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If You Need One Chocolate Cake Recipe, Make This One: This is the Chocolate Cake Recipe I turn to every single time I need a guaranteed win. Itโs rich, deeply chocolatey, incredibly moist, and simple enough to make without stress, which is exactly why itโs become my go-to for birthdays, celebrations, and just-because baking. If youโre looking for one chocolate cake recipe you can rely on forever, this is it!
After years of testing, tweaking, and baking for every occasion imaginable, this is the chocolate cake recipe I come back to again and again. Itโs easy to make, full of rich chocolate flavor, and turns out perfectly every time- no fancy techniques or complicated steps required! This is the kind of chocolate cake that earns a permanent spot in your recipe box, with homemade chocolate pudding frosting.ย This Is the Chocolate Cake I Make for Every Birthday!
Don’t want all the extras in a recipe post? We provide a skip to recipe button in the top left corner, as well as a clickable table of contents, just below, to help make this page easier to navigate.
At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
Table of contents
How To Make The Best Chocolate Cake Ever
There are plenty of claims out there for the best chocolate cake recipe, but this one had every single person who ate it raving about how it was the best chocolate cake ever! Itโs rich, moist, and decadent. There really isnโt another cake quite like this one.
If youโre worried that you arenโt good at baking, donโt be. This recipe is as easy as whipping up a cake from a box! Just use exact ingredients and follow the instructions.ย
This moist, decadent chocolate cake pairs perfectly with my homemade chocolate pudding frosting! Get on your bakerโs hat and letโs make the best cake youโve ever had.ย
The Best Chocolate Cake Ingredients
To make this recipe we will need the following items:
- Granulated sugar sweetens the cake and helps retain moisture, keeping the crumb soft and tender.
- All-purpose flour provides structure so the cake rises properly while staying light and fluffy.
- Cocoa powder delivers deep, rich chocolate flavor without adding extra fat.
- Baking soda reacts with acidic ingredients to help the cake rise and stay airy.
- Baking powder adds extra lift, ensuring an even rise and preventing a dense texture.
- Kosher salt balances sweetness and enhances the chocolate flavor.
- Eggs bind the ingredients, add structure, and help create a tender but stable crumb.
- Buttermilk adds moisture and a slight tang while activating the baking soda for better rise.
- Hot espresso, black coffee, or water blooms the cocoa powder, intensifying chocolate flavor and creating a moist batter (no coffee taste).
- Vegetable oil keeps the cake incredibly moist and tender, even after chilling.
- Vanilla extract rounds out and enhances all the flavors for a richer overall taste.
Steps to Make the Best Chocolate Cake
Prep
First, preheat your oven to 350F. Then, grease two 9×2 inch round cake pans with butter and flour or cooking spray. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
Mix Dry Ingredients
Next, whisk together your dry ingredients (sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) in a large bowl.ย
Mix in Wet Ingredients
Beat the eggs, buttermilk, espresso, oil, and vanilla into the dry ingredients on medium speed for 2-minutes.
Bake
The batter will be thin. Divide it between the two prepared pans.
Make Frosting
Make Chocolate Pudding Frosting or another frosting you love while the cake is baking.
Cool
Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 10-minutes. Then, transfer them to a cooling rack for 1-hour.ย
Crumb Coat
After the cakes have cooled, place your first cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Then, pipe or spread a thick layer of frosting all over the top of the cake to create the filling layer.
Place the second cake on top of the first cake. Then, coat the second cake with frosting.
Final Coat
Give your cake a crumb coat and chill for 30-minutes. Then, add a final coating of frosting.ย
Serve & Enjoy!
Serve with a glass of cool milk or a scoop of ice cream and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks to Perfect Chocolate Cake
Use Quality Cocoa Powder: Opt for high-quality cocoa powder for a deeper, more robust chocolate flavor. Dutch-processed cocoa can offer a smoother taste due to its neutral acidity.
Coffee Instead of Water: Substitute hot coffee for water in your recipe to enhance the chocolate flavor without making the cake taste like coffee.
Buttermilk for Moisture: Use buttermilk in your batter to add a tender crumb and subtle tanginess, improving the cake’s moisture and flavor.
Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure ingredients like eggs, butter, and dairy are at room temperature to achieve a smoother, more homogenous batter.
Sift Dry Ingredients: Sift together flour, cocoa powder, and other dry ingredients to prevent clumps, ensuring an even distribution throughout the batter.
Don’t Overmix: Mix the batter just until the ingredients are combined. Overmixing can develop the gluten in the flour, leading to a dense cake.
Use Parchment Paper: Line your cake pans with parchment paper to prevent sticking and ensure easy removal of the cake after baking.
Preheat Your Oven: Always preheat your oven to the correct temperature before baking to ensure even cooking.
Test for Doneness: Use a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cake; it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached, indicating the cake is done.
Cool Before Icing: Allow the cake to cool completely before applying frosting or icing to prevent it from melting and ensure a smooth application.
Experiment with Add-Ins: Consider folding in chocolate chips, nuts, or dried fruit to the batter for added texture and flavor.
Use a Water Bath for Even Baking: For larger cakes, consider baking in a water bath to promote even heat distribution, reducing the risk of cracking or doming.
Layer with Flavor: When assembling a layer cake, incorporate complementary flavors with your fillings and frostings, such as raspberry, caramel, or coffee, to enhance the overall taste.
Dust with Cocoa Powder: For a simple, elegant finish, dust the top of the cake with a light layer of cocoa powder or powdered sugar.
From Scratch Chocolate Cake Recipe FAQs
For this recipe, you will be baking your cakes in the oven. You want the oven to be 350?.
minutes of prep time to prepare your cakes, 45-minutes to cook, and an hour to cool. So, altogether, this recipe will take you about 2 hours and 55 minutes.
Yes, this cake can be made in advance. A fully frosted cake can be stored in the refrigerator or at room temperature for 1 day uncut. The frosting will thicken when cold and have more of a firm ganache texture as opposed to its silky soft and whipped texture right after making. If you let the cake sit at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours after removing it from the refrigerator, the frosting will soften up again. Just make sure not to leave it in a really warm area or in direct sunlight.
r for up to 3 days. Or, you can store the cake in the refrigerator for up to a week. Additionally, you can freeze the cake unfrosted. Let them cool completely, and then wrap in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag, squeezing out any excess air. You can freeze the unfrosted cakeย for up to 3 months.
Absolutely! You can make a 4-layer cake using 6-inch cake pans, divide the batter evenly between the pans and bake each cake for 30 to 35 minutes.
What to Serve with Chocolate Cake
Try these other delicious desserts:
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Best Chocolate Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1ยพ cup all-purpose flour
- ยพ cup cocoa powder
- 1ยพ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 cup hot espresso, brewed black coffee, or water
- ยฝ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease two 9×2-inch round cake pans with butter and flour or cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper. For best results, use bake-even strips.In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Beat in eggs, buttermilk, espresso, oil, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, the batter is going to be very thin.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared 9-inch pans.
- Bake the cakes for 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick comes clean from the center.
- While the cakes are baking, begin preparing your frosting since it will also need to cool for 1 hour.
- Cool the cakes in pans for at least 10 minutes and loosen from the sides of the pans before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
- After the cakes have cool and the frosting has been prepared according to the recipe directions, place one of the cake layers on a cake stand or serving plate.
- ย Pipe or spread a thick layer of the frosting all over the top of the layer to create the filling layer.
- Top with the other cake layer and give it a crumb coat and chill for 30 minutes before adding the final coating of frosting.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
