This Chocolate Glazed Cake is a delicious, one-layer chocolate cake recipe that is topped with a thick layer of chocolate glaze.

slice of chocolate glazed cake on plate

This recipe has been a favorite at my house for a number of years now. It’s a super easy cake to make. I often bake this Chocolate Glazed Cake when I need a dessert at the last minute for one occasion or another. The ingredients are all things that just might be in your pantry without having to go to the store (except maybe buttermilk). This cake always gets rave reviews.

ingredients displayed for making chocolate glazed cake

Ingredients needed:

  • all purpose flour
  • white sugar
  • baking soda
  • buttermilk
  • egg
  • vanilla extract
  • salted butter
  • unsweetened cocoa powder
  • water
  • powdered sugar

three photos showing how to make chocolate cake in rectangle pan

How to make Chocolate Glazed Cake:

The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray

MAKE THE CAKE:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and baking soda. Set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg and vanilla and whisk together. Set aside.
  3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the cocoa and water and bring the mixture to a boil. Pour the boiling mixture into the bowl with flour mixture and whisk together well. Stir in the buttermilk mixture. When all is well blended, pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
  4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

frosting in bowl and then frosting on chocolate cake in rectangle pan

The glaze on this cake is amazing. If you’re one who loves frosting on cake, you’ll love this cake recipe. The glaze is heated on the stove, and it’s poured over the cake in the pan. It soaks into the cake a little bit, and it sets and becomes a nice, thick layer of frosting on top. It’s so good!!

peek at half of chocolate glazed cake in pan

Seriously, that glaze on top makes this cake amazing!

How to make buttermilk:

No buttermilk in the house? No problem! For the cake, add 1/2 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a half cup measure. Add regular milk to fill up the half cup. Let it sit for 5 minutes, and you have your substitute for buttermilk! Do the same thing with the glaze. To make things easier, just combine 1 teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice with 6 tablespoons of milk.

spatula holding up slice of chocolate glazed cake

This glazed chocolate cake has a tender, moist crumb. The glaze on top really brings it all together for a chocolate-lover’s dreamy dessert. Enjoy!

chocolate cake slice with bite taken out of it

If you’re a lover of cake, you might like to try my Chocolate Wasted Cake or this Toffee- Chocolate Bundt Cake. And if you love thick layers of frosting, then you definitely have to try my Butterscotch Brownies with Caramel Icing.

slice of chocolate glazed cake on plate
5 from 1 vote

Chocolate Glazed Cake

A delicious and easy, made from scratch cake recipe with a thick layer of glaze on top.
Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 50 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
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Ingredients

CAKE:

GLAZE:

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray

MAKE THE CAKE:

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and baking soda. Set aside.
  • In separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg and vanilla and whisk together. Set aside.
  • In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the cocoa and water and bring the mixture to a boil. Pour the boiling mixture into the bowl with flour mixture and whisk together well. Stir in the buttermilk mixture. When all is well blended, pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
  • Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

PREPARE THE GLAZE:

  • Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the remaining ingredients, powdered sugar ½ cup at a time. Pour the warm glaze over the cake as soon as you remove it from the heat.

Notes

  • *It's very important to sift the powdered sugar to avoid lumps.
  • *This is so rich and delicious that you may want to plan serving it with a nice scoop of good vanilla ice cream.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 590kcal, Carbohydrates: 90g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 26g, Saturated Fat: 16g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 81mg, Sodium: 330mg, Potassium: 112mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 71g, Vitamin A: 790IU, Calcium: 38mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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slice of chocolate cake on a white plate

5 from 1 vote

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7 Comments

  1. Monica says:

    Trying to find a recipe like my hubby’s grandmother used to make, I tried this and the family went nuts for it. My hubby has always preferred yellow cake with chocolate icing, but this is now the cake he requests for his birthday. Thank you!

  2. Debbi S. says:

    Picture shows 3 cubes butter….recipe says 2 cups or 1 cup. Which is correct?

    1. Lori Lange says:

      There are 2 sticks in the cake, and there is 1 stick in the icing.

  3. Betsy says:

    5 stars
    This cake was amazing! Light cake that is made so fudgey with the glaze… it was like hot fudge topping. Soo good! (I halved the recipe for an 8 inch square pan, baked 20 min)

  4. Sue says:

    Do you cool the cake before icing it with the warm icing? Many thanks

    1. Lori Lange says:

      No need- you can pour the icing on the cake while it’s still warm.

  5. Mary Ann Joe says:

    Everybody loved the cake.