Slow Cooker Chocolate Lava Cake
80 Comments Jun 21, 2023
Updated Jun 25, 2025
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Easy cake recipes like this Slow Cooker Chocolate Lava Cake make dessert time fun and tasty. This lava cake calls for just a few ingredients with a short cooking time, meaning you’ll be ready to serve this dessert in no time.
If you like ooey gooey cakes then you should also try my Slow Cooker Apple Dump Cake and my Slow Cooker Pineapple Upside Down Cake.
What is lava cake?
A lava cake gets its name from having a “molten” center. These are typically made with chocolate cake and chocolate pudding, which is one of the primary ingredients to create a runny center. As decadent as these cakes can look, they are actually fairly easy to make, especially when using your slow cooker.
The cooking process is easy to follow and all you need are just a few kitchen and pantry staple ingredients. Making a Slow Cooker Hot Fudge Cake is one way to satisfy a sweet tooth and please a crowd simultaneously.
Keep reading to see just how easy it is to make your own lava cake with rich flavor. You may also like my easy slow cooker brownies, or slow cooker caramel cake recipes.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix – Betty Crocker is the go-to cake mix I like to choose. It is super moist and you can get the chocolate fudge kind too.
- Cake Mix-ins – These are the ingredients needed according to the cake mix box. So you’ll need large eggs, oil, and you will also add in freshly brewed coffee.
- Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix – All you need for the instant pudding mix is milk. I like to use the Jello O pudding mix brand.
- Milk – Added to the pudding mix.
- Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips – These are used to create an additional chocolately layer on top. You can also use milk chocolate chips.
- (The full recipe is in the recipe card below the images).
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Grease the slow cooker first. You will not regret taking the time to do this. There will be way less sticking if you spray the bottom and sides of the slow cooker with a non-stick spray such as PAM. Start by mixing the cake mix, eggs, oil, and coffee; some lumps are okay. Lumps happen with cake mixes, you for sure don’t want to overmix the batter. Pour the cake mix layer into the slow cooker.
Step Two – Next, mix the pudding and milk and dollop on top of the cake batter.
Step Three – Sprinkle over the chocolate chips.
Step Four – I cook this cake for 3 hours on HIGH. It may look raw in the middle, but that is the pudding. Serve and enjoy!
How to serve:
- This is the perfect dessert to serve warm right out of the slow cooker.
- Eating lava cake with a topping of vanilla ice cream or whipping cream is a must! You can also sprinkle chocolate chips on top along with a dash of powdered sugar and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
- Sliced strawberries are an excellent garnish for any chocolate recipe! Not only is it pretty but tastes great too. We love adding strawberries to our slow cooker s’mores cake too.
Recipe FAQs
You can but once cooking time is done, turn off the slow cooker. You don’t want to continue cooking this cake; it will burn even on a warm setting.
The dollops of pudding are what help create the gooey center.
If you choose to use nonstick cooking spray you won’t need to.
You can simply cover the slow cooker with its top or transfer it to an airtight container.
A oval slow cooker works best for this so the cake portion gets cooked evenly.
Slow Cooker Chocolate Lava Cake
How to Video
Ingredients
For the cake layer:
- 15.25 oz. Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix, (I used Betty Crocker)
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 1/4 cup freshly brewed coffee,, let cool down a bit, water can be used here instead if desired
For the pudding layer:
- 3.9 oz. instant chocolate pudding mix
- 2 cups milk
For the third layer:
- 12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl add the cake mix, eggs, and oil. Start blending with a hand mixer for a few seconds before adding the coffee. Slowly add the coffee and finish blending. Do not over blend, some lumps are fine.
- In another bowl mix the pudding mix and milk until combined. Let thicken for a few minutes.
- Spray the slow cooker with non-stick spray. Add the cake batter. Then add the pudding by dropping dollops over the cake mix. Spinkle over the chocolate chips.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
Sarah’s Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More slow cooker dessert recipes like this one
Slow Cooker German Cake is rich and gooey with coconut, pecans, and melty chocolate.
Try Crockpot Reese’s Cake or Crockpot Better than Sex Cake for a truly indulgent slow cooker treat.
Butterfinger Cake and Hot Fudge Cake are chocolatey favorites, and don’t forget a drizzle of Slow Cooker Hot Fudge on top!
Got it in the slow cooker now for a pot luck I’ll be going to in a few hours. I hope it turns out. 🙂
Update: 3 hours on high turned out to be just right when I made it and at the pot luck it was a big hit….no leftovers 🙂 – I used Betty Crocker Triple chocolate fudge cake mix
I also like that you can experiment with this recipe using different cake mix and pudding mix flavors and maybe even use different baking chips….such as Andes chips for a chocolate mint kinda flavor for Christmas
I think next time I make it I might do the chocolate cake mix with pistachio pudding as the “lava” 😀
Made it for my husband’s birthday, which is Valentines Day, and it was great! I served it with vanilla ice cream and it was soooo delicious.
Sounds good….my next experiment will probably be to make a carrot lava cake with carrot cake mix (and use plain water rather than coffee), and either vanilla or white chocolate pudding mix and white chocolate baking chips over top…..for mother’s day as my mom loves carrot cake and might like the lava cake variant even more 🙂
Great idea! I may try!!
The flavors are there but cooking it on high burnt the edges and the whole outer layer. I mad this years ago but lost the recipe. I think I’ll try cooking it on low next time.
I wish I had seen your review before baking mine, I would have checked my cake after two hours or baked for three to four on low. Mine burned as well. Live and learn I guess.
Mine burnt on the edges badly and smelled like burnt cake. the middle was good. How do you prevent the burning? Instead of high maybe cook on low for a longer time?
You could try low since your slow cooker may cook hot! It may not need much more time at all.
Curious if the burned desserts were cooked in a crockpot larger than the 6 qt size. Im about to make this today.
It should do fine in a larger slow cooker!
What size crockpot do you use for this?
A 6-quart oval.
Do you think this could be assembled in the CP in the morning and one of my kids could take out in the afternoon and plug in for me? I want to make it for a dinner but have to work during the day.
I don’t see why not. Though, there is a chance the slow cooker may crack from doing this. I’ve never had it happen, but have had readers say it can.