Slow-Cooker Chocolate Pudding Cake

While I was at the Kraft Foods Delicious Byte Blogger Brunch at the beginning of November they served a Slow-Cooker Chocolate Pudding Cake that I thought would be the perfect recipe to share.  It requires very little prep work so I thought it would work great for all that holiday entertaining and gathering we all will likely be doing.  I plan to make this one myself while on our ski vacation in Colorado.  I also plan to make several varieties of the cookie balls I previously shared.

Let me know if you see anything else on the menu that you'd like me to share the recipe for as Kraft provided me with them all.  In the meantime, here's the Slow-Cooker Chocolate Pudding Cake.

Prep Time: 10 min. | Total Time: 2 hours 40 min. | Makes: 16 servings.

What You Need:
 1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
 3 cups cold milk
 1 pkg. (2-layer size) chocolate fudge chocolate cake mix
 2 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped
 2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

Make It:
BEAT pudding mix and milk in 3-1/2- or 4-1/2-qt. slow cooker sprayed with cooking spray with whisk 2 min.
PREPARE cake batter as directed on package; slowly pour over pudding in slow cooker. (Do not stir.) Cover.
COOK on LOW 2-1/2 to 3 hours (or on HIGH 1-1/2 to 2 hours) or until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. Top with chopped chocolate. Turn off heat. Let slow cooker stand, covered, 20 to 30 min. or until pudding is thickened. Serve topped with COOL WHIP.

Special Extra: Serve with assorted toppings, such as chopped PLANTERS Nuts, toasted BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut, chocolate chips or crushed peppermint candies. Slow Cooker Variability: Since slow cookers cook differently, begin checking for doneness at the shorter cooking time.

Nutrition Information Per Serving: 280 calories, 13g total fat, 4.5g saturated fat, 45mg cholesterol, 420mg sodium, 37g carbohydrate, less than 1g dietary fiber, 23g sugars, 4g protein, 4%DV vitamin A, 0%DV vitamin C, 10%DV calcium, 10%DV iron.