This Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding recipe is an old fashioned favourite. A soft, moist chocolate sponge cake which magically creates it’s own chocolate sauce – all in one dish, this easy recipe is total comfort food.
Rich, decadent and totally oozy, this Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding recipe is just the perfect comforting dessert. I mean, take a close look at this gorgeous thing.
The top of this Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding is like a soft, fluffy chocolate sponge cake but hidden down underneath is this rich chocolate sauce and it’s absolute magic because;
- It’s cooked all in one dish and is quick and simple
- The sauce actually starts on top and by the end it’s seeped down to be a totally delightful surprise under the cake
More Comforting Desserts
Chocolate Creme Brulee | Warm Apple Crostata with Quick Caramel Sauce
How to make Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding
Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding is a very straightforward (aka simple & perfect anytime) recipe. Using melted butter in the batter means there’s no need for creaming butter and sugar together, plus it also helps to keep the cake moist. It’s mixed with all the usual suspects – sugar, cocoa, flour, baking powder, milk, egg – and then poured straight into a greased casserole dish.
The chocolate sponge recipe is adapted from my very favourite chocolate cupcake recipe that I’ve used in everything from these Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes and these Loaded Rocky Road Cupcakes and even my Blackberry Chocolate Cake that I celebrated by second blog birthday with. This recipe is incredibly versatile and it works. every. time! I love it.
Also check out my Self Saucing Lemon Pudding for a zest take on this classic pudding.
How to add the sauce to self saucing pudding
That magical, luxurious chocolate sauce begins life as cocoa, sugar and boiling water. Mix them all together then carefully dribble it over the back of a spoon over the top of the batter. I say ‘carefully’ because if you just pour the boiling water over it will likely just drill a hole straight through the delicate, uncooked cake batter. The spoon helps to slow it and disperse it so the sauce sits on top before baking.
Bam! In the oven for a quick bake. The top will look a little dry but then as you dig through with your spoon, there is that lovely chocolate sauce right down the bottom. So clever and extremely yum!
Serve your pudding on it’s own or with a little ice cream, maybe some berries for a fresh zing too. You could also serve it with runny custard.
How to store chocolate self saucing pudding
The pudding is at it’s best served hot and fresh but if you don’t get through it all, just cover the dish in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for 3-4 days. It’s great reheated either in the oven or in the microwave (for about 40 seconds per portion).
Quick and easy enough to make during the week but also a perfect crowd pleaser for entertaining on the weekend, Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding is seriously good whenever you want it.
More Comforting Desserts
Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding
Ingredients
For the cake batter
- 1 cup (130g / 4.6oz) plain (AP) flour
- 1/4 cup (25g / 0.9oz) plain cocoa
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup (100g / 3.5oz) light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup (57g or 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg, room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup milk
For the chocolate sauce
- 1/4 cup (25g / 0.9oz) plain (or dutch processed) cocoa
- 1/2 cup (100g / 3.5oz) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup boiling water
To Serve
- Fresh strawberries
- Vanilla Ice cream or custard crème anglaise
Instructions
For the cake batter
- Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F / 160C fan. Grease an (approximately) 8 inch pie dish with butter.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Mix well to combine.
- In a separate bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the melted butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. The mixture should look smooth before moving on.
- Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Stir through gently until just combined. Now add half of the milk, Mix gently again. Continue like this until all the flour and milk is combined… just. It is important not to overmix or be too heavy handed otherwise the cake may turn out dense and tough.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pie dish
For the chocolate sauce
- Mix together the cocoa and sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle it evenly over the top of the cake batter
- With an upturned spoon in one hand, slowly dribble the boiling water over it, moving it around so the water is dribbled evenly over the whole cake (see notes)
- Bake the pudding for 25-30 minutes. The top should look dry and be a little springy.
Notes
- Pouring the boiling water over the back of a spoon very slowly will allow it to sit on top of the cake batter and not create holes in your cake batter.
- For best results you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
- This is lovely served with classic creme anglaise
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…and I’m the recipe developer, cook, photographer, and author behind Sugar Salt Magic. I’m also mum to 3 amazing fur babies and wife to the most amazing man in the world. Life is good. I love food and creating easy (mainly sweet) recipes that I can share with you. I’d love you to join along in my journey so sit back, relax and have a look around for some yum that you can feed your friends and family with. 
When I saw this on Instagram I was so curious about the self saucing pudding! Looks so chocolatey and decadent Marie! Definitely pinning this to try some time!
Thanks so much Leanne. It is indulgent but very cosy for a cool day 🙂
I’ve never try a chocolate pudding before, self-saucing sounds interesting 🙂 But I love anything chocolate and this looks soooo chocolaty. So good!
The self saucing part is magical 🙂 Thanks Trang
A doubt, the recipe says 1 egg, but in the instructions it says to add one at a time. How many eggs does have the recipe ?
Sorry about that, it’s just one egg. Thank you for letting me know
What does “both sugars “ mean. Is there white sugar also? And why does it say eggs one st the time when there is only one egg?
Thanks!
Hello Ann, my apologies, just an error. I’ve updated the recipe now. Just 1 sugar and 1 egg.
This is an amazing recipe, I’ve made a few self saucing puddings over the years, the first few tries being a time tested and delicious recipe handed down from my Mum, and going against my wife’s skepticism ( her view is why fix something that is broke), so I ventured a little bit, a variation in my life, and on this occasion the adventure/ risk proved a tasteful deviation from what I’m used too. Try it my fellow sweet tooth bakers.
Thank You Marie.
Thank you so much Andrew 🙂 I’m so happy you loved it
Made this a few times and it was perfect.
But today OMG no sauce. What went wrong?
Hi Marilyn, I’m so happy you love this recipe. Hard to say without a little more info. Are you positive you put the right amount of water in and / or didn’t bake it for too long? Did you let it sit for a longer time after baking?