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.
Stacy
I am confused about whether i should use this recipe to make a chocolate cake, or use the “easy chocolate cupcake” recipe and turn it into a cake. What is the difference between the two? Will they result in a similar taste and texture, or will it be different? Which one do you prefer for a tasty/fudgy cake?
Sam
Hi Stacy, I recommend using this cake recipe. I love the cupcake recipe but prefer it as cupcakes, it yields a lighter cake while this one is slightly denser, moister, and more fudgy. My vote would be for this one for a cake. Hope that helps!
Dana Balch
Hi
My kids and I are making this today! We so excited based on the reviews. I see nutrition listed as 690 a slice. How big are we talking? Iโm not sure how many slices this cake makes, so โa sliceโ seemed pretty ambitious. Can you guesstimate the size, for example 1 inch width, 2 inch width, etc
Thanks! Iโll let you know how we do ๐
Sam
Hi, Dana. The cake can be sliced into 12 pieces and one piece is a serving. ๐
Sheri
Do I need to refrigerate the cake/frosting?
Sam
Hi, Sheri. If you are keeping it longer than 2 days, I would refrigerate it.
Jensen
First of all, I never comment on recipes. Even really great ones. But this chocolate lake is NEXT LEVEL.
I love chocolate, but past recipes for chocolate cakes have left me disappointed. They never really taste like chocolate! Often I wind up with just a brown-colored cake. I’m not a novice baker, either! ๐
I’ve now made this cake three times just in the past month or so for various events. It has worked well for cupcakes, and I’ve used three 6-inch cake pans as well. So far I’ve frosted it with Italian meringue buttercream and American buttercream, but my favorite was stabilized whipped cream! Not too sweet and it put all the focus back on the cake–where it should be!
The brown sugar and coffee are what make this recipe. The texture is AMAZING. Not too fluffy, but not dense either. Thanks so much, Sam!
Sam
Your comment just made my day! I’m so thrilled to hear that you enjoyed it so much, I’m glad you love the cake as much as I do!
Thank you for your kind comment, Jensen! <3
Christina
How come this one doesn’t call for baking powder?
Sam
Hi Christina, this one doesn’t need it. It has baking soda and buttermilk, baking powder simply wasn’t necessary with this recipe ๐
Jessica
Hi, Sam. My name is Jessica and I am writing from Portland, Oregon, born and raised in South Alabama. First of all, thank you for making my fiance’s birthday all the more wonderful with this recipe. I am bad about leaving reviews for the [probably] thousands of recipes I make as I simply forget, but this one gets a review because it is in fact unforgettable. As for your written recipe, bravo. Your introduction is not the typical verbose, long-winded chatter that I am forced to read through because there are probably tips/techniques buried within that I do not want to miss so that my efforts will be a success. You put all of the important stuff up front, and then get to the recipe, which is clear and concise. The recipe itself is nothing short of excellent. Simplicity in its finest form. It was the moist, dense, chocolate high I was hoping for. Everyone at the birthday dinner raved about it, but to be perfectly honest I don’t really care what other people think about food. I care what I think about food. So, just know that after fighting the urge all throughout the night to get up and go have some more, I was somehow able to wait until this morning–coffee brewing, and me, standing half asleep in my robe in the middle of my destroyed kitchen eating it with a fork right off the cake pedestal. Thank you.
[IMG]http://i65.tinypic.com/2dgvl7a.jpg[/IMG]
Sam
Thank you so much, Jessica! I am beyond impressed at your restraint to wait until the morning. I know how difficult that is. I really appreciate you taking the time to leave your feedback and I hope you enjoy the cake for years to come and your cake looks like the perfect breakfast to me. ๐
Anne
Hi! I tried your recipe for New Yearโs Eve
celebration. I used two 8 inch pans and baked it for 30mins only. Still the toothpick came out clean and I was thinking maybe I over baked it since when i slice the cake it was crumbly, it seems dry.. The taste is so delicious! Not too sweet just right and I will keep this recipe. But im just wondering if there is other way to make the cake more moist or I only need to set less time in the oven? Thanks so much for sharing your best chocolate cake! I love the taste of it.. I just want to know how to improve the texture.
Sam
Hi, Anne. It sounds like the cakes were over-baked. Is your oven temperature accurate? It sounds like it may be running too hot. I have two oven thermometers, that were very inexpensive, in my oven to ensure proper temp at all times. For best results, you want to pull the cakes out of the oven when you get a few moist fudgy crumbs on your toothpick. I hope this helps and you can enjoy some moist fudgy chocolate cake in the future. ๐
Nashath
Can I use regular sugar instead of brown?
Sam
Hi, Nashath. It will work, it won’t be nearly as moist or have as much flavor. ๐
Jen
Can I use cake flour?
Sam
I don’t recommend it.
Jen
What can I use instead of buttermilk? We only drink almond milk.
Sam
Hi, Jen! You can use my Easy Buttermilk Substitute with almond milk. The cake will still turn out, it just won’t be as moist as if you had used regular buttermilk. I hope you love it! ๐
Tasha Demirel
Hello again. I just had to leave a comment on the chocolate cake and your chocolate icing. My eight-year-old daughter and I made this cake for my husbandโs birthday yesterday. Oh my gosh it was amazing. As I said on my comment with the vanilla cake I am not a baker but following your video made it work perfectly. I even made buttercream icing for the first time and it tasted like inexpensive bakery.
The only thing different I did was I didnโt use mini chips but are used a high-quality melting chocolate bar and I took half that bar and chopped it really fine and as I layered the butter cream on the bottom layer of cake I sprinkled a little bit of that chocolate on top of the icing and put the other piece a cake down. The little pieces of chocolate that I used were in the buttercream icing and it just was an explosion of flavor
Thank you for these wonderful recipes
Sam
Thank you so much, Tasha! I am so glad everyone enjoyed it. ๐
Mark
The recipe looks great and I plan to make it for my son’s birthday.
I live in Denver, CO (elevation 5,280). Do you recommend any modifications for high altitude?
Sam
Hi, Mark. I am not familiar with high altitude baking so I can’t give any pointers there. Maybe someone else can provide some insight. ๐
Mark Graeser
I went ahead and followed the recipe exactly; I monitored the baking time closely (ended up taking the cake out a couple minutes early). The cake was a little more done at the edges, but still tasted great, even with baking high altitude. The link below has a few tips regarding high altitude baking.
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Not sure if I would change anything – I might consider increasing the temperature by 15 degrees and reduce the baking time.
Sam
Thank you so much for the information, Mark! I am so glad you enjoyed it! ๐
Karen
I loved it!! I layered this chocolate cake together with your best vanilla cake and it was just amazing. I made it for a family function and everyone lived it. Definitely my go to chocolate and vanilla cake recipes.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Karen! ๐
Cรฉline
Hi Sam,
I was wondering if I can make a three layer cake from this recipe? Do I have to add half of all products to the batter? Or is your recipe good enough and do I just have thinner cakes? Have you ever made it with three layers?
When I make a chocolate cake with oil and buttermilk, it is always too wet. Is there a reason for that?
Thank you!!
Greetings Cรฉline
(from Belgium)
Sam
Hi, Celine! If you want three of the thicker layers, yes you can increase the ingredients to make it. You could use the current measurements but you would just have thinner layers. I have not made it in three layers, but I know others have with success. Just make sure you reduce the baking time if making thinner layers. The cake being very wet is weird I don’t know why that would happen. This cake is very moist, but it is not wet. ๐
Cรฉline Verschueren
Thanks for your reply! I’ll make it tomorrow. Wondering if it works! I’ll keep you posted
Sam
Please do! ๐
Taylor
Hey! I am a teenager and my mom’s birthday is coming up this week! I am going to try this recipe and let you know if it works๐
Sam
Please do! I love to hear how things turn out. Enjoy! ๐