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!
Farah
Hi Sam. Please help, I’ve followed the recipe to perfection, weighing ingredients, it came out the oven looking perfect.
2 x 8 inch pans.
Few moist crumbs. When I cut it in half the centre has a thick, wet and leathery line.
The parts that did bake properly though are so divine so I’d like to try figuring out where I went wrong.
Sam
Hi Farah! If no substitutions were made then it sounds like it might have just needed a bit more time in the oven, which is a bit odd if the toothpick came out with just a few moist crumbs. That is frustrating, though, I’m sorry 🙁
Hessa
Hi Sam, may i please ask what kind of sugar do you use in this recipe?
Sam
I use brown sugar and granulated sugar for the cake and powdered sugar in the frosting. 🙂
CArmen
Hi, I’m going to try this,
The Hershey cocoa on the photo it’s Dutch ?
Thanks
Sam
Hi Carmen! It is not, I used natural unsweetened cocoa 🙂
Carina
What can I use instead of coffee? I am making it for my brother turning 8 in December.
Sam
You can use very hot water instead of the coffee 🙂
Sarah
I usually don’t write reviews but this chocolate cake is OUT OF THIS WORLD! So fudgy, moist and decadent! It’s really like a dream come true! Even when I put in in the refrigerator, it’s still so moist; doesn’t harden at all! Unbelievably delicious! Thank you so much for this recipe Sam!
Sam
You’re so very welcome, Sarah! I truly think it’s the best chocolate cake in the world, too, I’m so happy you enjoyed it so much! Thank you so much for commenting, I appreciate it! 🙂
Amy
Hi there I’d like to bake this as a 10’ cake would it work? Thanks
Sam
Hi Amy! This will work in a 10″ pan. The layers will be a little thinner unless you increase the recipe and your baking time will change. I’m not sure how long they would need to bake, but just keep an eye on them. 🙂
Rachel
Hello! I do not have buttermilk, should I use hole milk instead?
Thank you!
Sam
Hi Rachel! Use my buttermilk substitute instead. 🙂
Marissa
I’m planning on baking this for a birthday, but I wanted to do a 6 inch pan. Would this work for this recipe? If so would it be a shorter baking time?
Sam
Hi Marissa! It will make enough for 3 6 inch cakes. You would need to bake it for less time but I’m not sure how long they would need to bake. Enjoy! 🙂
Sunitha Vijayan
Hi Sam,
I made this cake just now and my quest for a perfect chocolate cake ends here….it was WonderfuLL and delicious😊…thanks a lot for sharing this fabulous recipe…
Sofia
I am baking this cake for a birthday party and I wanted to do one layer vanilla and chocolate, would the texture of this cake be similar to your “best vanilla cake recipe”?
Sam
Hi Sofia! I would say they are pretty similar. Sounds like an excellent cake! 🙂
Kerry
All purpose flour is quite hard to come by in South Africa. If I used cake flour, would it be ok? Obviously I would have to do the correct ratio
Sam
Hi Kerry! Cake flour will work, just make sure you do the proper ratio as you said. 🙂
Farah Khan
Hi Kerry. Please let me know how much of cake flour did you use and how did it turn out?
Addi
I made this cake just a few days after trying your awesome vanilla cake (which turned out great)! This cake was chocolatey and very tasty. The frosting also tasted great but it was gritty. That’s the case with a lot of frostings I make. Maybe I don’t powder it enough…
But other than that, it was awesome!
Sam
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Addi! 🙂
Yvette
I’ve been looking for a stand out chocolate cake recipe. This is it!! It’s incredibly moist and it’s good enough that you could eat this without any frosting. My husband is usually “meh” about chocolate cake, but he ate two pieces after I dished it up! For anyone wanting to use a 9×13 pan, I baked it in a 9×13 glass pan and it took about 40 minutes.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Yvette! 🙂
Shabnam
Hi Sam wanted to ask can i make the frosting a day before and keep it in the fridge? You mentioned the cake can be made and wrapped with cling film. Wanted to get it all ready a day before. Thanks
Sam
Hi Shabnam! You can make it in advance. You will want to cover the bowl tightly with cling wrap. When you pull it out of the refrigerator it will need to sit at room temperature for a little while and will probably need to be stirred again. 🙂
Jennifer Wilson
This is an amazing cake recipe. By far the best I’ve ever tried. Thank you for sharing!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jennifer! 🙂
Marcia Hamby
Hi Sam, wanting to make this and use mini bundt pans. Suggestions please?
Sam
Hi Marcia! I haven’t made them in mini bundt pans, I would just recommend not over-filling the pan and keeping an eye on them so you don’t over-bake them. 🙂
Shabnam
Hi Sam made this yesterday, it was the best yummiest chocolate cake I have ever made or eaten !!!! Thank you so much made it for my husband’s birthday and everyone just gobbled it up, got sooo many compliments! Thank you!!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Shabnam! 🙂