Easy Chocolate Fudge Cake (Printable Version)

Super-squidgy, rich chocolate cake with silky-smooth icing—perfect for celebrations or indulgent teatime.

# What You'll Need:

→ For the Cake

01 - 7 oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
02 - 7 oz dark chocolate (minimum 50% cocoa solids), chopped
03 - 8.8 oz light brown sugar
04 - 3 large eggs
05 - 7 oz all-purpose flour
06 - 1½ teaspoon baking powder
07 - ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
08 - 1.75 oz cocoa powder
09 - 5 fl oz whole milk
10 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ For the Chocolate Icing

11 - 5.3 oz dark chocolate, chopped
12 - 3.5 oz unsalted butter
13 - 7 oz icing sugar, sifted
14 - 3 tablespoon whole milk

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 8-inch round cake tins with baking paper.
02 - In a heatproof bowl, melt the butter and chocolate together over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
03 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs together until pale and thick.
04 - Stir in the melted chocolate mixture, followed by the vanilla extract.
05 - In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.
06 - Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, alternating with the milk, until just combined and smooth.
07 - Divide the batter evenly between the prepared tins.
08 - Bake for 30–35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
09 - Cool the cakes in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
10 - Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Remove from heat.
11 - Gradually beat in the icing sugar and milk until the icing is smooth and glossy.
12 - Place one cake layer on a serving plate, spread with a third of the icing. Top with the second cake and cover the top and sides with the remaining icing. Smooth with a palette knife.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It's the kind of cake that tastes like you labored for hours, but it comes together in under twenty minutes of actual work.
  • The texture is somewhere between fudge and cake, with edges that set just enough and a center that stays gloriously soft.
  • You can dress it up for a celebration or eat it straight from the tin with a fork at midnight.
02 -
  • Don't overbake this cake, it's meant to be squidgy and fudgy, not dry, so pull it out when the skewer has moist crumbs, not when it's completely clean.
  • Let the melted chocolate cool before adding it to the eggs, or the eggs will cook and you'll end up with sweet scrambled eggs in chocolate batter.
  • Always sift the icing sugar for the frosting, or you'll spend ten minutes trying to smooth out lumps that won't budge.
03 -
  • Weigh your flour instead of measuring by volume, it makes a real difference in texture and prevents a dense crumb.
  • If your icing starts to set before you've finished spreading it, warm it gently over the saucepan again for a few seconds to loosen it back up.
  • Let the finished cake sit for an hour before slicing, the icing firms up just enough to cut clean slices without squishing the layers.
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