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
Hi Sam. Wow thanks so much for your cake. I found your site by googling cakes for Zach… and it popped up. This is the best cake I have ever made (normally my cakes turn out dry but this was so moist) and I love that along with being easy I could do it by hand because Zach crys at the sound of the mixer. Thanks so much. Can’t wait to try other recipes too.
Sam
Thank you so much, Sarah! I am so glad you enjoyed the cake so much! I hope you love everything you try. 🙂
Isra
hi! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. The cake turned out super moist and soft, and everyone loved it.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the cake, Isra! 🙂
Dana Berte
Hi! I’m so excited to try this cake, but my pan is a different size. Can you tell me roughly how much the dough rises, so I know how much to fill (or avoid over-filling) the pan? Does it stay more or less the same, does it double in height?
Sam
Hi Dana! I wouldn’t fill the pan more than half way full. 🙂
Nebiyah
Best chocolate frosting ever !! I paired it with your vanilla cake recipe and it was so good. My only critique is that the chocolate frosting is too salty, other than that it’s perfect. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Sam
I am so sorry your frosting was salty. Did you happen to use salted butter? It shouldn’t be an overly salty frosting. I’m glad you were still able to enjoy it. 🙂
Shauna
Hi Sam,
I made this recipe as a cake and cupcakes and they were both beyond amazing, every single person that tried them absolutely loved them.
I was just wondering what the difference between this chocolate cake recipe and your chocolate cupcakes recipe is.
Sam
Hi Shauna! I am so glad you enjoyed the cake. The cupcakes are a lighter cake. The cake is a little more dense, without being dry, and is a little more sturdy. Personally my favorite is the cake, but they are both great. 🙂
Shauna
Hi Sam,
The cake is my favourite too! 🙂
I was also wondering if is it possible to cut the recipe in half?
Sam
I’m so glad you like it, Shauna! Yes, this recipe works just fine cut in half. Enjoy! 🙂
Dana
Hi there! So I’ve made this cake about 3 times and it’s absolutely amazing! The icing is the BEST I’ve ever made, and I’m not a chocolate cake person 🙂
I do have a question. I am making my son’s first birthday cake, and I’m making a half and half sheet cake. I want to use this recipe but I’m nervous that the cooking temp and time compared to my vanilla cake recipe, will be a problem since I am making them both in the same 12×18 sheet cake pan. Do you have any suggestions? Would this cake do well in a 12×18 sheet without the vanilla cake?
Thank you!!!
Sam
Hi Dana! I’m so glad you like the chocolate cake! So it would of course be quite thin and the baking time would be much less, but other than that it should be fine. Does that help? Let me know if I didn’t quite answer your question.
Natalie
Just wanted to say I have discovered your site and it is now my go-to for recipes. This cake is just as amazing as all your others! Thanks so much.
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this! Thank you for letting me know how you liked the chocolate cake, Natalie!! 🙂
Diane
Hi! Do you think this cake can work with 3 or 4 tiers? I wanted to make a 3 tier cake and I was wondering how much I should times the recipe by.
Sam
Hi Diane! I haven’t tried it, but this cake is pretty sturdy so I think it would hold up. It really depends what size cakes you are making as to how much you would need to increase the batter. 🙂
Christine
Hi Sam, I’ve tried the chocolate buttercream frosting for Easy Chocolate Cupcake and the one for this cake. I preferred this one as this one seems less sweet. To make the frosting slightly less sweet, can I use dark chocolate chips, instead of semi-sweet ones, for the frosting?
Sam
Absolutely, that will work just fine. Enjoy! 🙂
Bernadette M Hall
The best Chocolate cake ever! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Sam
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed! Thank you so much for commenting, Bernadette!
Elizabeth
The cake was super moist and delicious.
Going to try the marble and carrot cake too
Thank you Rachel
God bless you abundantly.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cake, Elizabeth! 🙂
Nadia hassan
I love this chocolate cake
Sam
I am so glad you enjoy the cake so much, Nadia! 🙂
Charlotte
Hi! I tested this cake out to see if it we liked it for a birthday party, and we do! It’s delicious! We taste-tested one and froze the other one. I am planning to take the frozen one out the night before, unwrap it so it doesn’t get soggy, and thaw at room temperature. Is this a good plan? Will it dry out from thawing uncovered?
Sam
Hi Charlotte! I would recommend taking it from the freezer to the refrigerator for a day, leaving it wrapped. Then, transfer it to the counter at room temperature for about a day. 🙂
Judy
the cake looked so moist Hubby will like it.
Sam
I hope everyone loves it, Judy! 🙂
Rachel
Delicious!! I love it!
Sam
Thank you so much, Rachel! 🙂
Sarah
Hi! I want to try to use this recipe for the top layer of a 2 tier cake for my son’s birthday. Would it hold up to stacking and fondant?
Sam
Hi Sarah! I think this cake will hold up just fine. I hope you love it! 🙂 Let me know how it goes.
Larvendah
Hie can I double the recipe
Sam
Yes you can. 🙂