This slow cooker brownie pudding cake recipe is warm and wonderful melt in your mouth delicious! Yes, dessert from the slow cooker – it’s true!
Oh, this cake. Oh, this cake. Oh, oh, oh, this cake. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
- You make it in the slow cooker, so you can start it in the morning, forget about it, and have a mind-blowing dessert that cooks itself and stays warm and perfect until you are ready for it.
- It makes enough for a crowd, even when that crowd includes various teenagers who are home from college and apparently had nothing to eat between when they left and when they came home. Can you spell R-A-V-E-N-O-U-S
- It is a warm, creamy, cakey brownie-meets-pudding-meets-cake chocolate explosion of happiness
- If you top it with vanilla ice cream, which will start melting into a cream sauce the second it hits the warm cake, you will never want to eat anything else again as long as you live. Even bacon. Yes, I just said that.
Now, just a little bit on how I got that photograph up there. While you can serve this in any old dish you want, I love serving it in mason jars with long iced tea spoons. You get the best ice cream meltage that way as it dribbles its way down and through the cake, and for some unknown reason I love eating things out of jars. (Please click here for the shrimp version of this strange yearning.)
Now, for me, the two hardest things to photograph are glass (so hard to deal with the light reflections), silverware (same reflection thing) and ice cream (ice cream does not sit around and wait while you fiddle with the shot. It just goes ahead and melts.)
So I set up all my lights and backgrounds and carefully put the cake in the jar and positioned it, all of which took a good hour or so. And then I added the ice cream and photographed the thing, which took a hair-raising 30 seconds until the ice cream was in full-throttle melting mode. Just a glimpse into the relaxing life of someone who spends her time photographing food. It was basically a 21st century kitchen version of the Keystone Kops for a while there. The Southern husband made out okay though.
It’s always useful to have someone around who is willing to scarf down the model after it has its picture taken.
So the next time you need a perfectly easy, perfectly delicious, perfectly chocolatey dessert…brownie pudding cake in the slow cooker. And you thought your slow cooker was just for dinner!
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Slow Cooker Brownie Pudding Cake
Yield: 12 servings 1x
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Pin RecipeIngredients
- One 18.5 ounce box chocolate cake mix
- One 3.9 ounce package instant chocolate pudding
- 2 cups sour cream
- 4 eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Vanilla ice cream
Instructions
- Put cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, oil, vanilla and water in mixing bowl. Mix at low speed for 30 seconds until combined, and then raise speed to medium and beat for two minutes, scraping the side of the bowl as needed.
- Spray the inside of a 4-6 quart slow cooker with cooking spray and pour the batter into the slow cooker.
- Cover the cooker and cook on low setting for 6-7 hours until the cake is a little puffy. (NOTE: Some of the newer model slow cookers seem to cook this cake faster than the older models, so if you have a newish slow cooker check your cake after 4-5 hours or so to see if it is done.)
- Scoop the warm cake with a spoon into serving dishes and top with ice cream (I like serving it in mason jars.)
Hi there! I’m Kate, and I’m a recipe writer, food photographer and devoted bacon lover. I started Framed Cooks in 2009, and my mission is to create and share family-friendly recipes that make cooking both easy and fun…yes, I said FUN! My kitchen is my happy place, and I want yours to be that place too. Let’s cook together!
I don’t need a dog to come home to. Or even a husband. Just this.
Love coming home to my slow cooker and whatever’s in it!
I have 2 quart crockpot. I wanted to half the amount I pour in but I am not sure whether I should keep the same cooking time. What do you think?
I would check it after half the cooking time – if it looks cooked on the edges and puffy on the top it’s probably good!
You certainly captured the perfect shot. I’m usually not one to use cake mixes, but I’d say that this would be a good way to do so. Love the idea of serving these in jars. It’s less messy and a whole lot of fun to eat, I’ll bet.
Thank you! And I’m the same way about cake mixes, but this one I make an exception for! :)
That looks divine!
I have this nifty thing by CrockPot called a Trio. It’s three individual crockpots, each with its own temperature control, all in one unit. It’s great for buffets or casual help yourself meals when you have company — no three loose appliances being shifted around or three electric cords to deal with. My only problem with it is that I only ever seem to have two things to put in, leaving one empty crock, which everybody has to lift the lid and peer into. LOL!
But now…Dessert!!! Thank you, thank you. There’s my third thing. ;)
And no, I don’t work for them or get paid to brag on their products, but I do love my Trio. ;)
Wow!! I may have to get me one of those…
It sounds great! Do you cook it on Low, Medium or Hi in the slow cooker?
Thanks,
Kim
On low, and thank you – I definitely need to add that to the directions (it would be SO sad to cook it for that long on high and have chocolate charcoal at the end!) Hug to you.
Looks yummy!
It IS!
would this work if I doubled it? I am making a birthday cake for my daughter’s bday and need more.
I’m sure it would…the trick would be finding a slow cooker that was big enough. I have a large size crockpot and it pretty much fills it up. Maybe you can make it in two slow cookers if you can borrow an extra?
If you were going to take it to a potluck, do you think you could keep it warm on low or would it dry out and over-cook? OR… Could you cook it at home, stop it, and finish it at the potluck? I really want to take it to our church potluck tomorrow!
You could definitely keep it on warm for a few hours (the Keep Warm setting, not the actual Low setting) and it should be fine. I don’t think you can stop and start it, since it’s still a cake and that would probably interfere with the proper rising. And while it is most wonderful when it is warm, it’s certainly still scrumptious at room temp, so you could make it at home and bring it to the potluck and serve it at regular temperature. People will still be in chocolate heaven!
Perfect! I’ve got the ingredients and it’s going in the slow-cooker now! :)
OMG! I am the ravenous college student you speak of! And today’s my birthday! I am going to the store and getting the ingredients now! thank you!
Happy Birthday!!!!
Well I just drooled all over my keyboard! I have to try this soon!
LOL! You do!
This is simply wonderful. The recipe seems easy to assemble and the ingredients are everything I’d want in a brownie cake recipe… Thanks for the post!
You are so welcome…and it IS so easy, and great for a crowd…just don’t forget the ice cream! :)
I made a version of your pear, ham and brie bake. It was delicious. http://allthingsyummyforfoodies.blogspot.com/2012/04/ham-cheddar-and-apple-bake.html
Looks scrumptious!
Everything tastes better in a Mason jar!
I so agree!!
Made this for Easter dinner today. YUMMY!!!
I’m so glad! :)
I made this today for Easter lunch and it was a HUGE hit! I was shocked at the response I got from this cake and will be making it again and again as this is my family’s new favorite! Thank you and Boomama for suggesting it!
You are so welcome! It’s one of my family’s faves as well. (And I love BooMama!) :)
I tried it for Easter,followed the instructions, but it was burnt all around the edges and the bottom:(
Oh no! Did you have your slow cooker on low, and do you have a big cooker? If you do, maybe yours has a higher heat level (some of the newer ones do)…if you decide to try it again, I’d check it at 5 hours to see if the middle is done. I hope the center was okay!
Yeah- I came home to burnt cake today too :( SO SAD!! I think the middle is ok but 6.5 hours was way too long for sure!! I will have to try 5 hours next time.. maybe you should write it in the recipe as an FYI.. sad to have burnt choc. cake!
I’m adding a note to the recipe now – maybe the newer slow cookers are at a higher heat than the older ones. :( Glad the middle is okay tho!
My dad was skeptical when he saw me making this. He said it looked burnt in the pot. Well, my family has never been all that excited about my cooking, even when it’s actually good. However, this cake was a hit. The proof is undeniable!
I finished making it last night before dinner. No one really touched it, so I was resigned (happily?) to eat it all by myself eventually. This morning, I woke up late, looked in the pot, and a third of the cake was gone, with a fork still in it! lol I guess we’ll just eat straight out of the pot for the rest of it. Just wait till I got get some vanilla ice cream… :D
I absolutely LOVE this story! And I bet they never doubt your cooking ever again. :). Thanks for this great comment!
I love your recipes. I too don’t really care for most cake boxes,( except brownies turn out reasonably well.) The strongest reason is the top of the cake becomes tacky(sticky) when cooled. I would guess, frosting them with a homemade one would take care of that. I just try not to have all that extra sugar. Sorry, I tend to go off on a tangent. I appreciate you saying that cakebox mixes are not your favorite, also. Because of that, I will definitely + happily try your cake recipe. Thank-You
I’m with you on the brownie mix – they are pretty reliable. Let me know how you like this one when you try it! :)
Hello, Kate! I’m enjoying being distracted by your deeelish blog!!! Found you by following a yummy Low, Country Kabobs link on Facebook. Soooo, I must try this recipe! I fear that I will love it and then … Ohhhh, the places I could go with this recipe … visions of chopped pecans or coconut or bits of caramel dance through my head. Sighhhh.
Hi Karen – I’m so glad you found me! And yes, you must! :) If you do any of those add-ins, let me know how they work out!
Hi Kate, I’ve been following your blog for a little while now… I love your simple recipes with simple ingredients!! :) I really want to make this tonight, but I don’t have a slow cooker. Do you know what the temp/time would be if I made this in the oven?
Hi Chanelle! Oh gosh…I’ve never made it not in the cooker, but my best guess would be 375 for about 30-40 minutes. But I can’t vouch for that…if you do try it will you let us know how it turned out?
Thanks Kate!! I’m planning on baking it ASAP and I’ll let you know how it goes. :)
Made this last night, and I thought it was AMAZING. I loved the gelatinous texture that it had yet still tasted like ooey gooey goodness cake! Only thing…I have a brand new 6.5 qt crock pot, and it completely cooked in 3 hours, and the edges even burnt a little…just an FYI. Thanks for this amazing recipe!
I know – it’s like pudding meets brownie, right?? As for the timing, thanks for letting us know – was it on high? That might have been the difference, I’m thinking.
It was not on high. It was for sure on low. But this crock pot is cooking EVERYTHING in almost half the time. It’s crazy. I’m trying this again tonight…but I added banana cream pudding mix :-/ I LOVEEEEE banana and chocolate together. I had to try it…I shall let ya know how it fared :) The texture seems a little bit different when I put it in the crockpot, but man oh man, it tastes heavenly as just a batter.
Definitely let me know – bananas and chocolate are HEAVEN!
You’ll probably moderate this, but here goes anyway…it’s sex in a mason jar, to be brutally honest.
I would NEVER moderate this! Thanks for my laugh of the day. :)
I want to try this in the mason jars, but not sure how many jars will i need? So I was wandering if you could tell me how many to use.
Well, it makes about 12 servings, so if you want to serve it all at once I’d plan for 12, especially with the ice cream. But it reheats pretty well, so if you buy mason jars in packs of 8 you will be fine – depends how many lucky people are getting dessert that day. :)
Got here from Buzzfeed. Going to try this one out this weekend. Would be perfect for “Dessert before supper” day at the cottage this summer. I’m sure the kids will love eating out of the jar. The BBQ and the slow cooker are the only way hints get cooked up there in summer as the stove and oven heat the place up too much and it never cools down again.
Dessert before supper day? I absolutely LOVE it! :)
Hey there!
My dad found you on Pinterst. He came over to my house tonight for a TV show marathon and brought all the ingredients with him! At first neither of us knew if it was done or not. It didn’t become poofie. I set my timer for 4 hours since my crock pot always cooks things hotter but knew your recipe called for 6-7. I should have stuck to my gut instincts and turned it off at the 4 hour mark (outside was burnt, inside was perfect!) It was still very yummy. Even my roommate loved it! Hopefully next time I make it I don’t burn the outside.
Thanks for the great recipe!! :)
First of all, I am tickled pink that your dad found me on Pinterest, and I LOVE it that you do tv marathons together! I think you are probably completely right about your crock pot (sometimes appliances have their own distinct personalities. My oven is on the coolish side, so I’ve learned to work with it!). Glad you are making it again!!
I’m making this tomorrow for Valentines Day but it’s only for two people so I was thinking about cutting the recipe in half. Have you tried this before? If so, would I need to cut down the cooking time?
Hi Abby! I haven’t ever cut the recipe down, so I’m not sure how that would work – sorry! I CAN tell you that the leftovers (yes, there have actually been leftovers) are pretty wonderful though, especially if you reheat them in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Happy Valentine’s Day – someone is going to feel very loved! :)
I don’t know what I did wrong but I made this and went out to run some errands, I came in and my whole house smelled of something super sweet but very burnt. I had it on the low setting and it had only been in for just over 3 hours but the edges were burnt like charcoal. So sad, I was planning to have this as part of my Valentine’s dinner tonight. Not sure what went wrong :(
Hi Karis and oh no! The only thing I can think of is that some slow cookers (as you can see from the comments above) cook this just perfectly, but some seem to run hotter than mine and the edges get burnt. I’m hoping that the middle was ok, because it does seem like the perfect Valentine’s treat!
Can this be doubled and still fit in a 6qt pot?
Yikes! I wish I knew. I would be a little concerned less about it fitting (it puffs up some but not a lot) and more that it might not get all the way cooked in the middle with all that extra batter.
This chocolate cake mix pudding cake sounds yummy, has anyone tried it with lemon cake mix and lemon puuding?
Great question! Looking forward to seeing what folks say.