A very chocolatey, moist Chocolate Fudge Cake that is similar to chocolate mud cake, but not as dense. Made with both melted chocolate and cocoa, AND topped with chocolate ganache, this one is sure to satisfying your chocolate cravings!
Super easy to make, very forgiving, no stand mixer or beater. Just one bowl and a wooden spoon!
Chocolate Fudge Cake
I may be disowned as an Australian for saying this, but I’m not the hugest fan of classic Chocolate Mud Cake. I find it too dense and doughy, and it gets stuck to the roof of my mouth. It’s very……erm…..mud-like.
Duh.
Creative writing isn’t my forte, is it?? Hey – I’m a food blogger. Not a writer! 😂
So this isn’t a classic Chocolate Mud Cake because it has a bit of lift in it, but it is still way fudgier and mud-cake like than 99% of other chocolate cakes, including my own everyday Chocolate Cake. Call it a Chocolate Fudge MUD CAKE if you want!! (Bit too much of a mouthful for me…. 🙂 )
Why I love this fudge cake so much
I know there are a LOT of chocolate cake recipes “out there”. But here’s why I love this Easy Chocolate Fudge Cake so much:
It’s intensely chocolatey – thanks to the use of both melted chocolate AND cocoa powder.
Beautifully moist and fudgy – hence the name!
Terrific flavour. It truly tastes of chocolate which, as odd as it sounds, is actually rarer than you might think.
You just need a wooden spoon. No stand mixer, no electric beater.
It’s virtually foolproof. I’ve cooked it on high for shorter periods of time, and low for longer. I’ve had to dash out of the house before it was fully cooked and left it in the oven (turned off) to finish cooking. And it always works out. Why? Because it’s so fudgey, it is actually hard to overcook so it becomes dry and it is not meant to rise very much so you don’t have to worry about that part either!
The Chocolate Ganache Frosting is crazy easy too. Cream + chocolate, melt, mix, cool. No beating!
Everyone goes mad over this. Chocolate on chocolate. Enough said!
How to make this fudgy moist cake
You would be forgiven for thinking you’re making a brownie when you start making this Chocolate Fudge Cake. Because that is in fact where the roots of this cake recipe is drawn from.
Did you know… The reason you see hot water in chocolate cake recipes is because it makes the cocoa “bloom”, making the cake taste more like chocolate!
↑↑↑ Crackage is normal! It’s kind of like that crinkly top of brownies – because this cake has lift in it from baking powder, it “bursts” through the crinkly top. But don’t worry, the cracks are less prominent once it cools (because it sinks a bit) and it’s completely hidden under Chocolate Ganache!
Difference between chocolate fudge cake and mud cake
I had someone on Instagram asking me what the difference is between Fudge Cake and Mud Cake so I thought I’d explain!! Chocolate mud cake is so dense that it cuts cleanly with perfect edges and virtually no crumbs.
In contrast, fudge cakes have more of a cake-like texture, like what you see in the close up of the slice at the top of this post.
Chocolate Ganache Frosting
I’m of the opinion that if we’re going to make a Fudgy Chocolate Cake, let’s really drive home the decadence and chocolate flavour by frosting it with chocolate ganache.
If you’re new to Chocolate Ganche, you’re going to really love this. Rather than beating icing sugar and butter for ages and ages like we do with Chocolate Buttercream, Chocolate Ganache is made simply with cream and chocolate that’s heated until the chocolate melts.
When hot, it’s a chocolate sauce you want to pour over everything.
When it cools, it has the consistency of peanut butter. Easy to spread and swirl on your cakes or cupcakes, and everything in between.
My everyday Chocolate Cake is beautifully moist and it’s the one I make most often.
But I figure we all need a blow out Chocolate Cake in our repertoire too. And this Easy Chocolate Fudge Cake is my blow-out Chocolate Cake recipe. It is rich. It is chocolatey. It is moist and fudgy. And I absolutely love it.
I hope you consider trying it! – Nagi x
Get your chocolate fix!
Everyday Chocolate Cake – try it decorated with Mirror Glaze!
Chocolate Cream Pie (outrageous!!!)
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Easy Chocolate Fudge Cake
Ingredients
- 125g / 4 oz dark chocolate chips (Note 1)
- 100g / 7 tbsp butter , salted (or unsalted butter + 1/4 tsp salt)
- 1 1/4 cups white sugar , caster / superfine best (Note 2)
- 1/4 cup oil (vegetable, canola)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs , at room temperature
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder (Note 3)
- 1 cup flour , plain / all purpose (Note 4)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup boiling hot water
- 1 tbsp coffee granules , optional (Note 5)
Ganache
- 1 cup heavy / thickened cream , 30%+ fat (Note 6)
- 250g / 8 oz dark chocolate chips (Note 1)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 150C/300F (standard) or 130C/265F (fan). Grease a 22 cm / 9″ springform cake pan and line with parchment / baking paper.
- Melt butter and chocolate: Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Microwave 3 x 30 seconds on high, mix in between, until melted. Mix.
- Oil, vanilla & Sugar: Add oil, vanilla and sugar, mix to combine (this brings down batter temp).
- Eggs: Add eggs and mix until combined.
- Dry Ingredients: Sift cocoa, baking powder and flour (and coffee, if using) directly into the bowl. Mix until smooth, batter will be thin. Some small lumps is ok.
- Hot water: Add hot water. Mix until incorporated.
- Bake: Pour into the cake tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out moist but clean. Check at 50 minutes. The surface will crack (sometimes badly!) but sill subside when it cools and gets covered with frosting so don’t stress!
- Cool: Remove sides from the cake pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool. Cool completely before carefully handling to remove base (Note 7).
Ganache (Note 8)
- Place chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl. Microwave 3 x 30 seconds, mixing in between, until chocolate melts. DO NOT let cream come to boil.
- Stir chocolate until smooth. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or until thickened to a spreadable consistency like peanut butter.
- Spread over the cake – tops and sides. Use a teaspoon in a swirling motion to achieve the textured surface you see in the photos.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Chocolate Fudge Cake recipe published May 2016. Recipe slightly updated November 2018 with improved cake texture and a more streamlined process. New photos, new video, new words!
Let them eat cake! 10 classic cake recipes
LIFE OF DOZER
I shooed him outside thinking that brown smear on his head was 💩
Turns out it was ganache 😂 It was driving him crazy trying to figure out a way to get to it! {PS No I never give him chocolate! I have no idea how it got there}
Made this as I love chocolate cake. Have never baked before but the recipe was so detailed that even a novice could succeed. It is a great cake. Thank you
Wow. This is the easiest and most delicious cake I’ve made. Made it for my friends potluck and my friend compared it to the woolies mud cake, which is the best compliment ever. They took some home as well. Will definitely be making this again!
This cake is so easy and tastes amazing! I want to make a large version for my child’s birthday, 14×9″. How would you calculate this size of a cake?
I don’t ever write reviews for bakes that I make but this chocolate cake was divine! I didn’t have dark chocolate so I used milk chocolate and cut the sugar slightly and it was still perfect, not to sweet at all! Perfectly fudgey, moist, and satisfying 🙂
Hey ! I was wondering if anyone has made this cake ahead of time and frozen it – I was thinking I could wrap in glad wrap and alfoil for use in a week
Hi Narelle, I haven’t frozen to use ahead, but have frozen the remainders (individually in plastic containers) after serving to guests and it was just as sensational after defrosting with ice cream as the original. I hope this helps, Kim
Thank you for another amazing recipe! Easy, delicious chocolate cake – even the members of my household who don’t like chocolate cake, loved this!
Wonderful cake recipe that captures the best chocolate flavor & depth I enjoy.
My question to you is if I could use this recipe as cupcakes. I bake weekly for a local food kitchen for the less fortunate folks. What a great treat this would be for these folks.
Wonderful cake recipe that captures the best chocolate flavor & depth I enjoy.
My question to you is if I could use this recipe as cupcakes. I bake weekly for a local food kitchen & pantry for 100’s of less fortunate folks. It would be great to serve this splendid treat on ‘Friday Bake’. Thank you so very much.
I’ve made a lot of chocolate cakes over the years and this one is the best ever. The cooking temp and time are exact and the result is perfect. Thankyou xx
Our go to cake especially for birthdays etc , 3 this weekend so I’m in the middle of making it ( again 😂) thanks for your books ,I love them . I’m 80 this year and don’t know how survived without them ❤️
Needs more baking power mine didn’t rise to much?
Nagi, I have made many chocolate cakes in my life, but this will be my go to from now on. It was the easiest cake i ever made with the most delicious outcome of softness, chocolaty, coffee flavor that was not overly sweet. People have been raving and I have been sharing the website link. I wanted to make something in a rush and boy was I blown away by how tasty and easy this cake was. This will be my new signature chocolate cake. I Followed the recipe perfectly and it did not split on me either! Thank you. You are making this 50 year old a better cook everyday!
The best chocolate cake I have made by a country mile. Made it today for the first time and everyone was so impressed. I followed the recipe exactly and was amazed at how easy and quick it was to make. Five stars from me!
Will this recipe work if I substitute the flour with gluten free flour? Thanks!
I always dread pouring in the hot water at the end because it’s always trying to splash me. Found this tip I now follow: Combine butter and coffee or water in a 5-quart stainless steel pot over low heat. Once melted, remove from heat, then mix in cocoa and chocolate, followed by sugar, oil and vanilla. Whisk in eggs straight from the fridge (they’ll warm right up in the batter), then sift in flour and baking powder.
I made this chocolate cake today as per the recipe; however divided the batter between two 7” cake tins and baked successfully! Increased the oven temperature to 140 c fan forced and still baked for approximately 50-55 minutes (just checked from 50 minutes and was only just done). If anyone else was interested in making smaller cakes – I made 2 x the recipe to yield 4 x 7” cake rounds to stack for a tall birthday cake 😊
Super easy. Came out moist and perfect. My guest was so impressed. When I bake it next week again for my husband’s birthday, I would wait a bit longer for the ganache to set a bit longer as we were rushing this time. Still it was super delicious. Thank you again Nagi.
Fantastic and easy recipe. I did find that 1hr for the cooking time wasn’t enough so I whacked up the temp to 150 for another 10 minutes. I used extra thick cream for the ganache which worked a dream.
Loved it! Made it with Bobs Mill Measure for Measure Gluten-free flour and it was great! Brownie-like. Whole family raved about it.
Can I use Zymil lactose free full cream?