This is one of the easiest, no fail desserts you will ever make. If you have a slow cooker, a cake mix, and a few other ingredients, you have got this one.
It's a great dessert to make when you are cooking for a big crowd or have a lot of dishes to do, because it doesn't require a lot of fussing over and it stays nice and warm in the slow cooker until you are ready to serve.
You can serve just the cake topped with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream or you can kick it up a bit by making the simple hot fudge sauce and pouring that over the ice cream and cake. That really elevates this dessert to something very special. Here are the ingredients:
Chocolate Pudding Cake:
1 box chocolate cake mix, any kind you prefer
1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups sour cream
3/4 cups oil
1 1/2 cups water ( I used Sprite, we always substitute the water with Sprite or ginger ale)
1 (6 oz.) pkg chocolate chips
Chocolate Sauce:
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
4 Tbs. flour
2 cups milk
4 Tbs. butter
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
Mix all of the cake ingredients together in a bowl. Spray the slow cooker really well with nonstick cooking spray. Pour cake mixture in the slow cooker and set on low. Cook for 5-6 hours depending on how fast your slow cooker cooks.
The newer ones cook at a littler higher temperatures and mine was done in 5 hours. Try not to lift the lid of the slow cooker while cooking as this lets the heat escape and slows down the cooking process.
To make the chocolate sauce, mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a pan, mix the milk, butter and vanilla until butter is melted. Add in the dry ingredients and bring to a boil, whisking constantly until the sauce thickens. Turn to low to keep warm.
If the sauce is a little too thick before serving, drop about a tablespoon of butter into it and whisk. Don't heat it back to boiling but just warm it. This is what some folks in the south call chocolate gravy and serve it for breakfast over biscuits. If you are a chocolate lover, there is nothing better.
To assemble, place a piece of the warm cake in a bowl, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, top that with the chocolate sauce, whipped cream and a cherry! Chocolate Pudding Cake!
