Triple Chocolate Espresso Pudding Cake

This is a summer standby at The Mouse House.

(Warning: This cake is not bikini friendly.)

It’s dark, dense, and fudge-y, and is the perfect foil for everything from ice cream to fresh berries. I like to slice it in half and fill it with whipped chocolate ganache. (Hello, heaven!)

The best part about this cake?

While it has to bake for about an hour, you can totally throw it together in a flash.

It’s perfect for a weeknight dessert if you plan right. Make the cake first, cook dinner while it’s baking, and let it cool while you’re eating.

As with most cake batters, you don’t have to do this in a tube pan. Adjust the baking time down, and use the batter to make cupcakes, mini bundts, etc.

One of my favorite ways to bang out REALLY quick, mini cakes is to bake them in muffin-top pans. Lately, you can find the same pan sold as a whoopie pie pan. (These mini cakes take 9-12 minutes, give or take, depending on how much you fill them.)

I actually have 4 of these pans, and they’re probably the ones I use the most out of all my bakeware. (Seriously. Get them here on Amazon.)

Triple chocolate whammy

This cake gets its deep chocolate flavor from unsweetened cocoa powder, full-fat chocolate milk, and a box of instant chocolate pudding mix.

I know what you’re thinking.

Instant chocolate pudding mix? Sounds kind of trashy (in a 1950s-happy-housewife kind of way).

Trust me, it’s this cake’s secret weapon. Pudding mix is actually a very common ingredient in a lot of bundt cake recipes.

Make sure you get instant pudding—not the kind you cook on the stovetop. I’m talking about this stuff:

A little espresso and a hint of cinnamon enhance the chocolate flavor.

Take this cake south of the border

To turn this into a Mexican chocolate cake, increase the cinnamon to 1 teaspoon, and toss in ~1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper with the dry ingredients.

A great cake for beginning bakers

Since it’s a rich, dense cake, it’s very forgiving to make, which means it’s a great cake for beginning bakers. There really aren’t any complicated steps. Just mix the dry ingredients together, mix in the wet ingredients, and bake.

We’re trying something a little different with the format for this post. I’ll take you through all the steps for the cake, then the full recipe is at the bottom of the page. Leave a comment, let us know what you think!

1. Make the cake batter

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Toss the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, cinnamon, chocolate pudding mix, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Whisk to combine well.

Add the olive oil, white vinegar, vanilla extract, and chocolate milk.

Stir to combine. Stop when the mixture comes together and is uniform. (Overmixing will make the cake tough.)

The batter will be really thick. That’s just fine.

2. Bake the cake

Lightly grease your tube pan.

Scrape the batter into the pan, distributing it evenly around the tube.

Smooth down the top of the batter with a spatula or the back of a wooden spoon.

Pop into your preheated oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes.

It’s done when the top feels springy (i.e. you press on the top of the cake with a finger and your fingerprint springs right back and doesn’t leave an ident) and a toothpick comes out clean. (Here’s how to test a cake for doneness with a toothpick.)

Yank it out of the oven when it’s done.

3. Cool + unmold

Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then unmold it. Here’s how I get a cake out of a tube pan with a removable bottom.

Not bad, right?

Serve & enjoy!

Wait until the cake is totally cool before slicing.

Cut into fat wedges and serve garnished with whatever you like. Inhale.

Triple Chocolate Espresso Pudding Cake

Makes 1 (10-inch) tube cake

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 (3.8 oz.) box of instant chocolate pudding
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup olive oil or canola oil
2 Tbls. white vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups whole chocolate milk
spray oil to grease the pan

1. Make the cake batter
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Toss the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, cinnamon, chocolate pudding mix, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine well.

Add the olive oil, white vinegar, vanilla extract, and chocolate milk. Stir to combine. Stop when the mixture comes together and is uniform.

2. Bake the cake
Scrape the batter into your lightly greased tube pan pan, distributing it evenly around the tube. Smooth down the top of the batter with a spatula or the back of a wooden spoon.

Pop into your preheated oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes. Yank it out of the oven.

It’s done when the top feels springy (i.e. you press on the top of the cake with a finger and your fingerprint springs right back and doesn’t leave an ident) and a toothpick comes out clean.

3. Cool + unmold the cake
Cool the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes. Unmold and cool completely before slicing.

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Homemade Pie Crust 101

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