This Chocolate Poke Cake is ultra-moist, intensely chocolatey, and filled with warm homemade pudding. It’s finished with a glossy chocolate frosting that sinks into every bite. Decadent doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

If you love chocolate, this cake is for you. The texture is soft and fudgy, the pudding soaks into every hole, and the poured chocolate frosting makes it downright addictive. It’s simple to make and stays moist for days — the perfect make-ahead dessert for birthdays, potlucks, or when life just calls for cake.

Chocolate Poke Cake

Let’s get one thing straight — this isn’t some quick-fix dessert made with boxed mix and instant pudding. This is chocolate poke cake done right: fully homemade, intensely chocolatey, and worth every step. It’s the kind of cake that makes people pause mid-bite and say, “Oh. Wow.” And it’s not because it’s complicated — it’s because it hits every mark: texture, flavor, richness, and nostalgia.

The idea of a poke cake is simple — you bake a cake, poke holes all over it, and fill those holes with something rich, creamy, or gooey. In this case? A warm, homemade chocolate pudding that seeps into every bite. Then, just when you think it can’t get better, it’s topped with a glossy poured chocolate frosting that firms up just enough to create a silky shell over the top.

But what really sets this cake apart is the balance of moisture and structure. The cake itself is made with real brewed coffee, which enhances the cocoa flavor and keeps the crumb tender and deep. It’s not too sweet, which means the pudding and frosting don’t overwhelm. Instead, all three layers work together: the fluffy but moist cake, the smooth pudding, and the shiny frosting that cracks just slightly under your fork.

The chocolate flavor here is bold but layered. You’ve got cocoa powder in the batter and pudding, coffee to amplify the richness, and semi-sweet chocolate chips in the frosting for that melt-in-your-mouth finish. It’s an all-out chocolate experience, but not in a sugar-bomb kind of way. It’s indulgent, yes, but surprisingly balanced.

And the best part? This cake is a make-ahead champion. It actually gets better the longer it sits. After a night in the fridge, the pudding sets perfectly inside the cake, and the frosting melds into a firm, fudge-like top. It slices clean, holds up well, and feeds a crowd. Great for holidays, birthdays, dinner parties, or just because you need a solid chocolate fix.

If you’re someone who normally bakes cakes from a mix, this is your gateway to baking from scratch — no decorating skills required, no piping bags or perfection needed. Just stir, bake, poke, pour, and chill. The process is fun, forgiving, and fully satisfying.

It’s also deeply nostalgic. This cake tastes like something your grandma might’ve made for Sunday supper — comforting, familiar, but somehow elevated. It brings people together. It turns simple ingredients into something special. And it reminds you why homemade is almost always better.

If you’ve never made a poke cake from scratch, this is the one to start with. It’s rich, foolproof, and absolutely unforgettable.

This isn’t your boxed cake mix poke cake. We’re going full scratch here — with a moist coffee-chocolate cake base, a real cocoa pudding poured hot into poked holes, and a rich poured frosting that sets like a ganache.

The flavor comes from three layers of chocolate:

1. Unsweetened cocoa in the cake and pudding.

2. Brewed coffee, which deepens the chocolate flavor.

3. Melted chocolate chips in the frosting.

It’s a humble-looking cake but tastes like it came from a bakery. The pudding makes it extra moist without being soggy, and the topping locks everything in.

Pro tip: Let it chill overnight — the flavor intensifies, and it cuts like a dream.

Servings & Time

• Servings: 12

• Prep Time: 30 minutes

• Bake Time: 35 minutes

• Total Time: 5 hours (including chilling)

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1¾ cups flour

• 1¾ cups sugar

• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 2 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup brewed coffee, cooled

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 cup milk

• ½ cup vegetable oil

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Pudding:

• ⅔ cup sugar

• ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 3 tbsp cornstarch

• Pinch of salt

• 2¼ cups milk

• 1 tbsp butter

Poured Frosting:

• ⅓ cup milk

• ⅓ cup butter

• 1¼ cups sugar

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 pan.

2. Combine milk + lemon juice and let sit 5 min (to make buttermilk).

3. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder.

4. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes. Batter will be thin.

5. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 30–40 min, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Pudding:

1. In a saucepan, whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Add cold milk.

2. Heat over medium, stirring constantly, until it boils.

3. Boil 1 minute, then remove from heat and stir in butter.

4. Let cool 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Assemble:

1. Poke holes all over warm cake with the end of a wooden spoon.

2. Pour warm pudding over cake, spreading to fill holes.

3. Chill 30 minutes before frosting.

Frosting:

1. In saucepan, combine milk, butter, and sugar. Boil 45 seconds.

2. Remove from heat, stir in chocolate chips. Whisk until smooth.

3. Immediately pour over cake.

4. Chill at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Tips

• Don’t skip the coffee — it enhances chocolate flavor but doesn’t taste like coffee.

• Use whole milk for richer pudding.

• Let cake chill overnight for best texture and flavor.