This super simple One Bowl Chocolate Cake with White Frosting is a homemade cake recipe that is a go-to moist favorite from scratch!
EASY ONE BOWL CHOCOLATE CAKE
I am no stranger to boxed cake mixes. I absolutely adore them and if you've followed my blog for a while - you know I love to play around with them and make new creations from them. Every now and then though, I get a hankering for some homemade chocolate cake but I still need it to be easy and not create a ton of dirty dishes to wash up.
IS BUTTERMILK NECESSARY?
Absolutely! It is key in this recipe to make it moist. Don't use substitutions - at all! The fat content in real buttermilk makes all the difference! If you have some buttermilk leftover then you must make my BUTTER DIP BISCUITS. They are to die far. 
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
sugar
all-purpose flour
baking soda
salt
unsweetened cocoa
vegetable oil
eggs
real buttermilk
hot water
for the frosting:
margarine
cream cheese
powdered (confectioners) sugar
vanilla extract
mini chocolate chips
HOW TO MAKE EASY ONE BOWL CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH WHITE FROSTING:
Preheat oven to 350f degrees. Spray the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix together all the cake ingredients (except the hot water.) This part can be done by hand or with an electric/stand mixer.
Once combined, gently stir in hot water. This needs to be stirred by hand. If you use an electric or stand mixer, the water may slosh right out of the bowl.
Batter will be thin.
Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
Bake for about 35-45 minutes (until it bounces back to the touch or a toothpick inserted comes out clean.)
Allow to cool completely before making frosting. When ready, in a medium bowl, mix together all the frosting ingredients. This is easiest using an electric mixer.
Spread frosting onto cooled cake.
Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top.
Cook's Notes: This cake will need to be kept refrigerated.
Dig in! Seriously, so good!
CRAVING MORE RECIPES? GIVE THESE A TRY!
CROCK POT CHOCOLATE SPOON CAKE
ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE POKE CAKE
CRACKER BARREL DOUBLE FUDGE COCA-COLA CAKE
CHOCOLATE MAYONNAISE CAKE
HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT CAKE
HOMEMADE ITALIAN CREAM CAKE
GUINNESS CHOCOLATE FROSTING
ONE BOWL CHOCOLATE CAKE
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup hot water
For the frosting:
- ¼ cup margarine
- ½ block (4 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350f degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix together all the cake ingredients (except the hot water.) This part can be done by hand or with an electric/stand mixer.
- Once combined, gently stir in hot water. This needs to be stirred by hand. If you use an electric or stand mixer, the water may slosh right out of the bowl. Batter will be thin.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
- Bake for about 35-45 minutes (until it bounces back to the touch or a toothpick inserted comes out clean.)
- Allow to cool completely before making frosting.
- When ready, in a medium bowl, mix together all the frosting ingredients. This is easiest using an electric mixer. Spread frosting onto cooled cake. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top.
When can you make this again???
You have the recipe so now YOU can make it (muah) 😉
can you use black coffee instead of water?
Yes, definitely! Regular or instant will work. I ALWAYS add coffee in some form to every chocolate confection I make. It really boosts the chocolate flavor to gourmet level..
This cake is even more amazing topped with 7 Minute Frosting!
Fantastic! I just made this today and it came out beautifully, even though my power shut off five minutes after I put the cake in the oven. Instead of cream cheese frosting, I made a more traditional butter cream, with one exception. I didn't actually have any cream, but I did have some whipped cream, so I put some of that in and it worked SO well. It made for such a lovely light frosting! Anyway, thanks for the recipe!
This was so good, hubby can tell eat it fast enough and after 5 days it was still moist and delicious. A winner in my book.
The recipe calls for 1/3 cup of cocoa but the information above it says 1/2. Which is it. Thank you. Sharon
Hi Sharon - it is 1/2 cup 🙂
Love it, looks great!
The one-bowl chocolate cake recipe I've used for years, always called for buttermilk, and the mayonnaise chocolate cake recipe is virtually the same, but with mayonnaise instead of buttermilk. Such good cakes! Everyone should have one of these cake recipes in their baking arsenal, because they are so delicious and versatile. Wonderful with cream cheese frosting, marshmallow frosting, buttercream frosting, chocolate frosting, peanut butter frosting, chocolate fudge frosting, and even without frosting! This cake works great as a base for hot fudge ice cream cake, too! The cake is even better on the day after baking it, when the chocolate flavor has fully developed, so it is perfect if you need to get some baking done in advance.
Thank you so much! I made it today and
The result was a fluffy and yummy cake :).
The only sore points were my frosting
Which looked so untidy and the chocolate chips
Which i purchased were giant ones!
At the end of the day, taste is the most important. 🙂 So glad you liked it!!
I made this chocolatey cake after the first birthday cake was a bust. I figured simple is better. And it was!! Thank you for an easy to follow recipe that was fast and yummy. I liked the decorations that really had a nice celebration affect. I would bake again.
Sounds & looks delicious! I’ve heard to add instant espresso powder to boost chocolate flavor. Do you ever do that? If so, would it be added in addition to the cocoa? Can’t wait to make this! Thanks!
Would you change anything to do cupcakes with this? How long would you cook them?
Thanks!