One Bowl Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

One bowl chocolate cake- one of my ultimate favorite recipes! It’s so incredibly easy to whip up and makes the most fluffy, chocolatey cake ever. 

I mean, it doesn’t get better than this, am I right?

This one bowl chocolate cake is SO easy and decadent.

I have been making this one bowl chocolate cake for years now, and honestly really not sure what has taken me so long to get it up here. So here is my formal apology, I’M SORRY.

Please accept this cake and forgive me.

I adapted this chocolate cake recipe from the one and only Martha Stewart. No, I cannot take full credit for the cake because that would be wrong, but I think I changed it enough to make Martha proud.

Well, the original recipe doesn’t call for any coffee in the ingredients but mine does, because in my humble opinion coffee makes everything better. Martha also filled this cake with caramel, but I chose to go full on chocolate with this because second to coffee, chocolate makes things better too.

The chocolate buttercream recipe (using cocoa powder) I did come up with, out of necessity and laziness because I didn’t feel like using another bowl to melt the chocolate.

Laziness for the win.

How big is this cake?

The batter for this simple chocolate cake recipe is extremely thin and liquidy, which equals a moist (I said it) and bouncy cake. It makes enough for three 8″ round cake pans, or one 9×13 rectangular cake pan.

This time I made it in a 9×13 and decorated it with a homemade sprinkle mix. Which btw I TOTALLY confused some people on Instagram because I didn’t actually make the sprinkles, I just bought different shapes and colors and threw them together to make my own mix.

It’s such a fun and easy way to customize your cakes, there’s a whole world of sprinkles out there besides the classic jimmies, people!

This one bowl chocolate cake tho.

It comes together quickly with minimal dishes, uses ingredients you already have in your house, and can be made either with dairy or dairy-free without sacrificing much on flavor. This is the chocolate buttercream recipe I used in my 10 Ways to Make Your Cakes Look More Professional  post too! It’s so easy to decorate with!

I asked this before, but it doesn’t get better than that right?!

What’s in this one bowl chocolate cake?

This moist chocolate cake contains the usual suspects: eggs, all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, vegetable oil, the works. The only unique ingredient is the coffee, which I’ve already mentioned.

And no, I didn’t just toss a little instant coffee powder into the chocolate cake batter and call it a day. This one bowl chocolate cake calls for a cup and a half of brewed black coffee, because I don’t mess around when it comes to cake.

Why add coffee to chocolate?

Coffee deepens the chocolate flavor and will bring out some more of its richness. It’s one of my best kept secrets in a lot of my chocolate recipes.

If you’re not a regular coffee drinker, invest in some good quality instant coffee — you can throw it into any number of chocolate baked goods, so don’t worry about wasting your money on an ingredient you’ll never use again.

For the chocolate buttercream frosting, I used a blend of butter confectioners sugar, cocoa powder, coffee, and milk to make a frosting that’s so light and fluffy, yet incredibly rich.

How to make chocolate cake from scratch

Guys, I honestly don’t think I could’ve made this one bowl chocolate cake recipe any easier. All you have to do is add the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl (I used a stand mixer, but use whatever you’ve got), and slowly add the wet ingredients one by one into the bowl.

No really, that’s it.

After the batter’s been mixed together, pour it into a greased 9×13-inch pan and bake until the edges of the cake pull away from the pan.

While the cake cools, make the chocolate buttercream frosting, then slather it all over the moist chocolate cake. Top with sprinkles, and dig in!

Do I have to add in the coffee?

Yes, the coffee is a key ingredient in this simple chocolate cake recipe! This cake will taste of pure chocolate, so if you’re worried about winding up with an overpoweringly coffee-y cake, don’t be.

How can I make this cake dairy-free?

It’s actually so easy to make this into a dairy-free chocolate cake. Just use your favorite vegan butter in the chocolate buttercream frosting, and your non-dairy milk of choice in the batter.

Personally, I like using unsweetened soy milk in the batter, but use whatever non-dairy milk you have on hand (unsweetened is key though, otherwise your cake might be too sweet).

Tips for the Best Chocolate Cake:

• If there is one thing you remember when making this chocolate cake recipe, let it be to wait until the cake is completely cool to frost it. 
• Also, you need to let the coffee cool a bit before adding it to the cake batter, otherwise you’ll accidentally scramble the eggs (not that I’ve ever done that before…). 

Besides those few things, this chocolate cake is basically impossible to mess up!

Need more cake recipes?

• Easy and Chocolatey Red Velvet Cake
• Pull Apart Cupcake Cake
• Orange Cardamom Cake with Rose Buttercream
• Apple Cider Layer Cake
• Strawberry Basil Cake with Strawberry Buttercream

You guys! This post contains affiliate links which means that if you purchase something from one of these links, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. That’s right, you’re helping me make that money, so thank you!

One Bowl Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

This one bowl chocolate cake is one of my ultimate favorite recipes! It's so incredibly easy to whip up and makes the most fluffy, chocolatey cake ever. 

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Cake, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate birthday cake, chocolate buttercream, chocolate cake, easy chocolate cake, fluffy chocolate cake, one bowl chocolate cake, the best one bowl chocolate cake

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 8 -10 people

Calories: 463kcal

Author: Sam Adler

Ingredients

For the cake:

• Baking spray for pan
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups milk or soy milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups brewed black coffee plus 1 tbsp for the buttercream
• ½ cup vegetable oil

For the Chocolate Buttercream:

• 1 cup unsalted butter or vegan butter softened at room temperature
• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon brewed black coffee
• 1 teaspoon milk or soy milk

Instructions

Make the cake: 

• Preheat your oven to 350° F and spray a 9x13” or 3- 8” round pans with baking spray.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and mix on low till combined.
• Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating them into the mix before each addition.
• Raise the speed up to medium and in a steady stream add in the milk and vanilla.
• Mix until combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides to make sure it is evenly mixed.
• With the mixer running on medium again, add in the coffee and oil slowly.
• Continue mixing until the batter is evenly mixed, it is a runny batter!
• Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 mins, or until the edges of the cake break away from the pan, or a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Cool.

Make the buttercream: 

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add in the butter, confectioners sugar and cocoa and mix on medium speed until combined.
• Add in the coffee, and milk and continue to mix on medium speed. You may have to scrape down the bowl once or twice to mix it well.
• Frost cake, then decorate with sprinkles and enjoy!

Notes

This cake can be made into a layer cake using three 9-inch round cake pans

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

One Bowl Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

Amount Per Serving (1 g)

Calories 463 Calories from Fat 171

% Daily Value*

Fat 19g29%

Saturated Fat 8g50%

Polyunsaturated Fat 10g

Cholesterol 70mg23%

Sodium 236mg10%

Carbohydrates 72g24%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 56g62%

Protein 5g10%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.