Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe
A single-layer, simple, easy chocolate cake. No stand mixer needed, just stir the batter by hand! The frosting doesn't need icing sugar, only dark chocolate and milk. Perfect as an easy bake to make with kids. It also happens to be vegan-friendly as the cake is dairy & egg free.
Servings 6 people
Ingredients
Chocolate cake batter:
- 175 g (3/4 cup) freshly boiled water or hot brewed coffee*
- 150 g (2/3 cup) light brown/granulated/caster sugar
- 35 g (1/3 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp neutral vinegar** or lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp fine table salt
- 60 g (1/4 cup) vegetable oil, sunflower oil or melted coconut oil
- 120 g (1 cup) plain white flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
Chocolate frosting:
- 100 g dark chocolate (I like 70% cocoa)
- 65 g milk (semi-skimmed cow's/ soy/ oat/ almond)
- 1 tbsp butter or vegan butter*** optional
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F fan (200°C/400°F non-fan). Grease and line a 6-inch or 8-inch spring-form cake tin with a circle of baking paper. Dust the tin with some unsweetened cocoa powder, tapping out excess.
- Combine the hot water (or coffee) with the sugar and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Mix in the vanilla, vinegar and salt then the oil.175 g (3/4 cup) freshly boiled water or hot brewed coffee*, 150 g (2/3 cup) light brown/granulated/caster sugar, 35 g (1/3 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp neutral vinegar** or lemon juice, 1/4 tsp fine table salt, 60 g (1/4 cup) vegetable oil, sunflower oil or melted coconut oil
- Add the flour (if it's lumpy, sift it in), baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Stir together until smooth - using a whisk here is helpful.120 g (1 cup) plain white flour (all purpose flour), 1 tsp baking powder, 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- Scrape the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 30-35 minutes if using a 6-inch tin, or 25-30 minutes if using an 8-inch tin (Whilst the cake is baking, start making the frosting).
- Allow the cake to cool briefly in the tin then run a butter knife around the edge to loosen and remove from the tin. Leave the cake to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
For the frosting:
- Finely chop the chocolate and place into a heatproof bowl.100 g dark chocolate (I like 70% cocoa)
- Heat the milk (and butter, if using) in a small pot over a medium-low heat until it begins to steam but is not boiling. Remove from the heat and pour over the chopped chocolate in the bowl. Leave to sit for 5 minutes so the milk melts the chocolate then stir together until completely melted and smooth. If the heat of the milk hasn't melted the chocolate fully, set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and gently warm until fully melted & remove from the heat.65 g milk (semi-skimmed cow's/ soy/ oat/ almond), 1 tbsp butter or vegan butter***
- Leave the frosting to sit at room temperature for around 1 hour until it has thickened to a spreadable consistency then use it to frost the cooled cake.
Video
Notes
*For hot coffee: you can simply dissolve 1 tbsp instant coffee in 175g freshly boiled water.
**Neutral vinegar: you can use apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, malt vinegar or distilled vinegar here.
***Butter/Vegan Butter: adding this to the frosting helps it stay a bit softer once cooled, but it's no biggie if you leave it out.
If you prefer a Chocolate Buttercream Frosting instead: combine 50g (1/4 cup) softened unsalted butter (or vegan butter), 110g (1 cup) sifted icing sugar (powdered sugar) and 20g (4 tbsp) unsweetened cocoa powder in a medium bowl until smooth. Add 1-2 tbsp milk or water to loosen to a spreadable consistency.
Warming the cake before serving: if the icing has set a bit too firmly after sitting out & you prefer a gooey texture, just pop a slice of cake into the microwave in 10 second bursts until the icing has melted to the right consistency.