I’m not even kidding you – this is the BEST Chocolate Cake with Fudge Frosting ever! Moist, tender, fluffy cake with a delectable frosting you have to try!
So today is my birthday – yay!
I am a whopping 26 years young. < I hate when people say that because I feel like I am old, not young, and this is why:
- I go to bed by 9:30pm at the latest
- I have to take my pills by 6:30pm or else I’ll suffer
- I eat dinner around 4:30 every night
- I have bad sciatica problems and often am seen clutching my sides and screaming “my HIPS!”
- I’m an early riser
- My knees literally make a crunching sound when I walk. They crack so loudly and crunchily that I can literally feel the crunch in my jowls. (Is that weird? Yes.)
- I wear shower caps in the bath
- I like pudding
I’m sure there are more reasons why I feel so damn old, but I can’t think of any, which is probably another reason why I feel old. *sigh*
ANYWAY. Today everyone in my family has to work, so I’m all alone (like every day) and the highlights of my day would be getting a massage in the evening, and buying two books that come out today. In other words, I’m getting CRUNK at 9am at Barnes & Noble.
I’m lame, I know. Don’t rub it in.
But you know what? I’m kind of glad I have a laid-back birthday, because sometimes there’s so much pressure on birthdays having to be these grand, extravagant things. Although I wouldn’t mind Tom Hiddleston taking me out for a drink later. (Call me, Tom).
The good news about all of this? I have CAKE! And I could not have asked for a better cake. Seriously, this stuff is better than a bakery cake. FOR REAL.
The cake recipe itself yields such a rich, decadent cake that’s moist and fluffy in texture with a tender crumb. You could feasibly eat this cake plain, it’s so moist and fabulous, but why would you skip out on fudge frosting?
And the frosting – Y’ALL HOLD ME. It’s so good. I ate a good several spatula-spoonfuls of it before frosting the cake and had to hold myself back from eating the whole bowl. It’s exactly what you need your frosting to be: fudgy, smooth, indulgent goodness.
Combine the two together and you have the world’s greatest cake, in my humble opinion. It really is that good.
Best of all, you can totally make this into a two-layer cake, cupcakes, or a Bundt cake, depending on how you prefer your cakes. I *almost* made this into a Bundt, but decided last minute on the ease of using a 9×13″ rectangular pan. I’ll leave some pan times in the recipe below!
Happy Birthday to me!
*cake adapted from Hershey’s
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 & ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder (I like Rodelle's Organic Cocoa)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup HOT black coffee (make sure it's strong!)
- FOR FUDGE FROSTING:
- ½ cup butter, cubed
- 4 ounces (1 small box) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 (16 ounce) box confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
- ½ cup milk
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- Sprinkles for decorating
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally grease a 9x13" rectangular baking pan with cooking spray; set aside. Or, if using another pan, spray liberally with cooking spray (such as two 9" rounds, or a Bundt pan, or line 2 muffin tins with 24 paper liners).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Add in the oil, vanilla, buttermilk and eggs and beat on low speed until combined. Gently and slowly pour in the hot coffee until the batter comes together. Batter will be quite thin; this is okay.
- Pour the batter evenly into the pan or pan(s) or cupcake liners. Bake the 9x13" rectangular pan for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with moist, not wet, crumbs. Cool completely. (Other pan times will be at the end of this recipe).
- To make the frosting: In a large bowl, combine the cubed butter and chopped chocolate bar. Microwave on HIGH power for about 30 seconds, stirring until completely melted and smooth. Cool for 5 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla to the chocolate mixture and beat it on HIGH speed for 5-7 minutes or until the frosting is light and fluffy. It's easiest to do this in a stand mixer.
- Spread the frosting onto the cooled cake and smooth out the top. Sprinkle liberally with sprinkles, if using. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours to set before cutting into slices.
- FOR CUPCAKES: Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- FOR BUNDT CAKE: Bake for 55-65 minutes.
- FOR TWO 9" ROUND CAKES: Bake for 25-30 minutes.
This cake is just out of this world, you guys! I hope you love it as much as I do!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
Yum! I think I’ll take this to my Superbowl party! Can I use olive oil instead of vegetable?
Happy Birthday!!! You know you’re not lame, right? You run this awesome blog, you topped it with this fluffy frosting, and oh yeah…you’re adorable.
Thanks Annie! xoxo!
I’m down. For the cake I mean!
I’ve suffered from sciatic pain and yoga really helps. I don’t know if that is annoying to hear or helpful, hopefully the latter! Let me know if I can offer any poses to try.
Yes! I would love that!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who is old beyond her years. 🙂 I’m completely with you on the 9:30 bedtime, and the crunching knees. This cake sounds so good, and I love the simplicity of the basic sheet cake covered in sprinkles. It’s a perfect birthday cake!
Yum! This looks delish! But one question: Can you taste the coffee?
P.s. Hope your birthday was fabulous
No! It just adds a wonderful depth of flavor.
This looks amazing and you’re amazing! I wanted to try making it for my hubbys bday. Will it still taste and look amazing if I don’t use coffee? Or can I substitute the coffee by adding more of something?🤔
Hi Jennifer! Sure, substitute the coffee with hot water instead 🙂 You want the liquid (either coffee or water) to be hot.