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.
I love this chocolate cake recipe… I want to make it with 4 layers 8” pans… if I double the recipe, how many eggs?
Hi, wanting to make this cake but in a 4inch x 3inch deep cake tin, can you tell me the measurements for this please? Thanks x
Hi Jane! I would half the recipe for a cake pan of that size and fill it no more than 2/3 full (you may have more than enough batter). I’ve never baked this cake in a tin that size before, so I’m not sure what the exact baking time will be but I would check it at 30 minutes and go from there. Hope that helps!
Hello, can I ask how deep are your 6″ pans? Just trying to work out how much mixture to use as 2/3 full can be quite different depending on how deep the pan is?
Also, how high is each cake when baked? I’ve just done a different recipe (not yours) and each cake is only 2cm which makes quite a disappointing height cake when stacked. I’m not using buttercream to stack, just some cherry conserve as making for a person who doesn’t like buttercream. Thanks in advance
Hi Kayleigh! My pans are 2 inches tall. This amount of batter can be divided equally amongst 6 x 2 inch pans and the layers end up being close to two inches tall. Hope that helps!
Hi Whitney,
I have made this recipe twice and it was a hit both times. I had 3 6″ cake pans so after the first time, I realized I had excess cake batter. Second time, I made my 3 tier 6″ cake, 8 cupcakes and 6 cake pops from the recipe for my 4 years old grand niece party. Everything turned out amazing. The cake is moist and delicious. I used coffee instead of hot water and I think that just brings out the chocolate flavor. My nieces said the cake pops were more tastier than the ones they buy at Starbucks.
Not only is this a one bowl recipe, you can make 3 different items for variety. I wish I could send a photo to show how pretty everything turned out. Thank you.
Yay! I’m so happy you loved this recipe and it was so versatile for you! I’m shocked at how much you yielded from the batter – I usually just make those three 6×2 inch layers! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know it was a hit 🙂
The recipe is just perfect! Never had a more moist decadent chocolate cake before
That’s amazing, Anjana! I’m so happy to hear that!!
I made this today but all 3 of my cakes came out with a massive point/pyramid on top which I had to cut off so the remaining 3 slices are a lot smaller than I’d hoped for making the overall cake smaller and I have a lot of wastage. Do you know why?
Hi Melanie! It’s normal for cakes to rise more in the middle than on the sides. A few suggestions if you want to bake the cakes more evenly though: 1) check to see what kind of oven you have. If it’s a fan-assisted oven, you may need to decrease your oven temp by 25ºF to bake the cakes more evenly. Those get much hotter than conventional ovens, making the cake rise/bake too quickly 2) if you have a conventional oven, check to see that the internal temperature matches what’s on your display. You can do this with an oven thermometer. If the oven is too hot it will make the cake rise/bake more quickly 3) regardless of oven type, be sure to place the cakes on the middle rack. They will bake more evenly there than anywhere else. 4) if you want super flat cakes, try baking with strips like these: https://amzn.to/3tQehVs Hope that helps!
Hi Whitney.
How can I get 4 6 inch layers? Di yoh know the measurements?
Hi Sade! To make four 6 inch layers, I would make 1.5x the recipe to keep the math simple. You’ll end up with a little more batter than you need, so be sure to fill the pans no more than 2/3 full. If you need exactly four layers though, you’ll need to multiply the recipe by 1 1/3 (1.333333).
Hi Whitney,
I’m looking to use this recipe but on a slightly larger scale and could use some help! I’m baking for 30 people and ideally it’ll be 3 layers and 10″ round. Is this possible or am I completely out of my mind?!
I’d deeply appreciate any help you can give me!
Hi Whitney,
Thank you, I will be making these cupcakes next week for a retirement party
Hi Whitney,
This cake is amazing!, Thank you. Everyone loves it.
Can I use this recipe for 24 cupcakes?
Hi Gina! I’m so happy to hear this recipe is a hit! You can certainly make this recipe as cupcakes and I believe it makes 24 (if not more). Just be sure to fill the cupcake liners no more than 2/3 full and bake them at 350 for 15-18 min. Enjoy!
Hi Whitney! I’ve used this recipe 3x this year to make orders for 6” cakes, and it is always a hit. It comes together so easily and bakes like a dream, too! I have a request to make a double layer half sheet cake next month and would really love to use this recipe again. I’ve never baked a cake that large before and was wondering if you had any tips on adapting this recipe for that size of pan (I got a 9x13x2). Thank you for your time!
Yay, Jordanne! I’m so happy to hear that you love this recipe as much as I do. Here’s info on how to bake my layer cake recipes as sheet cakes: https://sugarandsparrow.com/sheet-cake-recipes/ hope that helps!
Oooh, perfect! Thanks so much.
Hello i love to make this cake, im going to make it rn, im just anxious because im only 12 but i have good experience with cakes but im only asking if it will work on a two 4inch?
Hi Mansoureh! I would halve the recipe to make less batter for two 4 inch tins. Be sure to fill the pans no more than 2/3 full and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Enjoy!
After searching and searching for the perfect chocolate cake recipe, I’m so pleased to say I my search is over! This is it! It is one-bowl perfection! The buttermilk adds an unexpected twang that emphasizes the chocolate flavor perfectly! I’ve made it, and the complementing chocolate buttercream, twice so far, and everyone always loves it!
I’m so happy to hear you love this recipe as much as I do! Thanks, Mallory!
This has become my go-to chocolate cake recipe! For my husband’s birthday I subbed the cup of water for a cup of coffee and Wowee! Thank you so much for sharing!
Yay, Laura! I bet it’s amazing with the coffee!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe! Delicious and less washing up! whats not to love!?
I would like to know however, what the measurements would be to make 1x 6″ inch layer. I made the recipe previously and have 2 layers frozen but I used the 3rd, I would like to make just 1 layer to make up the height
Yay, Kinari! So happy you love this recipe! I’ve never tried making just one layer before, and the math gets kindof complicated (you’d need to make 1/3 of the recipe, so basically divide each ingredient by 3 to get the amounts). I would recommend just halfing the recipe and making two layers to save yourself the math headache.
Thank you. This is exactly what I needed…this cake is so good…making it again for a family birthday celebration