After testing so many chocolate cake recipes over the years, I’ve come really close to perfection only to miss the mark on the essentials of a good chocolate cake: moistness, fluffiness, and great chocolate flavor. You know, the kind with the slightly sticky crumb that just melts in your mouth and almost makes your eyes roll back in your head because it’s just that good. While my chocolate cakes of the past have been acceptable, this one I’m about to share is the absolute best I’ve ever had. No joke. It’s fudgy, moist, decadent, and makes me so giddy I want to shout it from the rooftops!
One reader, Edith, says: “This recipe is aptly named. It is perfect! It came together breathtakingly easily and tasted as though I’d spent all day on it. It was a positively dreamy cake, not too sweet, strong chocolate flavor, ideal texture.” ★★★★★
The best part of this chocolate cake recipe is that it’s about as easy as a cake mix. It’s a one-bowl cake, meaning you basically put all the ingredients into one bowl (in the right order, of course) and whip it up into the smoothest chocolate cake batter ever. There are absolutely no complicated steps to this cake, which makes it super failproof and the perfect go-to chocolate cake recipe for your repertoire.
This cake is ultra-moist due to the vegetable oil base and the addition of buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can easily make it from scratch using whole milk. Just mix it with white vinegar (exact recipe is in the notes below), let it sit for about 15 minutes, and voila! Perfect buttermilk every time.
You can pair this chocolate cake with almost any buttercream, but I’ve chosen to pair it with my favorite chocolate buttercream recipe to really enhance the chocolate flavor. In the past I’ve paired it with cherry, raspberry, almond, salted caramel, and vanilla buttercreams and those pairings have been super tasty.
The rope border on top of this cake was created using Wilton Tip 1M to pipe rosettes on top of one another around the edge of the cake. Then I topped it all off with one of my favorite sprinkle mixes ever – Rainbow Road by SprinklePop. I think sprinkles are the perfect finishing touch, but you can decorate however you’d like.
Here’s a video I made to show you all the tips and tricks for making this chocolate cake recipe (below). For more recipe videos like this one + tons of cake decorating videos, head to my YouTube Channel and be sure to click the Subscribe button so you never miss a new one!
Update 2022 – Two things: 1) I realized that you can absolutely make this recipe by hand instead of using a mixer! That makes it an even easier one bowl cake. Exact instructions are in the notes of the recipe below. 2) I prefer using hot coffee in this recipe (enhances the chocolate flavor big time!), but you can absolutely use hot water as an alternative.
Perfect One-Bowl Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
One-Bowl Chocolate Cake
- 2 Cups (265g) all purpose flour
- 1 2/3 Cups (340g) granulated sugar
- 2/3 Cup (60g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Cup (240ml) full-fat buttermilk*, room temperature DIY recipe in the notes
- 1 Cup (240ml) hot coffee or hot water
Chocolate Buttercream
- 2 batches of my favorite chocolate buttercream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and fitting the bottoms with a wax paper or parchment cake circle.
- Place all of the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and stir on low for 30 seconds to fully combine them. Add the vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk and mix on low until just combined. With the mixer still on low, add the hot coffee (or hot water) in a slow stream, then turn the mixer to medium and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. The batter will be very thin.
- Pour into prepared cake pans no more than 2/3 full and bake for 32-36 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting with chocolate buttercream or frosting of your choice.
Notes
Did you make this recipe? Let me know what you think in the comments below, or by tagging me on Instagram! I love to see your creations and hear your feedback.
This has become my go to for a moist almost fudgy chocolate cake. So good!
That said, sometimes I need a three layer 8 inch cake. Do you have a recipe for that or thoughts on how to adjust the volume and bake time for an 8 inch cake? That would be super helpful.
Love all your recipes!
Thank you.
Cathy
Hi Cathy! I’m so happy you love this recipe! To make three 8-inch layers, you’ll want to make 1.5x the recipe (multiply the ingredients by 1.5). This question gets asked a lot so I’m going to put the exact amounts here for anyone else looking:
3 Cups (398g) all purpose flour
2 1/2 Cups (500g) granulated sugar
1 Cup (90g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 Cup (180ml) vegetable oil
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 1/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 Cups (360ml) buttermilk
1 1/2 Cups (360ml) hot coffee or hot water
Wow, thank you. That was so kind of you. I should have read through the comments!
Thank you so much for this option! If I am making a 4 layer 8 inch cake would the 1.5x recipe work still you think or would I need to double?
Hi Megan! I would double the recipe for four 8-inch layers if you want the layers to be as tall as pictured (about 1.75 inches). I think a 1.5x batch would technically work but the layers will be shorter, probably around 1 inch tall. If you’re okay with that then go for it! Just be sure to watch the timing since the layers won’t need as long to bake. I’d check for doneness around the 25 minute mark.
Hi
If I decorate the cake the night before how long before the party do I need to take the cake out for it to not be dense from sitting in the fridge & back to light & fluffy?
Thanks!
Hi Marissa! I take my cakes out of the refrigerator at least an hour before serving but closer to 2 hours is best.
Hi, I made this a while ago and looking to make it again. Can I use extra virgin olive oil instead of vegetable oil? Also I’ve never made ahead and frozen. Is there any risk of the sponge going wet with this recipe or the vanilla one? Making a cake for my own even and I have plenty to do the few days before so anything I can do ahead would be helpful. Just worried to freeze a cake – haven’t done that before. Thanks for your recipes I have your book and love them!!
Hi Bianca! I’m glad you love this recipe enough to make it again! As far as oil goes, you technically substitute the vegetable oil for olive oil but it will flavor the cake with the flavor of the olive oil. The best oil substitutes are refined avocado oil, canola oil, or refined coconut oil (melted and cooled). If you’re used to using extra virgin olive oil in baking recipes, it will probably be fine. And yes you can freeze this cake ahead of time and it keeps really well. Just bring it back to room temperature the day you want to assemble the cake. I have more info for making cakes ahead of time in this blog post: https://sugarandsparrow.com/making-cakes-ahead/ hope that helps!
I made this exactly as the instructions said and while baking there is a glob that has formed in the center of my cakes it looks like a bunch of liquid separated?
Hi Emily! I’ve never heard of that happening before so I’m not sure exactly what went wrong. Is it fully cooked in the center? And what kind of oven are you using (convection/fan-assisted or conventional)?
Hey Whitney,
How many cups of batter does this make? I made this cake last weekend as a 3 layer 6” heart cake. It’s been requested for a quarter sheet cake this coming weekend. Will this be enough batter for a quarter sheet cake?
Thank you for sharing your skills with all of us.
Hi Beth! This recipe makes about 6 Cups of batter, and it’s the perfect amount for a quarter sheet cake with 2 or 3 inch sides. I have a recipe specifically for that size here: https://sugarandsparrow.com/chocolate-sheet-cake/ the only difference is the baking temperature and time. Hope that helps!
is it okay to use almond/oatmilk in replacement for buttermilk? im lactose intolerant and my sister has alpha gal—this recipe looks amazing but im worried it would affect the texture or taste of the cake.
Hi Cody! Oat milk or almond milk will work with this cake recipe, and I also have this vegan chocolate cake recipe if you want something that’s already dairy-free: https://sugarandsparrow.com/vegan-chocolate-cake-recipe/
Hi!! I am the jasmine who recently left a review on your perfect white cake! I’m making a wedding cake for my sister and I’m hoping to use that white cake and this chocolate cake. I know the white cake is so delicate, would it be more suitable as a middle or top tier? Also do you think this cake ( with support) be sturdy enough for the bottom tier? Thank you!!!
Hi Jasmine! I’m so happy you love the white cake recipe and it will definitely be suitable as a top or middle tier. This chocolate cake will be the perfect bottom tier for the wedding cake as well. Just be sure to dowel in between your tiers and you’ll be set!
Is there an oil substitute?
Applesauce, butter, sour cream etc? Help please!
Hi Brittany! I’ve heard of people having success with melted butter but haven’t tried it myself.
Hi,
Thank you for sharing your recipe, would this be suitable for a 10x3inch square cake pan?
Thank you
Hi Renu! Yes, just be sure to fill the pan no more than half full and it should bake great in a pan that size. I would check for doneness at 35 minutes and add more time from there if you need.
Thank you Whitney, can this also be done in 2 pans which are 6inch each?
Hi Renu! If they are standard cake pans (2 inches tall) then you’ll have extra batter and I’d recommend only filling the pans 2/3 full or less. If they’re taller cake pans you might be able to divide the batter in half but again, don’t fill them more than 2/3 full and check for doneness around the 35-40 minute mark. Hope that helps!
Yesbitndoes thank you so much These are 3inch tall so hopefully it works. Will also check accordingly to your suggested times, thank you xo
Olá! Por favor, poderia me informar qual é a quantidade em gramas de bicarbonato de sódio?
Hi Cassia! 2 tsp of baking soda weighs about 10 grams. Hope that helps!
Hi, my daughter wants a strawberry chocolate cake for her birthday. Can i just add a layer of strawberry jam and fresh strawberries on the frosting in between the cake layers? Would that work? Thank you
Hi there! Yes, that would totally work. You could also make a strawberry buttercream instead of chocolate buttercream for the frosting! I have a recipe with freeze-dried strawberries here: https://sugarandsparrow.com/strawberry-buttercream-recipe/ and one that uses fresh strawberries here: https://sugarandsparrow.com/fresh-strawberry-buttercream-recipe/ You’ll want to make a double batch of either of those recipes if you want to use them as filling and frosting. Hope that helps!
Hi Whitney!
I have your book and let me tell you it is beautiful and makes me think I can actually make cakes like you!!
For this recipe, would Dutch-processed cocoa powder work?
Hi Tamisha! I’m so happy you’ve been loving my book 🙂 you can use Dutch-processed cocoa powder with this recipe!
Hello! Can I substitute the all purpose flour with cake flour? Thanks!
Hi Milie! For this recipe (and any chocolate cake recipe) all-purpose flour is best. The addition of cocoa powder softens the texture a ton, and subbing in cake flour results in a cake that doesn’t have enough structure.
Just baked 2-6” and 2-9” layers using this recipe and noticed the layers are very light, weight-wise. Is that how they’re supposed to be. Thx
Hi there! I’m not sure how light we’re talking but they shouldn’t weigh a whole lot. Have you tasted them yet? If so, how is the texture?
I’ve made this cake in the past for my son’s birthday and it was a huge hit! This year I plan on making him a volcano cake using bundt pans. Any suggestions on cooking in bundt pans?
Yay, Tammy! So happy this cake was a hit! I have never made this one in a bundt pan but I’m sure it would work if you make sure to fill the pans no more than 2/3 full, bake at 350F, and start checking for doneness at 35 minutes. Hope that helps! Bundt pans for a volcano cake is genius.
Hi! This recipe looks amazing! I’m hoping to make it for my Dad’s 70th birthday with some Oreo vanilla buttercream but it’s going to be about 30 people. Do you have any suggestions for adjusting the recipe? I was thinking 3 10” pans but not sure!
Hi Jenna! For 30 people I would do three 8-inch layers or two 10-inch layers. Either way you could make 1.5x the recipe (multiply each ingredient by 1.5) and have the perfect amount of batter. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much! Do you think 1.5x would work for 3 9” layers?
Yes, it totally would.
Thank you so much for replying back! Promise last question. If I wanted to do a 3 layer 10” do you thinking doubling the recipe is best? Also any thoughts on cook time?
I am halfway through this recipe and realized I have no oil.
Is there possibly an easy substitute?
Hi lovely, I made your vanilla cake and let me tell you one of the best I’ve ever tried is it possible to mix the sugar with brown like half of each can not wait to try ❤️ xo
Hi Bre! So happy you loved my vanilla cake! It should work to sub half the granulated sugar with brown sugar in any of my cake recipes. Enjoy!
Yay perfect lovely I’m going to do 1 and 1.2 batches of batter should I make it 2 batches to get roughly 4 layers of cake 6inchs and 6X cupcakes ? Or stick to 1 1/2
Hi Whitney! Here I am, yet again, commenting on this wonderful recipe. It is yet to disappoint! My grandma is making fondue cakes for Christmas, (the little cake squares you dip in chocolate then roll in yummy toppings) but doesn’t have a recipe for it! I have made this recipe at least two dozen times, and I knew this one was it. However, this cake is always so light and fluffy, and I need a dense and thick cake. Do you think I would be able to spruce this up to make it fit that description? How would you do that? I hope this isn’t too confusing! Thanks so much, and Merry Christmas!!!