Gooey Slow Cooker Chocolate Cake

I’ll get something out of the way before we start: if you’re looking for a chocolate sponge that you can turn out of a tin, cover in buttercream and cut into neat slices, this isn’t that cake!

This slow cooker chocolate cake is much more of a gooey chocolate pudding. The edges become firmer while the middle stays wonderfully soft and chocolatey, so I serve it by spooning it straight from the slow cooker into bowls. Add ice cream while it’s still warm and you’ve got one of those puddings that doesn’t necessarily look particularly elegant but nobody really cares once they’ve tasted it.

It also happens to be ridiculously easy to make. There is no creaming butter and sugar, no cake tins to line and no worrying about whether a sponge is going to rise evenly. You mix the ingredients together, add the chocolate chips, spoon the mixture into the slow cooker and leave it on LOW for three hours.

I use a 6-litre slow cooker for this recipe, which is worth mentioning because slow cooker size can make quite a difference when you’re baking in one. A smaller slow cooker would give you a deeper layer of mixture and could change the cooking time, so I wouldn’t assume three hours will give exactly the same result in every size.

This definitely isn’t one of my healthier recipes either. There is butter, sugar, chocolate and usually a rather generous scoop of ice cream involved. Sometimes that’s exactly what I want from a pudding!

A few things to know before making it

The chocolate flavour comes mainly from cocoa powder, with chocolate chips folded through the mixture too. I use 80g of chocolate chips, and I like the little pockets of melted chocolate they give you when the cake is served warm.

There is also a small amount of instant espresso powder in the recipe. You don’t end up with a coffee-flavoured pudding, but I find it makes the chocolate flavour seem a little richer. If you really don’t like coffee or don’t have any espresso powder, you can leave it out.

The recipe only uses 40g of plain flour, which might look like a typo when you first see it. It isn’t! This isn’t supposed to have the light, cakey texture of a traditional chocolate sponge. The small amount of flour is one of the reasons the finished pudding stays so soft and gooey.

What should it look like when it’s cooked?

This is probably the most important thing to know because you don’t want to keep cooking it while waiting for the middle to resemble a normal cake.

After around three hours on LOW, the outside should be firmer while the centre remains soft and gooey. You’re going to spoon it into bowls rather than turn it out and slice it.

Slow cookers do vary, though. I make this in a 6-litre slow cooker, so if yours is significantly smaller, the mixture will sit more deeply and the cooking time may not be exactly the same.

What should I serve with slow cooker chocolate cake?

Vanilla ice cream is my favourite because it starts melting as soon as it hits the warm chocolate pudding. Single cream works just as well if you’d prefer that.

You could also add berries, sliced strawberries or raspberries if you happen to have some. I wouldn’t overcomplicate it, though. Warm chocolate pudding and cold vanilla ice cream is pretty hard to improve on!

Can I add other things to it?

You can experiment with different chocolate chips or chunks if you want to change it slightly. Milk, dark and white chocolate will all give you a different result.

The current recipe also suggests cherries, raspberries, nuts, fudge and caramel. Personally, I’d only keep any of those suggestions that you’ve actually tried. With a slow cooker bake, adding extra wet ingredients can potentially affect the finished texture, so I don’t think we need a big list of theoretical variations just for the sake of making the article longer.

Can I cook it on HIGH?

I make this chocolate cake on LOW for three hours. I haven’t included a HIGH cooking time because I’d rather give you the method I know works than guess how long it will take.

Can I make it gluten-free?

The recipe only contains a small amount of flour, but I haven’t tested it with gluten-free flour, so I can’t promise that a direct substitution will give exactly the same texture.

If I test a gluten-free version in future, I’ll update the recipe with exactly what I used and how it turned out.

How do I store leftovers?

If somehow you have leftovers, let them cool and put them into a covered container in the fridge.

You can eat the pudding cold, but I think it’s much nicer warmed gently in the microwave so the chocolate becomes soft and gooey again. Add the ice cream after reheating rather than storing it with the pudding.

Condensation on the lid

Slow cookers naturally produce condensation and you may find water collecting underneath the lid. Don’t let this worry you. Follow the instructions for your particular slow cooker and don’t put a tea towel or anything else underneath the lid unless the manufacturer says it is safe to do so.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I cook this on the HIGH setting?

It’s best to cook this slow cooker chocolate cake on LOW to prevent it from burning at the edges before the centre is cooked. If you are short on time, you could try cooking it on HIGH for maybe 1.5 to 2 hours, but keep a close eye on it.

Do I need to use espresso powder?

No, you can leave it out if you prefer. The espresso powder doesn’t make the cake taste like coffee; it just helps to deepen the chocolate flavour.

How do I store leftovers?

If you have any leftover slow cooker chocolate cake, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. It’s lovely eaten cold, but you can also gently reheat it in the microwave.

More recipes you might enjoy

If you’ve got the slow cooker out and fancy trying something else, have a look through my slow cooker recipes for plenty of ideas. Most of them are savoury dinners, but I love finding slightly more unexpected things you can make in a slow cooker too.

For another proper comfort-food pudding, try my slow cooker cream soda rice pudding. It’s completely different to this chocolate cake but has the same advantage of being something you can leave gently cooking while you get on with everything else.

You can also browse my dessert and pudding recipes if you’re looking for something sweet but don’t necessarily want to use the slow cooker. There are plenty of ideas for those days when chocolate cake isn’t the answer — admittedly, I’m not entirely convinced those days exist!

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