Chocolate Cobbler (Gooey Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding)

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This chocolate cobbler, also called chocolate self-saucing pudding, is a gooey, brownie-like dessert made from pantry staples: flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar, butter, and milk, with semi-sweet chocolate chips folded into the batter. A cocoa and brown sugar topping goes on, then boiling water is poured over everything, and the oven turns it into its own chocolate sauce as it bakes. There are no eggs and no mixer, so it’s an easy one to pull together when a chocolate craving hits or unepected guests show up.

Pour, Don’t Stir, and Let the Oven Do the Rest

Chocolate puddings usually mean standing at the stove stirring, and many baked chocolate desserts mean waiting hours for them to chill. This one skips the stove and the wait. The batter is thick enough that you spread it into the pan instead of pouring it, and the water goes on top without a single stir. That’s the part that makes first-time bakers nervous, because it looks like it can’t possibly work, but the sauce settles to the bottom as it bakes, so the top comes out slightly firm and the bottom stays gooey. It’s our fall back dessert for a reason, and it works just as well on a Tuesday night.

Why I Add Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip

When I first started making this, I used only unsweetened cocoa powder. Folding semi-sweet chocolate chips into the batter gave it more chocolate flavor and a little texture. The chips are optional, so you can skip them if you’re all out. The recipe still works either way.

Hard to Get Wrong, Even When You Change Things

This is one of the most forgiving desserts I make. Over the years I’ve tried small changes, and it has always worked, which is why it’s the one I trust when I’m short on time. If you run out of milk, water can stand in for it in the batter in a pinch. That makes it a good first recipe if baking from scratch makes you nervous.

What I’d Tell You Before You Start

• Use boiling water, not just hot from the tap. You can heat it in the microwave, and it only takes about 2 minutes. The same boiling water method is behind this pecan pie cobbler with a bourbon and brown sugar filling, so once you’ve made one, you can make the other.
• Bake it in an 8×8 baking dish or a deep dish pie pan. Choose the deeper pan if you have a choice, since the boiling water goes right on top of the batter and needs room.
• Skip adding fruit to the batter, it works better as a sauce drizzled over the top. If you want a fruit version, make this blueberry self-saucing pudding made with fresh or frozen blueberries instead.

What Goes Into This Chocolate Cobbler

The exact amounts are in the recipe card below.

• Unsweetened cocoa powder: Use plain unsweetened cocoa powder, not hot chocolate mix or a sweetened cocoa drink mix, which would make it too sweet. You use it twice, with 3 tablespoons in the batter and 3 tablespoons in the topping.
• Sugar: The granulated sugar is divided between the two layers. Three-quarters of a cup goes into the batter, and the remaining ½ cup is mixed with the brown sugar and cocoa for the topping.

How to Make a Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

Step 1: Make a cake layer

Step 2: Sprinkle the Top

Step 3: Pour Water On Next

DO NOT STIR. Just let it sit on top and place it in the oven to bake for 35-38 minutes. The top will be slightly firm but the bottom will be gooey. 

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Keep the cocoa, all-purpose flour, and semi-sweet chips on hand, and a warm chocolate dessert is never far away.