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
Selina Meghan says
Hi,
Just wondered if you could replace margarine with butter in this receipe and your cupcake receipe?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, as long as you’ve left the butter out for a bit to soften (so it mixes in easily) it’s absolutely fine.
Archana says
Hi ! I’m going to try out your recipe for a fondant covered birthday cake! I have never baked a chocolate cake before and I would like to use dark chocolate ganache and raspberry preserve for the filling. I was wondering if I wanted to cover the cake with fondant – can I use the chocolate ganache as a crumb coat as well as to stick the fondant to the cake or should I whip up chocolate buttercream for that? I would prefer to omit the chocolate buttercream if it is not necessary! Thank you 🙂
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tried it, but it should work as long as your ganache is quite thick and you only add a thin layer to the outside of the cake (otherwise it’ll squidge out under the bottom of the fondant when you try and put it on top. If you wanted, instead of using the ganache you could always brush over a little warmed raspberry jam over the outside of the cake to help the fondant stick.
Joanne Johnston says
Thanks for a great recipe Charlotte that alwYs turns out well. I also followed your instructions re gluten free chocolate cupcakes and they were lovely and my friend loved them .
Margaret Hilary Owens says
Do you need to coat the cake with anything to attach the icing like apricot jam? Thanks Hilary
Charlotte Oates says
I usually use a thin layer of chocolate buttercream (as it helps the icing to stick and I love the flavour). If you’re not using buttercream then a little jam would help the icing to stick, but it’s not absolutely essential.
Mary Collyer says
Thanks so much for the recipe. The cake was delicious and definitely the nicest chocolate cake I have ever made – moist and chocolatey without being too rich. I also made the buttercream icing to go with it, that was delicious too. For a five-egg cake, it took an extra 10 mins to cook.
Lee says
Sorry for having so many questions. One more. If I didn’t want to make the cake too sweet as I have a few younger siblings of kids coming to eat, can I omit the grated milk chocolate? If so, would it still taste okay or do you have to add more cocoa powder to compensate?
Charlotte Oates says
Personally, I wouldn’t leave out the chocolate as that’s what gives it a lot of its flavour. I developed this recipe as I found most only used cocoa powder and I found them all a bit bland. If you wanted to reduce the sugar, you could leave out some of the caster sugar (although don’t leave out too much as it contributes to the structure of the cake. If you’re worried about the sugar content then I’d recommend cutting back on the amount of icing *(if you’re using it) as both buttercream and fondant and very sweet. If you wanted something less sweet you could opt for a ganache instead.
Mary Collyer says
Hi, I’d like to give your recipe a go for my daughter’s birthday cake. I’d like to make a five-egg cake so that it feeds a few more. Do you think I can use two 20cm tins or do I need larger tins? Thank you.
Charlotte Oates says
I would use two 20cm tins for that size of cake. You can put the mixture into 20cm tins, but you’ll need to cook the cake for longer (I’d guess about 5-10 minutes).
Lee says
This cake recipe looks great! I always have an issue where my cakes seem flat when they come out (I have to cook in a microwave oven as I don’t own an oven). How high is this overall cake or its layers? Just so I have an idea if it is coming out right.
Charlotte Oates says
Each layer is about 3-4cm after baking
Lee says
Thanks… now I’ll have a better sense of whether it comes out okay!
Caroline says
Made this cake in 2 10″ x 10″ square tins. Double the recipe for each tin. It took an hour and a half to bake covered top of cakes with greaseproof paper half way through because they were cooked. Turned out great thanks for the lovely recipe. I used Swiss chocolate buttercream for filling and crumb coat .
Amanda Raine says
Hi there is it suitable for freezing? Thinking of making my little boys cake early? Or how many days in advance is ok to keep the moisture?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, wrap the undecorated cake in cling film before freezing and it’ll be fine for a few months. I normally bake a cake for a Saturday party on a Thursday and it’s always good for at least four days after, so anything up to about half a week ahead for baking should be fine.
Lee says
When you bake it on a Thursday, how do you store it? Do you still freeze it, refrigerate or just store at room temperature?
Charlotte Oates says
Just in an airtight container at room temperature. You can freeze it, but it’ll be fine for a day or so just on the side in a box.
christine holland says
Trying this recipe this weekend just wanted to say thank you so much for the cake converter its been a great help
Rich Turner says
I adapted this cake using lactose free products and 85% dark chocolate (much less lactose). Covered it in your buttercream recipe, again made with lactose free products, and topped it off with some popcorn with a sprinkle of black pepper. Very indulgent…. The whole cake disappeared and there were only six of us at our friend’s birthday. Thanks Charlotte for the inspiration
L Hammond says
Use this for every chocolate cake. Fail proof and delicious. I recommend to all my friends (know they know the secret). This is the only chocolate cake my kids eat!
Anne Marie says
Currently still in fan oven at 140. It’s been in there for over 40 mins and still not cooked… any ideas?
Charlotte Oates says
Did you cook it in one deep tin or two separate ones? One deep tin takes a lot longer. Other possibilities are that your oven cooks at a slightly lower temperature, or that your cake tin is impacting the bake time as the colour and material the tin is made from can make a difference.
Joanne Johnston says
Hi Charlotte
I’ve made this chocolate cake twice this week and it’s fabulous
I have not experimented yet with your roll on icing as used buttercream only but it tasted delicious and just like a traditional chocolate cake made by my mam and nana .
Thank you
Forida says
Hi I’d like to make this for a cushion or pillow style cake and will be decorated with fondant, will this Cake Be sturdy enough?
Charlotte Oates says
This cake is good for carving so it should be absolutely fine.
Sarah says
This is delicious! Thank you for sharing as I too was struggling to find a great chocolate cake for my chocolate cake adoring 3 year old.
I wonder- have you tried freezing the (in-iced) cakes? And are they still lovely after defrosting?
Charlotte Oates says
They’re absolutely fine. Just make sure you wrap them in clingfilm before freezing to protect them.
Jenny says
This is my favourite chocolate cake recipe! Thank you Charlotte for sharing and for the amazing ingredients converter which I have used twice. I used this recipe last year for my son’s birthday cake and it was delicious – everyone loved it – nice and moist not dry! So I am using it again tomorrow for his 6th Birthday (Castle cake!).
Rhona Thomson says
Hi charlotte,
I recently used your vanilla sponge recipe for my sons cake and everyone was raving about how nice it was so now its my daughters birthday and she prefers chocolate cake which is good cause i do too 🙂 so i was going to try your recipe however she wants a unicorn cake which from what i have seen online are quite high would the chocolate sponge hold on its own with 3 or 4 laters or do you think i would need to add something in for extra support?
Thank you
Charlotte Oates says
I usually make three layers and it’s absolutely fine. I would expect four to stack with no problems.
Nicci says
Just made this cake. Not sure how it tastes yet, the batter was yum (of course you have to lick the bowl!) And smells lovely too!
I made as one deep cake and it needed more like an hour and a half to cook through though.
I’ll let you know how it goes down. 🙂
Paula says
Made this cake in 2 x 23cm tins then made an additional layer for a triple layer birthday cake. It didn’t rise much but tasted so chocolatey. Excellent recipe and a big hit with my 20 5 year olds.