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Moist, rich chocolate cake made with olive oil and frosted with a homemade chocolate buttercream frosting. This is a decadent frosted chocolate cake recipe.
I am a sucker for homemade chocolate cake. I shared my best homemade chocolate cake recipe years ago and have received thousands of comments about how much you love that cake recipe.
So I wanted to create a smaller, one-layer, 9-inch pan chocolate cake recipe. This is such an easy cake to frost because it is only one layer and perfect for events when you only need a one-layer chocolate cake.
If you love olive oil cakes, check out my Lemon Olive Oil Cake and my Classic Olive Oil Cake Recipe.
Why you will love this recipe:
- This olive oil chocolate cake with chocolate frosting is a chocolate lover’s dream. It is rich, moist, decadent and full of chocolate flavor.
- It is so easy! Since it is only a one-layer chocolate cake, you skip the fussiness of frosting a double or triple layer cake.
Ingredients:
Chocolate Cake Ingredients:
- Olive Oil — this helps to keep the cake super moist. Make sure to use fresh olive oil in this cake recipe.
- Sugar
- Egg
- Buttermilk — this helps to create a tender cake texture and makes it so moist.
- Cocoa Powder — use unsweetened baking cocoa. I suggest using a high quality cocoa powder. I like to buy my Callebaut cocoa powder in bulk at Winco.
- Vanilla Extract
- Flour — use all-purpose flour or cake flour in this recipe. You can also use half cake and half all-purpose flour.
- Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt
- Hot Water — helps to activate the baking soda and baking powder.
Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:
- Butter — use softened salted or unsalted butter. If you use unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt for flavor.
- Cocoa Powder
- Powdered Sugar
- Heavy Cream or Milk — for an extra creamy frosting, use heavy cream or half-n-half. You may also use milk.
- Light Corn Syrup – to give your frosting a glossy, shiny finish, use a touch of corn syrup in the frosting. This is optional.
Don’t overbake your cake!
Since oven temperatures can vary, check to see if the cake has finished baking by placing a cake tester or toothpick in the center of the cake to ensure it isn’t liquid.
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In mixing bowl, beat olive oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla for 1 minute. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined. Pour in hot water and mix together. The batter will be liquidy but that’s a good thing — it will create a moist chocolate olive oil cake.
- Spray one 9-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. You can also use parchment paper round. Pour batter evenly into pan. Bake at 22-25 minutes. Place toothpick or cake tester in the center of the cake to check if it comes out clean.
- Let cool before frosting.
To make Chocolate Buttercream:
- In mixing bowl, cream together Butter, Cocoa, Powdered Sugar, and Cream until light and fluffy. You may want to add more cream or milk depending on consistency. Add a touch of corn syrup for a glossy shine.
- Once the cake has cooled and has been removed from pans, frost each layer with frosting.
- Top with chocolate shavings, chocolate chips, or sprinkles.
Frequently Asked Questions:
The most important tip is to make sure your olive oil is fresh. If olive oil is old, it can have a strong bitter taste and will affect the flavor of the cake. Extra-virgin olive oil usually has a shelf life of 12-18 months but it does depend on how it is stored. Make sure to smell the olive oil and if you can, give it a little taste, to ensure it is still fresh.
The easiest way to know if a cake is done baking is to use a cake tester or toothpick and place it in the middle of the cake. If it comes out liquidy, the cake needs more baking time.
If you want to create a beautiful homemade frosting with a touch of shine, add 1 to 2 Tablespoons of corn syrup. This creates a gorgeous shine!
Substitutions and Variations:
You can substitute canola, vegetable, coconut, or avocado oil for the olive oil in this cake recipe.
You can also frost this cake with vanilla frosting or cream cheese frosting.
Popular Chocolate Cake Recipes:
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Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup Flour
- 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder (unsweetened)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/3 cup Olive Oil
- 1 large Egg
- 1/2 cup Buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup Hot Water
Chocolate Frosting:
- 1/2 cup Butter (softened)
- 1/3 cup Cocoa Powder
- 2 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 4 Tablespoons Heavy Cream or Milk
- 1 Tablespoon Light Corn Syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In mixing bowl, beat olive oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla for 1 minute.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined. Pour in hot water and mix together. The batter will be liquidy but that's a good thing — it will create a moist chocolate olive oil cake.
- Spray one 9-inch cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. You can also use parchment paper round. Pour batter evenly into pan. Bake at 22-25 minutes. Place toothpick or cake tester in the center of the cake to check if it comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.
Chocolate Frosting:
- In mixing bowl, cream together Butter, Cocoa, Powdered Sugar, Cream, and corn syrup until light and fluffy. You may want to add more cream or milk depending on consistency. Once the cake has cooled and has been removed from pan, frost with frosting.
- Top with chocolate shavings, chocolate chips, or chocolate sprinkles.
Notes
- Olive Oil — this helps to keep the cake super moist. Make sure to use fresh olive oil in this cake recipe.
- Buttermilk — this helps to create a tender cake texture and makes it so moist.
- Cocoa Powder — use unsweetened baking cocoa. I suggest using a high quality cocoa powder. I like to buy my Callebaut cocoa powder in bulk at Winco.
- Flour — use all-purpose flour or cake flour in this recipe. You can also use half cake and half all-purpose flour.
- Hot Water — helps to activate the baking soda and baking powder.
- Butter — use softened salted or unsalted butter. If you use unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt for flavor.
- Heavy Cream or Milk — for an extra creamy frosting, use heavy cream or half-n-half. You may also use milk.
- Light Corn Syrup – to give your frosting a glossy, shiny finish, use a touch of corn syrup in the frosting. This is optional.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Loved this cake!! Easy and a crowd pleaser. My family devoured it.
Make the cake!!!
If I doubled the recipe could I make it in a 9 x 13 pan?
I used coconut sugar , o moist and yummy
Delicious cake recipe!!!
Hi!
I’ve always wanted to make a chocolate cake with olive oil but what kind of olive oil works best? EVOO? Light tasting? etc.
thanks,
Amy
Probably the delicious cake I’ve ever made. My family couldn’t get enough of it! I made it exactly as the recipe stated and it was highly successful. I will make a larger portion the next time!
This cake is SO moist and SO good!
I’m not surprised this was the best recipe for chocolate olive oil cake….every recipe I’ve ever tried by Modern Honey is the best!
This recipe is a game changer!! I made this cake when I was hosting dinner at my house and got the best reviews. Nothing but good comments about this cake. Definitely one of my new favorites!