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This Crockpot Cake is a perfect warm chocolate cake that you can make in a slow cooker. It even makes it’s own pudding frosting and it’s pure heaven!
Chocolate Cake Recipe in the Crock Pot
This crockpot cake is similar to dump cake, hot fudge cake, or a lava cake, but it is made in the crockpot or slow cooker. It truly is a warm and delicious treat that I love to make because it’s SO good. If you’re a chocolate cake lover you’re going to want to be making this recipe on repeat. It’s a from scratch fluffy cake that makes a chocolate pudding sauce or frosting – serve it warm with ice cream and you’ll love it.
Ingredients Needed
- Sugar: The only sugar you need for this recipe is granulated sugar.
- Cocoa Powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder – you can use dutch process too.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Milk: Use any kind of milk that you like best (nondairy works too)
- Water: This water will need to be boiling and creates the pudding.
How to make Crockpot Chocolate Lava Cake
- Whisk dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cocoa). Stir in oil, vanilla, and milk.
- Whisk sugar, cocoa, and salt into boiling water.
- Add cake to the liner of a crock pot. Top with chocolate water.
- Add a paper towel to the top of the insert and cover with the lid. Set to 2 hours, but check at 1 hour and again at 1.5 hours.
Can you substitute cake mix?
If you want to turn this into a semi-homemade cake, make cake batter from cake mix according to package directions and add to crockpot. Make the sauce as directed in the recipe and cook the same – be sure and check after an hour, etc. You can use a chocolate or yellow cake mix.
Expert Tips
- There are no eggs in this cake, making it the perfect cake for people with allergies!
- This chocolate cake tastes good alone, but I always add a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Not all slow cookers cook the same – be sure to check the cake at 1 hour and again at 1.5 hours because your crockpot might cook faster than mine.
Storing and Freezing
Store cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days. You can also freeze leftover cake for several months (although it tastes best fresh).
FAQ
This recipe was written for a 6-7 quart slow cooker. I don’t recommend using anything smaller.
For this version you do not need a pan – the cake Cookes right in the insert.
Yes but it will take longer – just be sure and check it after about 1.5 hours if cooking on low.
Crockpot Cake Recipe
Recipe Video
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 cup (124g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons (27g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup (79ml) vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (237ml) milk
For the Sauce:
- 1 cup (237ml) boiling water
- ¼ cup (20g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Make the Cake: Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Add oil, vanilla, and milk and whisk until smooth.
- Spray the insert of a 7-Qt slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Pour cake batter into insert.
- Make the topping: add the cocoa, salt, and sugar to the boiling water and whisk to combine. Slowly pour over the cake batter in the crockpot insert.
- Cover the insert with paper towels, place in crockpot and place lid on top of paper towels.
- Set time for HIGH for 2 hours. Check cake after 1 hour and then again at 1.5 hours. Cake will look wet in center but the edges will look done and a toothpick will come out clean near the edge when done. All slow cookers cook differently, mine took 1.5 hours.
- Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
Made this for a work event and it was a hit! Rich and delicious. Ice cream (or whipped cream) is highly recommended. I made the batter the night before and mixed up the chocolate water on site. It didn’t have a strong scent while “baking” as far as I could tell, which I considered a win considering the office environment.
OMG…..dinner for 20 last night and this was the dessert. First time I’d made it.
Had my big slow cooker going with slow cook pulled pork and fresh buns happening, ginormous lasagne prepped two days ago warming and garlic bread.
Prepped this easily and quickly, doubled mixture and popped it on, walked away and four hours later there was NONE left and they loved it!!!! Thankyou (PS I’m a macros girl and it didn’t fit in my numbers for the day, but our guests all loved it and it smelt sooo good. I changed a few things (added a little salt to make it salted caramel and 1/2 sugar was brown sugar in mine)
Can this be done on the oven? If so, what temp and for how long?
Wow these look amazing! I can’t wait to try them. I’m gluten sensitive so I’ll be trying to make it gluten free. Hope it will still turn out!
Looks amazing!! I am serving a really large group. Have you or anyone else ever tried to double it?
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