This simple and easy chocolate cake is so moist and light, and is topped with an amazing chocolate and cream cheese frosting.
If you need to quickly whip up a wonderful chocolate cake, try this one. You only need one bowl for the cake.... and you don't need an electric mixer. In fact, everything, including the frosting, is mixed by hand.
You can pretty much go from assembling the ingredients to serving the cake in just about two hours plus.
I made this cake for a birthday celebration, so I didn't have a chance to show you an individual slice of the cake before transporting it to the birthday girl, but you can see by the sides of the cake that the crumb is pretty incredible.
P.S. Another thing I love about this cake is that you don't have to be an expert at frosting techniques. Just dollop the delicious chocolate cream cheese frosting on top and give it a few swirls with an offset spatula. Of course, a few sprinkles always add a touch of celebration.
I love that this cake uses olive oil instead of butter. Cakes with oil seem to stay fresher longer than cakes with butter, mostly because butter solidifies at room temperature and oil stays liquid.
I've noticed this also with bread.
Ingredients in This Simple Chocolate Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting:
For the Cake:
Extra virgin olive oil.
Eggs.
Vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract: I used Sonoma Syrup Vanilla Bean Crush.
From the Pantry: Granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, all-purpose flour, and unsweetened cocoa powder. Ideally, the cocoa powder should be Dutch process, but natural cocoa powder will work too.
Hot water.
For the Frosting:
Dark Chocolate: I used 60 percent cacoa chocolate.
From the Refrigerator: Unsalted butter, cream cheese, and heavy whipping cream.
From the Pantry: Confectioners' sugar, vanilla paste or extract, and sea salt.
To Make the Cake:
In a large bowl, simply add all of the ingredients in this order: sugar, olive oil, vanilla, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour, whisking in each ingredient as you go.
After that, whisk in the hot water. The batter will be pretty thin. Just pour it into a prepared nine inch cake pan, tap it a few times on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles, and bake for about 35 minutes.
To Make the Frosting:
Combine the confectioners' sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and salt. The mixture will take quite a while to come together and will be very thick.
Melt the chocolate, butter, and heavy cream either over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring frequently. Once the mixture is smooth, stir it into the cream cheese mixture.
Dollop the frosting on top of the single layer cake and spread it with an offset spatula. If it's someone's birthday, sprinkle the top with some colorful sprinkles!
Tips for Success:
Be sure to use a sieve both for the unsweetened cocoa and the confectioners' sugar to remove any lumps. Weigh the ingredients first and then sift them over the bowl.
When mixing the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar mixture for the frosting, use a sturdy wooden spoon and work in stages. It may seem that the mixture won't come together, but it will. Just let it rest for a bit between stirs. Eventually, you should have a thick but cohesive mixture.
When it's time to add the melted chocolate to the cream cheese mixture, make sure that the chocolate mixture has fully cooled to room temperature but has not solidified.
If you use table salt, use about half, by volume.
Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.
The Cake Slice Bakers also have a Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
Lemony Half Pound Cake
Simple Chocolate Cake
Simple Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 168 grams (3/4 cup) olive oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 43 grams (1/2 cup) Dutch process cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (6 grams) sea salt
- 135 grams (1 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 170 grams dark chocolate, chopped
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream, room temperature
- 300 grams (2 1/2 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature and cut into small pieces
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Spray a 9-inch cake pan with spray oil, line the bottom with parchment, and spray the parchment with spray oil.
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, olive oil, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Add the cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk.
- Add the flour and fold it in with a rubber spatula. Add the hot water and whisk the batter until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to pop any bubbles.
- Bake on the center rack for 35 to 38 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack in the pan for 20 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan onto a rack and let cool completely.
- In a large heat save bowl, add the chopped chocolate, buter, and cream. Place it in the microwave and microwave for 20 seconds. Stir and microwave for another 20 seconds. Repeat one or two more times.
- Alternatively, cook the ingredients over a double boiler.
- Let the mixture cool, stirring regularly, while you prepare the cream cheese and sugar mixture.
- In a large bowl, mix the confectioners's sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and salt. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until smooth. The mixture will be very thick.
- Add the cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth. Dollop the frosting over the cake and spread it with an offset spatula.
- Top with sprinkles or sea salt flakes.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
613Fat (grams)
35 gSat. Fat (grams)
13 gCarbs (grams)
72 gFiber (grams)
4 gNet carbs
68 gSugar (grams)
54 gProtein (grams)
6 gCholesterol (grams)
65 mg
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