This delicious chocolate walnut cake is incredibly moist, fluffy, and chocolatey! It's topped with a remarkably decadent fudge frosting!
Rich, moist, chocolatey and nutty! This simple, chocolate nut cake has it all! But what I love the most, though, is that it is so quick and easy to make!
This cake is for you if you want an easy chocolate walnut cake recipe!
FEATURED READER COMMENTS
"Hi, I made it yesterday and thank you, it's one of the best I did" - Tony
"So amazingly scrumptious." Steve
Want to try more cake recipes? Check out my no bake Strawberry Charlotte Cake, Lemon Pomegranate Cake, and Lotus Biscoff Cake!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- It’s simple to make. If you've ever wanted to learn how to make chocolate walnut cake at home, you'll love this recipe because it's so incredibly easy! No mixer necessary for the cake, just a whisk!
- No decorating skills required. Since this is a single layer cake, it’s so much easier to decorate! Just bake the cake and add the frosting on top!
- Perfect as a snack. One simple layer means this recipe makes a perfect snack cake, with or without frosting!
- It's so moist! This is a very simple moist chocolate cake recipe that you'll be making time and again!
- It can be adapted for a sheet pan. I’ve made this recipe in a sheet pan, too, for more servings. The recipe is versatile and easily customizable.
What does this chocolate walnut cake taste like?
This is a moist walnut cake that is rich and full of chocolate flavor! It's not overly sweet and the walnuts in the cake and on the top really go nicely with the chocolate! The fudge frosting is to die for! It's rich, fudgy and really simple to make and complements the cake perfectly!
What you'll need
Ingredients for walnut chocolate cake
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: You only need about ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder. I use Dutch-process cocoa powder for a more intense chocolate flavor and dark color. Not sure what the difference is between Dutch-process cocoa powder and natural cocoa powder? Learn about it here!
- Sugar: I use regular, white, granulated sugar for the cake, and powdered sugar for the frosting.
- Flour: I use all purpose flour.
- Walnuts: I add chopped walnuts to the batter and then I sprinkle some over the frosting.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: I use both for this cake to give the cake a nice lift.
- Strong brewed coffee: I use a little strong coffee to enhance the chocolate. You don’t taste the coffee at all in the cake, but if you don't want coffee, you can replace it with hot water.
- Egg: I use 1 whole egg.
- Oil: Instead of butter, I use a light vegetable oil which helps to make it super moist!
- Milk: I use some low-fat milk, but you could use regular.
- Chocolate: I use semisweet chocolate for the frosting. You could use your favorite dark chocolate or bittersweet chocolate, too.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter for the frosting.
- Salt: I use a bit to enhance everything, as usual.
TOP TIP
Using hot coffee “blooms” the chocolate. This basically means that it really enhances and brings out the chocolate flavor and makes it more intense. You can also bloom the chocolate with hot water, instead.
How to make chocolate walnut cake
Step-by-step instructions
- Grease an 8 inch pan and line it with parchment paper.
2. Now, it's time to bloom the cocoa powder! In a small bowl, mix the cocoa and coffee together. Set it aside to cool.
3. In another medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set it aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, oil and the cocoa/coffee mixture. Make sure everything is well combined and smooth.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk to combine.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk to combine.
7. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
8. Bake the cake and let it cool completely before topping it with the fudge frosting.
How to make fudge frosting
- Melt the chocolate and set it aside to cool.
2. In another bowl, beat the butter, cocoa powder and powdered sugar together until it's creamy.
3. Add the cooled, melted chocolate and beat again until smooth.
4. Add the milk and continue beating until it's creamy and your desired consistency.
Then dollop the cooled cake with the frosting and sprinkle with some more chopped walnuts!
Recipe notes
Storage Tips
Cover the cake tightly with plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.
Freezing Instructions
You can easily freeze this cake WITH the frosting (or without), either whole, or in slices! Just place the cake in the freezer for a couple of hours, unwrapped. Then, once the frosting is frozen solid, take it out of the freezer and wrap the entire cake (or slices) with plastic wrap and then some aluminum foil. After that, I put it in a large freezer bag or freezer-safe container. You can freeze it for up to about 2 months.
How to thaw a frozen frosted cake
I put the cake in the refrigerator overnight and then I let each slice come to room temperature before serving.
Variations
Make this cake in a loaf pan. Or, you can double the ingredients and make a sheet cake.
- If you like the combination of vanilla and chocolate, you could add a teaspoon vanilla extract to the wet ingredients.
- Instead of fudge frosting, you can just dust the cake with powdered sugar.
- You could also sprinkle the top of the cake with some finely ground walnuts.
Tips for success
- Try and get the best quality chocolate you can. It will really produce the best results.
- Blooming the chocolate makes such a difference in this cake! I use this technique for many of my chocolate recipes. If you'd like to learn more about this technique, check out my post here.
- I like chopping the walnuts by hand so I can control how large I want the pieces to be. If, however, you want finely chopped walnuts, you can chop them in a food processor.
- Raw walnuts are best for this recipe rather than roasted. I sometimes shell them myself with a nutcracker!
- My family loves this cake with a lot of fudge frosting, as you can see in the pictures. If you don’t want so much frosting, you can easily halve the frosting recipe.
Frequently asked questions
This cake will last for about 4-5 days in the refrigerator. Make sure it's either stored in an airtight container or tightly wrapped with plastic wrap before refrigerating.
I really love semisweet chocolate for this cake as it has a cocoa range of about 60%, so it's not that bitter. However, you could use bittersweet chocolate, instead.
Adding some light vegetable oil to the batter makes a very moist and tender cake! This cake is not dry at all!
HOW TO SERVE CHOCOLATE WALNUT CAKE
To me, this cake is best served at room temperature because the fudge frosting is soft and creamy.
Enjoy!
Let me know how this chocolate walnut cake turns out for you below and consider leaving a recipe rating!
Other cake recipes to try!
Recipe
Chocolate Walnut Cake
Equipment
- 1 8 inch pan
Ingredients
For the cake
- ¼ cup + 1 teaspoon (28g / 1 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup (125ml / 4 fl oz) hot strong coffee (or hot water)
- 1 cup (127g / 4.5oz) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200g / 7oz) sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 medium egg, room temperature
- ½ cup (125ml / 4 fl oz) milk
- ¼ cup (60ml / 2 fl oz) light vegetable oil
- ½ cup (65g / 2.3 oz) chopped walnuts + 1-2 tablespoons extra for garnish
For the fudge frosting
- 4.4 oz / 125g semisweet chocolate
- ⅔ cup (150g / 5.29 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup + 1½ tablespoons (120g / 4.2 oz) powdered sugar
- 2 ½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ tablespoon milk
Note:
For best results, please read through the full post before beginning the recipe.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C.
- Grease an 8 inch pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
Bloom the cocoa powder
- In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and hot coffee (or hot water) together. Set it aside to cool.¼ cup + 1 teaspoon (28g / 1 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ cup (125ml / 4 fl oz) hot strong coffee (or hot water)
Make the cake
- In another medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set it aside.1 cup (127g / 4.5oz) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (200g / 7oz) sugar, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, oil and the cocoa/coffee mixture. Make sure everything is well combined.1 medium egg, room temperature, ½ cup (125ml / 4 fl oz) milk, ¼ cup (60ml / 2 fl oz) light vegetable oil
- Add the dry ingredients and whisk until it's smooth.
- Fold in the chopped walnuts, but don't overmix.½ cup (65g / 2.3 oz) chopped walnuts + 1-2 tablespoons extra for garnish
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely before topping it with the fudge frosting.
Make the fudge frosting
- Chop the dark chocolate and then melt it either over a double boiler or in 10-15 increments in the microwave. Set it aside to cool.4.4 oz / 125g semisweet chocolate
- In another bowl, beat the butter together with the cocoa powder and powdered sugar using a hand mixer until it's creamy, about 2-3 minutes.⅔ cup (150g / 5.29 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature, 2 ½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, ¾ cup + 1½ tablespoons (120g / 4.2 oz) powdered sugar
- Add the cooled, melted dark chocolate and beat again until it's smooth.
- Add the milk and continue beating until it's creamy and your desired consistency. For thicker frosting, add more powdered sugar, for thinner frosting, add more milk, half a tablespoon at a time.½ tablespoon milk
- Then dollop the cooled cake with the frosting and make swirls using the back of a spoon or an offset spatula.
- Sprinkle some more chopped walnuts all over the frosting.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Every oven is different, so baking times may vary. Check on the cake after about 25 minutes.
Steve
So amazingly scrumptious.
Voula
Awww! Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it!
Sarah
Thanks for the recipe, just some feedback. I'm not sure if you've trialled the recipe using the metric measurements but 200g of sugar in contrast to the other ingredients is rather excessive or maybe that's just coming from my UK prospective. Plus the liquid totals would make for a very watery batter. I used my judgement, plus replaced the oil for butter to be sure I wouldn't have a mix that just ran out of the tin. My cake came out ok but the worst thing was the constant ad video play that couldn't be removed no matter how many times I pressed the x. It made engaging with your website increasingly off-putting.
Voula
Hi, Sarah! First of all, I'd like you to know that every single recipe on this blog has been tested many times before I post them. Recipe development takes a lot of research and testing. At the end of each and every recipe card I have a note stating that I use metric measurements, and I especially encourage using a digital scale for accuracy and consistent results, something I always do. The 200g of sugar you're referring to is not at all excessive for this cake. When I tested this recipe with less sugar, I found that the cake was a bit bland and 200g was just right. In addition, this batter is supposed to be thin, and you can see in the picture tutorial above the recipe card. In the post, you can also see that the batter hasn't overflowed at all (pictures 7 & 8). Of course, you could substitute the oil with butter if you choose to, however, the texture and the flavor of the cake will not be the same. This excellent post from Epicurious explains why oil is better than butter for chocolate cakes. Regarding the ad video, I am sorry about that, I think videos can get glitchy sometimes. Nevertheless, I have contacted my ad network to look into it. Thanks again for your feedback.
Doris
Hi Voula!
Nice to meet you! I saw this recipe moments ago and will make it for my son's birthday in July. Looks divine!! I noticed you don't add any vanilla extract to the cake.. I may do this as I always have done with my cake batter. Thanks for a lovely recipe. Be well.
Voula
Hello, Doris! It's nice to meet you, too! When it comes to rich, chocolate desserts, I don't usually add any vanilla extract because I don't want it to "interfere" with the chocolate flavor. I want 100% chocolate, which is one of the reasons I usually "bloom" the cocoa so that it intensifies the overall chocolate flavor. However, if you like the flavor combination of vanilla with chocolate, by all means, go for it! I'd love to hear how it turns out!
Tony
Hi i made it yesterday and thank you it's one of the best i did
Thanks
Voula
Hi, Tony! Thanks so much for your feedback! I'm glad you liked the recipe!
Delia Burnham
Where are the quantities please?
Voula
Hi, Delia! The quantities are listed at the end of the post. You can also go straight to the recipe card by clicking on the "Jump to Recipe" button which is found at the top of the post a little under the title.
Nichole D Berry
Cooking for coworkers, families, and myself 🥳. I’ve baked (3) 8 by 8 and (2) 13 by 9 by multiplying 5 recipe if your one load of a cake and baked at the same time at 350’ and they came out beautifully along with the yummy Dutch cocoa and semi sweet chocolate frosting 🧁 😊🙏🏽 The recipe and the process was very satisfying to do. Thanks for sharing 🧑🍳👌💜
Voula
That's wonderful, Nichole! That's an impressive baking session! I'm so thrilled the recipe worked out so beautifully for such a big batch! Your coworkers and family are so lucky! Thank you for sharing your experience - it totally made my day!😊🙏🏽❤️