A decadent two layer Chocolate Olive Oil Cake made from scratch. Covered in a rich chocolate cream cheese frosting and fresh strawberries, it’s sure to be your new favourite chocolate cake!
Chocolate cake alert!
You know I love all things chocolate and today, we’re talking Chocolate Olive Oil Cake. A soft, tender choccy cake covered in a fudgy chocolate cream cheese frosting. It’s going to be YOUR new favourite cake.
Two lovely layers of chocolate bliss 💕
I’m a HUGE fan of using oil in cakes instead of butter. It makes them rich, moist and undeniably delicious. It’s what makes my Cinnamon Apple Cake so tender and my favourite Blueberry Bread so moist. I even love using olive oil to make EPIC brownies.
And now we’re using olive oil to make the most melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cake. Add a generous slathering of chocolate cream cheese frosting and you have a ripe royal treat.
Until I made this cake, I could NOT move away from my Chocolate Fudge Cake. But make no mistake, this Chocolate Olive Oil Cake gives it a real run for its money. This cake is everything that a chocolate cake should be.
It’s light and fluffy but it boasts a deep chocolate flavour. The chocolate sponge sticks to your fork and melts-in-your-mouth. And don’t even get me started on that frosting.
While I love a good buttercream, I wanted a lighter frosting that was made without butter. And I found it. If you haven’t tried a cream cheese frosting before – your life is not complete.
This Chocolate Olive Oil Cake is perfect served with fresh strawberries or grated chocolate. Perhaps a dollop of cream on the side for a sumptuous dessert. However you eat it, you are sure to love it.
YOU WILL LOVE THIS CAKE BECAUSE:
- It’s easy to make
- You don’t need any weird ingredients
- It easily serves a crowd
- You can make the cake ahead of time
- It tastes amazing
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TIPS FOR THE PERFECT CHOCOLATE OLIVE OIL CAKE
- This is an easy cake to make. You don’t need an electric mixer to make the cake itself. It makes a two layer 8 inch cake or you could make a three layer 6 inch cake.
- I recommend using a mild olive oil for this reason. Most olive oils will say on the bottle what strength of flavour they are. Try a mild or light tasting olive oil or extra virgin olive oil.
- You will need to mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients together by hand, along with a cup of hot water. The chocolate batter will be thin – this is ok.
- If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can make your own by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 cup of whole or full fat milk.
- When it comes to the frosting, my number one tip is to make sure your cream cheese is softened to room temperature, this will make sure the frosting is thick and smooth – without any lumps.
- You can make the cake ahead of time and simply frost on the day of serving if you like. Let the cakes cool completely, wrap them in plastic wrap and store them in an airtight container or freeze until you are ready to frost and serve.
MORE CAKE RECIPES TO TRY:
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Let’s Bake
Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
A decadent two layer Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
Chocolate cake
- 280Â grams (2 cups)Â plain flour or all purpose flour
- 80Â grams (1 cup) cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1Â teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 90Â grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
- 240 ml (1 cup) buttermilk
- 180Â ml (3/4 cup)Â olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3Â large eggs, room temperature
- 240Â ml (1 cup)Â hot water
Chocolate cream cheese frosting
- 250 grams (1 and 1/4 cup) full fat block of cream cheese, softened
- 375 grams (3 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons full fat or whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Then add the sugars. Whisk together. In a separate mixing bowl, add the buttermilk, olive oil, vanilla and eggs. Whisk together. Boil the kettle and pour out 1 cup of hot water.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Start to fold together. Then slowly pour in the hot water down the side of the bowl, and continue to mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Divide the mixture into two cake tins and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave for 10 minutes before gently removing the cakes from their tins and leave them to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Place softened cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy.
-  Add half the sugar, all the cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon of milk and beat on low until combined and smooth. Add the rest of the sugar and the extra tablespoon of milk, and beat until combined.
- Spread half the chocolate frosting on top of one chocolate cake. Add the other cake on top and cover with the remaining frosting. Serve with fresh strawberries if desired.
Notes
Cocoa powder: You can use natural cocoa powder or Dutch processed cocoa powder (I prefer the latter). Don’t use sweetened chocolate powder.
Caster sugar: Since retesting this recipe in 2024, I have reduced the caster sugar from 300 grams to 200 grams. It is still ridiculously moist and bakes up beautifully.
Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, make your own by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 cup of whole or full fat milk.
Olive oil: I recommend a good quality olive oil that has a mild flavour. You can also substitute a flavourless oil like grapeseed oil, if you prefer.
Hot water: You can use hot coffee if you like! Add 1 teaspoon of instant coffee to the boiling water. It won’t give the cake a coffee flavour, just enhance the chocolate flavour.
Cake size: You can use this recipe to make two 8-inch cakes, three 6-inch cakes or one 9 by 13 inch sheet cake. Baking temperature and cook times remain the same.
Mia says
DO you think I could make 8 and stack them for my sisters engagement party? And any chance you think substituting sugar for maple syrup might work?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Mia, yes I think this would be a good stacking cake! I haven’t tried with maple as a sugar substitute so I can’t say I’m sorry.
Sarah Jones says
Best olive oil cake by far 🥳
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! So glad you loved it!
Melissa says
Baked this delicious chocolate cake for ny friends daughters birthday. A real easy chocolate cake recipe with pantry staple ingredients, no fuss. Again one of Jess’s easy to follow recipes! I layered the cake with cherry sauce and chocolate crumbs (recipe in her Chocolate Cherry cake) and it turned out fab! Thank you Jess! There’s something about your recipes that brings me back here every time.
Jessica Holmes says
How wonderful is that! Thank you Melissa. So pleased it worked well for you – a layered cake with cherry sauce and chocolate crumbs sounds INCREDIBLE!
Christine says
Absolutely delicious and a lovely moist texture and deep flavour. (I did add 2tsp instant coffee granules to the hot water to enhance the taste of the chocolate). Is the best chocolate cake I’ve made to date. Very easy to follow. Huge confidence booster!
Next time will omit the milk from the cream cheese frosting as was a tad runny. I guess this depends on the brand of full fat cream cheese.
Many thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
Oh that’s brilliant to hear Christine! And thank you for the feedback re: frosting. I think you are right – less milk the better!
Stella says
Can yoghurt be used in the chocolate olive oil cake instead of buttermilk please?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! Use a full fat Greek or natural-style yogurt.
D says
What a light, airy cake with intense chocolate flavor. Easy to make and fantastic!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Mary says
How can I halve this recipe?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Mary, I haven’t tested a smaller quantity of this recipe so I can’t say. But perhaps you might like to try my Chocolate Buttermilk Cake or my Small Batch Chocolate Cake.
Elana says
Hey! Would the bake time be the same if I made this in a bundt pan?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Elena, it’ll depend on the size of your Bundt pan and the depth of your batter. It may take longer. The skewer test will help you know when it’s ready. When you insert a skewer into the cake and it comes out clean, your cake is ready.
Annabel says
Would it be okay to use this batter for cupcakes? 😄
Jessica Holmes says
Absolutely!