This delicious One-Bowl Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream is the quintessential chocolate cake recipe. This is a fluffy chocolate cake with a fudgy, velvety chocolate buttercream on top that’s literally finger-licking good. Make this cake in one bowl, bake it, and whip up the buttercream all in under an hour. Love baking with chocolate? Find more
chocolate bakes from Britney Brown-Chamberlain in our January/February 2023 issue.
One-Bowl Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream
Makes 1 (9-inch) cake
Ingredients
- Cake:
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (110 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup (112 grams) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs (100 grams), room temperature
- ¾ cup (180 grams) sour cream
- 1½ teaspoons (6 grams) vanilla extract
- 1½ cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon (75 grams) Dutch process cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 grams) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 grams) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt
- ½ cup (120 grams) whole milk
- ½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) instant espresso powder
- Buttercream:
- ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups (240 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 6 ounces (173 grams) 46% cacao semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup (120 grams) heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt
- Garnish: chocolate curls , flaked sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- For cake: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and eggs at medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Add sour cream and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Fold until combined.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat milk on high for 45 seconds. Add espresso powder, and stir until combined. Add to batter, and stir until fully combined.
- Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray with flour. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- For buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and confectioners’ sugar at medium speed until combined.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate chips and cream on high for 40 seconds. Stir until smooth. (If needed, heat in 15-second intervals until all chocolate is melted and mixture comes together smoothly.)
- With mixer on medium speed, slowly add chocolate mixture to butter mixture, beating until fluffy and smooth. (If buttercream seems too loose, refrigerate for 15 minutes and then beat again.) Beat in vanilla and salt. Spread buttercream on top of cooled cake. Garnish with chocolate curls and sea salt, if desired. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
The chocolate buttercream in this recipe is among the best I have ever made and I make a lot of chocolate cakes with icing! And so easy!
Followed recipe exactly but made two-6-inch cakes instead of one-9-inch; still took 40 minutes to bake. Deliciously chocolatety and easy to make. The frosting made enough for me to split the two cakes and frost the middle and the tops of each. I used to subscribe to the magazine but now just buy the cookbooks every year 😀
Would Love to make it
This came out beautiful! The cake was tall and substantial, and the buttercream … there are not enough words … beyond delicious! When I made the buttercream it was soft so I put it in the fridge for 15 minutes as advised and then used the whip attachment on the mixer, slowly working up to the highest speed in increments. It became so light and velvety! Then I topped it all off with scattered sliced almonds – a stunner! Thank you for a great recipe.
This has become my go to recipe for a quick and easy chocolate cake. The frosting is delicious. And everyone seems to love it. I do think the cake is best served at room temperature otherwise the frosting is a bit stiff