Chocolate Fudge Cake

This chocolate fudge cake is an absolute showstopper! It's a whopping 12 layers of incredibly moist chocolate cake and the silkiest fudge frosting. This is a "stick to your fork" level fudgy cake that almost melts in your mouth. And don't worry: despite how incredibly fancy it looks, it's SO easy to make.

all about this chocolate fudge cake

Adapted from my favorite classic chocolate cake recipe, this recipe is inspired by 2 specific cakes: the mouthwatering Matilda cake and cheesecake facotry's fudge cake. I wanted a cake that was TALL, rich, moist, chocolatey, relatively easy to make, and (of course) fudgy! And ohhhhh does this cake deliver.

This recipe is adapted from my favorite classic chocolate cake recipe - with a few changes to make the cake more fudgy. The frosting is also entirely different for a bit more of a fudgy feel - but we're still keeping things VERY easy.

Although it may look like a complicated dessert, it's shockingly easy to make and most of the time involved is waiting for things to cool down. Since this is a TALL cake, layering is also a bit more time consuming when compared to a 2 or 3 layer cake, but otherwise everything is very straightforward and simple. Here are a few of the parts that work together to make this cake truly spectacular:

1. Fudge frosting: If you're not a huge fan of buttercream, this is an amazing alternative. It's quickly become my new favorite frosting after making a variation of it for my chocolate espresso cake! It's rich, creamy, chocolatey, and so fudgy.
2. Dark brown sugar: One of the notable changes I made to my classic chocolate cake recipe! Including a mix of granulated and brown sugar makes this cake extra spongy and adds so much moisture. The brown sugar makes the whole cake feel just a little extra fancy.
3. Vegetable oil: This cake uses slightly more oil than my classic chocolate cake. This makes for an extra fudgy and moist cake that practically melts in your mouth!
4. Sour cream: Another little change from my original recipe. The acidity in sour cream helps the cake rise and also contributes to its tender texture.
5. Extra egg: My original chocolate cake recipe uses 2 eggs, but because this one is SO fudgy, it needed an additional egg for some structure.
6. Hot coffee: Truly the key to a magically moist chocolate cake. Adding coffee to the batter won't make the cake taste like coffee but it will make it taste MORE chocolatey. Meanwhile, the hot liquid blooms the cocoa powder, which draws out its natural flavor, and helps dissolve any clumps in the batter to make for an extra smooth and velvety texture. If you want to skip the coffee, you can - just make sure to use HOT water in its place.

how to make chocolate fudge frosting

* As always, you can find the full recipe including ingredient amounts further below in this post. But here's a quick look at how this cake is made.

This fudge frosting is honestly easier to make than buttercream and uses less than half the amount of sugar! It comes out perfectly sweet, creamy, and rich and has a much deeper chocolate flavor than traditional chocolate frosting.

There's barely any mixing involved and it can easily be made by hand in under 10 minutes. The only downside is this frosting will need some time in the fridge to set - but it's usually ready to use by the time the cake layers are made, baked, and cooled.

Since it needs some time in the fridge, we start the recipe off with it so everything can come together at around the same time. As far as prep goes for the frosting, all you need to do is heat together cream and sugar until they're hot and then pour that over the rest of the frosting ingredients.

It's all whisked together into a smooth, chocolatey dream. The mixture will be quite soft initially, but as it sits in the fridge, it'll set up to a creamy frosting consistency. Before chilling, I like to run the frosting through a fine mesh strainer to catch any clumps of undissolved cocoa or chocolate. It makes for the most smooth and velvety frosting!

TIP: Try to pick out a good quality bar of chocolate for this frosting. It melts better and has a nicer flavor (and you will be able to taste it in a recipe like this!) If there's a certain brand of chocolate chips that you know melts nicely, you can use that. But try to avoid cheaper bags of chocolate chips - they're usually specially designed to keep their shape and can make the frosting gritty.

how to make chocolate fudge cake

While the frosting lounges in the fridge, we can start on the cake right away. The process of making the cake batter can be summed up in 3 simple steps: whisk together dry ingredients, whisk together wet ingredients, then combine.

When combining the wet and dry ingredients we're going to alternate adding half of the dry ingredients and half of the hot coffee to the big bowl of wet ingredients (so it'll be: dry, coffee, dry, coffee).

This just helps everything incorporate more seamlessly and smoothly. It also reduces the chance of overmixing because it's much easier to manage smaller amounts of ingredients being mixed at a time.

Once the cake batter is whipped up, it's time to pour it into the pans and bake. To test if your cake is done baking, the surface should no longer appear wet and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

As the cakes cool, they WILL sink slightly because the cake is just so seriously moist and fudgy. However it should sink uniformly and flatten into a relatively even level. If it just sinks in the center, that's typically a sign that the cake batter was overmixed.

layering the cake

Before you start layering, it's important to make sure the cakes cool completely to room temperature to ensure they don't melt the frosting. And speaking of the frosting: before you start layering, take a quick second to check on the frosting in the fridge.

The frosting should either be perfect or near perfect by the time the cakes are cooled. To see if it's ready to use, simply give it a light mix, then scoop out a spoonful and drop it back into the center - it should hold its shape and shouldn't sink back into the rest of the mixture. It'll be about the consistency of cream cheese frosting. If it's too soft, give it a few more minutes in the fridge until it can hold a scoop.

Once everything is cooled and chilled, you can prep the cakes. They won't really need leveling off because the tops will be relatively flat. But if you cakes did dome a little too much, you can use a serrated knife or cake leveler to even out the tops.

Next, it's time to cut each cake in half horizontally to create a total of 6 cake layers. This part is optional, but I think it gives the best distribution of frosting and makes the cake look so fancy!

When layering, I find ½ a cup (or 2 scoops using a large ice cream scoop) is the perfect amount of frosting between each cake layer if you're doing the thinner cakes. If at any point you find the frosting is softening while you're working and it's getting difficult to stack the layers, take a pause and pop everything (cake and frosting) into the fridge to let is set before continuing.

FAQs

Can this cake be made gluten free?
Try my gluten free chocolate cake instead!

Do you have to strain the frosting?
Technically no, but cocoa has a tendency to clump. So I highly, highly recommend straining the frosting to ensure it comes out perfectly smooth and velvety.

Can you substitute the dark brown sugar?
It contributes to the cake's super moist texture, so I would try to use it if you can. Otherwise, an equal amount of light brown or granulated sugar will also work in its place.

Can you substitute the sour cream?
Yes! You can use an equal amount of Greek yogurt in its place.

Can this cake be made into cupcakes?
Try my chocolate cupcakes recipe! You can use this frosting on the cupcakes if you'd like, but I would personally halve the recipe - unless you like more frosting.

How do you store this chocolate cake?
Keep the cake covered with a cake dome or an inverted bowl and store in the fridge. This cake will keep for about 5-7 days. The cake stays SUPER moist even in the fridge, but the frosting will harden as it chills. If you like a softer frosting consistency, allow the cake to sit out at room temperature for a few minutes before serving.

check out these other recipes!

• Chocolate Cake
• Chocolate Espresso Cake
• Chocolate Mousse Cake
• Brownie Cupcakes
• Brown Butter Brownies
• BEST Gooey Brownies

Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.

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Enjoy!

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