Chocolate Poke Cake

Moist chocolate cake, homemade chocolate pudding, and a fluffy chocolate whipped topping? Oh yes. This triple chocolate poke cake is the ULTIMATE chocolate poke cake, perfect for chocolate lovers. Ultra-moist due to a tender cake that is then poked and filled with pudding, this chocolate poke cake recipe is rich, but not overly sweet, and super satisfying. 

Adding additional liquids and fillings is a fun and easy way to jazz up simple cakes. For more poke cake recipes, be sure to check out my Oreo Poke Cake, Mexican Tres Leches Cake, and Lemon Jello Cake.

Why This Recipe Works

• Easy chocolate poke cake. We make every part of this chocolate poke cake from scratch, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t easy! The cake is made in one bowl—no stand mixer!—and the pudding comes together on the stovetop in mere minutes with just a few simple steps. You won’t believe how simple it really is!
• Best chocolate poke cake. This is a truly decadent chocolate poke cake, which makes it the best. Homemade cake tastes so much better than boxed mix cake, and while I do love store-bought pudding, from-scratch pudding also tastes even better. Plus, once you’ve made the chocolate whipped cream, you’re going to want to put it on everything.
• Ultimate chocolate dessert. This chocolate pudding poke cake recipe is for serious chocolate lovers, with fudgy chocolate cake, rich chocolate pudding, and a fluffy chocolate whipped topping. It’s a chocolate lover’s dream!

Ingredient Notes

• Unsweetened cocoa powder: While I often use Dutch-processed cocoa in my baked goods, using unsweetened cocoa powder or natural cocoa powder adds the right amount of chocolate flavor in both our cake and the pudding. With a higher acidity, it also helps this chocolate pudding poke cake from becoming overly sweet.
• Hot water: We use hot water to help the cocoa powder “bloom” before it’s whisked with the other cake ingredients. This helps intensify the chocolate flavor. 
• Buttermilk: One of my favorite ingredients to create a moist and tender cake, buttermilk will also help the cake rise. 
• All-purpose flour: No need for cake flour here! All-purpose flour does the job well. 
• Granulated sugar: White sugar is my sweetener of choice for both the cake and the pudding. Do not swap it out for brown sugar—brown sugar has more moisture, which will mess with the chemistry of the cake and pudding.
• Cornstarch: To thicken our chocolate pudding.
• Semi-sweet chocolate: Using chopped chocolate in addition to cocoa powder in the pudding adds more rich chocolate flavor. I recommend using chopped baking chocolate, not chocolate chips, because it melts better. 
• Milk: Milk makes up most of the pudding’s volume. You can use any percent of milk that you like here, but I recommend sticking with regular cow’s milk because non-dairy milks might not thicken as well. 
• Dutch processed cocoa powder: Okay, I couldn’t get through an entire chocolate cake recipe without having my favorite cocoa powder somewhere! I used Dutch processed cocoa powder for the whipped topping, but you can still use unsweetened cocoa powder if that’s what you have. 😊
• Vanilla extract: The secret to making all things chocolate taste even more chocolatey? Vanilla. In the cake and the whipped topping, vanilla extract helps to complement and intensify the chocolate flavor.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Prep oven and pan. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9×13-inch pan and set aside. 
2. Bloom cocoa powder and add wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together ¾ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 cup of hot water. Once combined, add 1 cup of room-temperature buttermilk, ½ cup of vegetable oil, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Whisk until combined, then add 2 room-temperature eggs and mix it all together.
3. Add dry ingredients. To the large mixing bowl, add 1¾ cups of all-purpose flour, 1¾ cups of granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and ½ a teaspoon of salt. Whisk the dry ingredients in until just combined, taking care not to overmix.

4. Bake cake. Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool. 
5. Mix dry pudding ingredients. In a small saucepan, whisk together ⅔ cup of granulated sugar, ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and a pinch of salt.

6. Cook pudding. Heat the saucepan over medium-high heat and pour in 2½ cups of milk over the chocolate mixture. Stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. Continue to stir as you let it boil for 1 minute. 
7. Add final pudding ingredients. Remove the pudding from heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 oz of chopped unsweetened chocolate. Allow your pudding to cool for 5 minutes, but no longer, otherwise it will be too thick to soak into your cake. 
8. Poke cake. As your pudding cools, quickly poke holes all over your cake using a skewer, straw, or end of a wooden spoon. Leave about ½” between the holes. 
9. Pour pudding over cake. Pour still-warm chocolate pudding over the top of the cake, gently tapping the pan to help the pudding seep into the poked holes. Cover and refrigerate the cake for 4 hours, or overnight.

10. Make chocolate whipped cream. In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat 3 cups of cold heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form, then add 1 cup of powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of Dutch processed cocoa powder, and ½ a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Continue to beat whipped cream until stiff peaks form. 
11. Top chocolate poke cake. Spread the chocolate whipped topping over the top of the poke cake. If desired, you can also decorate your cake by drizzling it with chocolate sauce and sprinkling on mini chocolate chips, chocolate sprinkles, or shaved chocolate. 
12. Enjoy. Serve this caked chilled, and enjoy. 

Recipe Tips

You can make this recipe using boxed cake mix and instant chocolate pudding, but I highly recommend making the chocolate whipped cream at home. Trying to mix cocoa powder into Cool Whip or another store-bought whipped topping would not work very well. 

For a fun holiday or winter variation, make this a peppermint chocolate poke cake by adding ½ a teaspoon of peppermint extract into the cake base. 

You don’t have to add mini chocolate chips or chocolate shavings to the top, but I love the little bit of texture they add to this cake. Chocolate syrup is also optional, but great for chocolate lovers! Caramel sauce would also be a delicious drizzle on top. Or perhaps even some homemade hot fudge sauce. Extra chocolate is always a great thing.

Do not, I repeat, do NOT let the pudding cool for too long!!! As it cools, it thickens, and as it thickens, it becomes difficult for it to seep into the cake. For the best chocolate poke cake with pudding, you want the pudding to really combine with the cake.

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

Make Ahead: Since this cake is best served chilled, and only gets better with time, you can make it a day or two in advance.

Storing: Store leftover cake in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. 

Freezing: I have not tested freezing this cake. In theory, because you can freeze both baked cakes and pudding, it could freeze well for up to 2 months. If you decide to freeze it, however, do NOT add the whipped topping, as I believe it would become liquid when thawed.

Recipe FAQs

More Recipes for Chocolate Lovers

• Chocolate Pound Cake
• Chocolate Tres Leches Cake
• Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
• Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
• Lunch Lady Brownies