How many calories are in a slice of chocolate cake?
A bakery slice of two-layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting weighs 175 g and carries 604 calories. Per 100 g the cake runs 345 calories, which puts it in the same band as most frosted layer cakes. The frosting is doing more of that work than the crumb. Strip it off and the same slice drops to 530.
You'd need to walk about 2 hours to burn the 604 calories in one bakery slice (175 g).
How long does it take to burn off 604 kcal of chocolate cake?
One bakery slice (175 g) is 604 kcal. Enter your weight and the amount you ate to see how long it takes you to burn that off:
lb
| Activity | Time to burn 604 kcal |
|---|---|
| Walking, brisk | 2 hr 1 min |
| Cycling, moderate | 1 hr 16 min |
| Swimming, moderate | 1 hr 26 min |
| Jogging | 1 hr 11 min |
| Weight training, moderate | 2 hr 14 min |
Times are for a 155 lb adult at a steady pace; change the weight to see yours. The amount is set to the portion in the text (175 g); change it to what you actually ate. BodyPal works this out from your steps automatically.
On this page
- Chocolate cake quick facts
- US servings from one ounce to a large slice
- Six versions from a bakery slice to flourless
- Saturated fat and sodium are the rows to watch
- How does chocolate cake compare
- Most popular chocolate cake brands
- Chocolate cake FAQs
Chocolate cake quick facts
The record on this page is FNDDS 2707866, "Cake or cupcake, chocolate with chocolate icing, bakery". That is the cake most people are actually holding: a frosted slice from a supermarket bakery case, a birthday sheet cake, or the dessert menu at a diner. It is not cake batter, not an unfrosted layer, and not a boxed mix, all of which USDA files separately and all of which land on different numbers. The record also comes with a full set of US household slices, so the weights below are USDA's, not guesses.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g | Per 1 slice, 2-layer cake (175 g) | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 345 | 604 | — |
| Total fat | 15.2 g | 26.6 g | 34% |
| Saturated fat | 4.12 g | 7.2 g | 36% |
| Carbohydrate | 52.25 g | 91.4 g | 33% |
| Dietary fiber | 1.6 g | 2.8 g | 10% |
| Total sugars | 37.8 g | 66.2 g | — |
| Protein | 3.29 g | 5.8 g | 12% |
| Sodium | 295 mg | 516 mg | 22% |
% Daily Value is based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Two rows you would see on a package label are missing here: added sugars and trans fat. USDA does not publish either value for this record, so there is no honest way to say how much of the 66.2 g of total sugars was spooned in versus how much rides along with the milk and flour. Cholesterol is 43 mg per 100 g, or 75 mg in the slice, a quarter of the Daily Value. Potassium is 153 mg per 100 g, 268 mg in the slice, which is 6%.
US servings from one ounce to a large slice
| Serving | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 28.4 g | 98 kcal |
| Per 100 g | 100 g | 345 kcal |
| One slice, 1-layer cake | 115 g | 397 kcal |
| One regular cupcake | 90 g | 311 kcal |
| One slice, 2-layer cake | 175 g | 604 kcal |
| One large slice, 2-layer cake | 260 g | 897 kcal |
Every weight in that table except the ounce is a USDA household measure for this record. The 1 oz row is our own arithmetic from the USDA 100 g figure, useful only if you are weighing a sliver on a kitchen scale.
Here is the trap. The gap between a small slice and a large one is 500 calories, and nothing about the plate tells you which one you got. A single-layer birthday slice at 115 g is 397. A two-layer wedge from a restaurant dessert case at 260 g is 897, more than twice as much cake for what still gets logged as "a slice." If you only ever log one figure for chocolate cake, log the 175 g slice at 604, then adjust up when the wedge is tall and down when it is a thin office-party square.
One more oddity worth knowing: USDA also lists "1 cup" of this cake, crumbled, at 100 g and 345 calories. That is fewer calories than a small single-layer slice. A cup is a measure for loose crumbs, not for cake, so if a tracking app offers you cups here, switch to grams or slices instead.
Six versions from a bakery slice to flourless
| Version | Per 100 g | Typical slice | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakery, chocolate frosting | 345 kcal | 1 slice, 2-layer (175 g) | 604 kcal |
| From a mix, chocolate frosting | 341 kcal | 1 slice, 2-layer (150 g) | 512 kcal |
| With white icing | 355 kcal | 1 slice, 2-layer (175 g) | 621 kcal |
| No icing | 303 kcal | 1 slice, 2-layer (175 g) | 530 kcal |
| German chocolate | 360 kcal | 1 slice (175 g) | 630 kcal |
| Flourless | 410 kcal | 1 slice (100 g) | 410 kcal |
The unfrosted row is the one that changes decisions. At 303 calories per 100 g it is the only chocolate cake record in this group under 320, and its sugar falls from 37.8 g to 21.52 g per 100 g. Same 175 g of cake, 530 calories instead of 604, our own arithmetic scaled from that 303 per 100 g. Skipping the icing is worth about 74 calories per slice and over 40% of the sugar, which is a better trade than eating a smaller frosted slice and still wanting more.
White icing goes the other way. It reads lighter and it is not: 355 calories per 100 g and 621 in a slice, because white frosting is mostly sugar where chocolate frosting carries some cocoa solids. German chocolate cake, with its coconut-pecan topping, is 360 per 100 g and 630 per 175 g slice, and its fat climbs to 17.6 g per 100 g. Both of those slice weights are our own arithmetic scaled from the USDA 100 g values, not USDA serving sizes.
Flourless chocolate cake is the densest of these records at 410 calories per 100 g, with 29.42 g of fat, because chocolate and eggs replace the crumb entirely. It is still often the smaller number on the plate, since a flourless slice is typically served at about 100 g rather than 175 g. Dense per gram, modest per portion, which is the opposite of how most people assume it works.
Homemade is a separate question. The USDA SR Legacy record for chocolate cake prepared from a recipe, unfrosted puts scratch batter at 371 calories per 100 g, higher than the bakery unfrosted figure of 303, so a 175 g homemade slice with no frosting comes to about 649 calories by our arithmetic. Home bakers use more butter and less air. An older SR Legacy entry for in-store bakery cake with chocolate frosting sits at 389 per 100 g, or about 681 per slice, which is why some calorie apps show a higher number than this page. Both are USDA; the FNDDS record used here is the newer sampling.
Packaged snack cakes are a different size class again. Hostess frosted chocolate cupcakes are labeled at 170 calories for one 45 g cake and 330 for the two-pack, and a Gem City vegan chocolate cake slice is labeled at 200 calories for 59 g. Every one of those is smaller than a bakery slice, which is most of why they look light.
Saturated fat and sodium are the rows to watch
The calorie number is the headline, but the slice's saturated fat is the row that surprises people: 7.2 g, or 36% of the FDA Daily Value of 20 g. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans advise keeping saturated fat under 10% of daily calories, and one dessert taking a third of that budget is worth knowing before you decide what dinner looks like.
Sodium is the second surprise. Cake tastes sweet, not salty, yet a 175 g slice carries 516 mg of sodium, 22% of the Daily Value and about a quarter teaspoon of table salt's worth. Baking soda and baking powder put it there. If you are watching sodium, the flourless version is the outlier in your favor at 119 mg per 100 g, less than half the 295 mg in a standard frosted cake.
What the slice does not give you is much of anything else: 2.8 g of fiber, 5.8 g of protein, 6% of the Daily Value for potassium. MyPlate files cake under foods to keep small and occasional, and the numbers back that up. Chocolate cake is a dessert to enjoy and budget for, not a food to optimize.
How does chocolate cake compare
| Cake | Per 100 g | US serving | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chocolate with chocolate frosting | 345 kcal | one slice, 175 g | 604 kcal |
| Marble | 347 kcal | one slice, 175 g | 607 kcal |
| Pound cake | 353 kcal | one slice, 175 g | 618 kcal |
| Red velvet | 355 kcal | one slice, 175 g | 621 kcal |
Our take: chocolate cake is the lightest of these four per 100 g and per slice, and the spread across all of them is 17 calories in a slice. That is noise. Choosing red velvet over chocolate to save calories does not work, and neither does the reverse. What moves the number is the size of the slice, whether it is frosted, and whether anyone put a scoop of ice cream next to it. Pick the cake you actually want, cut it at 115 g instead of 175 g, and you have saved 207 calories without giving up dessert. The 175 g slice weights for the three comparison cakes are our own arithmetic from their USDA 100 g figures, matched to the chocolate cake slice so the rows line up.
Most popular chocolate cake brands in the United States
Ranked by how widely each product appears among foods sold in the United States, from the BodyPal food database of over 3.3 million products. Calories are the figures printed on each Nutrition Facts label, checked against USDA FoodData Central.
| Product | Calories (per 100 g) |
|---|---|
| Hostess Frosted Chocolate Cupcakes | 378 cal |
| Britannia Double Chocolate Cake | 364 cal |
| Gem City Fine Foods Vegan Chocolate Cake | 339 cal |
| Cheesecake & Dessert Co. Double Chocolate Cake | 279 cal |
Brand popularity: BodyPal food database. Nutrition: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Chocolate cake FAQs
How many calories are in a slice of chocolate cake?
604 calories for a regular bakery slice of two-layer cake, 175 g on the plate. A smaller single-layer slice of 115 g comes to 397 calories, and a large restaurant-size wedge of 260 g reaches 897. The cake itself runs 345 calories per 100 g, so weight decides everything here.
How many calories in chocolate cake with chocolate frosting?
604 calories in a 175 g bakery slice, from the USDA record for chocolate cake with chocolate icing at 345 calories per 100 g. Swap to white icing and the same slice is 621, because white frosting carries more sugar. From a boxed mix, a 150 g slice lands at 512.
Does chocolate cake without frosting have fewer calories?
Yes, 530 calories for the same 175 g, against 604 with chocolate icing. Unfrosted chocolate cake is 303 calories per 100 g, and its sugar drops from 37.8 g to 21.52 g per 100 g. That 74-calorie gap is one slice's worth of frosting, nothing else.
How many calories in a chocolate cupcake?
311 calories in one regular chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting, 90 g of cake and icing together. A packaged snack cupcake is smaller: Hostess frosted chocolate cupcakes are labeled at 170 calories for a 45 g cake, so a two-pack is 330, close to one bakery cupcake.
How many calories in German chocolate cake?
630 calories for a 175 g slice, our own arithmetic from the USDA figure of 360 calories per 100 g. The coconut-pecan topping pushes fat to 17.6 g per 100 g and saturated fat to 5.61 g, both higher than a plain chocolate-frosted slice.
How many calories in flourless chocolate cake?
410 calories in a 100 g flourless slice, which is our arithmetic from the USDA value of 410 calories per 100 g. It is the densest chocolate cake USDA lists, at 29.42 g fat and 16.19 g saturated fat per 100 g, but flourless slices are usually served small.
Is chocolate cake high in sugar?
66.2 g of total sugars in a 175 g bakery slice, from 37.8 g per 100 g, more than half the carbohydrate in the slice. USDA does not publish added sugars for this record, so we cannot split refined sugar from what the milk and flour bring.
How much protein is in chocolate cake?
5.8 g of protein in a 175 g slice, 12% of the Daily Value, from 3.29 g per 100 g. Cake is not a protein food. An unfrosted chocolate cake is slightly higher at 5.08 g per 100 g, because there is less sugar-and-fat icing diluting the crumb.
Similar foods
- Steak — 368 cal per regular steak
- Chocolate Chip Cookie — 148 cal per medium cookie
- Eggnog — 112 cal for 1/2 cup
- Protein Shake — 156 cal per cup
- Bubble Tea — 239 cal per drink
- Apple cider — 114 cal per cup
Count it without the math
Point the camera at the plate and BodyPal counts the slice for you, frosting and all.
