Rich fudgy chocolate brownie cake tastes like a cross between brownies and chocolate cake. This dense chocolate cake recipe makes the ultimate brownie cake!
I love a good chocolate cake recipe! This chocolate brownie cake is one that I make over and over.
The cake is a little bit more dense than a traditional cake, but it isn’t as dense as a chocolate pound cake. It’s more like a slightly cakier, moist fudge brownie.
The cake is delicious with all sorts of toppings and fillings. I’ve filled it with combinations like strawberries and whipped cream or chocolate whipped cream and raspberries.
No matter what you fill it with, you can’t go wrong with this easy chocolate brownie cake!
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Cocoa powder: I have only used Dutch-processed cocoa powder in this recipe. I haven’t tried regular unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe.
- Butter: I use salted butter in this cake. If you prefer to use unsalted butter, increase the salt in the recipe to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Buttermilk: Regular or low-fat will work. If you don’t have any buttermilk, you can make a good substitute with this recipe.
- Water: Warm water right from the tap will work. The water should be about 100F. The warm water helps to bring out more of the chocolate flavor in the cake.
How to make chocolate brownie cake
Here you’ll find step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe is given below.
Step 1: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Step 2: In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. There’s no need to use an electric mixer for this recipe.
Step 3: Whisk the flour mixture into the wet ingredients along with the buttermilk and warm water.
Step 4: Pour the batter to the prepared pan.
Step 5: Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, about 40 minutes. Don’t overbake.
Step 6: Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes, then loosen cake and flip out onto the rack to cool completely
Step 7: Slice cake in half horizontally. Frost with frosting of your choice (suggestions in notes below).
Recipe Tips!
- Baking: Unlike most cakes, the toothpick won’t be clean when the cake is finished baking. This cake will be done when there are fudgy crumbs attached to the toothpick. Avoid overbaking as overbaking will give you a dry cake.
- Chilling: For a fudgier cake, wrap the baked and cooled cake tightly in plastic wrap. Chill the cake for up to 24 hours before slicing and frosting.
- Freezing: This cake freezes well. Wrap the baked and cooled unfrosted cake tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 1 month before thawing and frosting.
Frostings that go well with brownie cake
There are a number of frostings that pair well with this cake. I like to frost the cake with a chocolate frosting or fill it with whipped cream.
- Chocolate ganache – Chocolate ganache makes a rich filling for this cake.
- Chocolate whipped cream
- Chocolate cream cheese frosting
- Chocolate buttercream
- Chocolate buttercream frosting made with melted chocolate
- Whipped cream – This cake is the perfect base for whipped cream and fresh berries.
Storage
I like to store any leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Pressing a piece of plastic wrap against the cut side(s) of the cake will help to keep the cake from drying out in the fridge. The cake will keep for up to 1 week when properly stored in the fridge.
More chocolate cake recipes!
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Chocolate Brownie Cake
Equipment
- 8-inch round cake pan
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup warm water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour an 8-inch round cake pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sugar, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla.
- Whisk the flour mixture into the sugar mixture along with the buttermilk and warm water.
- Pour the batter to the prepared pan.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, about 40 minutes.
- Transfer to a rack to cool for 20 minutes, then loosen cake and flip out onto the rack to cool completely.
- Slice cake in half horizontally.
- Frost with chocolate whipped cream or frosting of your choice (suggestions in notes below).
Notes
- Cocoa powder: I have only used Dutch-processed cocoa powder in this recipe. I haven’t tried regular unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe.
- Butter: I use salted butter in this cake. If you prefer to use unsalted butter, increase the salt in the recipe to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Buttermilk: Regular or low-fat will work. If you don’t have any buttermilk, you can make a good substitute with this recipe.
- Water: Warm water right from the tap will work. The water should be about 100F.
- Frosting: I have several frosting suggestions above.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
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Originally published 2/10/2021.
Comments & Reviews
Country Cutie says
This looks divine! I can’t wait to try it. I’m thinking of topping it with a sweetened cream cheese mixture and fresh berries, like a “brownie pizza”. Can you substitute hot coffee for the warm water? Thanks for sharing this!
Kate says
Hi! Thanks! You can use coffee in place of the water if you’d like.
Mina Oldham says
Can I make this using 2 9” round pans as that is all I have? What do you think the cook time would be on that?
Kate says
Hi! It should work to make it in 2 9-inch round pans. I’m not sure what the exact baking time will be, but I would start checking around 15 minutes because the layers should cook quite a bit faster in those pans.
Denise says
Picture shows brownies with frosting and there was no recipe for the frosting
Kate says
One of the great things about this cake is that it goes well with different frostings. Just above the recipe there’s a section titled “Frostings that go well with this cake”. There are several recipe link suggestions for frostings to pair with the cake.
Kay says
Super easy and delicious! Instead of frosting, I put vanilla ice cream in the middle and froze it. My son loves brownies and ice cream and we decided to make this for his 16th birthday. Thank you for such a simple and delicious recipe that we got creative with!!!
Kate says
Thank you, and happy birthday to your son!
Joanna Rohde says
How did you get the cake so thick after cutting half. I made the cake in the 8 inch pan according to the instructions and it made one normal sized 8 inch cake. Normally recipes call for 2 cakes this thin. I don’t see how this serves 12. 12 very tiny pieces maybe?
Kate says
The cake fills the 8-inch cake pan to the top. An 8-inch round cake pan is 3 inches tall, so when the cake is cut in half, each layer is 1 and 1/2 inches tall. Once you fill the cake with frosting or filling and then frost it, you have a good-sized cake.
Well, the suggested serving size for an 8-inch round cake is 14 pieces, but I cut it at 12. You can cut the cake thicker if you’d like, but traditional serving sizes for desserts gives you a pretty small piece.
Tanis says
I made this recipe into cupcakes this morning and it was delicious. I only had no name cocoa and they turned out amazing. I think this may be my new go to recipe
Kate says
Thank you!
Tracey Bryce says
best cake I have made in a very long time . I am so impressed
Kate says
Thank you!
Rara says
Does the whipped cream frosting hold up well if the cake is made the day before?
Kate says
It does as long as it is refrigerated. The whipped cream sets up quite a bit in the fridge, so I would recommend setting the cake out a few minutes before serving to let it come up in temperature.
Barbs says
What icing did you use on this cake? It looks amazing.
Kate says
Thank you! It was my chocolate whipped cream.
Maria says
Hi
I made this recipe the other day and it was amazing. But can you give the instructions for the other size cakes. Temperature cooking time etc
Also can this be adapted for sheet pans. If so instructions would be helpful temperature, cooking time etc.
Kate says
Thank you! I haven’t made the in different sized pans to give you that information. I have made it in 2 8-inch round cake pans, and it took about 20 minutes when I baked it that way.
Rose Carroll says
Can you make this is cupcake?
Kate says
Hi! I haven’t tried making this cake into cupcakes to say for certain.
Rose Burton says
Yes you can
Kendra says
Do you know approx how long it would cook when doing cupcakes?
Kate says
Hi! The bake time for cupcakes is usually about 15-25 minutes.
mike oday says
How many 8″ pans looks like you used 2
Kate says
I used one 8-inch pan. The cake is sliced in half horizontally after baking, which gives you two layers.
Margaret L. says
This cake was a hit! It has a lovely chocolate flavor and great texture. I used your chocolate whipped cream frosting with the cake and we all loved it.
Kate says
Thank you so much!
Pokemon Fan says
This cake is amazing. I love super chocolatey things, so I love this cake. Thank you for the recipe.
Kate says
Thank you so much!