One of my all time favorites, this is my moist, fudgy, and completely from-scratch chocolate cake recipe. It comes together in one bowl and pairs well with any frosting! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Cake Recipe
- One bowl recipe! We’re keeping it super simple here today, just like my yellow cake and my spice cake recipes!
- Basic ingredients. All-purpose flour, natural cocoa powder, and buttermilk (or my easy buttermilk substitute!) are as complicated as this gets.
- No mixer needed! While I often use my stand mixer to make this cake, mixing by hand is absolutely an option here.
- Adaptable: you can make a hefty two layer 8โ cake or 9โ cake, or you can do a 3-layer cake–instructions for this are in the printable recipe below!
- Very little chance of over-mixing. I use a version of the reverse creaming method, which means it’s highly unlikely (but not impossible!) to over-mix this batter.
A long-time favorite recipe
This chocolate cake recipe is not new to the blog. I originally published it several years ago after a ton of trial and error…aย ton. In fact, it took me almost 5 months of failed cakes and frustration to perfect this recipe (not as bad as my macarons, but close!)!
And after many, many, many disappointing cakes, it was clear from the first fudgy forkful that this one was a winner. In fact, it’s one of my proudest creations on the blog to-date, and I even used it as the base for my German chocolate cake and my Ding Dong cake.
Today, I’m bringing it back with more notes and helpful tips, but the recipe remains unchanged (because there’s no need to mess with perfection!).
What You Need
Each ingredient in this chocolate cake recipe was carefully chosen to make for a moist and flavorful chocolate cake recipe.
- Buttermilk gives this cake depth of flavor and keeps it soft and moist. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can use my easy buttermilk substitute in a pinch–but real buttermilk is best!
- Oilย and butter give us a moist cake with great flavor. This combination is especially important if you need to refrigerate your chocolate cake (which could dry out your cake). I originally used canola or vegetable oil in this recipe, but have learned avocado oil works just as well and this is my current go-to.
- An extra egg yolk contributes to the tender, fudgy, melt-in-your-mouth crumb. If you don’t want to waste your leftover egg white, save it to make some candied almonds.
- Cocoa powder. It’s important that you stick with natural cocoa powder here, since we are only using baking soda. Using dutch process cocoa could cause rising issues in this recipe.
- Hot water/coffee will “bloom” your cocoa powder, fully developing its flavor. Note that using coffee won’t make your chocolate cake taste like coffee, but it will enhance the chocolate taste even more than plain hot water would. On the other hand, if you really like coffee and want a coffee flavor, you can always frost this cake with my coffee frosting (I actually like to use the variation in that recipe to make a mocha frosting with this cake)!
SAM’S TIP: The best way to keep chocolate cakeย (or, any cake) moist is to not over-bake it. Make sure that your oven temperature isn’t running hotter than it is leading you to believe (I keep two thermometers in my oven to make sure the temperature is accurate), as an oven that’s too hot will over-bake your cake in your hurry.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Chocolate Cake
- Whisk the dry ingredients and sugars together in a large bowl.
- Stir in the butter and oil. The batter will be stiff at this stage–this is totally normal, just make sure all the dry ingredients are moistened.
- Add the eggs, extra yolk, and vanilla, then scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure everything is combining nicely.
- Gradually stir in the buttermilk. The batter will still be pretty thick here, but it will get a lot thinner with the next step!
- Pour in the hot coffee/water–slowly and carefully since it is very hot! I recommend scraping your bowl again at this stage just to make sure nothing is hiding on the bottom or sides. It’s important that the batter be smooth and uniform so that it bakes evenly.
- Divide the batter into your pans and bake. I love using parchment circles on the bottom of my pans (in addition to greasing/flouring them) to ensure there will be no sticking when it’s time to remove the cakes from the pans.
- Cool the cakes in their pans for a few minutes, then invert to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Level your cakes if needed/desired. This is entirely optional, and most of the time this cake bakes up pretty level for me! Here is the inexpensive cake leveler I like to use.
- Frosting with your favorite frosting and decorate as desired. I have a post on how to decorate a cake if you need help with this step (but you can see I kept things pretty simple here).
SAM’S TIP: A crumb coating is always a good idea! To do this, apply a thin, even layer of frosting to catch all of your crumbs and then place the cake in the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove and finish frosting for a crumb-free finish!
Frequently Asked Questions
I typically use my favorite chocolate frosting; however my chocolate fudge frosting works just as well (and that’s what I used in the photos here!). The fudge frosting is thicker, richer and, well, fudgier, while the โfavoriteโ frosting is lighter, sweeter, and more buttercream-esque.
I included a few additional ideas below if you are looking for more. Chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream, coffee frosting, or even Oreo frosting would also be good…so many options!
You absolutely can, but my preference for cupcakes is my easy chocolate cupcake recipe instead; it yields a light, springy texture that just suits the cupcake form so well.
However, if you want to make this cake as cupcakes, know you’ll get approximately 24 cupcakes. Fill your liners โ
of the way full and bake for 16-18 minutes.
I perfected this recipe years ago, before I’d developed weight standards for using a kitchen scale across my website. Back then, I would measure everything into my measuring cups and then I would check those measurements on the scale and record them. As I’ve developed a standard, I’ve updated my older recipes to reflect that standard. Weights are the most accurate, so I have kept the weight the same but updated the cup measurement to reflect the standard.
This recipe has already earned lots of 5-star ratings, but I’d love to hear what you think! Leave me a comment and a rating once you try it out (please!).
Enjoy!
Letโs bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube ๐
The BEST Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 โ cup (208 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ยพ cup (75 g) natural cocoa powder
- 1 ยฝ teaspoons baking soda
- ยพ teaspoon salt
- ยฝ cup (113 g) unsalted butter melted
- ยฝ cup (118 ml) neutral cooking oil (use avocado, canola, or vegetable oil)
- 2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (236 ml) buttermilk
- ยฝ cup (118 ml) hot coffee or hot water
- 1 batch chocolate frosting see note
Recommended Equipment
- Kitchen Scale recommended
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare two 8" round cake pans by lining the bottoms with parchment paper and lightly greasing and flouring the sides. Set aside.ย
- In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) stir together flour, sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.1 โ cup (208 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, ยพ cup (75 g) natural cocoa powder, 1 ยฝ teaspoons baking soda, ยพ teaspoon salt
- Add melted butter and oil, stir well. Batter may be thick, this is fine, just stir until all of the dry ingredients are moistened.ยฝ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, ยฝ cup (118 ml) neutral cooking oil
- Add eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir until well combined. Pause occasionally to scrape sides and bottom of bowl.2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Gradually add buttermilk and stir well.1 cup (236 ml) buttermilk
- Add hot coffee or water, stirring carefully until ingredients are well-combined (be sure to scrape sides and bottom of bowl to ensure batter is uniform).ยฝ cup (118 ml) hot coffee or hot water
- Evenly divide batter between prepared pans. Transfer to center rack ofย 350F (175C) and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
- Allow to cool for 15 minutes before inverting onto cooling rack to cool completely before frosting with your favorite frosting (I recommend the one linked in the recipe above, or one of my favorites linked in the notes below!).1 batch chocolate frosting
Notes
Frosting
In the video I used my favorite chocolate frosting (linked in the recipe card) but for the photos in this post I used my chocolate fudge frosting (I love both of these options!). Here are some other frostings that work really well with this cake:- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Peanut Butter Frosting
- Coffee Frosting
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.ยFreezing
You can freeze the completely cooled layers by wrapping them very well with plastic wrap and then freezing. You can also freeze the fully frosted cake. To do this, place your cake in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes or until the frosting is firm. Remove it, wrap very well with plastic wrap, and freeze for up to a month.Different sized pans
Two 9″ pans: Cakes will need to bake for less time, start checking at 27-30 minutes. Please keep in mind that if your pans are dark-colored the cake may need less time to bake. Three 8″ pans: Bake approximately 23-26 minutes. Three 9″ pans. Cake layers will be quite thin. Bake approximately 20-23 minutes.Cupcakes
You’ll get about 24 cupcakes, evenly divide into two lined 12-count cupcake tins and bake for 17-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.Gluten-free
Readers have commented that they have successfully made this recipe by substituting Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour for the flour called for in this recipe.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Recipe originally published 02/27/2017.
Uma G
Can I use this chocolate cake recipe for a black forest cake?
Sam
Absolutely! Enjoy!
Lale
Hi I don’t know why my batter is too watery? What should I do? I just substituted 1/4 of butter with canola oil? ๐
Sam
Hi Lale, is it more watery than in the video?
Dzenana
My go to chocolate cake. Love it โค๏ธ
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you loved the cake, Dzenana! Thank you for commenting. ๐
Jessica
I made this yesterday as a Mother’s Day treat for myself. It’s definitely the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made! Very moist and decadent. The icing was a bit fluffy for any kind of piping/decor, but tastes delicious!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed your special Mother’s Day treat, Jessica! Thanks for trying my recipe! I hope that you had a wonderful day. ๐
Pat
I tried it today for motherโs day!! It was a hit! Had to do a lot of substitutions tho since some of the ingredients werenโt available in nearby stores. Did the buttermilk susbstitute, used all purpose cream instead of heavy cream, and used dark chocolate bars for the frosting. The frosting was kinda runny but My family (especially my mom and grandma) loved ittt. Thank you!
Sam
I am so glad you were still able to enjoy the cake! ๐
Aaron
Hi first of all i want to thank you for your great recipes I have tried many of your great recipes love it.
I want to ask that i don’t have brown sugar can i substitute it with sugar please guide me thanks in advance!๐
Sam
Hi Aaron! Yes, you can substitute regular granulated sugar. Enjoy! ๐
Chey
This is our favorite cake in the house. I know my MIL would love it too, but she’s got a house full of diabetics. Do you think this would work with sugar substitutes? ๐
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you have enjoyed this cake recipe, Chey. Unfortunately, I do not have experience using sugar substitutes so I can not provide you with any personal recommendations. I am hoping others who have made this kind of adjustment to this recipe will chime in. ๐
Barbi
I havenโt used a sugar substitute with this specific cane but I have used monk fruit MANY times is other cakes/cupcakes/etc and it works wonderfully.
The โLakantoโ brand is my favorite. It so happens that they also make a brown sugar substitute as well.
I ordered mine from amazon.
It doesnโt leave an aftertaste like so many other sugar substitutes do.
The only thing you have to be careful of is the conversion. You will likely not need as much of the substitute as you would with regular sugar. Just be sure to check the packaging.
Good luck!
Lindsay Greenwood
Hey Sam – I have made your amazing banana muffins before and the banana loaf and my family love them so I decided to make this cake for my husbandโs birthday today. It turned out great! He was blown away! Obviously not as professional as yours but I had a good go! I really struggled to get my sprinkles up the sides like you did. Is there a specific technique you can recommend for that? Also how long will the cake last stored at an ambient temperature? Itโs going to take us a while to get through it! Lastly I had quite a lot of buttercream leftover and I used amazing organic butter in it so I donโt want to throw it away! Is there anything interesting I can do with that? Can it be frozen?
Sam
Hi Lindsay! I’m so glad you have been enjoying the recipes! I take a large handful of sprinkles and then take my hand right up to the side of the cake and press them on, repeating until I’ve covered all that I want to. I lose quite a few sprinkles doing this so I like to lay out a few pieces of wax paper beneath the cake stand to catch the sprinkles I lose so I can reuse them with the next handful. The cake will last 2-3 days at room temperature in an airtight container. The buttercream can be frozen, keep it in an airtight container in the freezer for 2-3 months. Before using, let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then let it come to room temperature and you may need to whip it with a mixer again to get it back to the right consistency before using.
Crystal
After finding and successfully baking the Best cheesecake from this site, I came back to make a chocolate cake at the request of my beloved. This is one of the best cakes Iโve ever had. I used the frosting, but had to create a substitute for the semisweet chips with cocoa powder…..it was simple amazon g and decadent. Sugerspunnrun is my go to now for all things sweet!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Crystal. I am so happy to hear that you have enjoyed my recipes and my blog. I appreciate it. I am glad that this cake was loved by all. Thanks for trying it. ๐
Channy
I only have dark brown sugar, is that fine?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Channy! Yes, that will be fine. ๐
Sibyl
Just baked this today, the cake is very delicious ,loved it! just that while baking the batter rose like a mountain against my expectations of a slightly flatter cake. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that this recipe exceeded your expectations and that it rose beautifully, Sibyl. I am happy that you enjoyed the cake. Thanks for commenting. ๐
Aditya
can we use sugar instead of brown sugar
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Aditya! You can use all granulated sugar however it will alter the taste of the cake. It will not be as rich in flavor. Keep me posted on how it turns out. ๐
Joanna
Hi! Would it be okay to reduce the sugar in the frosting by 1 cup if we want a less sweet frosting? Thank you!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Joanna! You can try to adjust it, however, it will not be as thick. Let me know how it turns out.
Susana Conejo
The best so far!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the cake, Susana! Thank you for trying my recipe. ๐
Lisa
Would sunflower oil work instead of canola/vegetable? I’m trying to only shop when absolutely necessary and have lots of sunflower on hand but my canola has gone rancid. The recipe looks delicious!
Sam
Hi Lisa! That should work just fine. ๐
Sue
Thank you so much for your recipes. Made your delicious chocolate cake. My granddaughter requested pink frosting so we substituted white chocolate chips and added 4 drops of red food coloring. I had a lot of help with the frosting so the appearance was a bit rough. The color and flavor were fantastic. The memories precious. Thank you again!
Sugar Spun Run
I love that you and your granddaughter had such a great time making this cake together, Sue! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and for commenting. Enjoy! ๐