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One-Bowl Chocolate Fudge Cake

By // (Updated Aug 21, 2025) // 3 Comments

Jump to Recipe·3 from 2 reviews
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This Chocolate Fudge Cake delivers that bakery-style richness with a wonderfully moist crumb. The combination of brown sugar and sour cream gives it extra chew, while hot coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor. Topped with a decadent fudge frosting, every slice is indulgent yet balanced-perfect for daily chocolate cravings or sharing at celebrations.

sliced fudgy chocolate cake on a white plate on top of a colorful linen on a grey surface.

This is the cake to have when chocolate cravings strike, which to be honest is every day at around 2pm for me! LOL

While an easy chocolate ganache frosting would do, I chose to make this chocolate fudge frosting to complement the chocolate fudgy cake. This cake is rich, moist, and oh-so fudgy! Another chocolate strike baking treat is my go to brownie recipe.

hand holding a piece of chocolate fudge cake up to the camera.

Brown Sugar + Sour Cream = Fudgy Moisture

  • Granulated Sugar & Light Brown Sugar The mix gives sweetness and chew-brown sugar adds moist depth that makes the cake feel extra rich.
  • Large Eggs & Pure Vanilla Extract Room-temperature eggs help bind and lift the batter; vanilla enhances the chocolate notes subtly.
  • Vegetable Oil & Sour Cream Oil keeps the cake tender and moist, while sour cream adds tang and smooth richness.
  • All-Purpose Flour, Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder, Baking Soda, Baking Powder & Salt This blend ensures the right structure, balanced lift, and intense chocolate flavor-don't substitute natural cocoa.
  • Hot Coffee A small splash blooms the cocoa, deepening the chocolate profile without tasting like coffee.
  • Fudge Frosting (chocolate, butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, corn syrup & vanilla) Silky, sweet, and chocolate-forward, this frosting spreads smoothly and finishes the cake with classic allure. You could also try my chocolate buttercream recipe but it is not as fudgy.
ingredients for chocolate fudge cake in small glass bowls on a light grey surface.

For ingredient quantities please reference the recipe card below. On the recipe card there is a button for US or M (Metric) measurements.

Mix, Bake, Frost, Enjoy

wet ingredients whisked together in a glass bowl by a toddler on a light grey surface with a colorful linen.
In a bowl whisk together the sugar, eggs, vanilla, oil, and sour cream mix until fully combined.
dry ingredients sifted into wet ingredients in a glass bowl on a light grey surface with a colorful linen.
Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Mix to just combine.
hot coffee poured into chocolate fudge cake batter in a glass bowl on a light grey surface with a colorful linen.
Add in the hot coffee and mix until evenly combined.
chocolate fudge cake before and after baking in a square pan on a light grey surface with a colorful linen.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake and cool.
fudgy chocolate frosting in a large metal bowl on a light grey surface.
Make the chocolate frosting.
up close of a slice of chocolate fudge cake on a white plate on a light grey surface.

There you go a delicious chocolate fudge cake. I love to warm up a leftover slice and serve it with ice cream.

half eaten slice of chocolate fudge cake on a stack of white plates on a light grey surface with a colorful linen.

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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Recipe Card

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sliced fudgy chocolate cake on a white plate on top of a colorful linen on a grey surface.

One-Bowl Chocolate Fudge Cake

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

3 from 2 reviews

Print Recipe

This Chocolate Fudge Cake delivers that bakery-style richness with a wonderfully moist crumb. The combination of brown sugar and sour cream gives it extra chew, while hot coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor. Topped with a decadent fudge frosting, every slice is indulgent yet balanced-perfect for daily chocolate cravings or sharing at celebrations.

  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 9-12 Slices 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

Chocolate Cake

  • 100 grams (½ Cup) Granulated Sugar/ Caster Sugar
  • 100 grams (½ Cup) Light Brown Sugar
  • 2 Large Eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 3oz (¼ Cup +2 Tablespoons) Vegetable Oil
  • 4oz (½ Cup) Sour Cream
  • 125 grams (1 Cup) All-Purpose/ Plain Flour
  • 45 grams (⅓ Cup) Dutch Process Cocoa Powder ( I use Bensdorp Dutch Cocoa Powder)
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • ¼ Teaspoon Salt
  • ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 4oz (½ Cup) Hot Coffee*

Frosting

  • 4oz Good Quality Chocolate (dark chocolate or milk chocolate)
  • 5oz (10 Tablespoons) Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature
  • 60 grams (½ Cup) Confectioners Sugar/ Powdered Sugar
  • 45 grams (⅓ Cup) Dutch-process Cocoa Powder
  • ½ Teaspoon Salt
  • 3oz (¼ Cup +2 Tablespoons) Light Corn Syrup
  • 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Instructions

Moist Chocolate Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C and grease a 9-inch pan. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl mix together the sugar, eggs, vanilla, oil, and sour cream mix until fully combined. Place a fine mesh sieve on top of the wet ingredients and sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Mix to just combine.
  3. Add in the hot coffee and mix until evenly combined. The cake batter will be very thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pan.
  4. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean/ only moist crumbs, no wet batter. Set the cake on a wire rack to cool completely.
  5. While the cake is cooling prepare chocolate frosting. Wait to frost the cake until it is fully cooled.

Assembly

  1. Melt the chocolate first, by using a Bain Marie** or in a microwave at 50% power in 15-second increments. Be careful not to burn the chocolate, once 75% of the chocolate is melted I take it off of the heat and mix it to fully melt everything. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before starting on the rest of the recipe.
  2. In a large food processor add the butter, confectioners sugar, cocoa powder, and salt then pulse a few times, until everything is combined.
  3. Add in the corn syrup and vanilla and pulse to combine again. Scrape down the bowl and add in the melted chocolate, mix for another 30 seconds- a minute to ensure everything is evenly incorporated.
  4. Spread on top of the cooled cake. Use the back of a spoon to create a swirly design. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. If you live in a warm environment store the cake in the refrigerator but let it sit at room temperature for the ideal serving temperature.

Equipment

Notes

  • Freezing: Let the chocolate cake cool completely. Once cooled wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap the cake in a second layer. Two layers of plastic wrap help prevent any freezer burn. You can freeze the frosted cake as well, let it freeze for an hour first then wrap it in plastic wrap.
  • Thawing frozen cake: Take the cake out of the freezer and place on the counter at room temperature for a couple of hours. The cake will thaw a lot quicker than you think.
  • If you think you've accidentally overcooked your cake you could make a quick cake simple syrup to brush on and ensure the cake is moist. Simply add ¼ cup of sugar and ¼ cup of water and cook in a saucepan for 7-9 minutes over low-medium heat. Then let the simple syrup cool for 10 minutes before using a pastry brush to brush the syrup all over the top of the cake.
  • Author: Elizabeth Waterson
  • Prep Time: 20 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 Minutes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
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  1. Sabina says

    The Cake is super fluffy and chocolatey. It was easy to make and came out great. The frosting was also good. It was super fudgy (which made it a little hard to cut the cake) I think next time I'll try to add a little heavy cream. Definitely going to make this cake again.

    Reply

  2. Sophie says

    Sometimes US recipes are good, this one was pretty shocking. The cake itself was fine but the icing (frosting) was horrific. Obviously in the UK corn syrup isn’t freely available, nor should it be, so I used agave syrup instead. Otherwise I used the exact ingredients and it was pretty grim tbh. The icing was way too synthetic-tasting, even with the best quality cocoa and green & black’s chocolate. Will stick to UK recipes in future for fudge cake

    Reply

    • Elizabeth Waterson says

      Sorry to hear you feel that way Sophie. The frosting is a very fudgy, thick, sweet chocolate frosting. I have used golden syrup instead of corn syrup in the past I wonder if the agave syrup gave it a different taste that wasn't pleasant?

      Reply