Chocolate | Cakes

Moist No Butter One Bowl Chocolate Loaf Cake with Cocoa Powder

Name: Moist No Butter One Bowl Chocolate Loaf Cake with Cocoa Powder
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 125 g Milk; 3 g White Vinegar; 70 g Olive Oil; 1 Eggs; 145 g Sugar; 130 g Flour; 40 g Cacao Powder; 3 g Baking Soda; 2 g Salt; 135 g Milk Chocolate; 30 g Sunflower Oil; 30 g Toasted almonds

This moist one bowl chocolate loaf cake is made no butter and cocoa powder. It is moist, delicious, and easy to make. It is covered with almond chocolate icing.

Belula June 16, 2020 March 26, 2021

Jump to Recipe

Sliced one bowl chocolate cake covered in almond chocolate glaze as seen from above with 2 spoons on the top side and a plate with extra glaze at the bottom.

Chocolate cake is my favorite cake. Hands down. I like it fudgy Chocolate Fudge Cake, I like it layered with dulce de leche Chocolate & Dulce De Leche Cake. I also love a quick moist one bowl chocolate loaf cake recipe like this one: no mess, done in under 15 minutes (prepping the ingredients included!), and ready for any occasion. This is the best cake: it is made using cocoa powder and olive oil (no butter required!), one bowl, and a whisk. Covered with chocolate icing, it is versatile, easy, delicious. I hope you like it too.

Whole one bowl chocolate cake covered in almond chocolate glaze with one slice cut and in the front of the photo, and a small ceramic jar in the back.

3 slices of one bowl chocolate cake as seen from above.

Ingredient notes

You will need:

Simple ingredients you probably already have, like egg, milk, white vinegar, sugar, flour, baking soda.
Cocoa powder: use a high quality one. I like to use Valrhona or Callebaut cocoa.
Olive oil: use a good quality one. I enjoy this one.
One pound cake loaf pan.
A bowl and a whisk

How to make this recipe

Making this recipe one bowl chocolate loaf cake is quick and super easy to make. All you need to do is add the ingredients to a bowl in a certain order, then transfer to a greased and floured cake loaf pan and bake!

Make the chocolate loaf cake batter
Bake the cake
Prepare the almond chocolate icing
Glaze this moist one bowl chocolate cake.

That is, it! Probably longer to read the recipe than to make it.

Materials needed to make chocolate olive oil cake

One bowl chocolate cake in the cake loaf ready for baking

The baked one bowl chocolate cake cooling on a wire rack with a jar in the back.

One bowl with melted chocolate and oil with a small bowl full of toasted chopped almonds and the side.

A closeup of the almond chocolate glaze ready to use inside a bowl.

The baked one bowl chocolate cake on a wire rack with a hand pouring the almond chocolate glaze over it.

The glazed one chocolate bowl cake on a silver wire rack with a small jar in the back.

Recipe notes

Don’t over mix the batter. After each ingredient is added and incorporated into the batter you can move onto the next one.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder before mixing them into the chocolate cake batter.
Make sure to butter and flour your cake pan.
This recipe calls for a 500 g / 1 pound loaf cake pan (20 cm long, 8 cm wide).
If you use a bigger loaf cake pan, make sure to double the recipe.
You can also use a Bundt cake pan or a regular cake pan.
Do not open the oven until the loaf has grown nicely. About 40 minutes.
To check if the cake is ready, insert and skewer or a knife at the center. If it comes out dry, it means it is ready!
Unmold immediately after you remove from the oven. Let cool down on a wire rack at room temperature before covering with the almond chocolate glaze.

A few notes on the chocolate icing

Chop the almonds small and roast for 10 minutes at 170 C° / 338 F before adding into the chocolate/oil mixture.
The milk chocolate must be melted up to 45 C° / 113 F, only then add the sunflower oil and the roasted almonds.
Keep warm over a water bath until ready to use.
Only glaze the cake once it has completely cooled down
When glazing this chocolate loaf cake, place a piece of parchment paper under the wire rack holding the cake so that you can then reuse the chocolate glaze that slides onto the paper. Plus, it makes cleaning up easier.
Let the glaze set before slicing.

Storage tips

It keeps at room temperature covered with a cake keeper for up to 5 days.

Freezing instructions

This cake freezes splendidly. Let it cool down and wrap in plastic wrap twice. Transfer to the freezer. It keeps for a month.

To defrost: let it sit wrapped on the kitchen counter overnight.

The baked one bowl chocolate cake cooling on a wire rack with a hand pouring the almond chocolate glaze over it.

The glazed one chocolate bowl cake on top of a turned silver baking tray with a small jar in the back.

Variations to this recipe

I used olive oil to make this cake. It can be replaced with sunflower oil or another neutral oil.

I kept it amazingly simple here just using a simple chocolate icing. However, if you are looking for some frosting ideas, here are some:

Chocolate ganache in Chocolate Salted Caramel Tart
Chocolate buttercream in Favorite Chocolate Buttercream
Chocolate swiss meringue in Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

The ingredients used in all recipes on this site are measured using the metric system. I use a scale to be precise with my measurements and ensure good results. If you would also like to use a scale, here are some: USA, Canada, UK, Australia, France.

Moist No Butter One Bowl Chocolate Loaf Cake with Cocoa Powder

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 6 servings

Nutrition: 290 cal

Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Moist One bowl Chocolate loaf cake

Milk 125 g
White Vinegar 3 g
Olive Oil 70 g
Eggs 1
Sugar 145 g
Flour 130 g
Cacao Powder 40 g
Baking Soda 3 g
Salt 2 g

Almond Chocolate Icing

Milk Chocolate 135 g
Sunflower Oil 30 g
Toasted almonds 30 g

Procedure

1. Prepare the cake loaf pan: Pre heat the oven to 165 C°/320 F. Grease the cake pan and line with parchment paper. Or you can also butter and flour your cake loaf pan.
2. Make the chocolate loaf cake batter: Mix the vinegar and milk. Whisk in the eggs. Add the oil whisking at the same time. Add the sugar and mix until incorporated. Fold in the sifted flour and mix well. Finally add the sifted cocoa, salt and baking soda and mix until the batter is smooth and there are no more lumps.
3. Bake the chocolate cake: Transfer the batter to the cake pan and bake for about 40-45 minutes. Insert a skewer or knife at the center of the cake to make sure is cooked through. Remove from the oven and unmold immediately. Let it cool down at room temperature over a wire rack.
4. Prepare the almond chocolate icing: Chop the almonds small and roast for 10 minutes at 170 C°/338 F. Melt the milk chocolate to 45 C°/113 F. Remove from heat and add in the sunflower oil and the roasted almonds. Mix to combine. Keep warm until ready to use.
5. Glaze the chocolate loaf cake: Once the cake has completely cooled down, place a piece of parchment paper under the wire rack holding the cake. Pour the glaze over the cake until it is completely covered. Let the glaze set before slicing.

If you made this recipe I would really appreciate it if you leave a rating or comment below! Also, if you share on social media please use #cookwithbelula, I would love to see what you create!

8 comments

(6)

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8 Comments

Daphne July 11, 2020

A must try chocolate cake. My 13 yo son made this and it was delicious. The only modification we made was to add one teaspoon of instant coffee powder with the cacao mix. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Belula July 22, 2020

Hi Daphne!!! So happy to hear this!!! Your boy sounds like he knows his way around the kitchen :) Hope mine will too someday!! I like the addition of the coffee, it must have tasted delicious :) Thank you for taking the time of writing a review here!!!!!!!

Laura April 26, 2021

Hi, could you please share the quantities for vinegar, baking soda, and salt in teaspoons? I’d love to try this but my scale is not the most precise. Thanks!

Belula April 26, 2021

Hi Laura! So happy to hear you want to give it a try! I weighed out the ingredients and this is what they transfer to:
- salt, 1 pinch
- baking soda 1/3 tsp
- vinegar 1/2 tsp
Hope this helps!
Have a nice week!

Zenab Alvi May 05, 2021

I made a double batter and made two small cakes. They were delicious though they didn’t rise as normal cakes do. Doesn’t really matter to me but I’d be interested to know if they rise or not?

Belula January 18, 2022

HI Zenab,
So glad to here they were delicious! The cake usually rises quite a bit, i wonder what could have gone wrong? Maybe the pan was too big of the amount of batter? I'm curious! Do let me know if you try this one again!

Vanesa October 29, 2021

What difference would it make if I put only half-two thirds of the amount of sugar you put? I know it’d be less sweet but will there be any difference aside from that?

Belula November 05, 2021

Hi Vanessa! You could! However the cake will turn out less moist and fluffy. And less sweet as you pointed out. If you try it out I would love to know how it turned out!
Thank you!

Zenab Alvi November 26, 2021

Have made it atleast 5 times and always comes out perfect. Everyone loves this cake!!!

Belula December 03, 2021

Hi Zenab! So so happy you and your family and friends enjoy this cake! Thank you so much for your feedback!
Have a great weekend!

Mercedes January 10, 2022

Fantastic recipe! I make it all the time and it doesn't fail. I've also tried it for layer cakes, cupcakes and even made a gluten free version with 1-to-1 gluten free flour, always a success!

Belula January 18, 2022

Hello Mercedes,
I'm so happy you like the recipe!! And thanks for sharing how you have used this cake! Layer cake sounds heavenly. I will include the GF information in the post! Thanks so much for letting me know :)

Emily January 18, 2022

This cake is a huge success every time I make it! I even have to make a double batch to make everyone happy!
Thanks for sharing this recipe.

Belula January 18, 2022

Hi Emily,
Oh double batch is the way to go!! Happy to hear you liked this chocolate loaf cake :)

Danielle May 31, 2022

Gave it a go with veg oil, grated chocolate and hazelnuts into the mix. Topped with dark chocolate, splash of Baileys and walnuts, chopped and roasted. Ridiculously good, the sponge is really light and its a flavour bomb.

Belula June 03, 2022

Hi Danielle, grated chocolate and hazelnuts in the cake batter is brilliant. Will try it next time I make it! And the Baileys, WOW! I love Baileys! So happy you enjoyed the cake and thanks for sharing this brilliant variations!