I love chocolate cake and since it was just my birthday, why not make some? This recipe is so easy and can be doubled to make a 2 layer cake. It’s frosted with a homemade chocolate buttercream, recipe also down below. Not much to say, let’s go bake a cake!

What you will need:

One 9 inch cake pan lined with parchment paper

For the cake:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting:

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.  Butter or spray a 9 inch cake pan and line bottom with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another large bowl, whisk together the egg, water, vegetable oil and vanilla. Tip: You can use coffee instead of water to help bring out the chocolate flavor.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until everything is incorporated. The batter will be thin. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake for about 27 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before inverting on serving plate.

To make the frosting:

In a large bowl (or bowl of your electric mixer), beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add the cocoa and beat until everything is incorporated.

Frost the cake once it has completely cooled and decorate however you like 🙂 As you can see, I made a 30 (using cookie cutters) out of sprinkles, and also used sparkling sugar. Have fun and enjoy!