If you’re looking for a rich, moist chocolate cake recipe that’s going to satisfy your sweet cravings, then this cake IS IT! The velvety soft chocolate cake layers are packed with chocolate flavor, and paired with an indulgent chocolate fudge frosting. I would go so far as to say that this is the best chocolate cake recipe I’ve ever had!
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Cake
There is SO MUCH to love about this chocolate cake, but here are a few notable mentions:
Rich in flavor: When it comes to chocolate cake, it should taste like chocolate, but in cake form! When developing this recipe, I really wanted to pack in as much rich chocolate flavor as possible. To do this, I decided to use a ‘mud cake’ style chocolate cake recipe that uses actual chocolate in the cake batter (not just cocoa powder). I find that using good quality semi-sweet chocolate in the cake batter really takes the flavor to another level.
Moist: Not only is this cake packed with chocolate flavor, it’s also soft and has a wonderfully moist crumb. This recipe uses both butter and oil to provide wonderful moisture to the cake. Oil in particularly is a fat that is liquid at room temperature, so it provides unmatched moisture when it comes to cakes. This is the main reason I use it in most of my cake recipes ?
Easy: This recipe doesn’t require any hand or stand mixer to make, and comes together really easily! If you have a few bowls and a whisk, you’re good to go!
The best frosting ever: The base chocolate cake layers are paired with an incredibly delicious chocolate fudge frosting, that takes this chocolate cake recipe as a whole to another level! The chocolate frosting is so decadent and has the most wonderful velvety texture. Just be careful though, you may end up eating too much of it with a spoon before you even get to frosting the cake! This frosting is a softer frosting and not ideal if you’re doing a lot of piping, in which case you may want to try my chocolate buttercream frosting with a twist (it’s a cream cheese frosting and tastes incredible!) or a firm chocolate ganache.
Loved by my ‘chocolate cake hating’ husband: Now here is how I REALLY knew this cake was good. My husband is not a huge cake person, and in particular despises chocolate cakes ?. So when I gave him this cake to try, to my surprise he asked for seconds, and the next day he basically finished most of the cake! My husband is also super honest (sometimes a bit too honest - ha ha!), so when he said this cake was good, I knew it was next level good!
Updated Recipe
I’ve recently updated this recipe (April 2024), as some readers were having issues with the cake layers sinking in. I experimented with different ways to add a little more structure to the cake layers to help prevent this issue, and finally settled on an updated recipe that had additional structure, but still had the same great flavor and texture to the original.
The main changes to the original recipe include an additional egg and additional flour - both of which add more structure to the cake layers.
I know there are many of you who LOVE the original version, so I have kept the original quantities in the notes section of the recipe card (towards the bottom of the blog post). I want to assure you though, that the updated version (in my opinion) is even better than the original, so don’t be afraid to give it a go ?
How to make chocolate cake
This cake comes together really easily, which is another reason why I love it so much!
Begin by preheating your oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional (lower the temperature to 160C/320F if using a convection oven with a fan) and grease two 8-inch round cake pans. You also want to line the bottoms with parchment paper. This chocolate cake is fudgy and delicate, so you need to line the bottom of the cake tins with parchment paper just to make sure they come out in one piece!
In a bowl, sift together all purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder (use dutch process cocoa if you can), baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk, mix together until well combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl (make sure it’s microwave safe), add in butter and dark chocolate. I use 50% dark chocolate, but a good quality semi-sweet chocolate will work well. Melt in the microwave for 30 second bursts at a time, mixing in between each burst until fully melted.
Pour in cold milk and using a whisk, mix until well combined. This will help cool down your mixture.
Next add in sugar, coffee powder, vegetable oil, vanilla extract/essence and eggs. Using a whisk, mix until well combined.
Add in your pre-sifted dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Lastly, add in your hot water and mix until just combined. Do not overmix the batter.
Evenly distribute the batter into your prepared pans and bake for 38-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 
Allow the cakes to cool in the cake tins for 30 minutes, before turning them out onto a wire rack to completely cool.
How to make chocolate fudge frosting
This chocolate fudge frosting is so easy to put together! It’s basically a double batch of my original fudge frosting recipe.
Place a saucepan or pot over a medium heat and add in whipping/heavy cream. Heat until you start to see little bubbles forming around the edges of the pan. The cream shouldn’t be boiling.
Turn the heat down to low and add in the remaining ingredients and continue to gently stir until all the solid ingredients are melted and you have a very smooth mixture.
Strain the mixture into a heat proof bowl to get rid of any lumps, and then cover the top with plastic wrap so that the cling wrap is directly touching the top of the frosting. This will prevent a skin from forming as it cools down.
Place the frosting into the refrigerator for 2 hours to allow it to set.
Decorating Chocolate Cake
Once your cake layers are cool and your frosting is at a spreadable consistency, you can decorate your cake however you like! I placed layers of frosting in between my cake layers, and then covered the outside in a thick layer of frosting too.
I then finished off by piping some frosting on the top of the cake using a 1M star piping tip.
Commonly Asked Questions:
How to store chocolate cake?
This chocolate cake can be left at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days, after which it should be placed into the fridge.
Can I use this recipe to make chocolate cupcakes?
You can totally use this recipe to make chocolate cupcakes, though I do have another chocolate cupcake recipe that is equally as delicious!
