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
Thanks for your recipes Sam….this chocolate cake is a hit each and every time❤
Jessica
Hi Sam! Love this recipe & have made it several times! Curious how long you would recommend refrigerating it (unfrosted)? Could I make the cake 2 days ahead of when serving and frost on the day off without compromising it?? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Jessica! I’m so glad you have enjoyed the cake! Honestly I generally don’t recommend refrigerating cake if you can avoid it. The refrigerator dries out cakes, even if they DO have frosting on it (which can help prevent some moisture loss). If you want to make it 2 days in advance I would either freeze and then thaw and frost or just keep wrapped on the counter (I don’t really like to do this more than a day in advance generally myself). I hope that helps!
Eliza Jane
Hey Sam! I was wondering if I could mix this batter with your Best Vanilla Cake recipe batter to create a swirl cake. Let me know what you think!
Sam
Hi Eliza! You could do that, but I would recommend checking out my marble cake instead. 🙂
Vidisha
My mother made this cake last year for my sister’s birthday, and it was just amazing! Our whole family swears by your blog now, and here I am, one year later, looking for a cake I can bake for my sister’s birthday this weekend! Thank you, Sam, for all the work you put in to perfect your recipes! 🙂
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Vidisha! 🙂
Sarah
Hey Sam, just made this cake (still cooling) and it is SO moist. Falling apart moist. Can I back off the oil a little, or butter, or both next time? I don’t think it’s under baked… toothpick test came out perfect.
Sam
Hi Sarah! I wouldn’t recommend cutting the oil or butter or anything like that. Did you cut into it when it was still warm? It seems odd that it’s falling apart if it was finished baking. 🙁
Sarah
This was after I’d let them cool in the pan. They came right out but just started to fall apart as I adjusted on the cooling rack once they were out of the pan. The icing hid everything and they tasted amazing, so I’ll definitely make again, regardless!
Sam
I’m glad it was still really good! 🙂
Cat
Hello Sam,
I’m looking for a recipe for chocolate cake, and this one sounds devine. My question is, can I use decaf coffee? I’m allergic to caffeine, but the small amount in decaf baked into a cake should be okay. I don’t know if the caffeine content would alter anything about it. I assume not? I also was wondering about maybe using a hazelnut flavored coffee or if that would alter the final flavor too much? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Cat! The decaf coffee should work just fine. The coffee really helps to bring out the chocolate taste here. Adding a hazelnut coffee would definitely alter the flavor so to be safe I’d probably just stick to the decaf. 🙂
Yazmin
Hi. Thank you for this. I have one huge important question. Can I make one cake and keep it in the fridge to frost it the next day??? Will it taste ok? Does this ruin the cake? Help.!
Sam
Hi Yazmin! I would just let the cake cool completely at room temperature and then wrap it with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out over night. There’s no need to place the cake in the refrigerator. 🙂
Michael
Have you used cake flour for this recipe??
Sam
Hi Michael! I have not, but I know others have with success. 🙂
Judy
Would I be able to use a 13 x 9 pan for this cake? Cooking time?
Sam
A 9 x 13 will work here but I’m not sure on a baking time. Enjoy! 🙂
Shirish Sen
Can caster sugar work instead of normal sugar
Sam
That should work fine here. 🙂
Keerthana
Sam, this is the second recipe of yours I’ve tried out! I naturally gravitate towards those who specifically weigh out their ingredients as opposed to volumetric measurements 😉
I love love loved it. I’m going to use a whipped chocolate ganache as the frosting, and this chocolate cake, I feel, is the perfect vehicle for it. Not too sweet, not too intense. I look forward to attempting more of your recipes 😀
Best,
Keerthana
Keerthana
Erm, there was a total moment where I fully licked the batter. I normally scrape the whole bowl and get all the batter into the cake tins, but… this time, I didn’t. Stood over the sink and just went for it. Salmonella be damned!
Sam
🤣 I can’t say I haven’t done the same thing. 🤣
Sam
Thank you so much, Keerthana! I’m so glad you have enjoyed everything so much! 🙂
Satya & Aiyana
This cake is definitively the best chocolate cake EVER! it is most and perfectly sweetened! and the frosting is AMAZING!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Rebekah
Another winner from Sam! I did a lot of experimenting and made a chocolate sponge recipe from the Great British Bake Off and this recipe before I committed to my cake for a special occasion. Hands down the best chocolate cake and way way better than the other recipe I tried. This is now my go to Chocolate Cake. My brother who is not a big fan of cake in general could not stop eating it, what a hit! Highly recommend this recipe, tested and approved!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Rebekah! 🙂
Saba
Hi Sam!
So I love this recipe, but sometimes it comes out a bit crumbly. I measure all my ingredients in grams, and I compared some of your recipes and found a little bit of discrepancy. For example, in your german chocolate cake, you have written 1 3/4 cup flour to be 215g, but in this recipe 1 3/4 cup flour is written as 205g. Same with oil. here, 1/2 cup oil is 118ml, wheras in your german chocolate cake recipe 1/2 cup oil is 120ml. Please let me know which measurements are the correct ones. As I really want to perfect this cake because I love the taste!
Sam
Hi Saba! For this recipe I would use the grams as written. I have since standardized all of my measurements so you won’t see that discrepancy in newer recipes. This cake has been done both ways and does work. I think your cakes may be slightly over-baked if they are too crumbly. I’m glad you enjoy the cake. 🙂
Yazmin
Hi. I have a three year old party coming up and i sincerely don’t feed him any white sugar or powdered sugar. We do honey and in desserts have done brown sugar or natural cane sugar. Will your cake recipe work with any of those alternatives? I would really love to try it, it sounds great (without coffee). I’d really appreciate your feedback. Same goes with the cream cheese frosting on your other recipe and the frosting on this one! Thank you!
Sam
Hi Yazmin! I haven’t tried it but I think the cane sugar or brown sugar could work. The brown sugar will make the cake a little more moist. 🙂
Diandra Cocco
Hey! I am hoping to make this cake with 2 layers so that it is tall but i only have one 8″ pan that is 4″ high. can i put all the batter in one pan and cut it in half once it cools? I know it will take longer to cook. I have done this with some vanilla cakes but not sure if the. chocolate cake is too soft for this? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Diandra! I haven’t tried it, but I think it could work here. 🙂
Juliana
Amazing! Made cupcakes using this and paired it with cookie dough frosting. It was a hit!
Sam
That sounds like the perfect pairing! So glad you enjoyed, Juliana, and thank you so much for letting me know how it turned out for you! 🙂
Karen
This was the best chocolate cake ever. I made peanut butter frosting since it was my daughters birthday. Every one loved it. It’s 5 stars.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Karen! 🙂
Raine
Greetings! I had a sourdough chocolate cake that was the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made or eaten. No others, be they sourdough or not, ever turned out as moist (except my Texas sheet cake–but that’s not quite the same–lol). I’m no longer messing around with sourdough, and I haven’t been able to find a replacement chocolate cake recipe. However, your recipe looks similar…but not sourdough (yay!). I can’t wait to try this. I don’t do layer cakes unless it’s for a special occasion–and those are rare. lol If I bake this in a 9″x12″ (or is it 13″?) baking dish, would the bake time need to be altered? I feel like I’d need to add maybe 5-10 minutes. Does that sound right? Thank you for sharing your fantastic recipes (I’ve made several and have enjoyed them all).
Sam
Hi Raine! I hope you love this cake! I haven’t personally baked it in a 9 x 13 but I’d imagine it would need a few minutes longer. I would just be sure to keep an eye on it while it bakes. 🙂
Michelle
I found this recipe on your site last year and have made it several times. It is my favorite chocolate cake ever. It’s really simple to make and yields incredible results. I had been looking for a chocolate cake recipe for the longest time that tasted like a chocolate cake I remember from my childhood and this fit the bill perfectly. Thank you so much Sam for this recipe and all the other wonderful recipes you share with us.
P.S. I just took “my favorite chocolate cake” out of the oven and will be frosting it with your silky chocolate buttercream in a few minutes!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Michelle! I could go for a chocolate cake with some chocolate frosting right about now. 🙂
Idania
Hello I had a question would I be able to use this recipe for a Bundt shape cake pan? Thank you
Sam
Hi Idania! This will work in a bundt pan, but probably won’t make as much batter as your typical bundt cake. Enjoy! 🙂
Raine
Hi Sam!
This really is the best chocolate cake! I’ve made it 3 times since originally messaging you–it’s that addictive. It works out brilliantly in the 9×13 baking dish. As it happens, I don’t really have to add much baking time (maybe a minute, and I think that’s just me being a little “extra” because the toothpick comes out clean at 35 minutes). I love this with a simple white, buttercream frosting. The last time I made it, I got my frosting recipes mixed up in my head and added some cream cheese as if I were making cinnamon rolls. What a happy accident! It cut down on some of the sweetness of the buttercream, and the slight tang of the cream cheese was perfect with the cake. So thankful I found your recipe (though my waistline isn’t at all happy with you). LOL
Sam
That is so awesome! I’m so glad you have enjoyed it so much. Sometimes a little mistake can lead to great discoveries. I apologize to your waistline. I feel your pain. 🤣
Kat
Hi!
I just wanted to comment that I’ve been using this recipe as my go-to chocolate cake recipe since I found it two years ago!!! It’s by far my favorite chocolate cake recipe I’ve tried! I’d say it’s foolproof, but I have some cakes in the oven right now and I don’t want to jinx them! Thank you so much!
Sam
I’m so glad you have enjoyed it so much, Kat! Thank you for taking the time to comment. 🙂