Chocolate fudge cake is a simple, one-bowl chocolate cake recipe that makes a super moist and chocolaty fudge cake. Perfect chocolate birthday cake! Includes tips and step-by-step photos.
There’s just something that’s so satisfying about a slice of rich, moist chocolate cake! As much as I love more extravagant desserts like my French Silk Brownies, some nights a big slice of delicious chocolate cake is just the thing.
This chocolate fudge cake is a simple cake. This is a simple, one-bowl chocolate cake recipe, and it’s easy to mix up by hand.
But don’t let its simplicity fool you! This is a super moist, super chocolaty cake!
It makes a tasty chocolate birthday cake, but it’s easy enough to whip up on a weeknight. So, it’s perfect for whenever the cravings for chocolate cake strike.
“One of the best cake ever chocolate fudgy moist absolutely a piece of heaven.” – Sheryl
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Oil: Feel free to use another type of neutral oil, like olive oil, instead of vegetable oil.
- Brown sugar: Light brown sugar or dark brown sugar will work.
- Sour cream: I recommend using full-fat sour cream for the moistest cake. Whole milk Greek yogurt also works well.
- Kosher salt: Or 1/2 teaspoon of table salt.
- Warm water: The water can be tap warm. There’s no need to heat it.
How to make chocolate fudge cake (from scratch!)
Here you’ll find instructions and step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including ingredients, is given below.
Step 1: Whisk the oil together with the sugars. It will be clumpy and look like wet sand.
Step 2: Whisk the eggs in one at a time.
Step 3: Whisk in the sour cream and vanilla until combined.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) and whisk in. The batter will be thick.
Step 5: Add the water, and whisk in.
Step 6: Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans.
Step 7: Bake.
Step 8: Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, and then remove to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Frostings that pair well with this cake
Here are some frostings that pair well with this chocolate fudge cake:
Or if you’re looking for something beyond chocolate or vanilla frosting, you might prefer salted caramel buttercream frosting, Oreo frosting, or peanut butter frosting.
Recipe Tips!
- Mixing: Don’t overmix the cake! I recommend mixing it by hand. This cake is really easy to whip up, and it’s much harder to overmix if you’re mixing by hand.
- Warm, not boiling: Warm tap water is just fine for the water. You don’t need to heat it or do anything special.
- Checking for doneness: This cake is a little different than most cakes. For this cake, you’ll want a few fudgy crumbs still attached to the toothpick.
- Cooling rack prep: I highly recommend greasing your cooling rack with a little nonstick cooking spray. Really moist cakes like this one can stick a little, and spritzing the cooling rack can help the cake lift right off.
Storage
I store any leftover frosted cake in an airtight container in the fridge. The cake will keep for 3-4 days when properly stored in the fridge.
More chocolate cake recipes!
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Chocolate Fudge Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup warm water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 2 9-inch round cake pans.** Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the oil and sugars together until combined. It will look like wet sand.½ cup vegetable oil, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup brown sugar
- Whisk in the eggs one at a time.3 large eggs
- Add the sour cream and vanilla, and whisk until combined.½ cup sour cream, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and stir until just combined. Batter will be thick.2 cups all-purpose flour, ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Stir in the warm water just until combined.1 cup warm water
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out with a few fudgy crumbs attached.
- Place the pans on a wire cooling rack and let cool for 20 minutes.
- Run a thin knife around the edge of each cake to loosen it from the pan, and then invert the cakes onto the rack. I like to lightly spray the cooling rack with nonstick spray to keep the cake from sticking.
- Let cool completely before frosting. I recommend frosting with chocolate buttercream frosting.
Notes
- Oil: Feel free to use another type of neutral oil, like olive oil, instead of vegetable oil.
- Brown sugar: Light brown sugar or dark brown sugar will work.
- Sour cream: I recommend using full-fat sour cream for the moistest cake. Whole milk Greek yogurt also works well.
- Kosher salt: Or 1/2 teaspoon of table salt.
- Warm water: The water can be tap warm. There’s no need to heat it.
- Frosting: I used chocolate buttercream frosting on this cake. I have several other frosting suggestions above the recipe.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Connie Weddle says
My family loved the chocolate fudge cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting.
Thanks you.
I have been receiving your recipes for few years and love them.
Kate Dean says
Thank you! I really appreciate hearing that!
Ilene says
Can you make this in a loaf pan, 9 x 13 glass pan, or bundt pan? If so, how do you adjust the components and baking time?
Kate Dean says
Hi! I haven’t made this cake in any of those pans. However, a 2 layer cake should be the same amount of batter as a 9×13 cake. For a glass pan, you decrease the baking temperature by 25F and begin checking about 5 minutes sooner. Baking time on a cake that size is usually about 25-30 minutes but will vary.
Ilene says
Thank you, Kate