Busy Day Chocolate Cake

Busy day chocolate cake is an old-fashioned dessert that is incredibly moist and tender. This baked from scratch cake is topped with a rich, homemade frosting.

Jump to Recipe

Baked from scratch and topped with our rich, homemade frosting, Busy Day Chocolate Cake is an easy chocolate cake that is ready to eat in an hour. This old-fashioned dessert makes an incredibly moist and tender chocolate cake.

MORE RECIPES: Chocolate Dump Cake | Chocolate Peanut Butter Crazy Cake | Chocolate Brownie Cake

It’s love at first bite with this irresistible busy day chocolate cake. This baked from scratch cake is made with a secret ingredient, coffee!

An easy homemade chocolate cake, busy day cake takes less than an hour to make, making it ideal for busy days. This yummy cake tastes delicious served with a scoop of ice cream, a spoonful of whipped cream, or even hot fudge sauce drizzled over the top.

Coffee is the secret flavor-enhancing ingredient, both in the cake batter and in the frosting, for this one-bowl chocolate cake. Enjoy a slice with a cup of hot coffee or an iced mocha. 

Busy Day Chocolate Cake Ingredients

When you grease the cake pan, try coating the pan with cocoa powder rather than flour to enhance the overall chocolate flavor. You can also add a little bit of extra chocolate to this moist cake with chocolate chips mixed into the batter.

If you like nuts in your cake, add chopped walnuts or pecans to your cake batter. You could also sprinkle them over the top of the frosting before serving. 

Don’t let the icing cool too long or it will harden in your pan and not be easy to spread. If you absolutely do not want to use coffee in this recipe, either in the frosting or the cake batter, you can substitute the same amount of hot water for the coffee

How to Make Busy Day Chocolate Cake

Cake:

FIRST STEP: Heat oven to 375°F.

SECOND STEP: Grease and flour a 9x13-inch cake pan.

THIRD STEP: Using a large bowl combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients together.

FOURTH STEP: Add the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, coffee, and oil. Beat on medium speed for about two minutes, the batter will be thin.

FIFTH STEP: Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.

SIXTH STEP: Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

SEVENTH STEP: Cool 10 minutes in the pan before icing.

Icing:

EIGHTH STEP: In a medium saucepan on medium-low heat melt the butter. Remove from heat.

NINTH STEP: Whisk in cocoa.

TENTH STEP: Return to stove on medium-low heat and cook until just begins to boil.

ELEVENTH STEP: Remove from heat. Whisk in the powdered sugar (you can sift it to remove any lumps before adding).

TWELFTH STEP: Add the vanilla and coffee and stir until mixed.

THIRTEENTH STEP: Let the frosting cool for 10 minutes to let it set up just a bit. Then ice the cake. Don’t let it cool too long or it will harden in your pan and not be as easy to spread.

FOURTEENTH STEP: Spread the icing over the cake.

Is busy cake the same as crazy cake? 

While busy cake and crazy cake, also known as wacky cake or depression cake, share many of the same ingredients, they are not exactly the same. Most notably, crazy cake does not use eggs or milk. 

What if I don’t have buttermilk? 

You can make your own buttermilk using whole or 2% milk and lemon juice or distilled vinegar. For every 1 cup of milk, stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar.

Can I freeze this cake? 

This easy chocolate cake recipe can be frozen for up to two months. The cake can either be frozen whole or cut into slices.

How to Store Busy Day Chocolate Cake 

ON THE COUNTER: Store leftover busy day cake in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.  

IN THE FREEZER: You can freeze this chocolate cake, either in slices or as a whole. If you plan to freeze a frosted cake, it is helpful to freeze the cake unwrapped first, and then wrap the frozen slice or pan once the frosting will no longer transfer to the wax paper or other wrapper.

Busy Day Chocolate Cake

Busy day chocolate cake is an old-fashioned dessert that is incredibly moist and tender. This baked from scratch cake is topped with a rich, homemade frosting.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Cool Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Calories 6784 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Cake:

• 2 cups white sugar
• 2½ cups flour
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup hot coffee
• 1 cup vegetable oil

Icing:

• ½ cup butter , softened
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoon coffee
• ½ tablespoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS

 

Cake:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Grease and flour a 9x13-inch cake pan.
• Using a large bowl combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients together.
• Add the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, coffee, and oil. Beat on medium speed for about two minutes, the batter will be thin.
• Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
• Cool 10 minutes in the pan before icing.

Icing:

• In a medium saucepan on medium-low heat melt the butter. Remove from heat.
• Whisk in cocoa.
• Return to stove on medium-low heat and cook until just begins to boil.
• Remove from heat. Whisk in the powdered sugar (you can sift it to remove any lumps before adding).
• Add the vanilla and coffee and stir until mixed.
• Let the frosting cool for 10 minutes to let it set up just a bit. Then ice the cake. Don’t let it cool too long or it will harden in your pan and not be as easy to spread.
• Spread the icing over the cake.

Nutrition

Calories: 6784kcal | Carbohydrates: 1267g | Protein: 115g | Fat: 159g | Saturated Fat: 84g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 15g | Monounsaturated Fat: 47g | Trans Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 2078mg | Sodium: 5763mg | Potassium: 3047mg | Fiber: 32g | Sugar: 918g | Vitamin A: 5857IU | Calcium: 993mg | Iron: 33mg

Tried this recipe? Don't forget to rate it! Leave recipe feedback in the comments below

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

We won't sell or give away your information to anyone, for any reason. Unsubscribe at any time.

SUBSCRIBE ME