Skip to Content

Chocolate Chip Fudge Cake

Rich chocolate fudge sandwiched between four layers of brown sugar chocolate chip cake topped with vanilla buttercream, fudge splatter and chocolate chips for garnish… this cake is sure to satisfy any chocolate fudge lover in your life!

Chocolate Chip Fudge Cake | JavaCupcake.com

There’s no real reason why I made this cake.  I mean, I’m sure I could come up with a half a dozen excuses why I made this cake.  Actually, that sounds like fun.  Let’s so that! Why I made a Chocolate Chip Fudge Cake…

  • It’s Sunday
  • It’s raining
  • I love cake
  • Chocolate chips are delicious
  • I love cake
  • I needed something new for the blog this week
  • I love cake
  • Fudge – om nom nom
  • My kids needed dessert after dinner tonight
  • My kids love cake

See! Lots of excellent reasons why I needed to make this cake today!

Chocolate Chip Fudge Cake | JavaCupcake.com

Now, let me tell you a little bit about this cake…  It’s a “reverse” cake… meaning you put the dry ingredients into your mixing bowl first then add your wet.  The cake is made with a touch of brown sugar and lots of  Gharidelli 60% cocoa bitter-sweet chocolate chips.  I cut the two layers in half to create four then filled them with thick, delicious chocolate fudge.  I topped the cake with whipped vanilla bean buttercream and garnished it with more chocolate chips and lots of fudge drizzles.

Om.

Nom.

Nom.

Nom.

If you love chocolate chips and fudge as much as I do, then you will definitely love this cake! I think the fudge inside adds even more chocolate flavor to the already amazing layers of cake!

And this fudge sauce… oh em gee.  Whatever you don’t use on this cake, keep!  Warm it and drizzle it over ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, strawberries.  So many uses and so incredibly delicious.

Rich, thick, fudgey goodness.

I may have eaten a spoonful or three. Shhh.  Don’t tell my waist line. Ha!

Chocolate Chip Fudge Cake | JavaCupcake.com

If you need a super fun, unique cake for your next party or special occasion… heck if you want a cake for Sunday dessert… make this chocolate chip cake!  You won’t regret it!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Fudge Cake

Chocolate Chip Fudge Cake

Yield: 1 4 layer 6-inch cake
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

Chocolate Chip Cake

  • 9Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 4 egg whites, 1 egg, room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cup cake flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/4 cups Gharidelli 60% semi-sweet chocolate chips tossed in 1 Tbsp AP flour

Fudge Sauce

  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup Hershey's dark chocolate cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 7oz Gharidelli 60% bitter-sweet chocolate chips, divided
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped Vanilla Bean Buttercream

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 lbs powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • seeds of 1 vanilla bean
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • chocolate chips, for garnish

Instructions

Chocolate Chip Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease, line with parchment paper, grease again and flour 2 6in round cake pans.
  2. In a bowl, measure whisk together the eggs, vanilla and buttermilk. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of your mixer, combine the flour, granulated and brown sugars, baking powder, and salt on low speed for 1 minute.
  4. Add the cubed, room temperature butter and mix on medium speed until it resembles a coarse meal.
  5. In two parts, add the wet mixture and mix together about 10 seconds.
  6. Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the chocolate chips coated in flour.
  7. With a rubber spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl and fold in the chocolate chips.
  8. Pour half of the batter into each pan.
  9. Bake for 40-45 minutes on the center rack of your oven or until the cakes are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
  10. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing the cakes from the pans. Once the cakes have been removed, cool them completely on the wire rack.

Fudge Sauce

  1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, add half the chocolate chips, heavy cream, corn syrup, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Stir until all the chocolate has melted.
  2. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes.
  3. Add the butter and vanilla and stir until melted.
  4. Add the remaining chocolate chips and stir gently until they have melted.
  5. Pour into a glass bowl to cool completely.

Whipped Vanilla Bean Buttercream

  1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter until smooth.
  2. Add half the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Mix in the vanilla seeds, extract and salt.
  3. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and beat again until smooth.
  4. A tablespoon at a time, add the heavy whipping cream until you reach your desired consistency. Add more or less depending on how thick or thin you want your frosting.
  5. Whip frosting on high for 2-3 minutes.

Assembly

  1. Place first layer of cake onto a piece of wax paper on top of a spinning cake decorating stand.
  2. Pipe around the edge of cake creating a dam for fudge.
  3. Spread a 2 Tbsp - 1/4 cup of fudge sauce over the top of the cake on the inside of the frosting dam.
  4. Place second layer of cake and repeat with frosting damn and fudge.
  5. Then place third layer of cake on top and frosting and fill.
  6. Finally, place the top layer on the cake.
  7. Add a thin layer of frosting to the outside of the cake - this is the crumb coat. Place cake in the freezer for about 20 minutes to set.
  8. Spread an even layer of buttercream on the outside of the cake.
  9. Reheat the chocolate fudge until it's thin. Dip a spoon into the fudge sauce and splatter it across the top of the cake.
  10. Garnish with a pile chocolate chips in the center.

Notes

Fudge sauce originally from Created by Diane .

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

Maria

Sunday 25th of April 2021

This cake is sooo GOOD I don't understand how someone can make such a good cake i'm going to make it again when sister comes back.

Michelle

Tuesday 25th of March 2014

Hello! I was wondering if you could turn the cakes portion of this into cupcakes and if so, how full would you fill the liners and for how long would you bake it for? Also, about how many cupcakes do you think it would make? I LOVE LOVE your recipes and am such a HUGE fan! I hope you put out a cook book! I would buy it in a heart beat!

Michelle

Betsy Eves

Tuesday 25th of March 2014

Absolutely! Since I've never turned this particular recipe into cupcakes... I'd probably go with the standard 2/3 full and bake at 350F degrees for about 18-20 minutes. Depending on your oven it could be more/less. :) Let me know how they turn out... take pictures!!!

Esmeralda

Sunday 9th of March 2014

Do you have to have brown sugar? I'm making my baby her bday cake but I just realized I don't have any :(

Betsy Eves

Sunday 9th of March 2014

You could sub granulated sugar, but it will change the flavor of the cake. :) Have you considered making your own brown sugar? https://javacupcake.com/2013/12/homemade-brown-sugar/

Kathryn Pell

Monday 13th of January 2014

Is the glaze blue? Or is my screen doing something funny?

Betsy Eves

Tuesday 14th of January 2014

Hi Kathryn - there's no glaze on the cake. It's frosting with a chocolate drizzle. It might be your screen, but there's also a mask on the photo to give it a bit of a haze. So don't worry... the cake isn't blue! hehe ;)

CoffeeMuffins (@coffeemuffins)

Tuesday 12th of November 2013

This looks like an amazing cake. I am so hungry just looking at it! Plus you don't really need a reason for making cake, to have cake soon is a good enough reason!

Betsy Eves

Wednesday 13th of November 2013

Seriously! Who needs a reason for cake! hehe

Skip to Recipe