This chocolate birthday cake is simple to make, tastes delicious and is perfect for decorating for a special celebration.
PLUS – Need a different shape or size of cake? Take a look below the recipe to find the ingredients and instructions you need to bake this in pretty much any size of round, square or rectangular tin.
Skip to the recipe | Recipe FAQs | Calculator
One question I’ve been asked a lot in the past is whether I can recommend a really good chocolate birthday cake recipe, and I couldn’t… until now.
I hate getting questions that I can’t give a helpful answer to, so over the past few weeks I’ve been a busy bee trying to perfect my chocolate cake recipe. Now this couldn’t be just any old chocolate cake, it had to be perfect for a birthday which meant it…
1) Must be simple to make
I get a lot of comments on my all-in-one vanilla sponge birthday cake and the ones that always makes me smile the most are when people say that they never bake and the simplicity of the recipe has given them the confidence to do more in future. I wanted this chocolate cake to be that simple to make… a cake even the novice-est of cooks can make.
This cake is so simple… chuck it all in and mix it up. The only piece of culinary skill you need is a bit of grating!
2) Must be suitable for decorating
When I make birthday cakes for my boys I love to go to town on the decoration. In order for the cake to work as a decorated cake it can’t dome too much on top or sink in the middle and it must be sturdy enough to be carved into various shapes for decorating without crumbling.
3) Be chocolatey
This is actually the big reason I’ve not been able to recommend chocolate cake recipes until now. All the cakes I’d made in the past with the right texture (see point 2) used just cocoa powder and they simply weren’t chocolatey enough. To give this cake some extra chocolate-iness it includes lots of actual chocolate grated into the cake mix alongside the cocoa powder.
Chocolate Birthday Cake Frequently Asked Questions
If it’s your first time making this recipe or you have a question, please take a moment to have a read through my FAQs for some extra tips and allergen information.
- What should I use to decorate this cake?
- How much fondant icing do I need?
- Can I freeze this cake?
- How far in advance can I make this cake?
- How long does this cake last and how should it be stored?
- Can I bake this cake in a single deep tin and then cut it in half?
- Can this cake recipe be used for multiple tiers?
- Can I use this recipe to make cupcakes?
- Is this cake recipe suitable for carving into shapes for novelty cakes?
- Can I make this recipe in a difference size tin or with more or less layers?
Ingredient FAQs
- Can I use butter or oil instead of margarine?
- What can I use if I don’t have self raising flour?
- Can I add other flavours such as orange or mint?
- Can I use dark chocolate or white chocolate instead of milk chocolate?
- Can I use a different flavour buttercream with the cake?
- What is this recipe free from? Who is it suitable for?
What should I use to decorate this cake?
This cake is filled and coated in chocolate buttercream and then covered in fondant.
If you wanted you could also add a layer of jam in the middle either in addition to or instead of the buttercream. I find both raspberry and cherry jam compliment the chocolate sponge well.
I usually use ready-made fondant icing from the supermarket, usually the supermarket own brand or Dr Oetker. I tend to find there’s little variation in the different brands so whatever you can find in your local store should be absolutely fine.
How much fondant icing do I need?
You don’t need to cover this cake with fondant, it tastes amazing with just buttercream.
However, if you’d like to cover it to make a novelty cake then you can use my fondant calculator to work out exactly how much you’ll need.
How far in advance can I make this cake?
I usually bake it a couple of days before I want to serve it and the decorate it the day before.
You can bake it further in advance if you need to, but remember that it won’t last as long after you actually serve it.
How long does this cake last and how should it be stored?
This cake is good to eat for up to a week after baking as long as it’s stored in an airtight container. There’s no need to store it in the fridge unless it’s a very warm day or you live in a hotter climate than the UK.
Can I freeze this cake?
❄️ Suitable for freezing
You can bake the cake in advance and then freeze the undecorated sponges. I recommend wrapping them in clingfilm to protect them while they’re in the freezer.
Make sure you defrost them thoroughly before decorating.
Can I bake this cake in a single deep tin and then cut it in half?
Personally I recommend always baking this cake in sandwich tins as that way you’re most likely to get the perfect sponge, as promised.
I find that results can be mixed if it is baked in a deeper tin. It works perfectly for some people, but others have found the sponge a little more prone to dipping in the middle as it cools.
If you decide to use a deeper tin and this happens then don’t worry, the cake will still be good to eat. Simply add a little extra buttercream to fill the dip.
If you want to cook the mixture for two layers in one deep tin it will take 45-50 minutes to bake rather than the 30-35 specified in the original recipe.
Can this cake recipe be used for multiple tiers?
Yes. I’ve seen plenty of pictures of this sponge being used to make 2 or 3 tier cakes from my readers.
If you want to make a cake with tiers, I recommend using dowels or straws in the lower tiers to add additional support.
Can I use this recipe to make cupcakes?
Yes, I’ve turned this recipe into a chocolate cupcake recipe.
Is this cake recipe suitable for carving into shapes for novelty cakes?
Yes, it’s quite a sturdy sponge so can be carved into some basic shapes (I wouldn’t recommend carving it into anything too intricate or complex).
If you want to carve the cake, I recommend waiting for at least a day after baking as the sponges will be softer when they’re fresh out of the oven. I’d also recommend chilling the sponges before carving as this will help firm them up and make it easier to get the shape you’re after.
Can I make this recipe in a difference size tin or with more or less layers?
Absolutely!
This cake can be made in a variety of tin shapes and sizes. If you look directly beneath the recipe you’ll find my cake calculator that will tell you how to adjust the ingredients for any size of round, square or rectangular tin.
Can I use butter or oil instead of margarine?
You can substitute the margarine for butter, just make sure you leave it out of the fridge for a while before making your mixture so that it is soft and mixes well with the other ingredients.
You cannot substitute in oil as this cake is not designed to be made with oil and would require other adjustments to ensure it turns out sucessfully.
What can I use if I don’t have self raising flour?
You can make your own self-raising flour using plain (all-purpose) flour and baking powder.
You can find the instructions here.
Can I add other flavours such as orange or mint?
You can add other flavours such as orange or mint. I’d add 1½ tsp of a good quality extract into the cake mixture along with the other ingredients.
Can I use dark chocolate or white chocolate instead of milk chocolate?
You can substitute the milk chocolate for dark if that’s what you prefer.
I wouldn’t recommend substituting in white chocolate as it doesn’t bake in the same way. Also the chocolate flavour in the sponge comes from the combination of cocoa powder and actual chocolate. For a white chocolate cake you’d need to substitute the cocoa powder for additional flour and the grated chocolate alone will be insufficient to give a strong white chocolate flavour.
If you’d like to make a white chocolate cake then take a look at the recipe I designed specifically to overcome these two issues and give a cake that’s packed full of white chocolate flavour.
Can I use a different flavour buttercream with the cake?
Absolutely! You can use whatever flavour you like. Take a look at all of my buttercream recipes for some inspiration.
I think it goes particularly well with my white chocolate buttercream, classic vanilla buttercream or coffee buttercream.
What is this recipe free from? Who is it suitable for?
The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary, and product recipes can change over time.
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Tree Nut-Free
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Sulphur Dioxide and Sulphite-Free
- Lupin-Free
FREE GRAMS TO CUPS CONVERSION CHARTS
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Chocolate Birthday Cake
INGREDIENTS
- 200 g self-raising flour
- 40 g cocoa powder
- 230 g caster sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 230 g soft margarine - you can also use softened unsalted butter too
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 100 g milk chocolate - choose something from the baking aisle in the supermarket as it will cope well with the heat in the oven without going grainy.
- 2 tsp milk
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 160ºC/140ºC fan.
- Line your tins (2x 20cm sandwich tins) with liners or greaseproof paper.
- Grate the milk chocolate (100g).
- Put all of the ingredients into a large bowl (200g self-raising flour, 40g cocoa powder, 230g caster sugar, 4 large eggs, 230g soft margarine, ¼ tsp vanilla extract, 2 tsp milk and the grated chocolate) mix on a low speed until fully combined.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins and spread it out so it’s pretty even (it doesn’t have to be perfect as it’ll even out in the oven, but roughly flat is good).
- Put the tins in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes put a skewer in the middle and check if it comes out clean. If it does it’s done, if not pop it back in for a couple more minutes and check again.
- Once cooked, remove the cakes from the oven and leave them to cool in the tins for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the cakes from their tins and pop them onto a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
What are the ingredients for a different size of tin?
The ingredients are calculated so that the depth of each cake is the same as in the original recipe. This means that the cooking time and temperature don’t need to change.
Round Cake
Cake Ingredients
- 0 g self-raising flour
- 0 egg(s)
- 0 g soft margarine or butter
- 0 g caster sugar
- 0 tsp vanilla extract
- 0 tsp milk
- 0 g cocoa powder
- 0 g milk chocolate
Buttercream Ingredients
- 0 g butter
- 0 g icing sugar
- 0 g milk chocolate
- 0 g cocoa powder
- 0 tsp vanilla extract
Square or Rectangular Cake
Cake Ingredients
- 0 g self-raising flour
- 0 egg(s)
- 0 g soft margarine or butter
- 0 g caster sugar
- 0 tsp vanilla extract
- 0 tsp milk
- 0 g cocoa powder
- 0 g milk chocolate
Buttercream Ingredients
- 0 g butter
- 0 g icing sugar
- 0 g milk chocolate
- 0 g cocoa powder
- 0 tsp vanilla extract
Serena Lindsay says
Yet again, another flawless, simple but luxurious tasting recipe. I bake regularly however chocolate cake is never my favourite thing to bake despite it being my boys’ favourite flavour. I’m heavy on decorating their birthday cakes so trying to find a chocolate celebration cake recipe that is sturdy enough to hold fondant weight plus fondant toppers but also delicious to eat, was never impossible …. Until I used this recipe. I don’t think I’ve had any fails from any of your recipes so far. Thank you!!!
Rong Gallagher says
I wanting to make your chocolate cake but I just want to bake 1 cake
The tray ill be using is rectangle 40cm x 27cm & 7.5cm deep and
I will comfortable be able to have 3 layers
How do I enter that into the calculation as Im not really wanting to make 2 cakes
Charlotte Oates says
You are wanting to make 1 layer so just enter 1 layer in the calculator.
Vicky says
I have a ridiculous amount of baking books but I absolutely LOVE this recipe. It is my go to for chocolate birthday cakes – perfect for icing and rarely goes wrong. On the third or fourth year of using it for birthday cakes now. Thanks so much Charlotte 🙂
Lou says
Hi, I made this cake for my son’s birthday last year and it was brilliant! This year I want to use the recipe again with a different size & shape of tin (23x30cm rectangle, two layers, but cooked separately as I only have one tin!). I’ve used your awesome online calculator, but I’m a bit confused – for one layer it gives 200g flour, 8 eggs etc, but for two layers it gives 250g flour and 9 eggs, i.e. more than twice the quantity. Is there a reason for this? I just want to make sure I’m using the right quantities 🙂
Charlotte Oates says
The reason for this is that the calculator rounds all of the quantise up or down to the nearest whole egg. This is to avoid a recipe calling for parts of an egg. Both will work.
Emma says
Please could you offer some advice on icing a chocolate cake with fondant like this x
Charlotte Oates says
I’d don’t have a specific posts on using fondant. I’d suggest watching a few You Tube videos to watch the technique they use.
Hattie says
Hi,
I’ve made this cake many times, as it’s my family’s favourite birthday cake. I’m planning on doing cupcakes with the recipe for the Jubilee and was wondering how many cupcakes the recipe makes?
Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
This recipe will make 16 cupcakes
Niki says
Hi can I use melted chocolate instead of grated? If so do I have to cool it down before I add it in?
Niki
Charlotte Oates says
You can. You do need to cool it to room temperate before folding it into the other ingredients.
Lesley Willett says
I have a pampered chef measurement jug with cups on it- would this be US cups do you know? And is it ok to use if a recipe notes to use cups please. ?
Charlotte Oates says
You can test the size of cups using a measuring jug. One US cup is 240ml. A UK or metric cup is 250ml.
Helen says
This so easy and the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made. Thank you!
Becky says
How long does this keep for if covered with fondant? Wondering how far ahead I can make it! Many thanks
Charlotte Oates says
The cake should be good to eat for up to 7 days after baking, just store it in an airtight container to keep it fresh.
Lindsay Duncan says
Hi, I’ve made this a few times now and it’s always a winner! Did it freeze well? Thinking I’ll make it ahead of icing to give myself more decorating time. Thanks!
Charlotte Oates says
There will be no problem freezing the sponges, just made sure to wrap it well.
Kat says
Hi Charlotte
Can this cake be frozen. I always bake in advance & freeze my sponge cakes then decorate day before needed?
Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
Yes this cake is great to freeze.
Helen says
Hi Charlotte
I love the recipes on your website and particularly the useful tips you add.
Just wondering about the recipes for Easy Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Birthday Cake. They are obviously quite similar, but in one, self raising flour is used and in the other, plain flour plus baking powder. Is there any particular reason for this?
Keep up the great work
Helen.
Charlotte Oates says
They are very similar. My chocolate birthday cake was the first I developed of the two. I had lots of questions about if it could be made with plain flour and BP, and melted chocolate instead of grated and so I tested them both and found the both worked. I decided to publish it as a separate recipe. The results of the two are quite similar.
Siobhan says
Hi I’m just wondering if the measurements for the flour are before you sieve or after being sieved? Many thanks
Charlotte Oates says
If you are measuring by weight then the measures are the same either way. If you are using the US cup measurements then scoop and scrape un-sieved flour. For best results I do recommend using weight measurements if at all possible.
Katrina says
How many times do I need to multiply this recipe to fit a 15 inch by 11 inch cake tin please ?
Charlotte Oates says
If you have a look below the recipe you’ll find a link to my calculator where it will work the ingredients out for you for a different size of tin.
Holly says
Hi Charlotte
Made this today using all fresh ingredients.
However, each layer is only about an inch thick, whereas in your picture the layers look much deeper. Is this the case, or is it just how it looks in the photos?
What could I be doing wrong?
Charlotte Oates says
Without having been able to watch you baking, it is difficult to say what the issue is. The most likely candidate is that you may have used a tin that was bigger than the one in the recipe. I would make this the first thing that you check.
Ginette says
Please ignore my previous question I didn’t realise the calculator for the chocolate birthday cake included the adjusted weights for the buttercream when using a different sized tin.
I have just made this chocolate cake in a 9in tin and also made the chocolate buttercream, filled and covered the cake with it too. It is absolutely delicious. This is the first time I have covered a cake with buttercream and I’m so pleased how it has turned out. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Amanda says
I have been looking for a chocolate cake recipe for the cakes I bake for people.
This one is perfect, I would definitely give it 5 stars and above.
The sponge is dense, soft, moist and melts in your mouth.
I used both dark and milk chocolate in the mix and both worked well.
My most recent pairing has been with a rose flavour buttercream for a Turkish Delight themed cake, the pairing worked beautifully.
Many thanks Charlotte for this recipe, it will now be my go to chocolate cake
Lana Metcalfe says
I was looking for an easy chocolate cake recipe which was a bit more kiddy friendly and suitable for fondant decoration and this was firm, chocolatey and perfect. Doubled the recipe for both cake and buttercream and used deep 25cm tin. Perfect amounts!
Mary says
Hi
My last message has disappeared.. I made this cake with 22.5cm measurements but split it between 2 x 20 cms. After 30 mins it still wasn’t cooked, not sure where I went wrong, had to leave it in for an hour altogether?!
Charlotte Oates says
You used more mixture per tin than the recipe calls for. The deeper the cake the longer it takes to cook so I’m unsurprised that it would need longer in the oven than the time stated in the recipe.
Jo says
This is my go to celebration cake recipe. It is so easy and has never let me down. I’ve made this with flavoured chocolate for a chocolate orange lover and it was great as well. I have also used the vanilla cake recipe but substituted lemon and it was delicious. I’m so glad I found this recipe, an actually chocolatey, chocolate cake!
Vikky says
My kind of cooking ..all in together and done. ..love it ..Great flavour too..
Jo Finn says
Hi
Can I put the entire mixture into one deep 20cm tin rather than 2 shallow ones? Thanks very much
Charlotte Oates says
You can but the cooking time and temperature would both need to be adjusted. I have not tested the recipe in this way and cannot therefore properly advise. I would recommend baking in two tins if at all possible.