This 4-ingredient chocolate dump cake recipe is easy, using a boxed cake mix, instant pudding, milk, and semisweet chocolate chips.
If you're a fan of easy desserts and have a sweet tooth for chocolate, then you'll love this simple dessert. Just dump, mix, and bake.
With just a few ingredients, you can create a delicious and decadent dessert that is perfect for satisfying any chocolate craving. Between the cake mix, the pudding mix, and the chocolate chips, you’re looking at a triple chocolate pudding dump cake.
If you like this easy dump cake recipe, try my sweetened condensed milk brownies (with brownie mix!).
Shortcut Notes
- Only 4 ingredients: Boxed chocolate cake mix, instant pudding mix, milk, and chocolate chips are all you need.
- Shortcut baking ingredients: Cake mix and instant pudding do most of the work, so there’s no measuring flour, sugar, cocoa powder, or leavening.
- Mix it right in the baking dish: Everything comes together in the 9x13 dish, so there’s no separate mixing bowl to wash.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Dry cake mix: Any chocolate cake mix will do: chocolate fudge, dark chocolate fudge, German chocolate, devil’s food cake, and more.
- Instant chocolate pudding mix: This is a dry mix of pudding powder, sugar, and flavorings used to make a chocolate pudding. This can be found on the baking aisle near the boxed cake mix. Be sure to purchase "instant" and NOT "cook and serve."
- Semisweet chocolate chips: Alternatively, you can use milk chocolate or dark chocolate.
- Whole milk: This adds moisture and richness to the recipe.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C).
Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Tip: Be sure to coat the sides!
Sprinkle the chocolate cake mix evenly in the dish.
Sprinkle the instant chocolate pudding mix evenly across the cake mix
Top with half of the chocolate chips.
Pour the milk on top of the cake and pudding mix. Use a fork or a silicon spatula to gently mix the batter. The batter will not be completely smooth, but you do want to moisten all of the dry ingredients so that it bakes evenly.
Top with the remaining chocolate chips.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Use the toothpick test to determine if the cake is done.
Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream, or a drizzle of caramel sauce (optional).
Substitutions
- Cake mix: Use a different box of chocolate cake mix (like devil's food cake mix) or dry pudding mix to switch up the flavor.
- Chips: Instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips, experiment with different types of chocolate chips, including dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or even peanut butter chips or toffee chips.
FAQ
As the name suggests, dump cake is made by dumping the ingredients into a cake pan, usually without a mixing bowl. Sometimes dump cakes are no-stir.
📖 Recipe
4-Ingredient Chocolate Dump Cake
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25-ounce) box chocolate cake mix
- 1 (3.9-ounce) box instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips divided
- 1¾ cups whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and spray a 9x13 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Sprinkle the chocolate cake mix evenly in the dish. Sprinkle the instant chocolate pudding mix evenly across the cake mix and top with half of the chocolate chips.
- Pour the milk on top of the cake and pudding mix. Use a fork or a silicon spatula to gently mix the batter. The batter will not be completely smooth, but you do want to moisten all of the dry ingredients so that it bakes evenly. Top with the remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Use the toothpick test to determine if the cake is done.
- Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce (optional).
Notes
Nutrition
More recipes with 5 ingredients or less
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Chocolate lovers, tell me what chocolate dessert recipe you’d like to see next!
Joan Wyatt says
I’m anxious to try it
Kelsey Smith says
You can always try a half recipe in an 8-by-8-inch dish if you're nervous. I hope you give it a try!
Susan H. says
I was wondering about adding walnuts and baking it in the 9x13 to be more like brownies. Would that work with or without any adjustments? We like walnuts in our brownies.
Kelsey Smith says
Hey Susan, that sounds tasty. I have never done it myself, so I'll have to try it sometime. I’d stir about ½ to 1 cup of chopped walnuts into the batter or sprinkle them on top before baking. No other adjustments should be needed. Just keep in mind that this recipe already bakes in a 9x13-inch dish, and adding walnuts won’t make it quite like traditional brownies. It will still have the soft, moist texture of the original cake.
Sun says
Hi, has anyone tried to make this recipe using a non-milk milk, like oat milk or almond milk? Hoping to make a lactose-reduced version of this cake. Thank you.
Kelsey Smith says
Hey Sun, I haven't tried it myself, but it should work. It may just be slightly less rich than the whole-milk version.
Elena B says
Can I use oat milk to make it vegan?
Kelsey Smith says
You can use any milk, but my question would be the pudding since chocolate pudding mix is not vegan. I haven't tested this with a plant-based instant pudding, but if you give it a go, let me know what you think.
Christy says
I've made this many times, I love it. My mother and I would use 1/2 bag of chips mixed in, and ice it with a sour cream white frosting. This time, I'm going to try cheesecake pudding with cheesecake chips in a fudge cake, and frost it with cheesecake frosting. I can't wait!
Kelsey Smith says
Christy, thank you so much for taking the time to write this. Sour cream white frosting sounds wonderful. You'll have to let me know how the cheesecake version turns out.
Ellen Kier says
My dump cake ended up being dumped in the garbage. I along with your other reader comments agree. It did not rise like a cake and was very mushy on the inside. Not a fan of this one.
Kelsey Smith says
Hey Ellen, did you use Betty Crocker cake mix by chance?
Paula Porter says
I bought ingredients to make this but haven't yet. Noticed box of cake mix is not 15 oz anymore they are smaller! Just like a lot a of things( except me lol) . Making it tomorrow!
Kelsey Smith says
I hope you love it! Shrinkflation has gotten to the cake mix aisle lol. At my grocery store, Duncan Hines and Pillsbury are still 15.25 ounces, but Betty Crocker is down to 13.25. I'll have to do a test... for science... 😋
Cam says
So why not mix it in a bowl? It is useless to mix in the pan and remove the oil you previously spread. Had to remove and but in a freshly sprayed pan after mixing lightly with a silicone scraper because it was sticking so badly to the pan.
Kelsey Smith says
Hi Cam. A "dump cake" is supposed to be a no-fuss dessert where all the ingredients are "dumped" directly into a baking dish. It would have baked just fine in the dish if you had stayed the course. It feels odd, but I promise it's a low maintenance recipe.
Brian says
I tried this recipe and it did not rise like a cake. It turned out more like brownies. But, they are delicious.