This indulgent, craving-conquering chocolate cake can be mixed and baked in less than an hour. Dutch process cocoa delivers an intense but not bitter chocolate flavor, and oil and sour cream keep the cake moist and tender for days. The generous spread of buttercream frosting makes a good thing even better! Find more delicious, fast-fix bakes in our new cookbook, Fast-Fix Baking!
Watch editor-in-chief Brian Hart Hoffman bring this cake to life on our YouTube channel.
Stir-Together Chocolate Cake
Makes 1 (8-inch) cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (220 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon (3.75 grams) baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) hot coffee or hot water
- 1/3 cup (25 grams) Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup (80 grams) sour cream
- 1/4 cup (56 grams) vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract
- 1 large egg (50 grams)
- Chocolate Buttercream (recipe follows)
- Garnish: chocolate curls and shavings
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray an 8-inch round cake pan with baking spray with flour; line bottom of pan with parchment paper. 2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together hot coffee or hot water and cocoa until smooth and well combined. Whisk in sour cream, oil, and vanilla until well combined. Whisk in egg until smooth. Whisk cocoa mixture into flour mixture just until no white streaks remain. Spread batter into prepared pan.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs, 30 to
- 35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Spread Chocolate Buttercream onto cooled cake. Garnish with chocolate, if desired. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Chocolate Buttercream
Makes about 3½ cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 2½ cups (300 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup (43 grams) Dutch process cocoa power
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2½ tablespoons (38 grams) heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) vanilla extract
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter at low speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
- In a medium bowl, sift together confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add sugar mixture to butter alternately with cream, beating until smooth after each addition, stopping to scrape paddle and bottom and sides of bowl. Beat in vanilla. Increase mixer speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Use immediately.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
This was very easy and delicious, Chocolate buttercream is my new go to !
Moist, very chocolately but not too sweet.
The buttercream makes a lot depending on how much you like frosting there might be a bit extra, No leftovers , will be making again.
This was delicious but needed double the amount of cream to make it really spreadable
This cake is absolutely delicious!! I was hesitating to make it because it had oil instead of butter in the batter and I was afraid it would be lacking in flavor. I am so glad I tried it because this is one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever eaten and I bake a lot. It was so easy to put together and it will now be my family’s go to chocolate cake. I also am so in love with the Fast-Fixing Baking Cookbbook that this was featured in and cannot wait to bake through all the wonderful recipes.
Excellent cake!! Every time I make my goes wild☀️ I’m always ask to make it for my family and friends ☀️☀️
Very good. Buttercream came out like silk after sifting together sugar and cocoa. The only lumps came from the chocolate curls, which I would not use again for a garnish. Raspberries would be better for texture. I would like to try adding coffee or orange flavor to the chocolate buttercream. Cake was very easy to put together. I used a 9-inch cake pan without adjusting the recipe; it came out fine. Recipe appears to make enough for two 6-inch single-layer cakes.
This cake is wonderful! I made it with dutch processed cocoa, as listed, but now I only have natural cocoa powder, and wonder if I can use that? I did some research and read that the natural cocoa powder is paired with baking powder to counter its acidity, and the dutch processed isn’t…but this recipe calls for dutch processed AND baking powder. Do you think I can use the natural cocoa with baking powder and it will turn out as good?