Chocolate Poke Cake From Scratch is one of the most amazing and moist cakes you’ll ever have!
A secret ingredient brings out the chocolatey goodness in the cake while adding a rich layer of homemade pudding keeps it extra moist! It’s all topped off with a simple one minute chocolate frosting!
A Tip For Enhanced Chocolate Flavor
This is one of the most amazing chocolate cakes of all time! My son calls this his favorite cake hands down!
Making a chocolate poke cake from scratch is easier than you think and it’s so worth the extra time!
If you love a great chocolatey flavor, I have a little secret to share with you! Adding just a little bit of coffee to the batter brings out the rich chocolate flavor (but don’t worry, you don’t taste a coffee flavor). This even works in place of water if you’re making a boxed mix!
Originally I made this cake for my son’s 18th birthday…but of course when you have a house full of teenage boys and a chocolate cake, getting photos is kind of challenging. *Sigh* … so I had to make the cake AGAIN, oh the hardships, more chocolate cake! And it was just as amazing!
Pourable Poke Cake Topping
The cake itself is decadent and moist with an amazing rich chocolate flavor…even without the pudding on top, it is excellent!!
The homemade pudding is super easy and quick and takes this cake to the next level! The whole thing is topped with my absolute favorite one minute easy chocolate frosting. This “poured frosting” is quick to make and requires not spreading, just pour over the cake and tilt to spread!
Items you’ll need for this recipe:
- 9 x 13 pan
- chocolate chips
- cocoa powder
After trying this Chocolate Poke Cake From Scratch, you may never want to use a boxed recipe again!
Chocolate Poke Cake From Scratch
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup brewed coffee cooled
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Pudding Layer
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 ¼ cups milk
- 1 tablespoon butter
Frosting
- ⅓ cup milk
- ⅓ cup butter softened
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease & flour a 9x13 inch pan.
- Combine milk & lemon juice and set aside. (The mixture will thicken slightly)
- Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda & baking powder in a large bowl.
- Add eggs, coffee, soured milk, oil and vanilla. Beat medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pans. (Your batter may seem runny at this point but it will bake up beautifully.)
- Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Be sure to check the cake at 30 minutes so it doesn't over cook.
Chocolate Pudding
- In a saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt, mix well. Add in cold milk, stir until combined.
- Turn heat to medium high stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil.
- Allow to boil for 1 minute while stirring, remove from heat and stir in butter.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Poke the cake all over with the end of a wooden spoon. Pour warm pudding over warm cake. Tap the pan allowing the pudding to seep into the cake.
- Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. (Frost after slightly cooled, about 30 minutes)
Poured Frosting
- In a saucepan, combine milk, butter, & sugar over medium high heat.
- Bring to a rolling boil and allow to boil 45 seconds.
- Remove from heat and add chocolate chips.
- Whisk until smooth and shiny and immediately pour over the cake. Refrigerate until set.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Cake adapted from allrecipes.com
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Thank you Holly for this fabulous cake recipe! I needed a last minute cake for my moms birthday and this was perfect especially since I had all the ingredients. The recipe was super easy to follow…..i put it in the back in oven right before serving. It was warm and delicious and went great with ice cream. It blew everyone away at the party :) Thanks again lol!
Nicole that’s great, I’m so glad everyone loved it!! Happy Birthday to your mom!! :)
IS the soured milk butter milk?
You can use buttermilk in place of soured milk or you can make your own soured milk by adding 1 cup milk & 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar and letting thicken for 5 minutes or so.
Hi holly, the amount of sugar is too large in the cake.. Can i use a lower amount? Like 3/4 cup which i think would be enough to get regular sweet taste.
If yes would i decrease any of the liquid ingrediants?
Same questions goes for the pudding.
Thank you
I have only made the cake as written and it turned out perfectly for me as well as many other readers. I can’t say for sure how it would work if you reduce the sugar.
I half the amt of sugar in EVERTHING I bake & cook, & don’t adjust anything else. So far so good…
How far are the holes supposed to go down?
I do them almost all of the way.
Ok thanks. I’m making it for my brother’s bday Saturday so I hope it turns out ok.
You’re welcome! Happy Birthday to your brother!
I’m in the middle of making this now for my husband and I’m a little worried. I didn’t notice that the “pudding” had to set! We are having a birthday celebration this evening… just wondering if it’s ok to eat before its completely set? I’m thinking it’ll get about 1.5 hours, maybe the freezer instead of fridge?
Oh yes, it should be fine in 1.5 hours. The setting just allows time for the pudding to soak into the cake making it extra moist. I would suggest just leaving it in the fridge.
Very Good, I cooked this for my Granddaughters today.
Does it matter what kind of milk you use? We drink skim milk – would a different milk taste better? I can’t wait to try this!
I usually use 2% but skim should work fine!
Why is my frosting so runny??? I did just like you said but it’s awfully runny. I do use almond milk does this change it??
Yes, it’s likely that because you changed the ingredients this changed the consistency of your frosting.
Ingredients list says milk… The directions say soured milk… What does this mean and how does one turn regular milk into soured know quickly? Sorry new at this baking thing:-)
In step #2 you combine the milk with lemon juice which causes it to sour. This would be the soured milk you will add.
STILL A LITTLE CONFUSED….. DO YOU POUR FROSTING ON BEFORE OR AFTER YOU REFRIGERATE CAKE OVERNIGHT?
Allow the cake to cool about 30 minutes and then frost it. Once frosted you can refrigerate overnight.
Trying with cupcakes tonight. Hope it turns out!
I’ve love to hear how it works for you!!
I really hate coffee, does this have a strong coffee flavor. If so can I substitute the coffee for something else, that will still give the same result
It doesn’t have a strong coffee flavor but you can certainly substitute it for water.
Thank you, will try it tomorrow
This cake is famous around my household. They’re known to eat 4-5 pieces in one sitting. It’s kind of gross to watch. But seriously, this cake is amazing.
LOL! I’m so glad your family loves it Carleen!
This is very yummy! I am always afraid of making recipes I see on pinterest because I have been so excited about a recipe then it turns out tasting aweful. I try and read comments before making something but some times all there are are a bunch of comments saying it LOOKS good nothing stating that they tried it and it was good. This said lol it is a very good recipe. I did however have to change a couple of things with the pudding. I did not have corn starch so I used flour so if anyone runs in to tha problem they can use 1tbl of cornstarch=3 tbl of flour. And I ran out of cocoa so had to use part cocoa and part chocolate cooking bar. It probably would have been better if I was able to follow the recipe exactly but it still turned out great! Also, I did not let it sit for 4 hours. For one, I don’t like cold cake and for two I am not that patient lol. I ate a piece after about a hour of it being in the fridge so it was still a little warm and gooey. Thank you for the recipe
I just made this today and i made it in 3 round pan…baked 20 min …i actually stacked it in a trifle dish…filled it to the top and will be taking it to a party tomm evening…It looks pretty impressive… I will have to cut and scoop out of the dish but I am use to serving trifle so should be fine!! I am excited to taste and I think it would be great with vanilla ice-cream. Thank- you.
I recommend removing all the icons from the left side of the screen, as it makes it hard to see the article and recipe… just a suggestion!
Thank you for letting me know Sharon! I had some recent site updates and just learned of this problem. I have someone looking at it today.
Quick question: is the frosting supposed to harde or become the consistency of a can of frosting? Mine got hard right away. Just curious! Thanks!
Mine usually hardens slightly. The frosting is definitely not as soft as canned frosting.
I made this today for my husbands birthday. Really yummy. I halved the cake recipe and used a 9 inch round pan-it baked in 25 minutes. I made the full amount of pudding because my husband is a big pudding fan (freak). Loved it. Thanks for a great recipe.
Do we put the pudding and frosting together?
The frosting goes on after the pudding layer has cooled.
I made this cake last night and I can’t wait to try it tonight. Should It be stored in the Fridge even after it sets?
I store it in the fridge because of the pudding. I prefer to take it out an hour or two before serving.
Just made a “3” hole chocolate cake! Easy and delish! The recipe sounds good – I would cut out some sugar!!!!
How many does this serve?
This makes a standard 9×13 pan. I usually cut it into 15 pieces.