One of my all time favorites, this is my moist, fudgy, and completely from-scratch best chocolate cake recipe. It comes together in one bowl and pairs well with any frosting! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Perfect as is no changes needed! This cake yields a tender, moist crumb packed with flavor. I used the hot coffee as suggested and it really helps the flavor pop. I topped it with the oreo icing and and even our picky eaters came back for seconds. Thank You!
– Elayna
Why This is THE Chocolate Cake Recipe You Need:
- Ridiculously moist, even days later: Most cakes dry out by day two. Not this one! Thanks to a strategic combo of buttermilk, oil, butter, and an extra egg yolk you’ll get a moist, tender crumb that stays soft, fudgy and rich–even straight out of the fridge!
- Bold chocolate flavor. No flat cocoa flavor here. By blooming the cocoa with hot coffee we unlock its full intensity–no actual coffee flavor just deeper, more complex chocolate in every bite.
- No mixer, no fuss, no fail! Made in one bowl with no special equipment required, this cake comes together so easily (though of course feel free to use your stand or hand mixer, if you feel so inclined!).
- This is the chocolate cake recipe you’ll come back to. This is the one I make for birthdays, holidays, or any time I need a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. It’s reliable, richly chocolatey, and just plain better than the rest (if I do say so myself).
What You Need
Each ingredient in this chocolate cake recipe was carefully chosen to make for a moist and flavorful chocolate cake. Let’s go over the key players:
Note: This ingredient photo does not include ingredients for the frosting, as you can use your favorite (suggestions below!).
- Buttermilk gives my chocolate cake recipe intense 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!
- Oil 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. I recommend using natural cocoa powder for best results.
- 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 (which is why I prefer it to water). 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)!
Remember, this is just an overview of some of the key ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
SAM’S TIP: The best way to keep this chocolate cake recipe (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.
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 start to thin out some here, and will get even 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 recommend using circles of cut out parchment paper 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.
SAM’S NOTE: The batter will be very thin, this is totally normal and expected!
- 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 (affiliate) I like to use.
- Decorate with your favorite frosting. 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
The secret to a truly moist, fudgy chocolate cake recipe comes down to a few key ingredients and techniques. Buttermilk (full-fat, and better if it’s the real deal and not a substitute) gives the crumb a soft, tender texture while a combo of oil and butter gives you the bet of both worlds — lasting moisture and rich flavor. An extra egg yolk adds a luxurious fudgy bite, and most importantly don’t overbake it! Pull the cake out of the oven when there are a few moist crumbs on your toothpick (but no wet batter), that’s when the magic happens.
Final tip: I recommend if you haven’t already, learn how to use a kitchen scale to consistently have best results with all of your baked goods.
I typically use chocolate buttercream or 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 “favorite” frosting is lighter, sweeter, and more buttercream-esque.
Chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream, coffee frosting, brown butter frosting, peanut butter frosting, caramel frosting, or even Oreo frosting would also be good as decadent options, or lighten things up with fresh fruit and try my strawberry frosting, raspberry buttercream or even my blueberry frosting!
Yes, you can use my chocolate cake recipe for cupcakes, but my recommendation is to make my easy chocolate cupcake recipe instead; it yields a light, springy texture that 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 ⅔ of the way full and bake for 16-18 minutes.
Perfect Frosting Pairings:
This chocolate cake recipe has already earned hundreds of 5-star ratings, but I’d love to hear what you think of it! Leave me a comment and a rating once you try it (please!).
Enjoy!
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The BEST Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ cup (208 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (75 g) natural cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter melted
- ½ 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
- ½ 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.
- 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 ⅔ cup (208 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, ¾ cup (75 g) natural cocoa powder, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, ¾ 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.½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, ½ 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).½ cup (118 ml) hot coffee or hot water
- Evenly divide batter between prepared pans. Transfer to center rack of 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
- 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.
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.
Carol Beckwith
I discovered your website recently. The buttermilk pancakes and english muffins are superb. My family’s Easter tradition is that we bake a cake with my grandmother’s Nordic Ware lamb cake mold. The head always falls off because we bake the cake for flavor and texture and don’t want a too-heavy, dense pound cake texture. Do you think this cake is sturdy enough to use in my lamb cake mold? Thank you for your recipes. I have them lined up to try each one.
Sam
Hi Carol! I’m so glad you are enjoying everything. I’m not really sure how this cake would hold up. I know people have done it with the pound cake but that’s not what you are looking for. I would be worried this may not be quite sturdy enough.
Cheryl C.
OMG. Made this for by boyfriend’s birthday and paired with your peanut butter icing. He isn’t a big cake eater but I went down for seconds the next day and it was gone. He loved loved the combination of the icing and cake. I love the tip on the parchment paper and a “crumb” layer icing. My dad bought me a Hershey’s cookbook when I was a kid and this is the best chocolate cake I have made. Thank yo so much for all you do.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Cheryl! You are so welcome! I really appreciate your kind comment and I’m glad it was such a hit. 🙂
Savi
This is by far…FAR… The best chocolate cake recipe I’ve used! I read your notes on why you did what you did and it makes perfect sense. I also baked the cakes with ½ cake flour and ½ AP just to see the difference. I actually thought it worked really well and gave a finer crumb texture. Thank you for this awesome recipe! Looking forward to more of your wonderful baking! 🤗😊
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Savi! 🙂
Janet
Hi, would this cake hold under fondant?
Sam
Hi Janet! That should work just fine. 🙂
Namrata
Hi Sam!
Super excited to try this recipe. One question- Can we substitute brown sugar with equal quantity of raw cane sugar or it cant be omitted?
Thanks!
Sam
I have never tried it, but I think it would work. Let me know how it goes if you do try it. 🙂
Sadie
Hi Sam, I can’t wait to try this out. Question— would you recommend decreasing the amount of buttermilk substitute since it is thinner than regular buttermilk, or will the full 1 cup be fine? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Sadie! You will want to use the full cup of the buttermilk substitute. 🙂
kathryn vasil
I want to make this for my dad bday but was wondering if I make more layers would I need to do 1.5 recipe of frosting? I always don’t make enough frosting to make the cake look pretty. Thanks love all your recipes
Sam
Hi Kathryn! If you increase the size of the cake you will definitely want to increase the frosting as well. It’s always better to have too much frosting rather than not enough if you ask me. 🙂
Dana
Delicious!! Made this cake for my birthday and then made it again 2 weeks later! We added 1.5 tablespoons coffee to the frosting recipe. The second time we added chopped walnuts to the inner layer and on top – so yummy! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoys it so much, Dana! 🙂
Sydney Brandt
Hi! I love this recipe it tasted so good! I’m going to make a birthday cake for a friend was wondering if this recipe would work in a giant donut mold cake pan?
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Sydney! It should work in your pan but your bake time may be different. Make sure you don’t overfill you pan. Enjoy! 🙂
Lila Stephens
This cake is so good!!! 100% recommended! delicious!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Lila! 🙂
Mark
Well Sam, one of your recipe was a huge hit again! I was looking for a great chocolate cake recipe and this one is the best!! My 80 year old mother-in -law said it was the very best chocolate cake she ever ate!! I made it in 9″ pans and frosted it with a vanilla butter cream icing that I substituted buttermilk instead of heavy cream. Thanks again!!!
Sam
That is so great to hear! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Mark. 🙂
Katie
Looking to make a two-tier cake, chocolate and vanilla. Is your American Buttercream Frosting a good pairing (for decorating purposes)?
Sam
Hi Katie! That will work great! I hope you love the cake. 🙂
Cj Cooper
Does this cake recipe stay together good when icing?
Sam
Yes it is great for frosting! 🙂
Megan
Hi Sam!
Love your recipes! You are my go to when I want to try anything new!
I’ve made this recipe before but I was curious how you thought this would go as a sheet cake? And any alterations I’d need to make to temperature or time?
Sam
Thank you so much, Megan! I’m so glad you have enjoyed everything so much. This cake will fit in a 9 x 13. You won’t need to change the temperature, but the bake time will change. I haven’t tried it so I can’t be sure how long to bake it but just keep an eye on it. If you do try it I would love to know how long you bake it. Good luck! 🙂
Ellen
Hi Sam! Hoping to make this for my sister’s birthday coming up. Have you used a Bundt pan for this recipe? If so, anything I need to know? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Ellen! I have not made it in a bundt pan, but it should work. Your baking time will be different. I hope your sister loves it! 🙂
Samantha
Hello Sam,
Super excited to try your recipe. But I have a few questions I would like to ask first. 1- I am in Colorado so we are higher allttuide should I add more flour and eggs? As I have to with most recipes.
And I am making this for a dear friend for her 45th B-Day and would like to add alcohol do I need to adjust for the extra liquid I will be adding?
Sam
Hi Samantha! Unfortunately I’m not familiar with high altitude baking so I wouldn’t be able to give any recommendations there. If you use less than a tablespoon of alcohol you probably don’t need to make any other adjustments but if you use more than that you will need to reduce the amount of coffee that you add. I hope everyone loves the cake! 🙂