Moist Chocolate Espresso Cake (with fudgy chocolate frosting)

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This Chocolate Espresso Cake recipe is fudgy, ultra-moist, and loaded with bold chocolate flavor enhanced with a touch of espresso! It’s plush, fudgy, and unapologetically chocolaty, the kind of cake that coffee lovers and chocolate fiends will obsess over.

For more chocolate cake recipes, make my triple chocolate cake, chocolate mud cake, and black velvet cake!

a slice of chocolate espresso cake on a cake plate topped with espresso fudge frosting.

Ok chocolate lovers, this one’s for you! This fudgy chocolate cake is enhanced with espresso, giving it that deep chocolatey flavor.

Then it’s topped with an espresso fudge frosting that is smooth, rich, and luscious – it’s chocolate heaven. Literally!

Best of all, everything is baked in a bundt pan and it all comes together in about an hour. All you need are a few mixing bowls and whisk and voila, you’ve for a delicious, EASY dessert that’s decadent, delicious, and so freaking moist!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Key Ingredients
Variations
How To Make Chocolate Espresso Cake
Pro Baking Tips
Recipe FAQs
More Chocolate Cake Recipes

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Super moist texture and delicious chocolate flavor! The rich flavor and texture will make this your favorite cake ever!

So easy to make! There’s no fancy equipment needed, just mixing bowls and a whisk!

Simple ingredients! You likely already have all of the ingredients needed to make this cake. It calls for pantry staples so no extra trip to the grocery store needed!

The fudgy chocolate frosting! Need I say more?! It’s beyond delicious and comes together in one bowl!

Key Ingredients

ingredients to make chocolate espresso cake on a baking tray - cocoa powder, flour, eggs, egg yolks, sour cream, espresso powder, sugar, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, and melted butter.

(full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card)

Vegetable oil adds moisture that keeps the cake soft and plush for days! Melted butter brings the rich, buttery flavor oil can’t give you. Using both combines the best of both worlds.
Sugar sweetens the cake and adds moisture for a super tender crumb.
Large Eggs + egg yolk: the eggs build structure and traip air while the yolks add fat for a silky crumb. Together they help the cake to rise while adding texture and structure.
Sour cream adds acidity for lift, moisture for softness, and gives a subtle tang. Think of my sour cream pound cake recipe but make it chocolate!
Vanilla extract balances the cocoa and provides a rich, deep flavor to the cake.
Cake Flour provides structure to the cake. I prefer using cake flour because of its lower protein content gives the cake a softer texture. You can use all purpose flour, it’ll still be good! But cake flour will give you a superior crumb.
Dutch-process cocoa powder gives the cake a smooth chocolate flavor that’s deep and rich.
Espresso powder enhances chocolate so that it’s more pronounced as opposed to one note/flat. We also use it in the fudgy espresso buttercream topping where the coffee flavor sings through.
Hot coffee “Blooms” the cocoa,, enhancing the flavor of the chocolate. Be sure to use a strong coffee for best results.

Variations

Make this into a sheet cake! Pour into a 9×13 pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
If you prefer to use unsalted butter, you can. Just add an additional 1/4 tsp of kosher salt to the dry ingredients.
Olive oil and melted coconut oil are great substitutes for vegetable oil and add their own additional flavor.

How To Make Chocolate Espresso Cake

Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a tube pan or 15 cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.

wet ingredients whisked together in a bowl.

Step 1: In a large bowl, add vegetable oil, melted butter, and sugar. Whisk together until combined, then add eggs, egg yolks, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Continue to whisk until combined and smooth.

dry ingredients whisked together in a bowl.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients – cake flour, dutch-processed cocoa powder, instant espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Set aside, then heat the coffee until piping hot.

chocolate cake batter in a large mixing bowl.

Step 3: Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and whisk until combined.. Mix until just combined, then pour hot coffee on top of the batter and mix until just combined. Add the cake batter to the prepared cake pan and bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes, until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs.

espresso chocolate fudge frosting in a bowl.

Step 4: While the cake is baking, make the chocolate fudge topping. Add heavy cream into a microwave safe bowl and heat in the microwave for about 1 minute, until hot. Then add in chocolate chips and butter. Let the chocolate chips sit in the cream for about 2-3 minutes, then mix together until all of the chocolate and butter are melted and the mixture is nice and smooth. (if all of the chocolate hasn’t melted, pop back into the microwave in 15 second increments until all of the chocolate is melted) Stir in cocoa powder, corn syrup, and confectioners’ sugar and mix until combined.

chocolate bundt cake on a cake plate with serving plates and shaved chocolate in the background.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and place onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once the is cooled, about 1 hour, then add the fudge frosting on top of the cake (or smooth around the entire cake if you prefer). Garnish with mini chocolate chips or shaved chocolate and serve. (store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature)

Pro Baking Tips

Use room temperature ingredients! Make sure the eggs and sour cream aren’t cold. Room temp ingredients blend smoother and give you that lush, velvety crumb.
Use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients! For best results, weigh your ingredients in grams. This will provide the most foolproof results every time!
Don’t overbake (seriously). Start checking at 50 minutes. A few moist crumbs on the skewer is exactly the move. If you wait for it to come out clean, it’s already dry.

Let it rest, it’s worth the wait! Cooling 10 minutes in the pan helps it set so it doesn’t break when you flip. But don’t cool too long or it’ll stick and come out in pieces. Yikes.

Also, don’t overmix either! When you mix the wet and dry together, stop as soon as the flour disappears. Overmixing = dense cake. (We want plush, not a brick)

a slice of chocolate espresso cake on a plate with two forks.

Recipe FAQs

Can I use regular cocoa instead of dutch processed?

Yes, you can. It may not rise as high and will have a bit of a stronger chocolate flavor, but you can totally get away with it this as a quick swap. Unsweetened cocoa powder (regular aka natural cocoa powder) is a bit more bitter so if that’s your thing, give it a go!

Do I have to use hot coffee?

You can use hot water, but coffee deepens the chocolate flavor, so I highly recommend it.

Can I make this into a layer cake?

Absolutely! Divide batter amongst 3 8inch cake pans OR 2 9-inch cake pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes, start checking at the 30 minute mark and bake until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs.

Will this fit in a 10 or 12 cup Bundt pan?

Nope, you need a tube pan or 15-cup bundt pan. If you use a smaller bundt size, you’ll get an overflow of chocolate batter as if bakes that’ll look like a chocolate volcano.

Can I skip the corn syrup in the fudge topping?

It helps with shine + smoothness. You can skip it, but the topping may set duller and firmer.