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!
Why This is THE Chocolate Cake Recipe You Need:
- Ridiculously moist, even days later: Most cakes dry out by day two… not mine! 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. While the cake doesn’t actually taste like coffee, it has a deeper, more complex chocolate flavor 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). If you don’t believe me, here’s a recent 5-star review:
“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
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 The Best Chocolate Cake
Step 1: Reverse creaming (sort of!)
We are essentially using a modified version of the reverse creaming method (previously shown in my caramel cake!) for a super moist crumb. This means we first combine the dry ingredients (and the sugar, which is technically a wet ingredient) and then add oil and melted butter. The mixture will be thick and crumbly, but stir until all of the dry ingredients are completely moistened. An electric mixer makes this a bit easier, though I’ve done it by hand before with just a spatula.
Step 2: Add the rest of the wet ingredients
Eggs, an extra yolk, and a healthy pour of vanilla extract go in first. Make sure the eggs are room temperature, or they can make it difficult for the batter to combine, resulting in a wonky, uneven cake. Next stir in the buttermilk, the batter will thin a bit here, but it really becomes thin once you add the (hot!) coffee.
You can use hot coffee or hot water for this step, but the most important thing is that it’s, well, hot! The heat from the warm liquid “blooms” the cocoa, as mentioned in the “Ingredients” section above (see that section again if you’re curious about why I prefer coffee to water, too!).
Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of your bowl here so the batter is smooth and uniform. And it will seem thin! This is absolutely normal!
Step 3: Bake & cool (then decorate!)
Divide the batter into 8″ round baking 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 (makes things so much easier and less stressful!). Once they’ve finished baking, let them cool in the pans for a few minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.
If needed/desired you can level your cake layers (this is the inexpensive cake leveler (affiliate) I like to use) and then 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. I’ve updated the post to have new photos, a new video, and more helpful information, but the recipe has been extensively tested and was not in need of improvement, so it remains the same!
Sarah
I’ve made this cake and icing a few times and loved it. Especially like the addition of the salt to cut the sweetness of the icing…but made it today and it seems way saltier than normal. I triple checked the recipe and the measuring utensil and both were correct. Is there a difference in salt quality?!?! It seemed gritty from the salt as well. I used regular table salt just like I had done any other time.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Sarah! Is it possible you accidentally used salted butter?
Sarah
I check that too, and no, I used the unsalted butter. Wondering if humidity would be a factor with the salt at all? At any rate, it still won first place AND Best of Show at the county fair this week, so it wasn’t a total loss, lol!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That is very strange! We’re happy you still won though–that’s amazing! 🎉
Sety
Hi, I want to make this for my daughters 4th birthday on Monday! 🙂 just wondering whether I could bake the cakes the day before (wrap and freeze) then defrost the day of the party, thaw for 20mins before icing the cake? I’m just trying to cut back time on baking on the actual day hehe.
Or would you not recommend pre-baking? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Sety! If you’re planning on baking a day in advance, wrapping the cakes well and storing them at room temperature should be just fine. We hope your daughter loves her cake ❤
Marcy
Made this cake for the first time—delicious!!! Reminded me of the chocolate cake I used to get from my hometown bakery. Used a different chocolate frosting recipe. Will definitely make again this cake again. Thank you!!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for your review, Marcy! We’re so happy it was a hit for you ❤
Meghan
I’m looking to use my 6 inch round pans for this recipe. Do you think that will work? If so, how many should I use and at what temperature and cooking time. Thanks so much!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Meghan! This recipe will make enough for three 6 inch pans. You will use the same temp but will need to bake them for less time. Enjoy! 🙂
Carlia
You are 100% allowed to claim that this is the BEST chocolate cake. I baked it yesterday and between 5 people, we finished the cake within an hour. Will be baking it again this weekend. The cake is also easy to make by hand instead of using an electrical mixer.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thank you, Carlia! We are so happy it lives up to its name 😊
Sara Bauer
I love this recipe as is, but I am going to make it as a grooms cake for my sister’s wedding. I’ve been researching how to stabilize buttercream to be more heat resistant (it is an outdoor wedding 😭) and if I sub 1/2 of the butter for crisco, and add 1tbsp of merengue powder for each lb. of powdered sugar, do you think that will still do the trick for this icing?
Thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Sara! Without trying it ourselves, we aren’t sure how it will turn out. The heat is always challenging when it comes to frosting though 🙁
Bridget
Any suggestions for a triple layer 8″ round? I haven’t made this yet, but am looking for a somewhat sturdy cake recipe for my peanut butter buckeye cake. It looks like it slices well in the photo?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Bridget! This cake is pretty sturdy. If you’d like three 8″ layers, you’ll need to increase the ingredients by 50%. Hope that helps 🙂
Becky Rodrigues
Hey Sam!
I’m excited to make this cake this weekend. I’m also making your red velvet :).
For this chocolate recipe, could I use the same amount for three 6 inch pans? And what would you suggest for bake time/temperature?
Thank you!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Becky! This recipe will make enough for three 6 inch pans. You will use the same temp but will need to bake them for less time. Enjoy! 🙂
Tash
Hi I’ve not tried this yet but is there a reason why the sugar is 200g for both types? Rather than half n half? Will it not be over sweet with the added 200g of sugar?
Sam
Hi Tash! I have found that the combination of the 2 gives you the best flavor. 🙂
Deb
I am planning to try this recipe. It looks and sounds delicious I do have a question. Would it work for me to substitute half of the canola oil with unsweetened applesauce to cut down a bit of the fat? If not, I will stick to the recipe as it is written 😊
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Without trying it ourselves, we can’t say how that would turn out. If you try it, please let us know how it works for you!
Simcha
This cake is SO good! I paired it with your vanilla frosting and they went together so well!
Janne Smith
I only have dutch processed cocoa will this work well?
Sam
Hi Janne! I really don’t recommend it here. 🙁
Alyssa
i haven’t made this yet, but do you know if it would be possible to cut each cake layer in half (to make four layers) once baked or would they break? thanks
Sam
Hi Alyssa! That will work just fine. 🙂
Anju
I tried this cake and it was one of the best moist chocolate cake I made. Thank you very much Sam for sharing this receipe.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Anju! 🙂
Sharon
Just getting ready to make this for my third time. It’s now my go-to chocolate cake….so delicious! The first time was the two round layers, the second was in a larger sheet pan, which made the cake about 2″ deep, and this time I’m doing a 9 x 13 pan.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you love it so much, Sharon ❤
Tui-Maira Ross
Omg! Soo good. Not one to rate recipes but this was as stated. The best chocolate cake. Yummm
Samantha
For making a bigger cake, how high up should I fill the pan with this batter? Thinking of making a 12″ round.
Sam
Hi Samantha! About 2/3 of the way full. 🙂
Anne
Oh my, this recipe was just fantastic. never making a boxed cake again! The boxed ones always turn out so dry and crumbly. This cake was the opposite! Perfectly moist and the crumb texture was amazing. The addition of the hot coffee really brought out the flavor! I paired this with Sam’s vanilla frosting recipe and it was divine.
a bonus was that this cake baked nice and flat with no dome (a struggle I have with cakes) which made the decorating a breeze!
10/10
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sounds like your cake was absolutely perfect, Anne! We are so happy our recipe was such a success for you. Thanks so much for your review–enjoy! ❤
Becky
Hello Sam!
Thank you so much for this recipe!
I was wondering if I could do this a week in advance and store the full frosted/decorated cake in the freezer? If so, how would you do that?
Thank you!
Becky
Sam
Hi Becky! To freeze it you’ll want to stick the finished cake in an air tight container in your freezer, and of course remember to pull it out with enough time for it to thaw. I always forget to leave thawing time. 🤦♀️ 🙂