in it, I would refrigerate it. I love to serve this recipe warm, fresh from the oven. It's still fine at room temperature for up to 2 hours. It's still delicious to eat cold but the chocolate will harden a bit and it loses some of that molten-like texture that the chocolate chips give this dessert. When I eat the leftovers I like to pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds to make it soften a little.
Dump Cakes are the perfect party or potluck dessert. They easily feed a crowd and are easy to serve in a bowl or on a plate! They also transport well, as long as the pan is cool enough to handle.
A few more easy recipes you might enjoy!
- Pumpkin Dump Cake with Yellow Cake Mix
- Sweet Potato Cake Using Cake Mix
- Eggnog Pudding Cake
- Chocolate Christmas Dump Cake
- Strawberry Dump Cake with Angel Food Cake Mix
- Old Fashioned 7 Layer Bars
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Chocolate Dump Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce Chocolate Cake Mix
- 3.5 ounce Chocolate Pudding Mix (instant)
- 12 oz bag of chocolate chips
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 ½ cups milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray baking dish with spray.
- Melt ½ cup of butter and put in the bottom of a baking dish.
- Sprinkle on dry chocolate cake mix as evenly as possible.
- Sprinkle on dry chocolate pudding mix.
- Evenly pour milk over the dry ingredients.
- Use the back of a spoon to ensure that all of the cake and pudding mix end up wet. (not really stirring, more like moving)
- Top with chocolate chips.
- Add the last ¼ cup of butter in thin pats evenly spread out on top.
- Bake for about 30-45 minutes or until the top is just set.
Anita Blice says
Do you use instant or cook n serve pudding. Seems to me that might make a big difference, but it’s not stipulated which kind in recipe. Thanks. Looks yummy!
Sharon Garofalow says
I used instant pudding. I'll update the post! Thank you for letting me know about this! Sorry I missed it!