The FUDGIEST Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipe

We don’t mean to pat ourselves on the back, but when it comes to FUDGINESS, we know what we’re on about. If you don’t believe us, you clearly haven’t tried our brownies yet.

Well, you can be sure that this recipe puts the FUDGE in chocolate fudge cake - I mean just look at it in all it’s glory.

What makes this cake tick is the addition of buttermilk and vegetable oil, which go a long way to creating a hyper moist, fudgy sponge. If you’re looking for a crowd pleasing birthday cake, this is the recipe for you.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Servings 24 slices

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• 250g plain flour
• 56g cocoa powder (dark, ideally!)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 200g caster sugar
• 110g soft light brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs (large, free range)
• 120ml vegetable oil
• 180ml sour cream
• 1 tsp good quality vanilla extract, or paste (not essence!)
• 240ml hot coffee, either espresso or instant coffee is fine

• 340 g butter
• 100 g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 650 g icing sugar sieved
• 125 ml milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp espresso powder (optional)

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1. Pre-heat your oven to 170C. Grease and flour two 8 inch cake tins.
2. Sieve the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda into a large bowl, or stand mixer bowl. Add the sugars and salt, and combine.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, lightly whisk together the sour cream, eggs, oil and vanilla.
4. Add the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Whisk for around 2 minutes or until smooth, using an electric mixer or hand whisk. Add the hot coffee in two stages, mixing gently until combined.
5. Pour into the prepared tins (I use scales to weigh the mix and make sure they're even – you don't want one cake to cook quicker than the other!).
6. Bake in the pre-heated oven for around 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Leave to cool completely.

1. Sieve the cocoa powder into a large bowl, making sure there are no lumps.
2. Add the soft butter to the cocoa powder and whisk (either by hand or using an electric mixer) until well combined.
3. Add the icing sugar to the mix, 100g at a time, alternating with a spoonful of the milk until it's all been added.
4. Add the vanilla paste and the espresso powder, and whisk well.
5. If the texture of the frosting isn't quite right, use a little bit of milk or icing sugar to loosen/stiffen it. Bear in mind that it will stiffen a little if you put it in the fridge, as the butter gets cold and hardens

1. Once the sponges are completely cool (be patient – if you try to cut a warm cake it will fall to pieces!), use a large serrated knife or cake cutting wire, if you've got one, to cut each of the cakes into two. Or skip this step, and go with 2 layers instead of 4!
2. Split the chocolate frosting into four, and use a spatula or piping bag to create the four layers of cake and frosting.