Description
This tender and moist chocolate cake is surprisingly easy to make and such a joy to eat! This recipe features layers of outrageously soft chocolate cake made from scratch and a rich and fudgy chocolate frosting. It's a dream dessert for chocolate lovers! The best part? It's a one bowl chocolate cake!
* This recipe was updated with new photos and clearer instructions. The cake recipe is the same, but after some reader feedback, the frosting recipe was tweaked slightly to yield less. If you like the old recipe, you can find it directly below the new one!
Ingredients
For the chocolate cake:
- 2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (90g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (240mL) milk
- 1/2 cup (120mL) vegetable oil, or any neutral flavored oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240mL) hot black coffee *see notes
For the chocolate fudge frosting:
- 1 cup (90g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 cups (480g) powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3-5 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter 2 (9 inch) round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper circles. Lightly dust the sides of the pans with flour or cocoa powder and tap out any excess. Set aside.
- Make the chocolate cakes: In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- To the dry ingredients, add the eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Whisk until it just combines into a thick batter. Take care not to over mix.
- Pour your hot coffee over the batter and whisk right away to combine. The batter should be very thin at this point - that's what you're looking for!
- Evenly divide the chocolate cake batter into your prepared cake pans. Bake in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the cakes for about 10 minutes in the pans then turn onto a wire rack. Peel off the parchment paper and set aside to finish cooling completely to room temperature.
- Make the chocolate fudge frosting: Sift your cocoa powder and powdered sugar into a large bowl then add your butter in.
- Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix on low speed until the sugar and cocoa are dissolved. You can also do this with a wooden spoon by hand but it will be a workout!
- Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl then add your salt, vanilla extract, and 3 tablespoons of milk. Mix on low speed to combine.
- Bump the mixer up to high speed and whip for about 1 minute or until smooth and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, mix in more milk until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Layer the cake: Place one of your cooled chocolate cakes onto your serving platter and spread about 1/3 of the frosting over the top. Layer your second cake on top and use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake.
- Slice and serve!
Notes
* Make sure to use coffee that is strongly brewed. I like to just make my own by dissolving 2 teaspoons of instant espresso powder in 1 cup of boiling water. You won't be able to taste the coffee, but it'll make the cake taste extra chocolatey! If you prefer to leave it out, just use an equal amount of boiling water instead.