How to Make the Best Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipe
If you’re craving a rich, chocolatey cake, this Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake is the one to make. This dark chocolate cake is deeply chocolatey, wonderfully moist, and has that soft, fudgy texture that makes every bite feel like a special treat. Best of all, it’s easy to make with simple ingredients and doesn’t require any fancy baking skills.
The dark chocolate gives this cake an intense chocolate flavor without making it overly sweet. Between the moist dark chocolate cake layers, rich fudge filling, Coffee Italian Buttercream Frosting, and more chocolate fudge poured over the top, this is definitely a cake for serious chocolate lovers.
Whether you’re making it for a birthday, holiday, celebration, or simply because you want an amazing homemade chocolate cake, this recipe is one you’ll want to make again.Why You’ll Love This Dark Chocolate Cake
Dark chocolate doesn’t get much better than this!
I remember being a kid and getting one of those little dark chocolate bars out of a bag of Hershey’s Miniatures. They were the BEST. I always wished there were more in the bag.
And if I’m being completely honest, I really wished they sold a whole bag full of the Special Dark chocolates.
I’m not alone, right? You liked them too?
Nowadays, dark chocolate is much more common, so if you’re younger than me, you may not know exactly what I’m talking about. But when I came across Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder, I knew I had found something worth baking with.
I’ve used it in many recipes, but this dark chocolate cake recipe is one I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
The Secret to the Dark Chocolate Flavor
The secret to this cake is Special Dark Cocoa Powder. It gives the cake that deep, dark chocolate color and an intense chocolate flavor that makes this cake stand out from an ordinary chocolate cake.
It was the perfect chocolate for this cake in my opinion, and judging by the opinions of everyone who had a piece, they agreed.
The finished cake is rich, dark, and incredibly chocolaty. Some of my photos make the cake look a little lighter than it really was. Just wait until you see the inside.
That is exactly how dark this cake really is.
Think “Special Dark.”
Yep, that’s the secret.
Dark Chocolate Cake With Fudge Between the Layers
Once I had the dark chocolate cake figured out, I wanted to take it one step further.
Instead of putting all of the frosting between the layers, I used fudge between each layer of dark chocolate cake.
And I have to say, that might be my favorite part.
The combination of the moist chocolate cake and rich fudge filling makes every bite completely decadent.
Then the whole cake is wrapped in Coffee Italian Buttercream Frosting, which adds another layer of flavor without taking away from all that wonderful dark chocolate.
And because apparently there can never be too much chocolate, I poured even more fudge over the top.
Oh yeah.
It’s OVER THE TOP!
Don’t Forget the Hot Fudge
Now that I’ve mentioned how to make my Hot Fudge Sauce, you’ll need more than ice cream to pour it over, right?
This dark chocolate fudge cake is exactly what you need when you want to put that hot fudge sauce to good use.
I wanted the fudge to drip over the sides of the cake, but I didn’t want it to run all the way down the cake and pool at the bottom.
So I used a simple trick.
I melted some of the fudge and left some at room temperature. Using the two different consistencies together made it really easy to get those chocolate drips exactly where I wanted them.
It only took a couple of minutes to finish the cake, but the result made it look like I had spent much longer decorating it.
How to Finish the Dark Chocolate Cake
First, I crumb coated the cake and put it into the refrigerator to set up before adding the outside coat of frosting.
When you’re frosting a layer cake, make sure you have plenty of frosting. There is nothing worse than running out of frosting before the cake is finished. Trust me.
I used an offset spatula to smooth the Coffee Italian Buttercream around the cake.
Then came the fun part.
I poured the fudge over the top and gently encouraged it toward the edges so it would drip down the sides.
The combination of the dark chocolate cake, creamy buttercream, and glossy fudge makes this cake look just as incredible as it tastes.
Oh yes, see nice and dark! But really this photo is showing the cake a little lighter than it really is…..just wait until the next photo
See that is exactly how dark the cake is… think “Special Dark” yep that is the secret ingredient. Some photos look lighter straight out of the camera, I took these photos at night and I’m sure I was in a bit of a hurry to get the pieces of cake onto the plates.
No one wanted to wait until I took photos… they wanted CAKE! I couldn’t blame them, so I took these really quickly. I’m just lucky I remembered to take photos of the inside at all, sometimes I forget.
What This Dark Chocolate Cake Tastes Like
My husband has claimed this as his absolute favorite cake.
My kids couldn’t wait to have a second piece.
It really is rich and delicious. It’s almost like a chocolate overload, but in a very GOOD way.
Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 3/4 cups sifted flour
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup butter
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- additional ingredients for fudge filling and frosting are needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven 350 degrees
- In a medium bowl combine cocoa with water mixing with wire whisk until smooth.
- Cool completely.
- Whisk flour with baking soda, salt, and baking powder so there are no lumps.
- In large bowl beat on high, butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light about 5 minutes.
- On low speed beat in flour mixture and cocoa mixture.
- Do not over beat.
- Prepare 3 8″ baking pans with parchment on the bottom and baking spray on the sides for easy removal of cake after it’s baked.
- Divide the batter evenly in the 3 pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool cake in the pan, then turn the cake out on a cooling rack to be sure they are completely cooled. I refrigerate or freeze my cake so it’s cold when the frosting goes on and the layers are easy to handle. It also seems to help that the cake stays moister if I freeze them. A couple hours or overnight.
- I wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and unwrap them when I take the out of freezer and in about 10 minutes begin assembling the cake.
- Baking strips around the outside of the cake pans REALLY helps the cakes bake evenly. Trust me, I do not like to level cakes, and they are a life saver. If you don’t have them, wet towel strips and pin them around the edge of the pans so the batter bakes evenly.
- Place 3/4 cup in between each cake layer and smooth almost to the edge.
- Add a tablespoon of instant coffee, ground fine (I press the coffee with a spoon into a strainer until it’s a powder) to the frosting along with 1 cocoa.
- Spread a thin layer of frosting over cake and refrigerate for 15 minutes then frost with remaining frosting.
- Drizzle hot fudge over the cake and spread with an offset spatula on top.
- Place cake into the fridge to chill the fudge so it doesn’t drip down totally.
- Remove cake an hour before serving.
Yeah, you really can’t go wrong with dark chocolate, can you? I added coffee to the frosting as requested from the birthday girl, it really did give it a deliciously rich taste that everyone loved.
What a gorgeous cake! I love that you used the flour. I’ve been wanting to try rye flour and will be using this recipe to for my first experience!
Why on earth would you make such a beautiful cake and use such awful cocoa – Hershey’s. NEVER in a million years. If yu used better quality cocoa/chocolate you’d be surprised at how much better your cake will taste.
I use all types of chocolate, Hershey’s Special Dark happened to be at the time my kids favorite chocolate which is why I chose to use it in this recipe. My readers want to know exactly what I use in recipes and I try to add as many specifics as I can, if you don’t prefer an ingredient such as the cocoa powder I use in a recipe, of course, feel free to use your favorite.
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to make it! Just one question. When you say flour, are you referring to cake flour or all purpose flour?
This recipes uses all purpose flour. In all my recipes flour refers to all-purpose flour, if I use an alternative flour I name that flour.
Hi Diane,
Because of my fear of disappointment, I halved your chocolate fudge sauce recipe and I absolutely fell in love with it…. so rich and creamy…. the best I have ever made and tested…. this recipe is to keep for sure… thank you so much… 🙂 keep it up….
so happy you liked it!
I know that there is gluten free flour (specifically King Arthur makes one) I am not sure if the other ingredients are gluten free or not, so I would check with you friend to be sure the other ingredients are ok.
The cake looks absolutely delicious. I am going to try it out. Just one question, Step #17 “tablespoon instant coffee, ground fine. I press the coffee with a spoon into a strainer until it’s a powder.” I don’t see it on the list of ingredients nor do I have any clue where it supposed to go on the cake. Thank in advance!
I added instant coffee to the frosting. One tablespoon, sorry it wasn’t more clear in the instructions. (There is a photo) If you don’t prefer coffee flavor, add a tablespoon of cocoa to the frosting if you want it brown. I made this frosting and sometimes add both or one of the other. All depends on who likes what and for whom I’m making the cake. So if you want the frosting to have a rich chocolate and coffee taste, like mocha, then add a tablespoon of each to the frosting. Adjust the flavor by adding more if you want the bring out more of one flavor than the other.
Thank you much for the prompt reply. The idea of a more mocha flavor is intriguing. I have used 1/8 to 1/4 tsp espresso powder from King Author’s to enrich the depth of flavor in dark chocolate recipes, especially in cake.
Thanks Again,
-Doug
Hello Diane,
This cake looks scrumptious! I want to make this cake for a friend who is gluten intolerant. What gluten free flour can I substitute for the flour in the recipe? Can I use rice flour?
Many thanks!
Priscilla
I know that there is gluten free flour (specifically King Arthur makes one) I am not sure if the other ingredients are gluten free or not, so I would check with you friend to be sure the other ingredients are ok.
Thanks for your response Diane!
superb…………yuummyyy…………….parcel please who ever prepared 🙂
You could definitely see your skills within the work you write. The arena hopes for even more passionate writers like you who are not afraid to say how they believe. All the time follow your heart.
What a beautiful cake! So deep, dark, rich and fudgy!
Oh my goodness, this is absolutely mouth watering divine! I have to make this gorgeous dessert 🙂
Wow, that’s gorgeous. Just say the words “dark chocolate” and you have my attention!
That is one incredible cake, Diane. Nothing could make me more happy right now than a piece of that with a tall cold glass of milk!
I totally want to face plant in that fudgy top!
LOL, you crack me up Dorothy!
Diane, this cake looks so lucious!! Thanks for sharing! I agree with you regarding the baking strips, they have saved me many times.
Beautiful! However, in the instructions cinnamon and coffee are mentioned, but I don’t see those in the ingredients list. Am I missing something?
oops sorry about that my error. This cake doesn’t call for it. I accidentally cut and pasted a portion from my previous recipe and forgot to omit that portion. That is what I get for typing TOO late at night. I should proof read better 🙂
I agree, you can’t go wrong with dark chocolate! This cake sounds absolutely amazing!
Diane, this cake is gorgeous! Absolutely a chocoholic’s dream come true… I know it’s mine!