My mom's fudgy chocolate cake recipe has been a family favorite for 2 decades, and it only requires one bowl

Maria NoyenJun 6, 2022, 19:03 IST

This chocolate cake is a family favorite.Maria Noyen/Insider

My mom has been making my sisters and I the same birthday chocolate cake for the past 20 years.
It's a one-bowl recipe that comes with a delicious condensed milk frosting like no other.

It's not birthday in my family without the chocolate cake recipe my mom's been making for nearly two decades.

My younger sisters with the famous cake.Maria Noyen/Insider

Like a lot of family recipes, it turns out this cake actually came from someone else.

My mom has kept the recipe on this pink paper since 2003.Maria Noyen/Insider

Most of the ingredients in this recipe, like all-purpose flour and sugar, are pantry staples.

These are all the ingredients needed.Maria Noyen/Insider

The first step is to combine the dry ingredients into a large bowl.

I ran into a minor issue when mixing the dry ingredients.Maria Noyen/Insider

Once all the dry ingredients are in the same bowl, give it a mix to make sure there are no lumps.

My sugar was quite lumpy so I tried break those bits up while mixing.Maria Noyen/Insider

Next up, add your wet ingredients to the same large bowl.

Add the eggs, oil, and buttercream into the bowl.Maria Noyen/Insider

When you've mixed the wet ingredients in, it's time to add the hot water.

Adding the warm water sent a whiff of hot chocolate into the air.Maria Noyen/Insider

The mixture will seem very watery — this is normal.

The mixture after combining the wet ingredients.Maria Noyen/Insider

Now it's time to pour the batter into an appropriately sized baking dish and pop it in the oven for between 35 to 38 minutes.

I baked the cake for 38 minutes.Maria Noyen/Insider

While the cake is in the oven, start the four-ingredient frosting.

The frosting ingredients.Maria Noyen/Insider

Mix all the frosting ingredients into a saucepan on a low heat. When you see bubbles, switch it off.

I warmed the icing until I spotted a few bubbles, then turned the stove off.Maria Noyen/Insider

At this point, I realized I wasn't sure whether to let the cake cool before adding the frosting, so I gave some family members a call.

I called my sister for her advice on cooling times.Maria Noyen/Insider

My cake ended up slightly lopsided, which is a PSA to make sure your oven railing is straight.

My cake ended up slightly lopsided.Maria Noyen/Insider

With a cooled cake, it's time to add the frosting. Feel free to spice it up with some decorations.

There's nothing icing can't fix.Maria Noyen/Insider

Now it's time to enjoy.

My mom's chocolate cake is good for the soul.Maria Noyen/Insider

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