This rich and absolutely scrumptious Hot Fudge Cake can be made in the oven or a slow cooker. It makes its own hot fudge sauce as it bakes!
I got this wonderful recipe for hot fudge cake from my mom. It was a favorite dessert at our house and I remember having it often as a child. We all love it! One year when my mom asked my little brother Matt what treat he wanted for family night, he told her “Water Brownies”. None of us had any idea what the heck he was talking about. We couldn’t figure it out, so she just made something else. A few weeks later, she made this dessert. When Matt saw her pull this out of the oven, he exclaimed excitedly, “Yay, you made water brownies!!!” I have called it that ever since.
It’s simple to make. You spread the batter in the bottom of your pan (or slow cooker). Then you sprinkle a brown sugar/cocoa mix on top.
And here’s the reason why we call these “water brownies”. You pour hot water over the sugar mixture. No stirring. It will magically mix with the brown sugar and cocoa and sink to the bottom to make a decadent fudge sauce. Cool, right?
No matter what you call it, it is sure to become a family favorite at your house too. It tastes fantastic. It makes its own hot fudge sauce. It is economical. And it is super easy to make with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
You must serve it with ice cream though, or the dessert police will come to your house and haul you off.
I’ve been making this for years in the oven, but just found instructions for making it in the crock pot. I’ve tried it, and it works like a charm. I am including the instructions at the bottom of the recipe.
Hot Fudge Cake
Dough:
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp oil (I used canola)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
2-4 Tbsp cocoa
1 3/4 cups hot water
Stir together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add milk, vanilla, oil, and nuts. Stir till well blended and spread in a greased 8″ square pan. Mix brown sugar and cocoa and sprinkle over the top. Pour hot water on top- do not mix in! Bake for about 40 minutes at 350°. Serve warm with ice cream.
Crock pot instructions: Spread batter in a well greased 3 1/2 quart crock pot. Bring to a boil the hot water, brown sugar, and cocoa. Pour over batter in crock pot. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours. That’s it!
More drool-worthy chocolate desserts:
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This recipe is suspiciously similar to a recipe in A Hershey’s Chocolate cookbook. The original recipe calls for 3 Tbsp of cocoa in the cake; 4 Tbsp in the topping mixture. You’ve also added an extra 1/2 cup of Brown sugar to the topping and replaced butter with oil in the cake. While it’s ok to adapt a recipe to your taste, For those who think it’s too sweet or the cake isn’t setting properly, I would revert to the original measurements. Kara, you should also give credit to Hershey’s for the original recipe, known as Hot Fudge Pudding Cake.
Thanks for the tips Theresa. I got the recipe from my mom over thirty years ago, so that could be why her ingredients are slightly different from the Hershey’s recipe. Since I got the recipe from a dog-eared recipe card in my mom’s file, I’m going to stick with giving her credit. I have no idea who she got it from, but she didn’t own a Hershey’s cookbook.
Made this last night for dessert was a little hesitant because of the past comments, I baked mines and wow it came out so delicious huge hit in my house will be adding this one to the recipe box !!!!thank you God bless
Tried to do this in the oven tonight. It’s been in there for a bit an hour and is still no where close to being done. I don’t really know what went wrong. Followed to recipe to a T… Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Jamie, I’m sorry to hear it didn’t turn out for you. It isn’t a regular cake, so it is meant to have a liquid layer at the bottom. But the brownie part should be set up. If you followed the recipe/pan size exactly and it still didn’t get done, I’m not sure why. Maybe your oven doesn’t cook quite hot enough? I have two ovens, and they bake totally differently. It can be frustrating for sure!
Ohh oops. Ok thanks
When it says batter into crackpot u mean the powder or the mixed oil n water n eggs because then it’ll contain eggs
This recipe doesn’t use a brownie mix it is made from scratch. And unlike brownies, there are no eggs.
I found this on Pinterest and made it the other night and I’m not sure if it turned out right. The cake part came to the top and the sauce was on the bottom. Also the sauce seemed rather watery too me. Is it 1 & 3/4 cup water or 1 to 3/4 cup water?
Sandy, yes that’s right, the sauce sinks to the bottom and the cake rises to the top. If the sauce was too watery, I’d try baking it on a lower rack in your oven. It is 1 and 3/4 cups water. 🙂
I made this and it smelled AMAZING, and the “sauce” it made was great, but the cake had a weird texture… kinda heavy, and chewy/rubbery… is that normal? I was questioning the baking powder on the recipe, should it have been baking soda? Or maybe the texture is normal, I don’t know. I think I may try it again in the oven but was wondering about the soda/powder thing
Sorry it’s taken so long to reply, somehow this comment slipped through the cracks. If the cake was rubbery, it was probably just overcooked. I do prefer the texture when baking it in the oven though. 🙂
I also cooked this in the crockpot and it burnt after a few hours.
When you double the recipe, do you use a 9″ x 13″ pan?
Yep, a 9×13″ works just great!
This was always my families all-time favorite recipe! Vanilla ice cream was a requirement not an option. And the fudge sauce was magically made. Anxious to try it in my crockpot for sure.
I agree, vanilla ice cream is a must!!
I’m excited to try this out today! I’ll be using the smaller crockpot. I’m glad I read your comment saying you used a smaller crockpot otherwise I’d be using my huge one (you may want to mention that in your instructions??). I’m sure it would not turn out the same!! My hubby will be pleasantly surprised when he comes home 🙂
Hi Kara,
I wanted to make this tonight in my crockpot but unfortunately it burnt!!! After 3 hours or so I could smell something else than chocolate..;-)
Next time i’m making it on low, or in the oven!
Greetings from Holland!
Tessa
either I did something wrong or this isnt very good :(. Should the cocoa be sweetened or unsweetened?
Sorry it didn’t turn out for you Dawn. It should be regular unsweetened cocoa powder, like the kind in the brown Hershey can. Is that what you used?
Does it matter what size crock pot I use? This looks delicious
I used a 3qt crock pot. I bet a larger one would work too, it would probably just cook faster. Let me know if you try it. 🙂
When you double the recipe (for the oven) do you double the water mixture as well or does it become too runny?
You double the water mixture as well, and nope, it doesn’t turn out too runny. 🙂
Kara,
Just discovered your blog today. Have found some great recipes I definately need to try. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work.
Thanks so much Beverly!!
anyone tried double recipe for a crowd in crock pot? Longer cook time I’m guessing
Melinda, I’ve doubled it and baked in a 9×13″ pan for about 45-50 minutes, but I’ve never tried doubling in the crock pot. I’m sure it will take longer, but not sure how much longer. Maybe 5 hours?
We’ll see what happens!! Smells wonderful!
Anyone think you could use a cake mix?
Lora, I wouldn’t recommend using a cake mix. The cake batter here is very thick-thicker than a brownie. I don’t think a cake mix, which is lighter and fluffier, would separate properly to make a dense cake and thick sauce.
Wow, this is so great!!! Thanks for linking up this week. You are always Fabulous!!!
Hugs
Dee
CSI girl
Yum! I love this cake, but haven’t had it in ages. I’m intrigued by trying it in the crock pot. Also, I think I’m really going to like your blog 🙂
I am a fan of chocolate and a fan of my crockpot… this is a great idea!! 🙂