Chocolate Cobbler also known as a self-saucing pudding, may be the easiest dessert you will ever make. With just a few ingredients you probably have in your pantry you can make the best gooey chocolate pudding cake. All you need is some hot water and an oven and you have a no-fail dessert that will curb your chocolate craving.

Last week was the last week with our college student for a while so I cooked a lot trying to cram in all of her favorites in one week. I’m not sure how she doesn’t gain weight! She was craving something chocolate so I made a chocolate cobbler. You might also have heard it called chocolate pudding cake or a self-saucing pudding.
Both of the girls loved it so much that it has become one of their favorites and one I’ll make when I haven’t planned a dessert as I almost always have the ingredients on hand.
What is chocolate cobbler
Technically this is not a cobbler as there is no fruit or dough on top. Instead its similar to a lava cake with a brownie like top and a gooey chocolate sauce on the bottom. This old fashioned chocolate pudding cake is so easy and delicious that we made it two nights in a row so we could experiment with different proportions and ingredients and did not get tired of it. We decided that chocolate chips make it even better!
You can also make a self-saucing pudding with fruit, try a peach pudding cake or a blueberry self-saucing pudding for something different.
What you’ll need for a super simple chocolate dessert
- Basic pantry items: white and brown sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla and salt.
- Cocoa powder, and chocolate chips – semi sweet or dark chocolate.
- Butter and milk.
How do you make a chocolate pudding cake from scratch
This is one of those super simple desserts but you need to follow the directions or it won’t work.
Step 1: Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt with melted butter and milk. It will be a thick cookie like dough. Add chocolate chips and press into a glass baking dish.
Step 2: Combine more cocoa powder, brown and white sugar and sprinkle this over the batter.
Step 3: Pour 1 ½ cups of boiling or very hot water over the top. DO NOT STIR. Just let it sit on top and place it in the oven to bake for 30 minutes. The top will be slightly firm but the bottom will be gooey.
Make sure you follow the directions and don’t mix it after you add the water. It looks weird but somehow it works.
How do you reheat chocolate cobbler
If you happen to have leftovers, the best way to reheat this is to place it in a 350º oven and let it get warm. It might not be quite as gooey as it is fresh out of the oven but it will still have some liquid chocolate on the bottom and it’ll taste just as yummy.
It’s a great dessert to whip up in a hurry as you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry. It’s like a self-saucing pudding if you’re a Great British Bake Off fan.
This is now my go-to dessert when I don’t have anything planned but am craving chocolate. The girls are always thrilled when they smell this baking in the oven. While not necessary, it is even more delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Looking for more CHOCOLATE desserts
Even more chocolate recipes
- Amazing brownies
- Chocolate meringue pie
- Chocolate peppermint fudge
- Cream cheese filled chocolate cupcakes
- Browned butter chocolate chip cookies
- Dense chocolate cake
- Pecan pie with chocolate
- Chocolate chocolate cookies
- Chocolate brownies topped with cookie dough
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Chocolate Cobbler
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups sugar divided
- 1 cup flour
- 6 tablespoons cocoa powder divided
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1½ cups hot water
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Stir together ¾ cup sugar, flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, butter, and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Add chocolate chips. Pour into an un-greased 8-inch square glass baking pan or large pie pan.
- In a small bowl, mix ½ cup sugar, brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons cocoa. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Pour hot water over the top. Do not stir.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until center is almost set. Let stand for 15 minutes, then serve. Great served with vanilla ice cream.
Video
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
Recipe Tips
- The water does not have to be boiling but hotter than what you can get from the tap. Try heating in a microwave for about 5 minutes.
- Don’t be tempted to stir it once the water is added, just pour it on top and put it in the oven.
- Chocolate chips are optional, it will still be pudding like without the chocolate chips.
- To reheat, just put in the oven at 350º for a few minutes and it will get gooey again.
So yummy and easy to make! Perfect if you are craving a chocolate lava cake, but don’t want to go through all that hassle.