This fluffy chocolate snack cake is easy and quick to whip up for a small gathering, birthday or anytime the craving for cake strikes! Topped with a chocolatey and slightly tangy cream cheese frosting that’s smooth and lucious.
What is a Snack Cake?
It seems there are a some various definitions of what a snack cake is floating around the internet. But in my mind, a snack cake is a small sized single layer cake (smaller than a sheet pan) with frosting but minimal decoration. It’s meant to be easy and unfussy. Simple, yet sweet and satisfying and can be pulled off any day of the week.
Food52 actually has a great definition that I’m in total agreement with!
There’s no right or wrong time to make a snack cake in my opinion! Make one for a small celebration, a quiet birthday at home, or because you survived another week of “distance learning” with your kids while simultaneously doing your own work from home job and not killing anyone! Point is, You Deserve Cake!!
How to Make a Chocolate Snack Cake
This chocolate snack cake is almost as simple as making a box-mix cake, but with a few extra ingredients. Totally worth it, I promise!
Prep Work:
Line an 8×8″ pan with parchment paper and giving it a good shower of cooking spray to prevent any sticking. Next, get your coffee ready to go. The coffee can be made using a traditional drip machine, Keurig, pour over, french press, however you like to make your coffee at home. But make sure it’s HOT and freshly prepared. (Tip: if you don’t drink coffee at home you can substitute by using 1/2 tsp of espresso powder dissolved in 1/2 cup of boiling water, OR just use boiling water.)
Make the Cake Batter:
In a large bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients, including the sugar. In a large measuring cup whisk together all of the wet ingredients except the hot coffee. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Then add in the hot coffee and mix until incorporated. Batter will be thin.
Baking the Cake:
Bake the cake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes. The cake should spring back when lightly pressed and should begin pulling away from the edges of the pan. You can also test the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the cake. It should come out mostly clean with only a few crumbs.
Make the Frosting:
While the cake cools, prepare the chocolate cream cheese frosting. Beat together the softened butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract until creamy. Slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder and mix on low speed. Be sure to sift both the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder if there are any lumps. Beat on a medium-high speed for a few more minutes until the frosting is nicely whipped and smooth.
Frost the Cake:
Once the cake is completely cooled slather on all that glorious frosting using an offset spatula or a spoon. You can choose to leave the cake in the pan for easy transport or use the parchment paper to lift the cake out of pan and place on a serving tray or plate.
Tips for the Perfect Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Start with butter and cream cheese that have come to room temperature. They should be soft enough to create an indent when gently pressed but not so soft that they look greasy.
Overly warmed butter/cream cheese in a frosting may require more confectioners’ sugar to be added to create the right frosting consistency. Adding a bit more is generally fine in most frostings. But beware of adding too much and making your frosting overly sweet.
Another key for super smooth frosting is sifting the dry ingredients. Both confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder can tend to be lumpy by nature. Prevent any lumps and bumps in your frosting by pre-sifting the ingredients.
Looking for more Chocolate Recipes?
Check out some of my other delicious chocolate creations!
- Dark Chocolate Chili Cupcakes with Spicy Whipped Ganache
- Chocolate Raspberry Sweetheart Cake
- Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes
Chocolate Snack Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 45 min + cooling & frosting
- Yield: one 8” cake 1x
Description
A fluffy chocolate snack cake topped with silky smooth chocolate cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup neutral flavored oil (vegetable, canola, grapeseed)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup hot freshly brewed coffee
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 6 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
Instructions
Chocolate Snack Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare an 8×8″ square pan (or 8-9″ round pan) by lining with parchment paper and generously spraying all sides and corners with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In a second smaller bowl, or large measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Slowly pour in the hot fresh coffee and continue mixing until incorporated. The batter should be fairly liquid at this point. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is well combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. When finished, the cake should spring back when lightly pressed in the center.
- Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack before applying the frosting.
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the softened butter, cream cheese and vanilla until smooth and creamy, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the sifted confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder and mix for 1-2 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue mixing for a few more minutes on a medium-high speed until the frosting is well combined and smooth.
- Place the frosting on the cooled cake with an offset spatula or back of a spoon and serve. Store any leftovers covered with plastic wrap in the fridge.
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