The BEST Chocolate Cake Recipe
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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
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale recommended
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
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
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!
Best ever
I also rarely leave reviews, but I just want you to know that I am very picky with recipes.. I try MANY different versions to find my favorites and lately yours have been the winners (like this one)! Thank you for your well-thought-through and tested recipes. They are truly delicious!
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave feedback, Lindsey! I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
I almost never leave reviews, but this is seriously the best chocolate cake recipe ever. It was so easy to make, and turned out amazing. It is super moist and not too sweet. Definitely my new go to for birthdays!
We are so happy you enjoyed it so much, Hannah! 🥳
The best chocolate cake ever! 🤎 paired with fudge frosting
i am struggling. i read all the reviews and expected the best cake ever. its been in the oven for 50 minutes now and still very jiggly. the batter was very runny when i was putting it in the pan. what is the problem
I’m so sorry to hear this, Michelle! Did you make any substitutions? Did you weigh your dry ingredients? Did you check out the video above the recipe? It could potentially give you some pointers and help you see what the batter should look like. It is a wetter batter but shouldn’t be completely liquid-y when it goes into the pan. 🙁
Hi Sam,
I have followed the recipe t the T sing the scale, but the cake turned oily ad deflated the center.
Can you please tell me what mistake i did.
Thank you
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Mary! Did you use your scale for the oil as well? If so you won’t have an accurate measurement. 🙁
Yeah I used the scale, then that was the issue. I will try to do it next time without it. Thank you!
I used the fudge frosting. Omg! I love it I will send it to you via instagram.
can I use almond flour for this recipe?
Hi Deb! I have not tried it with almond flour so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out. 🙁
I would like to make a 9×13 double layer chocolate cake to feed about 30 people. How many batches of cake and your cream cheese frosting will I need to make?? And how long would each pan bake for? I would like to crumb coat, fill, and decorate with piping. Thanks!! 😊
Hi Savanah! You will need to double the recipe for two 9×13 layers. Other readers have said it needed a 35-40 minute bake time in this size pan. We think doubling the frosting recipe should be enough, but you could 2.5x the recipe just to make sure you have enough for decorating. Hope this helps!
Hi Sam,
This recipe never fails, thank you for always putting out fool proof delicious recipes. My children LOVE CHOCOLATE and I make this one on repeat. I always make sure to read ALL of your notes and watch your videos before attempting anything. My 7 year old has made your CopyCat Lofthouse Cookies 2 times now and she’s getting better every time. We are bringing your chocolate cake and your Lofthouse cookies to a skating party tomorrow!
Thanks again, you are loved in this home!
I’m so glad everyone has been enjoying everything so much, Irine! 🙂
Can this recipe be baked in a Bundt pan?
Hi Meghan! I haven’t tried baking it in a bundt pan, but I’m not sure on the bake time.
Hey Sam
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!! my favorite is your vanilla cake. I’ve never strayed from it. My question for this chocolate cake, is it structured enough to do a 2 tier (3 layers on each tier) for a wedding cake? Bottom world be 10 inch and top would be 8 inch. I will include dowels to support the top tier and a centre dowel. I’m just wondering if the dowels will ruin it.
Hi Gisele! I haven’t made this cake this large and I don’t have a lot of experience with using dowels. I *think* it could work if you use dowels to support the cake. It sounds wonderful, but I just can’t say for sure how it would turn out. If you do try it I would love to know how it goes. 🙂
This was the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made! I used a 9×13 metal pan and it was moist and delicious and I cooked it for 35 minutes.
So glad you enjoyed it, Cori! Thanks for trying our recipe 🩷
Can you recommend a baking time for a 9×13 pan?
Hi Tamara! We haven’t baked this cake in a 9×13, but another reader commented to say it took about 40 minutes in their glass 9×13. We’d recommend you keep an eye on it 😊
I’ve seen lots of claims of having the best dessert…. And all I can say is that my husband and I will forever standby every recipe put out by “Sugar Spun Run” I’ve made countless of her recipes and she’s a genius.. a freaking Einstein in the kitchen and I loovveeeee chocolate cake but I have yet to find one that even comes close to this recipe!!! My husband isn’t even big on cake or chocolate but he is obsessed with this recipe and so am I!!! This will be the second time I’m making it within two months of each other 🤭 but with plenty other recipes filling in the gap and plenty more to come!! Keep at it girl you’re awesome!
Thank you so much, Harley! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed everything so much! I truly appreciate your support and look forward to bringing you many more tasty treats. 🙂
My teenage son asked if we could bake a chocolate cake together, and of course, I couldn’t say no to spending time with him. Having had great success with your chocolate pudding and chocolate cream pie recipes, I decided to try your chocolate cake recipe despite its extra steps. And wow, I’m glad I did! The cake was incredibly moist and chocolaty. This will be my go-to recipe for chocolate cake from now on.
We’re so happy you liked the cake, Jamie! Sounds like you made some sweet memories together too 🥰
so delicious everytime!