Simple black cake made in one bowl, with no machine needed. This recipe uses black cocoa powder for a naturally black cake, sour cream and cake flour for a tight but tender cake crumb.
Prep time: PT20M
Cook time: PT30M
Rating
5 stars (3 reviews)
Ingredients
226g or 1 cup unsalted butter (cold is fine)
250g or 1 cup plus ¼ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¾ tsp fine sea salt
3 large eggs (at room temperature)
40 or ⅓ cup black cocoa
230 or 1 ¾ cup cake flour (sifted if lumpy)
2 teaspoons baking powder
60g or ¼ cup boiling hot water
180g or ¾ cup sour cream
360g or 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ cup black cocoa (sifted if lumpy)
3 tablespoons fine granulated sugar (more if you want it sweeter)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Steps
Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease and flour a 9x9 inch metal square or round 9 inch pan. If you want an easy release, grease the pan then line it with parchment paper.
*Your eggs should be at room temperature for this cake, if they aren’t set them in a bowl of hot water to warm.
In a large bowl, melt the butter. Add in the sugar, salt and vanilla and whisk vigorously for about 60 seconds.
Add the eggs, one by one, whisking for at least 30 seconds between each addition.
Sift in the cocoa and whisk to combine.
Sift in the cake flour and add the baking powder to the mix. Begin whisking then add the sour cream and boiling hot water. Whisk until the batter is smooth, scraping at the sides of the bowl to ensure all the batter is well mixed.
Pour into the prepared cake pan. Bake the cake until the top springs back when pressed or a cake tester comes out clean; about 30-35 minutes.
Let the cake cool briefly in the pan then transfer to a wire rack to fully cool.
To make the whipped cream: set all the ingredients in a food processor and process on high until thickened. Because of the black cocoa this won’t thicken like whipped cream usually does, it will have more runnyness to it but it will set once spread on the cooled cake.
Reviews
Amy on 2026-02-07 (5 stars): this was so quick and simple to throw together but tastes like I put in enormous effort, brilliant for a chocolate emergency. I used the frosting from your black cocoa cupcake recipe and it was PERFECT. took about 42 min to bake through in an 8 inch square pan.
Dallas on 2025-10-29 (5 stars): Perfect as always! I followed exactly except I used 1.5x all ingredients (and 5 eggs) for the cake, and 1 batch of the whipped cream, for a 9x13 pan. Baked 40 minutes, and it was a hit! Super moist, rich without being too sweet, and a nice change from usual chocolate cake. Thank you for the recipe!
Katie O'Harra on 2025-10-19 (5 stars): The black cocoa flavor is dominant and delicious, and the stabilized whipped cream on top was incredibly smooth. Simple recipe that comes together quickly, but yields a decadent result!
