This quick and easy chocolate cake is made in only one bowl. No mixer needed. The result is an 8×8 cake that is rich, moist, and even better a day or two after baking.
If you’ve been following this site for some time, you know that my favorite type of recipes are quick, easy, and weeknight friendly. It’s rare that a dessert recipe meets those requirements, but this chocolate cake is IT. It doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced baker or not, you can make this chocolate cake. Here’s how!
This One-Bowl Chocolate Cake is perfect for:
- Taking to friends with a new baby, new house, or who just need a little love
- Potlucks
- Baking with kids
- Late-night chocolate cravings
- Birthdays
- Random Tuesday nights
Chocolate Cake without Eggs
One of the surprising perks of this recipe is that it doesn’t require eggs! It is naturally egg-free and naturally vegan. But whether you came here looking for an egg-free / vegan cake or not, you’ll love this cake. It is rich, moist, and full of intense chocolate flavor.
One-Bowl Chocolate Cake Ingredients
Just six ingredients (plus salt and water) make this world’s easiest (and yet still one of the most delicious I’ve had) chocolate cake:
- Flour – All-Purpose Flour is the best bet here. I’ve also tested with White Whole Wheat flour with great results. (I’d guess that a gluten-free blend / sub would also work really well in this simple recipe, though I haven’t tried it.)
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – Look for natural unsweetened cocoa powder, not cocoa powder labeled Dutch-process. Hershey’s is my go-to. I also tested the recipe with Hershey’s Special Dark and the results were great.
- Vegetable Oil – I keep vegetable oil on-hand for baking, so this is the only oil I used in testing this recipe. I’m sure another neutral cooking oil would work.
- Mini Chocolate Chips – These are optional, but add a great bonus chocolate element. Mini chocolate chips bake into the cake so they are just barely noticeable in each bite of the finished bite and distribute evenly, so I liked them the best in testing. Standard-sized chocolate chips would work too, but would be more noticeable in the final product.
- Sugar, Pure Vanilla Extract, Baking Soda, Salt – Standard baking ingredients.
How to Make One-Bowl Chocolate Cake
I promise this is easy!
- Combine dry ingredients – In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. (I like to put the bowl on my kitchen scale and add ingredients by weight, zero’ing the scale after each addition. Even fewer dishes to wash!)
- Add liquid ingredients all at once – Add vegetable oil, water, and vanilla extract all at once and stir just until no dry spots remain.
- Stir in chocolate chips (if using).
- Bake – Bake at 350 degrees for 27 to 30 minutes. (Note: In a thicker pan made of glass or ceramic, the cake may take up to an extra 5 minutes to cook all the way through.) Allow to cool completely
- Slice and enjoy!
Toppings for Chocolate Cake
Most of the time when I make this chocolate cake, I simply top it with a dusting of powdered sugar. That’s really all this cake needs. Here are some other topping ideas:
- Powdered sugar
- Creamy Chocolate Frosting (I’ve got you covered with a version that is sized just right for this recipe)
- Vanilla Frosting
- Nutella Frosting
- Peanut Butter Frosting
- Whipped Cream / Chocolate Shavings / Strawberry slices
Make-Ahead Chocolate Cake
Bake this chocolate cake up to two days before you want to serve it. Store it tightly covered in the fridge and bring it to room temperature before serving.
It also freezes well! I like to bake a few of these at a time and store them in reusable aluminum 8×8 pans. I defrost them and top them with a dusting of powdered sugar to take to friends’ houses for dinner or to drop off along with a meal.
More 8×8 Cake Recipes
Favorite Baking Tools
- Mixing Bowl – Just a basic, large mixing bowl is all you’ll need.
- Kitchen Scale – I use a kitchen scale for so many things, but it makes a baking recipe like this one very easy and precise. I just add each ingredient and zero the scale after each addition.
- 8×8 Baking Pan – If making this for our family, I bake it in this. If delivering to family or friends, I use disposable aluminum baking pans.
One-Bowl Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- 8x8 baking dish
Ingredients
One Bowl Chocolate Cake:
- 1 ¼ cup (150 g) All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup (200 g) Sugar, granulated
- ¾ cup (60 g) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (not Dutch-process cocoa)
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 ¼ cup Water
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Mini Chocolate Chips (optional)
Optional Topping:
- A dusting of powdered sugar (this is really all it needs!)
- Chocolate Frosting
- Whipped cream and chocolate shavings
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray an 8x8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add oil, water, and vanilla extract all at once and stir just until everything is combined and no dry spots remain.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
- Bake until the cake is set in the middle, 27 to 30 minutes. (Note: In a thicker pan made of glass or ceramic, the cake may take up to an extra 5 minutes to cook all the way through.)
- Allow cake to cool completely. Once cool, top however you'd like (I like a simple dusting of powdered sugar or this chocolate frosting).
- Slice and serve! (This makes 9 generous slices or 12-16 smaller slices.)
Notes
9x9 Pan: To bake the cake in a 9x9 pan, reduce bake time to 27 to 30 minutes. As always, check to be sure that the cake is set in the center before removing it from the oven.
Layer Cake: For a layer cake, make a double batch of the cake and divide between three 8-inch round cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes.
Coffee sub: For an even more intense chocolate flavor, try using brewed coffee (cooled to room temperature) in place of the water. The finished cake doesn't taste like coffee, but the coffee really intensifies the chocolate flavor.
Nutrition
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Your recipes are easy and quick. loved this cake, I will try this on weekends. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much Winni – glad you liked it!
I’ve made this twice now and it is delicious. I am vegan, so I use the Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips. For the icing, I use vanilla almond milk, I Can’t Belive It’s Vegan butter, and replace the honey with maple syrup. Great recipe!
Thanks so much Brielle! So glad you liked it. I’ve used the Enjoy Life chocolate chips when I’ve made this for friends who are vegan, but I’m going to try your icing method next time too!
This was delicious! We frosted it with cream cheese frosting and it was a big hit.
This was amazing! First time baking without eggs! Me and my family loved it. Could I bake this in a Bundt pan? If so, how many minutes?
I’m so glad you liked it! This really is my favorite go-to cake! It would definitely bake in a Bundt pan, but I’ve never tried it, so I’m not exactly sure about the timing. I’m also not sure that it would fill a whole pan, so it might take a double batch of batter to fill. However, If I were going to try it, I’d double the recipe, pour into a bundt cake pan (bake it on a sheet pan just in case the batter spills over during baking) and then try it at 350 F for 45-50 minutes.
Sounds like a plan! Thank for the advice, I may try that this weekend! 🙂
The recipe looks super great and promising. I’d sure love to try it. Could I possibly make this in microwave? What would be the ideal time settings?
Hi! I found your recipe and I was like WOW…
I’m going to bake this tonight for my son’s birthday tomorrow and I only have a 6 CUP Bundt pan… please let me know by tomorrow if I can bake this cake in a 6 CUP Bundt pan..
Thanks
Hi VJ – I’m getting to this a bit late, but hopefully it turned out! The cook time should be exactly the same if baking in a 6 cup bundt pan.
I would like to substitute the Sugar to Stevia and use canola oil and Almond flour, for the low sugar, low carb alternative. I wonder how that would work.
what a easy recipe! we really enjoyed very chocolaty.perfect for a cold night to watch a comedy.perfect my kind of alittle bit of happiness.ty happy holidays
What a wonderful cozy night! Thanks so much for the note!
Great cake, but the center caved in badly. Was careful, didn’t open the oven & baked it completely. I covered it up with lots of frosting & toasted pecans. Everyone loved it!
So glad you liked the flavor – the frosting + pecans sounds great! I’m sorry to hear about the caving center – is there any chance your baking soda might be older? Sometimes that can cause a sunken cake?
Thanks for an excellent recipe! Made it for my card club and they really loved it.
I was looking for a small cake to bake for my daughter’s birthday and came upon this recipe and I am so glad I did!! It is so moist and it kind of reminds me of a brownie with frosting. I put cream cheese frosting on top because it is my daughter’s favorite and it was delicious. I have already given this recipe to 3 friends!
Have you had ever made cupcakes with this batter? If so, what do you think the baking time would be?
Thanks for a great recipe!
Annie
Yes! I’ve made cupcakes with this batter and they turn out great. I believe the bake time at 350 was between 13 and 17 minutes…though I remember I had to play around with it a bit. I love the cake (and the cupcakes) with cream cheese frosting too!
I made. this cake and I love it Quick and easy and DELICIOUS.THIS IS A GOOD COMPANY COMING CAKE ! I DID USE THE COFFEE TIP .
Hello, regarding the above chocolate recipe, could I still make this cake with eggs? If yes, how would I do it? Skip the oil and the water?
I’ve never tried it with eggs, but I imagine it would change the result considerably. It’s great without them!
This is my go-to cake recipe. It’s easy, delicious, and endlessly adaptable for different occasions!
I’m hoping to make it for a large group next week. Could I double the recipe for a 9×13 pan? Are there any other adjustments you would recommend?
I actually have never baked this cake in a 9×13, but I would guess it might work. I’ve baked larger batches and made it into a layer cake, but I always bake it in multiple square pans. If you try it in a 9×13, just start testing it for doneness at the recommended cooking time, but continue baking it as long as needed until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. I’d love to know if it turns out!
This is by far the easiest chocolate cake that I have ever made I actually sell my cupcakes using this recipe instead of veggie oil I use Olive oil for the frosting I use Coconut milk to sub for milk and its just perfect as a vegan dessert but its just so decadent that people can’t believe no dairy whatsoever. Do you have a vanilla cake version like this? Thank you for creating such wonderful food. You take the guesswork out of cooking by creating these recipes and posting them.
Rosie from Rosie’s Homecooking catery LLC.
I live at high altitude- about a mile above sea level. Are there adjustments you’d recommend? I made this and while delicious, it fell in the middle. Help!