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!
Raven Battle
Hi Sam! I absolutely LOVE this recipe, best tasting chocolate cake ever. but everytime i bake it in the middle seems really fudgy/or oily/ or not quite done yet…..idk. its literally like a hole of undoneness. i always just level it off to get rid of that part but then i lose alot of my height. is there anything i can do to troubleshoot this?? im not opening the oven until the end so it isnt a falling issue, i doubt im overmixing because of the thinness of the better. could i be undermixing? idk what im doing wrong. this also happens when i make your red velvet recipe too. is it a liquid batter thing?? please help!
Sam
Hi Raven! It sounds like it may just need an extra minute or two in the oven. Do you use the toothpick test to make sure they are done?
Maria B Rugolo
This chocolate cake recipe is everything it promises to be! My layers baked up beautifully even flat tops! Moist, light, fluffy and rich in chocolate taste! Another perfect recipe by Sam!
Sam
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed it so much, Maria! Thank you so much for trying my recipe!! 🙂
Megan Mollett
Should I double the recipe to get three 8” layers?
Sam
You would only need to increase it by 50% to get 3 layers. 🙂
Yuka
Hi, I’ve tried this recipe as a single tier cake, and the vanilla one as a cupcake. They are delicious! Would like to make a 10” chocolate and a 8” vanilla tiered cake. Would your recipes support the tiers?
Sam
Hi Yuka! I’m not sure how many layers you are going for, but I would think they should work for 3 layers. I would probably use dowels just to make sure there are no issues. 🙂
Ann
Thank you for this recipe. Instead of buying whipping cream, could I use coconut milk?
Sam
Hi Ann! Coconut milk could work for the frosting. You may not need as much. 🙂
Sherri Ristow
Hi Sam I wanted to ask can I use Greek yogurt in place of the buttermilk ?
I made your vanilla cakepop recipe it was amazing so moist and delicious I wanted to know is it possible to use that recipe and add cocoa powder to make it into chocolate flavor ? My granddaughter is turning 4 and she request chocolate cake pops .
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Sherri! You will probably need to water it down a bit to thin it out, but it could work. We actually have a chocolate cake pop recipe you can use instead 😊
Brian Klotzbach
Just made this today and so much better than store bought. Moist and rich and not too sweet.
Susan Avery
I stumbled across this chocolate cake recipe a few years ago. I will say it is the best chocolate cake that I have ever had. I constantly receive request to make this cake for friends and family. I have even made it as a wedding cake, for my best friend.
Recently my husband was diagnosed with celiac’s disease and can no longer have gluten.
I made the cake swapping out the flour for Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour. I was concerned about taste, texture, and if it would rise correctly.
Surprisingly, it worked great! My family never knew the difference.
Sam
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it so much, Susan! I’m sorry to hear about your husband’s diagnosis, but thank you for the feedback using the gluten free flour. 🙂
Tammy
Hello!
So I love the flavour of this cake it’s so amazing – but I have CONSTANT trouble with sinking….im not new to baking and can’t figure out why?? BS is fresh and using pure cocoa powder but it’s almost everytime…I even reduced the heat and cooked longer and still sinking….ideas?? It’s dynamite so I want to make it work! Ps tried with gluten free flour one for one and bakes beautifully….
Sam
Hmmm that is really odd. Are you at high altitude by chance?
Tehila
I love you sam like literally lol. Your recipes make me look like a professional baker when I have family and friends over.
Erica
Can this recipe be doubled?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Absolutely! Enjoy, Erica 😊
Tina
Hi sam! Is your flour measurement correct? Doesn’t 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour weigh 220 grams?
I just want to be sure 😊
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Tina! For this recipe we would use the grams as written. Sam has since standardized all of her measurements, so you won’t see that discrepancy in newer recipes. This cake has been done both ways and does work 😊
Jules
Hi Sam,
Can this recipe be made in 3 x 6inch pans?
Thanks 😀
Sam
Hi Jules! This well make more than enough batter for 3 6 inch pans so make sure you don’t overfill your pans. 🙂
Makenzie
I make thus chocolate cake every year for my daughters birthday! The best chocolate cake ever!!
We are making one together tomorrow after watching the original Matilda 🙂 can’t wait for chocolate cake
Thank you for sharing your recipes every one I have tried turns out amazing! You are my goto for a lot of recipes and not just deserts ❤️
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We love that, Makenzie! Thanks so much for commenting. Enjoy your cake! 🥰
Jasmyn
This was absolutely amazing!
I made this for Easter and it was phenomenal!
I did tweak the recipe just a bit. Instead of using all brown sugar(which I couldn’t find, I had light brown), I used some dark brown as well! And I added cacao powder with the cocoa powder I had. I only did because I didn’t have enough cocoa powder.
I don’t know if it made a difference, but the raving reviews of my family made me glad! I thought the cacao would ruin it!
The cake was smooth and decadent! One person said it tasted like I added caramel, but I didn’t.
To sum it up, this cake is amazing!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Jasmyn! Thanks for letting us know how it went for you 🥰
Lynette
This choc cake IS absolutely 100% the BEST choc cake I have ever had! I just made it yesterday for my foster daughters 12 birthday bcuz thats what she wanted along with choc frosting. I had a different recipe picked out for the cake and the frosting but chose this recipe instead and I’m so glad I did!! We all couldn’t get enough of it and we just had it again a few mi utes ago. I seriously just want to keep eating it lol! My grandmother use to make choc mayonnaise cake which I thought was the best but I would take this choc cake over it any day! All your hard work for 5 months of trial and error definately paid off! Awesome job! I’ve also tried many different choc frosting recipes and have not liked them at all and this silky choc frosting is SOOOO good! This entire recipe is a perfect balance…neither the cake or the frosting are too sweet! Ty..Ty for this! 😁
Rhonda Ledbetter
Can this be made in a 13×9 cake pan? If so, how long would it need to bake?
Sam
Hi Rhonda! It will work in a 13 x 9 but I’m not sure on a bake time. I would just keep a close eye on it while baking.
Theresa Miller
Love this cake recipe, its the best! Question how do you store your cake after making it? Does go into refrigerator or stay on the counter top?
Sam
Hi Theresa! It will be fine on the countertop in an air tight container for a couple of days. 🙂
Shelly
So, I’m not the biggest fan of dark chocolate, and I see in your chocolate frosting recipe for the cake you use semi-sweet chocolate chips. Will using dark chocolate make the frosting have a dark chocolate flavor. And if so, can I use milk chocolate instead? Thank you, and sorry if I didn’t make any sense, I understand 🤣
Sam
Hi Shelly! Milk chocolate will work here. 🙂
Julian
Hi there! Do you know the height of this cake in inches? Thank you so much, I am SO excited to try this recipe!!
Sam
Hi Julian! I haven’t measured it, but I think it’s around 5 inches tall. The cakes are approximately 2 inches then a bit of frosting.