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.
Can I bake each separate layer in a tall 6 inch cake pan, or is it best if I bake all the batter at once and then divide it using a cake leveller?
Hi Meera! You can bake each layer separately if need be, but I do recommend getting three shorter pans if you often make triple layer cakes. I have never baked this recipe in a tall cake pan before so I am unsure how to adjust the oven temperature or baking time for the recipe, but if you’re used to baking recipes in a tall cake pan feel free to try it!
Usually I don’t leave reviews on websites, but I have to for this one. This cake recipe is the best I’ve ever baked! I am a very avid baker, and I have tried several recipes, but none have ever been as good as this one!
Wow, Mara! I am so flattered! Thank you for taking the time to review this recipe and share how much you loved it 🙂
The chocolate cake was so moist and good! I made the buttercream also but I messed it up somehow as it was too soft. Didn’t matter I still enjoyed both! Thanks so much for the recipe!
So happy you love these recipes, Shamaine!
I wanted to ask if I could make this recipie ahead of time.
Hi Matt! You certainly can make the cake layers ahead – the info on that is in the notes section of the recipe 🙂
I want to make 2 -8″ layers in 3″ cake pans. What were the original measurements, please? I think I need that amount of batter. Thanks.
Hi Stephanie! This recipe should make enough batter for two 8 x 3 inch layers as-is. If you’d rather make the original recipe amount, just multiply each ingredient by 1.5 and you’ll be good to go.
Hi Whitney! I just stumbled across your blog when searching for a space cake to do for my niece’s birthday. I want to give your chocolate cake a try and do a marbling effect with vanilla cake. Can I use 1 C of strong brewed coffee in place of the hot water? I tend to see coffee used with chocolate cake since the flavors work so well together.
Hi Courtney! You certainly can sub in coffee for the hot water. Just make sure it’s hot coffee!
I really enjoyed your recepie for many reasons. It’s so so good for numerous reasons. So soft and moist and a good one. One bowl really deserves for it is less cumbersome. I have been looking for a real perfect chocolate cake and now I have found one Thank you so much.
But I would like to know if I could substitute melted butter for vegetable oil and use less cocoa powder in this recepie. as it aggravates gastric problems.
Hi Rose! So happy you love this recipe as much as I do! I have never tried subbing in melted butter, so I can’t say for sure how that would turn out. I would keep the cocoa powder the same amount, since it’s important for the chemistry of the cake. You are certainly free to experiment with this recipe and see if it can be altered to your liking!
Hi! How much of the recipe should I use for 2 6″ cakes? Thank you! 🙂
Hi Kaye, if you’re just making two 6 inch layers and you want exact measurements, you’ll need to multiply every ingredient in this recipe by 2/3 (or .66667). Hope that helps!
Hey
I want to make this cake but I want to know if I can leave out the baking soda and replace it with more baking powder? Whenever I use baking soda it gives my cakes a weird taste.
Thanks!
Hi Lucia, unfortunately doing so will throw off the chemistry of the cake since the baking soda is partly responsible for making the cake rise properly. I’ve never had a problem with this recipe tasting like baking soda.. is it possible that your baking soda is expired?
Hi
Sorry if someone has asked already(skimmed through the comments and didn’t really see) but can you recommend adjustments for altitude of 3500ft?
Hi there! I actually don’t know how to alter cake recipes for high altitude, so I can’t say for sure how to adjust this one. BUT I did find some general rules of thumb for converting recipes to high altitude here: https://food52.com/blog/24630-high-altitude-baking-adjustments-guide hope that helps!
I would like to make 3 layers using 9″ pans that are 2″ high. Should I increase the batter by 1/2 of the original recipe? If so, how many eggs would I need?
Hi Deb! Yes, I would multiply the ingredients in this recipe by 1.5x to get the perfect amount. You’d need 3 eggs. Be sure to fill the pans no more than 2/3 full.
After reading a million chocolate cake recipes I used this for my son’s 19th birthday cake last year. He loved it and has requested it again this year, so glad I saved the link!!
Yay, Revonda!! That makes me so happy to hear. Glad you found your way back to this recipe again and happy birthday to your son!!
Hi Whitney, could you please tell me which brand all-natural cocoa powder you use please?
Hi Shari! I use Hershey’s cocoa powder: https://amzn.to/33iRQel
can I put the mixture in only two pans???
Hi Tasnim! This recipe is written for three 6-inch cake pans or two 8-inch cake pans. What size are your pans?
Hi if I’m looking to make 2–10 inch cakes do you recommend doubling recipe?
Hi Bianca! Yes – for two 10 inch cakes, you’ll want to double the recipe. I’m not sure about the baking time for that pan size since I’ve never baked this recipe in a 10 inch pan before, but I would check the cakes at 40 min and go from there. Enjoy!
Would you please tell me how many cups of batter this makes? I have to make a rather large cake this weekend and want to have enough to fill. Thanks.
Hi Nancy! I don’t know the exact cup measurement for the batter in this recipe, but I’m guessing it’s around 7.5 cups. The way I figured that out is a box cake mix yields 5 cups of batter and it would take 1.5 of those to fill three 6-inch cake pans 2/3 of the way full (which is the amount this recipe yields). What size cake are you making? Knowing that will help me figure out how best to multiply this recipe to accommodate your large cake.