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The most amazing, ONE BOWL, Fudgy Chocolate Cake is so rich and decadent, with the perfect balance of fluffy and fudgy!
Finished with an amazing ganache, this Best Fudgy Chocolate Cake is coming at you in true chocolate form!
Chocolate Cake
A good chocolate cake recipe is so hard to come by, just like a good brownie recipe. There are always high hopes and promises of what you’re looking for, but the delivery can be opposite and sometimes less than what you’re craving.
While I’ve tried so many chocolate cakes over the years, and failed following so many different recipes, it was time to take matters into my own hands and come up with the best chocolate cake we’ve ever had. That’s a HUGE call to make, I know. As a result…this one takes the cake.
Chocolate Cake RECIPE
Just the same as these Best Fudgy Cocoa Brownies, I wanted FUDGY, but being a cake, I wanted FLUFFY — and MOST OF ALL I wanted uncomplicated steps. No melted butter combined with an abundance of chocolate; melted on the stove in a pot, then a dry mix combined in one bowl and a wet mix combined in another bowl, and a headache plus 2 pain killers and a bottle of vino later…..a cake is born.
This one is different. One bowl. No beaters or kitchen aids and zero sifters or pans. Just a humble bowl and a wooden spoon. No pain killers or wine needed.
This fudgy chocolate cake took many MANY batches to perfect the right balance of flour, oil, cocoa powder and baking powder.
Finally I did it. Look at THAT! ⬇ SUPER fudgy and MOIST! We almost loved this fudgy chocolate cake as much as (or the same as) those brownies. I said, almost.
The most perfect ganache using ONLY a small saucepan to make it. No separate bowls or metal bowls, or whatever. So uncomplicated, you won’t believe it until you try it. It’s a matter of heating cream > adding in the chocolate chips > waiting for it to melt > stir > done. Even the laziest person could pull this cake off.
Me, being the laziest person.
I know this is an all out decadent recipe, BUT this cake uses only half the amount of oil usually found in chocolate cakes, less flour, no butter, while keeping a maximum rich chocolate flavour. Also, a sugar substitute can be used such as a natural granulated sweetener that measures 1:1 with sugar to reduce calorie count.
HOW TO MAKE A CHOCOLATE CAKE
The easiest, MOST amazing, and BEST chocolate cake, using simple ingredients and little time and effort to pull together. The batter is watery when you first mix it together, but it’s meant to be that way. That’s where the fudge-like texture comes in!
Some Tips:
I use a dark, unsweetened cocoa powder for maximum chocolate richness. You can use Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa powder if you wish. Remember: the darker the cocoa powder, the richer and darker the cake.
Do not substitute the oil for melted butter.
You can use full fat milk, reduced fat milk, 2% or skim.
The coffee in this recipe CAN NOT be tasted, but allows a rich chocolate taste to shine right through.
Please try not to over bake it as that will dry out this cake. Check it after 30 minutes with a toothpick inserted into the centre. If too much batter sticks to the toothpick, continue baking for another 10 minutes and check again. Our cake baked at exactly 45 minutes, and the toothpick was a little dirty when it came out. THIS is the result you will be looking for if you’re wanting a moist texture.
Make the chocolate ganache as soon as the cake comes out of the oven. It will be ready and firm enough to spread by the time the cake has cooled down completely.
The most amazing, ONE BOWL, Best Fudgy Chocolate Cake is rich and decadent, with the perfect balance of fluffy and fudgy! An ORIGINAL Cafe Delites RECIPE!
Ingredients
CHOCOLATE CAKE:
1 1/2cupsall-purposeor plain flour
1 1/2cupswhite granulated sugaror a natural granulated baking sweetener measuring 1:1 with sugar
1/2cupunsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2teaspoonsbaking powder
1/2teaspoonsalt
1/3cupvegetable oil
1largeegg
1tablespoonpure vanilla extract(20 ml)
3/4cupmilk(190 ml)
2teaspoonsinstant coffeemixed with 3/4 cup (190 ml) Boiling water
CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
1cupheavy cream or thickened cream
8ozsemi sweet chocolate chipsor dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease an 8-inch round cake pan (or 9-inch) with non stick cooking oil spraying. Line base with parchment paper. *SEE NOTES*
CHOCOLATE CAKE:
Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine well.
Add oil, egg, vanilla and milk to the flour mixture and beat well to combine, about 30 seconds. Pour in the boiling water (with the coffee), and mix until glossy. (Cake batter is thin in consistency.)
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the chocolate cake comes out semi-clean with small amount of cake (not runny batter) on it due to the fudgy texture.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Transfer cake from the pan to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.
CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
Pour the cream into a small saucepan and heat over low heat for a few minutes. Watch that it doesn’t boil or simmer it. Once the cream is hot, turn stove off and take the saucepan off the heat.
Add in the chocolate chips; cover saucepan with a lid and let sit for a good 5 minutes to soften and melt the chocolate.
Uncover, and stir slowly first, with a spatula or wooden spoon, gradually mixing faster until ganache is smooth, creamy and glossy. Refrigerate for one hour or hour and a half until thick enough to spread (similar consistency to Nutella).
Spread evenly over the cake.
Notes
BAKING POWDER: This cake is meant to be super moist and fudgy. If you like a fluffier cake, use 2 teaspoons baking powder. Any more than that and your cake will rise too much and crack through the middle. Baking soda is not needed in this recipe.SPRINGFORM PAN (PLEASE NOTE)Springform pans are NOT 100% leakproof. Very thin cake batters such as this one will leak through the base. To combat this issue, line the base with parchment paper coming up where the sides meets the base to create a ‘cover’. Place a baking sheet on the shelf below the cake pan (or the bottom of the oven) to catch any stray drips (don’t put cake pans directly on the pan).
Hey Good Food Lovers! It’s nice to see you! My name is Karina. Welcome to Cafe Delites, my beloved space for the last 10 years where my passion for food has flourished and connected millions!
Tried this for the first time for my chocoholic grandaughters Birthday last week and it turned out fantastic – easy to follow recipe, easy to find ingredients and just about the best cake I’ve ever tasted – if you follow it to the letter you can’t go wrong, one I will make over and over
Thank you, Karina, for this recipe. Came out perfectly rich, fudgy, and moist! I substituted the cocoa powder with a 90% dark chocolate bar as I was out of the former. But the result was still delicious. 🙂
Excellent. I doubled the ingredients and also made 12 muffins (with plenty of extra chocolate chunks) I froze half of this cake and the muffins.
This Recipe is superb on account of less flour and sugar.
Very easy to execute.
I’ve tried this cake recipe for over 10 times now. Turned out to be excellent each and every time. I can even make this with my eyes closed. So so so easy and absolutely delicious. So moist and fudgy and chocolaty! PerFectly balanced. Thanks a lot for such an amazing recipe. Can’t thank you enough 🙂
I meant to write this review on this cake but wrote it on the Hershey’s cake by mistake.
Tried this cake out for my daughters birthday along with the ganache and it came out brilliantly.
I did the reduce the sugar cause we don’t like it very sweet and substituted white sugar for brown. The cake was extremely flavourful and moist. The ganache was excellent and simple to make as well. I love the fact that this doesn’t require too many utensils and appliances to be used. Thank you for the recipe !!!
Hi! I’ve made this cake before and it’s delicious! Can the cake part be made in advance at all? Either frozen or air tight container? I won’t be able able to make it day before so probably 2 days before ie make on Tuesday for serving on Thursday. Too many birthdays and not enough time!! I don’t mind adding the ganache on the day. Any help greatly appreciated!
Hi there I have made this cake several times and have also frozen them either Plain or covered in Ganache.
They freeze perfectly either way, as long as they are well wrapped. In both instances,the texture is also perfect when de frosted.
You can freeze the baked cake but do make sure you wrap the cake in parchment paper and then into a container which is best to film wraps few times or place in a few bags tied tightly to avoid frost hitting the cake
We used the 1/2 tsp of baking powder and the cake did not rise and was like a slab of fudge! So disgusting it went in the bin. Use at least 1 and a half tsp of baking powder. We won’t be trying this again.
I’ve now made this four times and it’s officially my ‘go to’ chocolate cake. The last one was frozen and defrosted without any difference in texture. Simply delicious and sooooo easy to make.
I’m so o glad I found this recipe too, I made it last night for my work pals, it was absolute perfection, going to make another for the family on the weekend 🙂
Best chocolate cake recipe I have come across! Super easy and works every time 🙂
Tried this for the first time for my chocoholic grandaughters Birthday last week and it turned out fantastic – easy to follow recipe, easy to find ingredients and just about the best cake I’ve ever tasted – if you follow it to the letter you can’t go wrong, one I will make over and over
Thank you, Karina, for this recipe. Came out perfectly rich, fudgy, and moist! I substituted the cocoa powder with a 90% dark chocolate bar as I was out of the former. But the result was still delicious. 🙂
Excellent. I doubled the ingredients and also made 12 muffins (with plenty of extra chocolate chunks) I froze half of this cake and the muffins.
This Recipe is superb on account of less flour and sugar.
Very easy to execute.
Thanks
James.
How long did the muffins take to cook?
I made the same mistake but did you use a household teaspoon measurement or a baking measurement?
I’ve tried this cake recipe for over 10 times now. Turned out to be excellent each and every time. I can even make this with my eyes closed. So so so easy and absolutely delicious. So moist and fudgy and chocolaty! PerFectly balanced. Thanks a lot for such an amazing recipe. Can’t thank you enough 🙂
I meant to write this review on this cake but wrote it on the Hershey’s cake by mistake.
It’s really great! Try it
Tried this cake out for my daughters birthday along with the ganache and it came out brilliantly.
I did the reduce the sugar cause we don’t like it very sweet and substituted white sugar for brown. The cake was extremely flavourful and moist. The ganache was excellent and simple to make as well. I love the fact that this doesn’t require too many utensils and appliances to be used. Thank you for the recipe !!!
This cake was so easy to whip together and is exactly what I was looking for.
Can I make this with cupcakes? If so, is there a different baking time? Thanks.
Can i use sunflower oil instead of vegetable oil?
Yes, absolutely!
Hi! I’ve made this cake before and it’s delicious! Can the cake part be made in advance at all? Either frozen or air tight container? I won’t be able able to make it day before so probably 2 days before ie make on Tuesday for serving on Thursday. Too many birthdays and not enough time!! I don’t mind adding the ganache on the day. Any help greatly appreciated!
Hi there I have made this cake several times and have also frozen them either Plain or covered in Ganache.
They freeze perfectly either way, as long as they are well wrapped. In both instances,the texture is also perfect when de frosted.
You can freeze the baked cake but do make sure you wrap the cake in parchment paper and then into a container which is best to film wraps few times or place in a few bags tied tightly to avoid frost hitting the cake
The perfect rich and moist chocolate cake
We used the 1/2 tsp of baking powder and the cake did not rise and was like a slab of fudge! So disgusting it went in the bin. Use at least 1 and a half tsp of baking powder. We won’t be trying this again.
Hi John. I’m sorry you’ve misread the recipe. It IS 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder. Please re-read the recipe.
The recipe already calls for one and half tsp of baking powder.
It says to use 1 1/2 teaspoons, hope you try it again as it does come out lovely with the right amount of baking powder 😌
I’ve now made this four times and it’s officially my ‘go to’ chocolate cake. The last one was frozen and defrosted without any difference in texture. Simply delicious and sooooo easy to make.
The recipe says 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Unless the recipe has been updated since your comment it does state 1 and a half tsp of baking powder
One word: Decadent!
recipe calls for one and one-half teaspoons or even two if you read NOTES at end
I’m so o glad I found this recipe too, I made it last night for my work pals, it was absolute perfection, going to make another for the family on the weekend 🙂