This Easy Chocolate Dump Cake is rich, fudgy, and made with just a few simple ingredients. A quick dessert that comes together in minutes for an indulgent chocolate treat.
Chocolate dump cake is a rich, fudgy dessert that comes together with minimal effort and simple ingredients. With no complicated steps or mixing required, it’s the perfect go-to recipe when you need a quick, crowd-pleasing treat that delivers big chocolate flavor every time.
I love to make one of these Easy Dump Cake Recipes for holidays or just because. Another favorite is German Chocolate Dump Cake.
Anytime we need a quick dessert that is amazing, we make this easy cake recipe that starts with a chocolate cake mix. It has so much rich chocolate flavor along with Chocolate Depression Cake, Blackout Cake, Guinness Chocolate Cake, Ding Dong Cake, Crock Pot Better Than Sex Cake and Chocolate Lasagna Recipe.
If you love cookies, try Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.
What Is A Dump Cake?
A dump cake is exactly how it sounds. You dump the dry ingredients and wet ingredients into the baking pan and bake.
No mixing bowls are needed. Some dump cakes are fruit topped with a cake mix and butter but this one is a little bit different.
Everything is still dumped into the pan but we do mix it before serving it. We just mix it in the same pan as we bake it in to save on dishes.
Another favorite dessert to make is Better Than Sex Cake Recipe.
Ingredients
- Chocolate cake mix (or Devil’s Food cake mix): The base of the recipe that creates a rich, chocolatey foundation and keeps the dessert simple and foolproof.
- Instant chocolate pudding mix: Adds extra moisture and intensifies the chocolate flavor, making the cake extra fudgy and soft.
- Milk: Helps activate the pudding mix and creates a smooth, rich batter consistency.
- Chocolate chips (optional): Add extra gooeyness and pockets of melted chocolate throughout the cake. Semi-sweet chocolate chips are most common, but milk or dark chocolate chips also work well for different levels of sweetness.
You can see the entire ingredient list in the recipe card.
Variations And Substitutions
- German chocolate twist: Swap in coconut and pecans for a German chocolate-style version of this dessert.
- Caramel addition: Drizzle caramel sauce over the layers before baking for a rich, gooey upgrade.
- White chocolate chips: Mix in white chocolate chips with milk chocolate or use them as a substitute for a sweeter flavor.
- Add nuts: Stir in pecans, walnuts, or almonds before baking for extra crunch and texture.
- Peanut butter chips: Add peanut butter chips for a delicious chocolate and peanut butter combination.
- Toffee chips: Sprinkle toffee bits on top for a buttery, crunchy finish.
- Frosting option: Skip the chocolate chips and spread chocolate frosting over the cake after baking for a more traditional dessert feel.
- Mint chocolate version: Add a few drops of peppermint extract or mint chips for a refreshing twist.
- Espresso boost: Mix in a teaspoon of instant espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavor.
- Berry addition: Add cherries or raspberries for a fruity contrast to the rich chocolate.
Step By Step Instructions
- Step 1. First, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Next, go ahead and spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
Step 2. Pour the milk in the pan.
Step 3. Add in the dry cake mix and the pudding mix into the pan. Stir everything together with a fork or whisk.
Step 4. If you are using the chocolate chips, go ahead and add those on top of the cake. While this is optional, I highly recommend it because it just adds such an amazing layer of ooey gooey chocolate.
Step 5. Finally, bake for 30 minute or a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool before cutting and serving.
Toppings
- Ice cream. I love this No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream and Red Velvet Ice Cream.
- Try different ice cream flavors. Chocolate fans might like No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream for double the chocolate flavor!
- Whipped cream. Try Homemade Whipped Cream Recipe.
- Drizzle Homemade Caramel Sauce or Hot Fudge Sauce on top.
- You can also top with nuts. Pecans or walnuts are great.
This reminds me of a hot fudge sundae. My favorite is a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a generous drizzle of caramel and hot fudge sauce.
FAQs
This cake is meant to be super moist and gooey so it can be hard to tell when it’s done. Watch the edges closely.
When the edges are starting to pull away from the pan and are browning slightly, it’s done.
There will still be some wet parts in the middle of the cake and that is normal.
Leftovers: Store the leftovers of this cake in an air tight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. I don’t recommend placing the cake in the fridge as it will dry out.
In the Freezer: You can freeze the leftover cake in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Defrost the cake in the refrigerator overnight when you are ready to serve. Then reheat in the microwave or oven.
I love this cake warm, so I recommend reheating your leftovers slightly before enjoying them.
More Easy Dump Cake Recipes
- Peach Dump Cake Recipe
- Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake Recipe
- Lemon Dump Cake
- Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake
- Pumpkin Dump Cake Recipe
Bake this Easy Chocolate Dump Cake when you’re craving something rich, fudgy, and low effort but big on flavor. It comes together fast and disappears even faster—don’t forget to leave a review and star rating to share how it turned out!
Chocolate dump cake recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box chocolate cake mix
- 1 small box instant chocolate pudding
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips optional
See how we calculate recipe costs.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Pour 1 ½ cups milk into the prepared baking dish.
- Sprinkle 1 box chocolate cake mix and 1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix evenly over the milk.
- Use a fork to gently stir the ingredients together in the baking dish until combined.
- Sprinkle 1 ½ cups chocolate chips evenly over the top, if using.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges are set and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool before slicing.
- Serve as is or top with ice cream, caramel sauce, or whipped cream.
I love coffee and chocolate. How can I incorporate coffee into this recipe?
Thanks
Espresso Powder
I love that idea Scott! I haven’t tested it yet but I would just add in 1/2 teaspoon or 1 teaspoon of the espresso powder depending on how strong of a coffee flavor you would like in the cake.
OMG, this was the first cake I made from this website. I love it. I like the other lady’s question about adding Coffee, I would think we could add instant coffee to the mix.
my girls are making this again. they love it. Might add Coffee to it today.
Oh, I love the coffee idea. Let us know how that turns out – yum!
What size cake mix? I know it’s made in a 13×9, but wondered if a 13×9 or 8×8 mix should be used?
I used a 9X13 cake mix for this recipe.
Can I use almond milk?
Yes, almond milk would work great in this recipe.
can you use a chocolate cake mix with pudding in it?
Yes, I think that would work great in this recipe!
If you wanted to add the peanut butter chips would you add them into the cake mix before baking or would it be best to add them on top with the chocolate chips? Also if you wanted to add chopped nuts to the cake mix before baking how much would you recommend?
I would add both on top before baking. I would just sprinkle the nuts on top approximately 1/4 cup of nuts would work great in this recipe.
Could you use heavy cream instead of milk? I have some cream left over that needs to be used.
Yes, that will be delicious in this recipe!
Geez just reading recipe made blood sugar go up! How could this not be fantastic!!! I’d do maraschino cherries chopped up!! So they going on my grocery list!
CJ – It is definitely a sweet treat! Love your topping ideas and hope you enjoy!
What size cake mix. Most have been downsized. How many ounces?
Hey Pat- Happy to help. Just a standard 13.25 cake mix will work. Let me know if you try it!
I know this is for already cooking the cake. But I have a question before making it!
Can I make this.in a Bunt Pan, then can I add 1/2 of the chocolate chips in the bottom first, then add 1/2 the of the chocolate chips through the middle, then add the rest.of the cake on top of the chips?
Can you give me your thoughts?
Thanks in. Advance! ❤
Jolene – Based on the texture of this cake, I don’t think that it will work in a bundt pan as the cake has a very fudgy texture and I don’t think it will hold it’s form in a bundt pan. I hope you try it out in the 9X13 pan and let me know what you think!
I have a box of the Oreo cake mix. Can I use that instead?
You can swap other types of cake mix in dump cake. Let me know if you try it!