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.
Would this work for a 13×9 cake pan? I’ve made this recipe twice now and it’s the best chocolate cake recipe I’ve tried Ave that my family and friends love. I’m needing it for a take along cake in a disposable pan
Hi Tricia! I’m so happy you love the recipe! I’ve never tried it in a 13 x 9 pan but I’m sure it will work. I would bake at 350 and check it at 40-45 minutes to see if it needs more time.
Hi Whitney! I’m planning on using this recipe for my daughters 3rd birthday cake – I was wondering if the cake is easy enough to cut in half to fill with buttercream? I only have an 8/9” round tin (not 100% sure which) so was going to just do a two layer cake… will these measurements suffice? Thank you! Excited to try 🙂
Hi Claire! This recipe makes quite a lot of batter, enough for three 8 inch cake pans. The layers can be easily cut in half for filling with buttercream, but if you do it that way the layers will be about 1 inch tall instead of 2 inches tall. Alternatively you can just bake the cake layers in two intervals to have two 8-inch layers and the layers will be taller. Does that make sense? I hope you love the recipe!
Thank you! Makes sense! Will report back
The Best!
Whitney, I’ve tried many – too many – chocolate cake recipes, with no success. But this recipe is the bomb! The crumb is chocolatey, delicious AND tender. To die for. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. And for your beautiful cake decorating ideas which are so unique and inspire me.
Hi Carol! So happy you love the recipe and thanks for the kind words! I feel the same way about this chocolate cake recipe, it’s one of my very favorites. Glad it’s brought you chocolate cake success too!
My daughter made this cake and raved about it. She made it in three 6″ pans, however I have 8″ pans. Will the amount of batter best fit in 2 – 8″ pans, or can I bake it in 3 – 8″ pans?
Hi Sue! So happy your daughter loved this recipe! I’m sure you will too. It makes quite a lot of batter, enough for three 8 inch pans! Just make sure you fill them no more than 2/3 full and you’ll be good.
This is a great recipe! For me this recipe yielded two 6″ cakes, one 7″ cake, a tray of mini cupcakes, and a ramekin of cake, so it was a lot more than expected, but better more than not enough I suppose.
I was wondering how long this cake lasts in the fridge though. I have enough cake domes and icing (from your provided buttercream icing recipe) to make cakepops, but wanted to make sure the cake was still okay. Thank you!!
Hi there! So happy you love the recipe! It yields a lot of cake batter (enough for three 8-inch layers!) and I’m working on paring it down for smaller cake sizes. For storing the cake, it’ll last up to two days wrapped in plastic wrap at room temp or you can store it in the freezer (tightly wrapped) for up to two months. I prefer either of those methods as opposed to the fridge just because if the cake isn’t frosted the refrigerator will dry out the cake more quickly. Let me know how the cake pops go!
Thank you for the info! The cake pops were very well received. Gonna have to make them again! <3
Yay!! So happy the cake pops turned out perfectly!! I’m gonna have to try them some time!
Good day
i love this recipe , however if i dont have a stand mixer , can we still beat this by hand and for how long ?
Hi Philisha! You can totally use a hand mixer for this cake recipe. Just follow the same speeds and timing in the instructions and you’ll be good. Let me know how it goes!
Hi whitney..so glad I found your recipe. Just made this yesterday for my baby girl’s birthday and it turns out amazing. It was my first time to make my daughter her birthday cake and this recipe works so well and i used your white chocolate butter cream recipe as well for the frosting… everyone loved it. Really made my day..
Hi Eva! I’m so happy to hear you love this recipe as much as I do and it was a hit with your guests. Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know and happy birthday to your daughter!!
Hi Whitney
Can I just ask does this recipe make enough batter for a 2 or a 3 layer 8inch cake? It seems to say different things in the comments. Thank you
I’d love to replicate this for my daughter’s birthday! How did you get the sprinkles so perfect?
Yay, Becky! This will make a great birthday cake! For the bottom part of the cake, I pour sprinkles into the palm of my hand and gently press them onto the cake. Then, I place the sprinkles one by one on the top two thirds of the cake by pressing them onto my finger and touching them to the cake. This video shows the same process on a different cake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hWwaFvcYHY&t=3s
How many cups of batter does this make? Thanks!
Hi Kellianne! I’m not exactly sure how many cups of batter this recipe makes, but it’s enough to fill three 6 or 8 inch pans 2/3 of the way full. I hope that helps!
Thanks!
Hi, I want to try out your recipe as i’m trying to find the most perfect moist soft chocolate cake ever for my friends birthday party. I just wonder how much ml of vegetable oil you mean with 3/4 cup and also the ml of hot water. As living in Belgium we don’t use cup measurements. Thx ahead for a quick response 😉
Thanks for catching that, Elke! I will add the ml measurements to the recipe for the vegetable oil and hot water!
Just tried this recipe! A mouthful of awesomeness!! The only lil problem was that I could feel bits of the granulated sugar in the cake. Any thoughts?
Hi Vicki! So happy you love the recipe. The only things I can think of about the granulated sugar: 1) the hot water wasn’t hot enough or 2) the batter wasn’t mixed enough at the end of the recipe. If there were granules of sugar in the final cake it would mean that they hadn’t melted/fully incorporated. Next time, try boiling the water and then taking it off the burner for about a minute before pouring it in at the end and make sure you mix for the full 2 minutes at the end.
.kk, great! Thanks!
Hi!! I just wanted to say that I have done it 4 times already and it is an amazing recipe. Thank you so much for sharing! I did it with the DIY buttermilk cause they dont sell that in Mexico. I also added a little less water, around 1 cup only and it stayed an hour on the oven (not sure if this is do to my oven temperature). It performs great everytime and is my new go to chocolate cake. Cant wait to try more of your recipes 🙂
Hi Maria! I am SO happy to hear that you’re loving the recipe! Thanks so much for letting me know, that totally makes my day! 🙂
I used 3 round 6×2 inch pans and had lots of batter left over…im thinking to half the recipe next time. Or am I using the wrong cake pans?
Fantastic cake, even better recipe than he last one I tried. And that one was pretty darn good too. Thank you!
Hi Lorraine, so happy you are loving the recipes! I use the same size pans and fill them 2/3 full and I do remember having a little extra batter left over. It’s hard to get the amount of batter exact in recipe writing and I’m still learning! If you half the recipe, your cake layers won’t be as tall but if you’re ok with that, I’d say go for it! Just be sure to lessen the baking time to accommodate thinner layers.
Lovely presentation. Can I use milk instead of butter milk ?
Thanks, Jibi! The buttermilk helps to add extra moisture, and I’ve got a DIY buttermilk recipe in the notes section (just add white vinegar to whole milk). If you don’t have white vinegar on hand I’m sure you could just use whole milk and be totally fine 🙂
Finally I found a very good cake, thank you for a great recipe! I baked it for my 11 birthday daughter and everybody enjoyed it
That makes me so happy to hear, Roxana! So glad you love the recipe!!
Planning to make this in 6” cake rounds. I’ve been having a problem where my cake is sinking in the middle in these small pans. It’s cooking too fast on the sides! And then sinking! Any thoughts ?
Hi Katie! If your cake pan is repeatedly making your cake recipes sink in the middle, I would get some baking strips for the sides of the pan. They will make your cake bake more evenly. The sinkage might be from something else though, a few culprits are: oven temperature is too hot (even if it says it’s the right temp), too much rising agent (baking powder/soda) in the recipe, using baking powder thats over six months old, and overmixing the batter. This chocolate cake recipe has been tested a ton, so it shouldn’t sink unless there are other factors like the ones mentioned above. I’d suggest getting an internal oven thermometer just to make sure the oven isn’t running too hot + check that your baking powder is fresh + try baking the cake with baking strips just in case. You can find baking strips at your local cake decorating shop or online here: https://amzn.to/2ElNRB6 And PS I hope you love the chocolate cake recipe!!
Hi! I followed this recipe and used two 8 inch pans but for some reason even though I followed the measurements exactly I barely got to 1/3 filling for each tin, which was disappointing! I read a few posts that said they had heaps of batter leftover – any thoughts on where I went wrong?
Hi Lyn, that is a puzzler! How deep are your 8 inch pans? Mine are 2″ deep and when I make this recipe I’m able to fill them about 2/3 full.
Hey! What of I just want one layer.
What measurements should I use?
Hi Sade! For one 6-inch layer, you’ll want to make 1/3 of this recipe. A recipe scale calculator like this can help with the math: https://www.inchcalculator.com/recipe-scale-conversion-calculator/