Yes, this easy hot fudge cake is just as insanely delicious as it sounds. Let’s make it!
Hot fudge cake is our classic chocolate cake topped with a thick satiny hot fudge sauce poured right over the top. It sounds so good, right? It looks amazing, too. And I’m pretty sure you can guess how good it tastes.
related fudgy recipes:
what you’ll need for hot fudge cake
Ok, so let’s get right down to it, this chocolate cake is a lot of fun to make so you’ll want to make sure you’ve got everything you need at the ready, pronto.
pantry staples: AP flour, sugar, butter, vegetable oil, hot coffee, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
stuff that might require a grocery run: evaporated milk, buttermilk (yes you can use regular milk,) semi sweet chocolate chips or bar chocolate.
no tips needed for this simple cake!
This is where I usually list a bunch of tips and tricks to make sure your recipe turns out just right. Good news ~ everything you need to know to make this hot fudge cake is in the recipe directions.
Make ahead instructions
- Your chocolate cake can be made up to a day ahead. Just cool completely before covering in foil.
- Your hot fudge sauce can also be made ahead of time. Refrigerate it and then reheat when you’re ready to serve:
- Reheat in the microwave using short bursts, stirring in between until the sauce is smooth and hot.
- Pour over your cake and serve.
storage
The “hot fudge” frosting will stay nice and soft and hot fudgy even when it’s not hot. You should refrigerate leftover cake, in which case the frosting will take on a firm texture (and that’s good too!)
hot fudge cake variations
Simplify the recipe by using your favorite boxed cake mix for the base. You don’t have to use chocolate, either, a vanilla cake mix would work well, too. My current favorite cake mixes are Duncan Hines.
If you don’t want to use coffee, use hot water for the cake. Coffee enhances the chocolate flavor but is not a necessary ingredient. Do make sure your water is hot ~ that helps bloom the flavor of the cocoa powder!
You can serve the cake with the hot fudge sauce on the side, and add it to each serving individually.
Hot Fudge Cake
Equipment
- 9×13 baking pan
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk (half and half or milk work fine, too!)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot coffee
For the hot fudge frosting*
- 1 cup (heaping) chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, either milk, semi sweet, dark, or bittersweet
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat oven to 350F. Butter your 9×13 pan.
- Whisk all the dry ingredients together well in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients EXCEPT the coffee.
- Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing as you go. Once incorporated, add the hot coffee, and mix everything until there are no pockets of dry flour left. The batter will be very thin.
- Turn the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes until risen and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out without wet batter clinging to it.
For the frosting
- Melt the butter, chocolate, and salt in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan over low heat. Add in the sugar and milk and bring up to a boil.
- Lower the heat and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the hot fudge sauce over the cake and spread out with an offset spatula. Allow to set for about 10 minutes before slicing.
- Store leftover cake in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Ok I really loved this cake, but there was an unintended modification! I was cooking with my daughter and obviously doing too much multi-tasking and managed to make the batter for the cake omitting the cocoa. I wondered idly why the batter seemed so light in color, but oh well. It didn’t even dawn on me until I started to make the hot fudge after the cake was done. I just blundered forward and the no cocoa cake was really good! I’m making it again properly though!