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This One Bowl Chocolate Cake is easy! A tender, moist, chocolate cake is layered between the Best Chocolate Buttercream frosting. The perfect chocolate cake for birthdays, parties or just because.
Nothing says, “I love you” quite like a chocolate layer cake. No one has to know that you whipped it up in under an hour! That will be our secret.
I have other chocolate layer cakes on CLF like this old fashioned fudge cake, this moist chocolate mayonnaise cake, or even this chocolate zucchini cake. They all have their place but everyone needs a one bowl, no fuss recipe in their arsenal. Save your bundt molds for a red velvet pound cake!
This cake was not part of the plan. There was a more elaborate layer cake planned. But, you know from my Red Velvet Cookies, sometimes I like to keep it simple!
But I had a craving: An easy chocolate cake with simple chocolate buttercream craving fueled by nostalgia. It had to be a soft, tender cake with creamy chocolate buttercream. Most of all it had to be EASY! So I pushed my cherry bourbon cake plans to the side and set about developing a one bowl chocolate cake recipe that would be tender, moist, and taste like childhood.
A side note about the chocolate buttercream…this is hands down the Best Chocolate American Buttercream recipe! It is silky smooth and deeply chocolately. It uses both cocoa powder and melted chocolate for an extra rich chocolate flavor!
I took one taste and I legit swooned. You know I am practically married to my Italian Meringue Buttercream but I am having a full-on fling with this chocolate buttercream. This easy cake would also be fabulous with my cream cheese buttercream frosting.
P.S. If you need a gluten-free chocolate cake, my Flourless Chocolate Cake has you totally covered!
One Bowl Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 200 g Canola Oil
- 3 Eggs
- 575 g Sugar
- 370 g Milk
- 12 g Vanilla Extract
- 6 g Baking Powder
- 3 g Baking Soda
- 6 g Kosher Salt
- 90 g Cocoa Powder
- 350 g All Purpose Flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325℉ convection (with fan) or 350℉ conventional (no fan).
- Spray and line two, nine inch cake pans with nonstick spray and parchment.
- In one bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, soda, and baking powder.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs until smooth. Whisk in oil until emulsified (no visible oil).
- Whisk in sugar followed by milk and vanilla extract.
- Whisk in dry mixture.
- Divide between pans
- Bake in preheated oven 18-22 minutes for convection or 25-30 minutes without the fan, or until cake tester comes out with clinging crumbs.
- Cool completely before frosting with your favorite buttercream.
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go
Looking for another easy chocolate indulgence? Check out my Chocolate Crinkle Cookies or my list of easy chocolate desserts!
Loved this cake but because I am type 2 diabetes I only use 2/3 cup of sugar and it all came together just fine. I read that everyone finds the temperature isn’t right. Well, I use glass cookware all the time and I set the temp at 350°F for 55min. But checked to be certain it was not over baking. It turned out just right…very moist. Hubby loved it. Ty❤️
Hi Maggie! I’m so pleased you and your hubby enjoyed! That sounds like a great adjustment and I’m glad you were able to observe while baking so it came out just right. Love it!
Either I did something wrong or the baking temperature and baking time are WAY off. After 22 minutes the cakes are almost completely liquid in the middle.
They are still baking and I’m starting to lose faith that they will ever finish cooking…
Hi Kristopher! Sorry to hear you’re having trouble. When I developed and tested the recipe, the listed baking temperature and cook time were accurate. There could be a few things to troubleshoot, including measuring your ingredients by weight (there might be too much liquid, and by weight allows more exactness), the material of your baking pan (glass and metal pans cook at different rates), as well as your oven’s precision (many ovens could use an additional oven thermometer so bakers can be sure).
This was insanely good. I had to sneak a second piece before the kids did.
Hi Darcey! I’m so glad you and the kids enjoyed!
I agree on the time issue. It took me almost 35 minutes to get moje to bake completely. That is pretty standard as most cakes I have baked in tye past.
Hi Tara, I took another look at the recipe and I think the disconnect is that I definitely cooked it at 325F convection (with the fan). The fan circulates the air and helps it cook faster. I have no doubt that it took 30-35 without the fan. I will update the recipe to be more clear. Thank you for commenting and helping me make the recipes better and easier to follow for everyone! ~Lindsey
The only thing better than a really good chocolate cake is one that doesn’t leave me with a sink full of dirty dishes! I made this cake yesterday and it was moist, fudgy, and so very easy to make. This might become our new go-to chocolate cake!
Hi Rebecca! I couldn’t agree more!
This was so effortless! It was moist, chocolatey, and so delicious. I made it for a girl’s night (we watched Sex and the City, drank red wine, and ate this cake). Seriously NOTHING better!
Hi Elizabeth! This is the absolute pinnacle of a Girl’s Night cake, I’m so so happy you and your friends enjoyed!
Kids can’t resist how decadent and chocolatey this one bowl chocolate cake is! We added some sprinkles on top to make it festive for my niece birthday and she loved it!
Hi Sharina! This does make an excellent birthday cake, I’m so happy your niece and your family enjoyed!
The cake turned out so moist and flavorful! Everyone raved about it.
Hi Lisa! Moist and flavorful chocolate cake is what we are about here! Thank you so much for commenting!