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}
Hello Nagi, thanks for the recipe! Do you think I can make it into cupcakes? If so, how far should I fill the cupcake liners? Thanks again! 🙂
Hi Faty, this cake doesn’t rise a whole lot – so I’d fill your cupcakes 3/4 of the way up – N x
Made them yesterday for my daughter’s first birthday, turned out so good! Thank you! I’ll try your red velvet recipe for the birthday party! 🙂
Hi, thanks for sharing the recipe. May I ask if the cake can be left at room temperature?
Hi Fun, yes that’s how I keep mine ☺️
I’ve just put it in the oven……have another 30min to wait…wont be putting the icing on will serve it warm with vanilla ice cream. In the mean time I sit quietly licking the bowl…yummy!!!!!
Yasssss! I hope you love it!
Can’t wait to make this recipe! I just wanted to check – how does this cake keep? As in how far in advance could I possibly make it and does that vary with iced versus un-iced? Thanks so much – your recipes get me through the cooking week!!!
Hi Ellen, this cake keeps a few days, you could always make and freeze it, then thaw and ice – N x
I am planning on making this cake but I don’t like using vegetable or canola oil. Will it have a negative impact on the cake if I substitute in coconut oil?
I haven’t tried to be honest but should be fine Alya, love to know how it goes!
Made it as a birthday cake for my dad and it turned out great. Everyone who had it loved it. The coconut oil didn’t have any negative impact on it as far as I can tell.
Wahoo!
Aaah Nagi this looks sooo good! But I have to tell you; every time you pour a cake batter into the pan, you know how we never see you scrape the bowl? So I’m always left with a nagging doubt that maybe you didn’t scrape it, at all! It haunts me.
So please, please tell me. Do you scrape the bowl out of sight of the camera, and save that remaining 1/4 cup of batter????
Also, on an entirely unrelated note, what is the piece that plays during the videos for the Salted Caramel Tart, Blueberry Lemon Yoghurt Cake, and one other recipe that’s slipped my mind at the moment? I’ve wondered for years, and finally I can’t take it anymore and I must know!!
Of COURSE I scrape out the bowl!!! I scrape out bowls of batter, sauce, pots – everything! I just don’t do it on camera cause it looks awkward and it’s not a specific step in any recipe but yes absolutely, I never waste a scrap of anything. Cutting board, bowls, pots – nothing! As for the music, I don’t even have the name of it. It’s a stock track I purchased ages ago that I don’t use anymore so I don’t have it. Sorry! N xx
I love this recipe, the cake is amazing. 😋
Hi, tried this recipe today, but it failed. After 70 min in the oven skewer still comes out with chocolate sauce on 😥. Can’t eat it, it’s more like a dough than a cake. What did I do wrong?
Been looking for a good chocolate recipe for aged, most of them brown but bland.
This is the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted. Will never order anywhere else again. Home made tastes better!!!!
My dilemma is that I have to bake a cake tomorrow and I would like to bake this (it seems fast and quiet, if my kids are napping!) but I don’t have any butter and can’t get to the shops.. what options do I have? I have oil, I even have copha at home.
Yes homemade is definitely the best!!
Hi what can I replace the heavy cream with for a paleo ganache? Can I frost the whole cake 1 day before the event n keep it in the fridge? Will it hold up if I leave the cake ( in a cooler bag with ice packs) in a room w/o air conditioning, a temp 28-30 Celsius for a few hours? Thanks
Hi Connie, I haven’t made ganache with any substitutes sorry! The cake will be perfectly fine left for a day and will be fine out of the fridge – N x
Hi..can I make the cake a day ahead and frost it the next day? If so do I refrigerate the cake or freeze it?
Hi Alefiya, you can definitely make the cake a day ahead, I’d just cover and refrigerate – N x
Hi Nagi, i was thinking of making the cake into 2 layers so i can put ganache in between. is this possible? thank you!
Hi Nagi, I had the same question! Would you recommend halving the mixture and baking them separately, or cutting it in half (I’m worried it’ll be too delicate/thin to cut in half??) Thanks!
Hi, it’s not an overly tall cake but you could definitely cut it in half if you prefer – N x
Hi Nagi, I had the same question! Would you recommend halving the mixture and baking them separately, or cutting it in half (I’m worried it’ll be too delicate/thin to cut in half??) Thanks!
Baked this cake yesterday and it was a hit with the family! Thanks Nagi for another simple, easy to follow delicious recipe.
Wahoo! Great to hear Giuseppe ❤️
But thick cream comes in grams not ml , how to convert?
With so much chocolate chips this gets really expensive. Is there any substitute or easy way to make at home?
Hi Malik, use 1 cup of cream – sorry there’s no substitute for the chocolate, you definitely need it in this recipe ❤️
Super easy recipe, super tasty cake. Heavy, chocholate, moist. I found recipe 3 days ago and baked it twice already 😀
Woah! I’m so glad it’s a hit!
I love this recipe. Yummy.
Thanks Pamela ❤️
Hi this is a very nice recipe 😀like I can’t wait to make it 😋😀Thanks 🎂
Trying to make this for my husbands birthday. He can’t have gluten, almond or coconut. Can I substitute all purpose gluten free flour?
Wow Nagi! This is THE chocolate fudge cake I’ve been trying to make all my life – so moist, dense & insanely chocolatey 🤪🙃😋 – unlike so many other recipes that produce only a rather blah non-chocolate cake. Also, it’s so easy to make that my brother, an avowed “1 bowl baker,” will try your recipe soon! Thanks so much for sharing this amazing cake, along with the great baking tips in your notes. Happy Baking 2019!
Thanks so much. Used this for my kids birthday cake. They all loved it!
Yes! I’m so glad it was a hit!