Easy Chocolate Fudge Cake

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!

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!

• Chocolate Salted Caramel Tart

• Everyday Chocolate Cake – try it decorated with Mirror Glaze!

• Chocolate Mousse

• Chocolate Cream Pie (outrageous!!!)

• Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

• Flourless Chocolate Cake

• Chocolate Brownies and Outrageous Nutella Brownies

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

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Easy Chocolate Fudge Cake

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 1 hr

Total: 1 hr 10 mins

Cake

Western

4.98 from 163 votes

Servings12 - 16

Tap or hover to scale

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Recipe video above. This cake is rich, very chocolatey and super moist! It's based on a brownie / mud cake recipe - but with a bit of extra rise so it's not as dense and gooey. This recipe is easy and it's virtually foolproof - it is VERY forgiving! It's not very tall because it's so rich and it's a single layer cake.

Ingredients

CupsMetric

• ▢ 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:

1. Chocolate - use any dark or semi-sweet chocolate for best results - flavour, texture, colour. I use chips or melts for everyday purposes, but for company I use good quality block chocolate and chop it myself into fine little pieces (see Chocolate Ganache recipe for directions).

Milk chocolate and white chocolate will not set firmly enough because they are softer chocolates. Follow the Chocolate Ganache recipe to make milk or white chocolate ganache for this cake. 

Don't use eating chocolate - it doesn't melt properly and is too thick for batter.

2. Sugar - Normal white / granulated sugar works ok too. Even brown sugar works

3. Cocoa - Ordinary, unsweetened cocoa powder is what I usually use. To give it an even deeper chocolate flavour, use good quality Dutch processed cocoa powder.

4. Self raising flour can be substituted in place of plain flour + baking powder.

5. Coffee - a touch of coffee brings out the chocolate flavour but doesn't make the cake taste like coffee. Because I don't use coffee granules for day to day purposes, I usually do not have it on hand so I don't use it most of the time. The other option is to use a hot cup of coffee in place of the water - same quantity (1 cup / 250 ml).

6. Cream - you must use cream with 30%+ fat in order for the ganache to set. Heavy / thickened cream is ideal. Low fat will not work. Some pouring creams (ie not whippable) are lower fat and also will not work.

7. Handling: Because the cake is so fudgy, it's delicate so handle gently. The cake is more delicate when warm (as all cakes are) so don't try to remove the base until it's completely cool. If you don't have a springform pan, just cool the cake in the pan.

8. Ganache -  pourable when warm, thickens to a spreadable consistency when cooled (which is what you want to frost this cake) and when refrigerated for a few hours, hardens to a chocolate truffle consistency. If you leave it in the fridge for slightly too long i.e. too hard to spread, just microwave for 10 seconds to soften then mix.

9. Different Measures in Different Countries: Measuring cups and teaspoons differ slightly between America, Canada and most of the rest of the world. For most recipes, the difference is not enough to affect the outcome. However, for baking recipes it can mean the difference between success and an epic fail.

Every baking recipe on my site is cooked using each Imperial and US measurements, and this one is no exception. It works as written regardless of what country you are in (except Japan, see note below). As noted in post, it is  actually quite forgiving because it's so moist and fudgey. 

Japan: If you are in Japan, please ensure you weigh the flour, sugar etc. Do not use Japanese measuring cups, they are too small.

10. Easy Chocolate Fudge Cake Nutrition per slice assuming this serves 12. This is a VERY big slice!

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 473cal (24%)Carbohydrates: 48g (16%)Protein: 5g (10%)Fat: 29g (45%)Saturated Fat: 18g (113%)Cholesterol: 72mg (24%)Sodium: 53mg (2%)Potassium: 318mg (9%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 31g (34%)Vitamin A: 540IU (11%)Vitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 136mg (14%)Iron: 1.3mg (7%)

Keywords: Chocolate Fudge Cake

Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

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!

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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}