Surprise Pudding Crock Pot Style

This post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you.  All opinions expressed are our own.  Thank you for your support.

       When I was growing up, sometimes on cold evenings, my mom would turn on the oven and make this incredible, tasty dish called "Surprise Fudge Pudding".  I loved it because it had this wonderful fudgy sauce with a super moist cake and it was a surprise! I love surprises! It is a surprise because when you put the cake together, the cake batter goes on the bottom and the fudge ingredients go on the top in a powdered form.  You add boiling hot water and stick the whole thing in the over and when it is finished, the fudge sauce is on the bottom and the cake is on the top!  Magic!
     
     Well, I was thinking about this dish the other night because it has been a little cooler in the evenings. (Just under 80 degrees, that is cool for Phoenix). In the daytime, it is still hitting 100.  But the idea of this recipe caught hold of me and I wondered if I could do it in the Crock-pot? Guess what! I could and I did!  Here is how I did it.
​

      First, I sprayed my Crock-pot for easy clean-up! I preheated the pot to the low setting. Then I mixed up the batter (I will post the recipe below).  Click on the pictures here to see what I am doing.

This is a thick batter. Spread it in the bottom of the crock.

Mix the brown sugar and cocoa with a bit of salt and sprinkle over the batter. Then, pour 1 c. of boiling water over the top.

Put on the lid. This is a shot through the lid. In no time the magic was starting to happen!

   I let it cook for 1 and 1./2 hours.  In the regular oven, it cooks for 40 min.  The top will still be moist, but the mixture will be set.  Things in the Crock-pot won't really brown remember.

Here is how it looked! Moist but set.

The fudge sauce on the bottom is runny while hot, but it thickens as it cools. We don't usually wait for it to thicken, we just serve it with ice cream while hot!

Before ice cream

With ice cream!

The ice cream starts melting, mmmm!

Take a big bite!

     I got so excited about the pictures, I almost forgot to give you the recipe! Here it is, I will give you both oven and Crock-pot versions.

                   Surprise Fudge Pudding

Spray the inside of the crock and preheat to the low setting while you mix the batter.

Cream 1/4 c. butter and 3/4 c. sugar in a mixing bowl.  In a different bowl, sift together 1 and 1/2 c. flour, 2 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt.  Add this to the butter mixture a little at a time alternately with 3/4 c. milk.  Add 1 tsp. vanilla.  You may also add 3/4 c. chopped nuts to the batter, but I never do that.  I don't remember my mom doing that either.  Spread this batter, which will be quite thick, into the bottom of your Crock-Pot.  

Blend together 1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1 and 1/2 c. packed brown sugar.  Sprinkle over the top of the batter.  Pour 1 c. boiling water over all of this.  Put on the lid of the Crock-Pot and let bake for approx. 1 and 1/2 hours.  (I checked it after 40 min., then after 30 more and then gave it about 20 to 30 more min. and decided it seemed done, and it was perfect. Depending on the size of your pot, times may vary.)

If baking in the oven, put into a 13 x 9 baking dish and bake for 40 min. at 375 degrees F.  

Serve topped with ice cream while warm!

Serves 6
​

      There is a little bit of this left in the fridge from last night. It is starting to look like breakfast this morning!  :)