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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This recipe is so great, so i want to do this tonight
Enjoy, Elmira!
I made this recipe for my son’s birthday and everyone loved it.
So glad that everyone enjoyed it!
Love this cake receipe, this is the second time I have made it, and my husband said it was possibly the best chocolate cake he has ever had. Made another one today for my Dad having hip replacement on Thurs. Thank you for this receipe.
So glad you and your husband enjoyed this recipe Fay!
Hi Holly I ran into your recipe as I was looking for a chocolate cake to make for my husband’s birthday. From the looks of the recipe and the comments posted the cake sounds delicious and I’m so excited to try it… one quick question.. the butter.. is it unsalted butter or regular butter? I usually use Imperial butter sticks when I bake but I want to make sure. Thanks!!
I usually use salted butter. Enjoy the cake and birthday celebration!
This is excruciatingly sweet. My family are big chocolate lovers, but this is just too much. It’s disappointing really; I was super excited to make this for my husband’s 30th birthday, and it baked well and now I know how to make pudding from scratch, so that’s awesome, but the level of sugar is just.. I mean it’s teeth-aching, taste-bud-melting, insulting-requiring sweet.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it, we love this cake. I find it rich but not overly sweet. :)
THIS IS THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE EVER! And I mean it! I have been searching for a decadent moist and delicious chocolate cake for soooooo soooooo long and none of them worked, but this is HANDS DOWN THE VERY BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE EVER! Thank you for sharing such a delicious yummy and perfect recipe!
Yay Zena, so happy to hear you loved it so much!
Do you use self rising or all purpose flour?
I use all purpose flour.
super duper yummy :-) my family and friends loved it and I am selling some every now and then ;)
I am so glad that you are enjoying this recipe Jasmin!
Hi is there any way to use self rising flour ?
I’m sure that would work however I’ve only tried it as written.
I am a novice in the kitchen and I found this recipe when we were stuck inside due to bad weather and craving dessert. I substituted dark chocolate cocoa because it’s all I had on hand & for chips, I used 3/4 cup milk chocolate and 1/4 cup white chocolate for the same reason. Still turned out amazing! I shared it with my neighbors and they said it was the best chocolate cake they had ever tasted and wanted more. A big hit all the way around. Thanks!
I am so glad you were able to make this recipe work with what you had on hand!
Made this for Christmas and it was delish! I kept in the fridge so it took awhile for the frosting to “soften” so it was easier to cut. I don’t even think it needs the frosting part. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfect, the pudding heavenly – will be saving that if I just want pudding! Thanks for the recipe!!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I made this cake it was soooooo delicouse. Thank u for this wonderful recipe
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I have made this cake for work and home. It is loved by all. A chocoholics dream. Absolutely wonderful!
This was such an enjoyable cake to make!! Lots of steps but I loved spending the time in the kitchen. Having said that, the actual cake was disappointing Because of all the time I spent in it I expected it to be GLORIOUS and it was just okay. Not decadent, like I had expected. But maybe it’s probably me, I enjoy more of a milk chocolate or fudge flavor. My chocolate loving family felt the same way.
I was a little worried about trying a new recipe when I had to make enough for 50 people, but I read the comments, and decided to give it a try. I bake a lot, and make this quantity once a month, and this was absolutely one of the best chocolate cakes I had ever made. The recipe was easy to double, so I only had to make two batches, the instructions were very clear, the results, delicious. The only problem I had was the pudding never boiled, so it might have gotten a bit thick before pouring over the cake, but I will watch out for that next time.Leftovers stayed nice and moist in the fridge for several days.Thank you so much for a wonderful chocolate cake!
I am so glad you enjoyed this Karen! Thank you for your kind words, you really made my day!
Soured Milk??? What is that?
To sour milk you add a bit of lemon juice to milk. It is listed in step 2 of the directions. Hope that helps!
Can it be served warm after the refrigeration sets it? If so, how would you recommend?
I would serve this room temperature. If you’d like it warm you could microwave it very slightly however this would likely cause the frosting to melt.
Best cake I have ever made, and I am an avid cook. Someone else mentioned it’s a “PMS cake” ….YES! I will be making this cake once a month for life and passing it on to younger generations. It is THAT good. Satisfies every type of chocolate craving I have at once. And it’s soo easy. And I usually have all ingredients in hand. Thank you for sharing!
I am so glad you like the cake, Melissa! It is definitely the go-to cake for chocolate cravings!
The cake was really good! Everyone in the fam loved it! Thanks for this cake, cuz it’s AWESOME!!!
I am so glad your family enjoyed this recipe Faith!
Do I have to refrigerate the cake for 4 hours? I am making this cake because guests are coming and time is not with me. Can I represent the cake while it is warm?
Letting is set for 4 hours allows a chance for the pudding to soak into the cake and make it moist. It would still be good warm though! Enjoy!