Best Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipe – Made From Scratch

Whether you like a rich, sinfully delicious chocolate ganache or a smooth, creamy and decadent buttercream frost, you have come to the right place. Because today we bring to you the best chocolate fudge cake recipe. Made with both Milk and Dark Chocolate, PLUS Cocoa. This fudgy goodness will surely satisfy all your chocolate cravings!

All you need is a large bowl, a wooden spoon and a never-ending love for chocolate. No mixers or beaters required!

Tried my recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments below!

Who doesn’t like two layers of melt-in-the-mouth chocolate sponge with a thick layer of chocolate buttercream or chocolate ganache? This best chocolate fudge cake recipe has been in my family for the longest time. Though over the years we have upgraded it from a simple chocolate sponge to the ganache covered delicacy it is today.

We are big fans of chocolate fudge cakes. A decent chocolate cake recipe is hard to come by, just like a good homemade vanilla cake recipe or best carrot cake recipe. Expectations are high so are the cravings, but the outcome more times than is not what we are hoping for.

Hence we bring to you a recipe that’s been in our family for as long as we can remember. It’s perfect to a fault. With a few upgrades on our part, this is HANDS-DOWN the best chocolate fudge cake recipe EVER. Read on to find out all our tips and tricks on how to make it!

What Makes This The Best Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipe

Here is a list of all the reasons why THIS is the BEST Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipe out of all other presents “out there”.

• It’s COMPLETELY Fool Proof! – Like we said before it’s been in our family for the longest time, over time we’ve perfected this recipe to a fault. It’s virtually impossible to overcook this chocolate fudge cake. It’s not meant to rise immensely and is so fudgy and moist due to the chocolate!
• EXTREMELY Chocolaty – The goodness of both milk and dark chocolate AND cocoa. Do I need to say more?
• Decedent, Fudgy And MOIST – The name says it all!
• EASIEST Ganache – melt, mix and cool, nothing extra!
• It’s A Crowd Pleaser – Double chocolaty goodness, it will even melt the Grinch
• All You Need Is A Bowl And A Wooden Spoon! – No electric beater or stand mixer required. I.e. minimal mess!

Ingredients You’ll Need For The Best Chocolate Fudge Cake Ever

For Cake Base

• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 eggs (at room temperature)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup flour, plain/all-purpose
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup butter, salted (softened)
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar, caster / superfine best
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup oil (vegetable, canola)
• 1 tablespoon coffee granules (optional)
• 1 cup boiling water

For Ganache

• 1 cup heavy / thickened cream, 30% fat
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

For Buttercream

• 1 stick butter, salted
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 5-6 cups powdered sugar

Optional Toppings

• 6-7 red and black raspberries
• 8-10 blueberries
• 6-7 sliced strawberries

Tools You’ll Need

• A large mixing bowl
• A wooden spoon
• A hand-whisk
• 9-Inch springform cake pan

 

How To Make The Best Chocolate Fudge Cake

Preheat the oven to 150C/300F (standard) or 130C/265F (fan). Be careful and take precautions before letting children into the kitchen! Grease and dust a 9-inch springform cake pan and line it with parchment or baking paper.

Melt butter and chocolate, place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Microwave it three times for 30 seconds each on high, stir the mixture in between, until melted. Next add oil, vanilla and sugar to the chocolate mixture. Stir continuously to combine (this brings down the temperature).

When slightly cool add eggs one by one to the mixture and stir until combined.

Sift cocoa, baking powder and flour (coffee too, if using) directly into the chocolate mixture. Mix and combine until a smooth texture is achieved. This batter will be thin, some small lumps in it are completely fine. Heat the water in a pan and add the hot water to the batter. Mix until incorporated.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for an hour. Or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out moist but clean. Check with a skewer at 50 minutes approx. The best way to know for sure it’s done is when the surface cracks (sometimes badly!).

This will subside when it cools and gets covered with ganache so don’t stress on it! Remove the sides from the cake pan using a knife and transfer to a cooling rack to cool. Cool the base completely before removing it. Let the cake cool and rest.

How To Make The Perfect Chocolate Ganache?

What is a Chocolate Ganache and why do you need it?! Well, a chocolate ganache is a rich chocolaty sauce that is used to glaze a cake more specifically the best chocolate fudge cake!

If you haven’t made a chocolate ganache before, don’t you worry because it’s really simple and you’ll love it once it’s done! Chocolate ganache is so much easier to make than a buttercream that you have to beat icing sugar and butter for decades to get it right. You just need TWO ingredients for it.

YES! Just TWO ingredients, Chocolate and Cream. Simply mix cream and chocolate in a hot pot and keep whisking it on the heat to get the best consistency. The main goal is to melt the chocolate completely so that it mixes well with the cream.

After you’re done melting and mixing, simply let it cool down while stirring occasionally! Once it has cooled down, it will have a fluffy and easily spreadable consistency that can be used to coat and cover your cake, giving it an amazing coating of rich creamy chocolate! It’s fairly simple, and absolutely WORTH IT!

It is a rich combination of different yet easy to find ingredients that will make your best chocolate fudge cake, PROPER fudgy goodness!

Here’s My Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

Be prepared, even though my recipe for chocolate buttercream is the best, it still will cause your hands to ache. Just hang in there, you can make this frosting without any power blenders and the result will be worth your hard work!

Lets’ begin by placing some butter in a small pan over medium heat to melt it slowly. Keep stirring the butter until it has melted completely, then add cocoa powder to it. Start whisking until the cocoa powder mixes with the melted butter and has a smooth texture.

Once that is done, remove it from the heat and pour it into a large mixing bowl to cool down for around 5-10 minutes. When it has slightly cooled down, add powdered sugar and milk with 2-3 teaspoons of the vanilla extract while whisking the mixture with your hand.

Keep alternating between powdered sugar and milk while whisking your mixture until you have the desired consistency. This recipe might get tiring but it is worth the efforts.

Toppings To Make The Best Chocolate Fudge Cake Pop

We love a little colour and fruity flavour with our fudge cake. To add a little colour to your cakes as well use any type of berries. Frozen or fresh both will do the trick! – Blueberries, raspberries or sliced strawberries all will work to enhance the flavour of the cake.

For this cake, we added some homemade chocolate truffles to the sides just to add a little aesthetic. So we’ll leave the toppings bit to you! Get creative!

Tips And Tricks For The Best Chocolate Fudge Cake Outcome

Chocolate:

We prefer using the darkest chocolate we can find because that is what it takes to get the perfect consistency that you need to make the best chocolate fudge cake! Although some people may suggest using chocolate chips those may cause a wrong texture. This is why to grab some good quality dark chocolate, break it down into small pieces and melt it! Be sure not to use eating chocolate, only COOKING CHOCOLATE!

Cocoa:

Use unsweetened cocoa powder because that adds the right flavours that you actually need, if you were to use sweetened cocoa powder, it would cause the cake to have an unbalanced sweetness. So remember to grab some unsweetened Dutch Cocoa powder for some amazing flavour.

Sugar:

When it comes to choosing what type of sugar to use, we always prefer using normal white sugar with this recipe. You can also use brown sugar if you want but we tend to use white sugar.

Self-Raising Flour:

Self-raising flour can be substituted with some normal flour mixed with baking powder, it’s actually the same thing to be very honest.

Coffee:

Now, adding some coffee to the recipe makes the chocolate flavour pop which is why it is better to use it like we do, quick and easy! Make a cup of black coffee without any sugar and add that instead of adding water.

Cream:

Find a good quality cream that has around 30% of fat in it as the ganache cannot set without some fatty cream. Thick and heavy creams will give you the perfect consistency for your ganache, as low-fat creams do not work.

How To Handle The Cake?

Well, the cake will be really hot when it’s done baking, so be sure to let it cool down before trying to take off the base.

Ganache:

The ganache has a silky smooth pouring consistency when hot and a fluffy yet hard to spread consistency when it has cooled down. Don’t worry if you’ve left your ganache to cool down in the fridge. Just microwave it for 10 seconds making it easier to spread on the cake.

Storing And Make Ahead Tips

Chocolate Fudge Cake:

You can store this bad boy in the fridge for up to 1.5 days until it goes bad, which is why we would suggest you grab your spoon and start devouring this yummy cake before it goes bad.

Chocolate Ganache:

The chocolate ganache can be made before serving and can last for up to 2 days before going bad. However, our suggestions would be to prepare it 4-5 hours before serving if you are short on time.

The ganache can be frozen and can last for a month in the freezer. You can thaw it at room temperature and later microwave it, but we would suggest you make a fresh one. Frozen food can never taste as good as fresh does.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

The chocolate buttercream frosting can be made 6 hours before serving, however, it cannot be stored in its normal state. This is why you should use the right amount of ingredients as mentioned in my recipe to avoid having leftovers.

And if you do have leftovers, you can place the frosting in an airtight container or bag and freeze it. The frosting will last for 2-3 months and can be thawed to reuse, but then again, fresh frosting is always better.

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Homemade Vanilla Cake Recipe + Buttercream Frosting

Best Carrot Cake Recipe + Cream Cheese Frosting

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Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe + Chocolate Chip Cookie Variations