The Best Chocolate Cake
This is the best, easiest, chocolate cake ever! Hundreds of people have made it and declared it the best-ever for a reason…because it is!
Smothered Pork Chops.
Yellow Cake.
Frosting.
Spare Ribs.
Chocolate Cake.
Cream Cheese Coffee Cake.
Any idea what all of the above items have in common?
Well, just between you and me, they are currently on my list (among several others) of recipes I’m searching to find the PERFECT version of. The Best Of, if you will.
(Update: I’ve actually found best-ever versions of some of those! Smothered Pork Chops and Yellow Cake are off the list!)
There are many things (like Indian food and pasta dishes to name a few) that I’ll probably always try different versions of just for the fun of it, but my “search” list includes recipes I want to know are the best so I can turn to them when the time arises and know they will not fail me.
And wouldn’t you know that this week, I’m able to cross off TWO of them! The magical frosting that still visits my dreams was detailed yesterday and now today I’m letting you in on the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made.
I first made this cake nearly eight months ago for my son’s birthday but wanted to make it several more times to ensure it really is the best. And it is!
Hands down, it beats any other homemade chocolate cake I have ever made. Moist (unbelievably so!), dense with chocolate flavor but with a perfectly light and tender cake crumb, and with the perfect balance of sweet and rich chocolate, this cake was taken to new heights slathered in my new favorite frosting.
So perfect and so decadent and delicious, this is the only chocolate cake I need to worry about from here on out.
Actually, I probably should be worrying more about the effect of this chocolate cake on my thighs. Ignorance is bliss, I say.
One Year Ago: Oatmeal Pancake Mix
Two Years Ago: Chicken Tikka Masala
Unbelievable Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (106 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 ½ cups (355 g) all purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups (530 g) sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
- 2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
- 1 ¼ cups warm water
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, making sure the baking rack is in the middle of the oven. Prepare two round 9-inch cake pans by cutting out a piece of parchment or wax paper to line the bottom of the pan. Grease the pans, place the parchment or wax paper in the bottom of the pan and lightly grease again. Dust the pans with flour (or cocoa powder if you don’t want the white dusting on the finished cakes). Set the pans aside.
- Using a fine mesh strainer, sift together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add the eggs, yolk, warm water, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Mix on low speed (with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer) until smooth, about 3 minutes.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake the cakes for about 32-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Do not overbake! Remove the pans from the oven and set the pans on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Gently run a thin knife around the edges of the pans and unmold the cakes, removing the parchment paper liners from the bottom of the cakes. Let them cool completely, top sides ups, on a wire rack.
- Trim the tops of the cake layers with a long serrated knife to make them level. Frost as desired (I highly recommend this life-changing frosting).
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Martha Stewart Living The New Classics
Yes, this cake is the real deal. Stop looking for the perfect chocolate cake recipe, because this is it people!!! I made the recipe in my normal 9 inch round cake pans (not 3 inches high) and my cake came out picture perfect. My layers rose beautifully all the way to the top of my pans without any danger of spilling over. I just love it when that happens! This cake really made my day, especially because I was making it as a birthday surprise for my sweetheart. He loved it! Thanks so much for sharing this truly outstanding recipe!
This cake really does rock! Easy and uber chocolatey. I’ve tried a bunch of homemade recipes for my girl’s bday, and this is the winner. It’s light, moist and just sweet enough. I baked in 2 9x9inch square pans. Cakes took about 40 minutes to cook and did sink a bit in the center as they cooled. But who cares? Not I! This is THE chocolate cake for bdays in my house now.
Was very glad to see this post. Mine were not baked through at 32 minutes. Here’s hoping that the extra 10 min will help, they are in the oven right now. Have no idea why this happened as I bake quite a but. I did not see the note re filling the cake pans. Maybe just too much batter.
Hi Mel!! Just a quick question for ya. I’d like to add chocolate chips to this cake recipe without them sinking to the bottom. Knowing this is a thin batter, making it difficult to support the chips, would you suggest putting it in the fudge to thicken before baking and then add the chips coated in cocoa powder? Thanks a bunch!!
I’ve never tried adding chocolate chips, Amber – but it usually helps to toss them in with a tablespoon or so of flour to help coat the chips before stirring them in. I’m a little afraid they are going to sink no matter what you do since the batter is so thin but good luck experimenting!
This cake turned out wonderful. Not overly sweet. I made it with your life changing frosting. All in all it was time consuming and made a ton of dishes, but worth it! Yum!!!
I was able to not overfill my cake pans too much and had enough batter left over to make about 10 cupcakes with it. Thanks Mel.
Thank you for your recipe, you are my go to blog for fail safe recipes! I am just waiting for the cake to cool, so far so good, looks and smells great!
This recipe is A-MAZING!! So moist, rich (used Droste Cocoa Powder) and not too sweet! It turned out beautifully! I even halfed the recipe to make an additional small 6″ round. SO so good! Thank you for sharing your awesome recipe!
Hi Mel,
I kind of skimmed through your comments to see if this question already came up, but I didn’t see anything. Is recipe good for making and stacked/Tiered cake? Making a 6″ cake stacked on top of a 9″ cake.
I made a 2-tiered cake with fondant and it worked well for me! I used 8 and 10 in rounds. Good luck!
Yes, I’ve made this and stacked a couple tiers. It’s not as sturdy as pound cake but is definitely more firm than a cake mix.
Yeay!! Thank you! Now I can’t make up my mind if I should do a Chocolate Ganache or your Chocolate Fudge Frosting! What do you suggest?
Either would be delicious, Aurora. 🙂
I made this cake, it turned out absolutely delicious and perfect, just like Mel said it would, I did make a few changes though. I added about 1/4 of a teaspoon more than the recipie stated and folded the batter by hand. I didn’t have any buttermilk on hand so I used lemon juice and whole milk, It turned out great even though the lemon reacted with the baking soda. I also traded the vanilla extract for half strongly brewed tea and half strongly brewed coffee, I also changed 1/4 of the water for coffee.
* the batter turned out pretty wet but the result was great
* I put a pan of water under the cake to assure that it is baked evenly
* I put cocoa powder in whipped cream and made a mousse to put on top of the cake, it was delicious
I give this recipie a five out of five
Thanks Mel
AMAZING! The cake and suggested frosting….both amazing. The only thing that made it better were the strawberries and grapes that my 4 yr. old wanted to decorate it with for his birthday. 🙂 Thanks to the reviews, I baked mine in three 9 inch rounds and it worked perfectly. (My rounds are only 1 3/4″ deep.) Thanks for a myriad of great recipes. I try 4 or so new recipes each week from your website and I’ve not been disappointed yet.
That’s adorable about the strawberries and grapes, Kris. 🙂
Mel, I have to leave a comment. This was AMAZING. I made a caramel version of the magic frosting by using brown sugar (I had to add lots of powdered sugar at the end to get the right consistency, but the flavor was ridiculous) and my husband and I couldn’t believe how great it was.
You have become my go to recipe source. I check your website before I go anywhere else and I honestly have never been disappointed.
That sounds amazing, Kerri!
How many medium sized eggs should i use for this recipe?
I’m not sure – you might try googling the equivalent of medium eggs to large eggs and see how many you should substitute.
Made this cake (1/2 recipe, in 9×9 pan) subbing a mixture of Greek yogurt & milk for the buttermilk and used hazelnut oil. Topped with Nutella cream cheese frosting. A new favorite! Thank you for posting. 🙂
My son was wanting a marbled cake for his birthday. I was wondering if you think it would work if I marbled this chocolate cake with your perfected yellow cake? Any experience marbling cakes? 🙂 I noticed that this cake bakes just a bit longer than your yellow cake so I’m not sure if it’d work. Help!
Hi Britany – I’m not an expert at marbling cakes; I’ve done it a time or two a long time ago with recipes specifically intended for that. I’m not sure these two recipes together will make for a good combination – the chocolate cake has a very thin consistency whereas the yellow cake has a thicker batter. I think for marbling to work well, you should use recipes where the batter is the same consistency – does that make sense?
I’ve got to say that this recipe definitely deserves the title… it is truly “unbelievable”! I made it for a 3 tier birthday cake (covered with buttercream and then fondant) and it was amazing! So moist and delicious! My husband even said it was better than a box cake (he used to believe box cake was better than homemade because it’s tough to get that tender moist crumb). I won’t need to be testing it with cake flour because as is, it’s perfect. Thank you so much!
Hi Mel,
I hope you get this in time but either way it’s a good question for the future:). I’m making my son’s big birthday cake tomorrow morning and was wondering if you’ve used unbleached all purpose flour (that’s what I use for most of my baking but not sue if the difference matters) or if you’ve used unbleached cake flour or a combination of the two. I’m also wondering if using fat free buttermilk matters since that’s all they had at the store (not sure if important to look at another store). Thank you so much and can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Hi Angela – I always use unbleached all-purpose flour so that should work just fine. I haven’t used cake flour in this recipe because quite honestly, it is soft and tender without it but you could experiment. I don’t know how the fat-free buttermilk will fare – I use low fat when I make it. Good luck!
Thank you so much!
Hi Mel, I’m so looking forward to trying your chocolate cake recipe! I’m planning to make a big tiered cake for my son’s birthday and I was wondering if you’ve ever had success with doubling this recipe (to save time) or if not, do you think it would be ok? Thank you and I’ve got to say I love your website 🙂
I’m also wondering if you think I could use a 10×2.5 or 10×3 round pan (I like to cut one cake rather than stacking layers to ensure it’s even) or would it maybe not cook well in the middle? I realize I would likely need to use more batter but wondering if the recipe would hold up to this? Thank you!
Hi Angela – yes, I’ve doubled this recipe before and it works great. Also, it would work just fine baking in a larger pan (adding more batter to fill about halfway) but usually if I bake in a pan larger than 9 inches I use one of those metal baking nails that you put in the center of the pan before pouring in the batter so it bakes evenly (I have the ateco brand). If you don’t have those, you might decrease the baking temp by 25 degrees so it bakes a bit longer at a lower temp.
Thank you so much! I was thinking about getting of those nails 🙂
Hi Mel, I will be making this cake for Thanksgiving and was wondering if it would turn out okay if I substituted coffee instead of warm water. I’ve seen the substitution done while using whole milk, but not buttermilk. I would like to try it but worry if the cake will turn out okay?
I can’t really say for sure since I’ve never tried it. Sorry, LaShonda! Good luck if you experiment!
Cupcakes worked out great!!! Thanks, Mel! They are my go to from now on!
I just finished baking this cake recipe, and was watching it closely to see when or if it fell in the middle. Well, to my surprise, it didn’t, nor did it overflow over the sides. I can only tell you that I used the dry buttermilk powder, ( you add to dry cake ingredients and add the amount of water to the wet ingredients ) and make sure your eggs are at room temperature. Just for fun I may use my magic cake stripes next time. By the way I really don’t like chocolate cake, but my husband and I finished it in two days! Needless to say GREAT recipe! Thanks for sharing! Oh also the perfected yellow cake and magic frosting is also FANTASTIC!
Made this in 8-inch pans and totally overflowed. Oven was smoking like crazy but I kept cooking it. Wasn’t sure if it would take on the smoky taste…amazingly it did not! One layer fell apart as I took it out of pan (after cooling)…so, we ate it :-). Great taste. Trying it today in 9-inch. Find it strange in rereading recipe that it is for EITHER 8 or 9-inch and cooking time isn’t specified as different depending on size. Aren’t most recipes specific to 8 or 9 inch??
Some are specific to those pan sizes – I’ve made this in both 8 and 9-inches with no problems; however, my cake pans are extraordinarily high (the edges are almost 3 or 4-inches high) so your comment is good timing as I’ll edit the notes of the recipe to be more specific.
Umm, hello! Wowza! I made this cake for my son’s first birthday and we are still raving about it. Simply SO moist and decadent and tasty with the perfect amount of chocolate (even for the non-chocolate lovers! Which by the way is definitely not me- love me some chocolate). But I also hate this cake because I may have gained a couple pounds by sneaking more than my fair share once everyone from the partay left. Yum, so good.
Hi. I’m hoping to try this and wanted to know what type of cocoa is used (Dutched or natural). Also, what kind of flour (bleached all-purpose, or unbleached all purpose … Unbleached can cause dips)? Finally, how do you measure the flour…dip and sweep, lightly spooned, of sifted into measuring cup (all are significantly different….. I usually weigh ingredients!). Thanks!
I use natural unsweetened cocoa powder and unbleached all-purpose flour. Here’s a link to how I measure flour:
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/kitchen-tip-measuring-flour/
what do you think about substituting butter for the vege oil?
I haven’t tried it – certainly worth experimenting, though.
tried it this weekend and it was a hit!! everybody loved it. thank you!
I made this tonight, and I seemed to have multiple issues. It sunk in the middle, almost overflowed at 2/3 filled, and I couldn’t get it out of the pan (with proper greasing/cocoa in pan and I let it cool appropriately.) It was so very crumbly. Even if I could have gotten it out of the pan, I wouldn’t have been able to ice it. 🙁 My family though it was the best tasting chocolate cake they had ever had….)
I made these into cupcakes to practice with the recipe for my son’s birthday cake. He wanted a chocolate ice cream cake and I needed a firm cake to work with. The cupcakes were the perfect consistency the day after baking, and the ice cream cake turned out perfect as well! It was a real hit! Thank you for the wonderful recipe! Now I’m curious to try making it into a white cake. I might play with it a little; the moisture content is just perfect.
Hi Mel, what is the best oils for baking? can I just use palm oil instead of others expensive oil like coconut or canola? Thank u
cakeholic – I have never used palm oil so I’m not sure; feel free to experiment. I usually use coconut, canola or vegetable.
Hi Mel,
I like your blog very much and it’s time to tell you!
Thank you for this great recipe! I’ve tried on saturday (only reduced sugar) and the cake turned out wonderful! I made a cream cheese frosting and garnished with a Black Forest-Topping.
Greetings from Germany 🙂
Can I ask how much you reduced the sugar by? I wanted to do the same, but wasn’t sure how much to cut out. Two and a half cups just sounds like way too much…
Yes, Baerbel, how much sugar did you use? <3 Thanks~
I have made this cake probably 10 times and it fell every single time. I tried a few things on the high altitude ingredient guide from King Arthur flour, and it finally turned out perfectly! I was so excited, I screamed out loud when it came out of the oven looking so lovely! I made it in 2 9 inch rounds and split those in half, then filled all of the layers with chocolate whipped cream and then poured some ganache over the top. To.die.for. This will be my go to chocolate cake. No more mixes. Thanks Mel!
So happy to hear it finally worked out Aubri!
Hi Mel,
As a general rule I don’t post comments. I stumbled on to your site and have made numerous things over the past month, with good success. This cake and the associated Magical frosting turned out so wonderfully well that I feel an “atta girl” is deserved. Thank you for posting this recipe.
Inland northwest addition: I often add frozen huckleberries to chocolate cake. Just a sprinkle on top of the frosting before serving.
Thanks, Cathy! I’m so happy you loved this cake and other recipes you’ve tried. I’d die to be close to huckleberries – love the suggestion of adding them to chocolate cake!
Would coconut oil work in place of vegetable oil?
Hi Ang – I haven’t tried it in this cake but I’ve used it in other breads/cakes and it works great so I definitely think it is worth a try.
Hi ! I have made this cake 4 times now and everytime i have the same problem. The top gets crusty and i have to take off a whole layer 🙁 its such a moist and fluffy cake inside. When ever im baking it the sides bake quicker and sink a bit and middle is fine . Except the crusty layer on top. This time i made cupcakes and had no such problem. No crust. Any tip i can try to help the cake not form that hard crust . I dont over bake i think. Maybe not grease the sides of pan?
nosh – What brand and size of pans are you using? Also, sometimes buttering the pan instead of using nonstick cooking spray can help (but usually I only notice the crustiness on the sides of the cake not necessarily the top). I am sorry it hasn’t turned out for you!
Its a 9 by 13 inch.dark colour pan. Do you think it will help if i use the light color pan ? Which ones are better for cakes if you can let me know . THANX A LOT for all your help.
nosh – Yes, usually light-colored aluminum pans heat more evenly and don’t darken the crust. I try to stay away from nonstick bakeware (but I use nonstick cookware like skillets all the time).
I made it the other day and I loved it so did the kids and everybody else. this is one that will be making all the time thanks for sharing
Hi! How many cups of batter does this recipe yield?
Anonymous – I am not totally sure, but I would estimate about 6 or 7 cups.
My wife discovered your website and decided to compare your cake to my grandmother’s recipe. Yours is very good but not sure I’m ready to convert. I’m perhaps a bit biased. That being said, she showed me your website (she has tried a few cookie recipes) and was surprised to find out I knew you back in the days before your Internet fame. Anyway, it was fun to see pictures of you and your family after all these years. Been a few years since BYU and those crazy college years. Glad you guys are doing so well.
This has become THE cake recipe for our family. My BIL came for dinner on his birthday on Sunday, and because of the season, I tried it with peppermint buttercream frosting, which was delightful. The dark, rich flavor of the cake held up well to the minty frosting. I really can’t ruin this!
Hi Mel, I was wondering how you think this would fare in a ten inch round pan… time?? Thanks so much!! I am not kidding you when I say literally every meal we eat comes from you. You are such a blessing.
Hilary – I would start checking the cake 10 minutes before the stated time in the recipe just to be sure it doesn’t overbake. Good luck!
I’ve made this cake several dozen times using a glass 13×9 pan. I set the oven tempurature to 340* and bake for about 57 minutes. As soon as the toothpick comes out clean, its out of the oven. I let it sit in the pan for about 20 minutes and it pops right out of the pan when inverted without crumbling.
I’ve made this quite a few times. Each time it was in two round pans every time except for the last. I made it as a sheet cake so each slice gets more icing. Cooked for 32 minutes in a half sheet pan. Came out great!
This is now my go-to chocolate cake recipe. Thanks so much for sharing this and the frosting that goes with it! I think it tastes a lot like an Oreo together, and Oreos are one of my favorite things ever. Again THANK YOU.
This is the most awesome chocolate cake recipe I have ever used….certainly lived up to the best of category. I made this for my son’s third birthday and it was wonderful. I just made a half batch for cupcakes today, and just wanted to say it came out great, and I got about 16 cupcakes out of that. Just be careful and not overfill, I went about three quarters full and they came out perfect!
YUM, YUM, YUM, YUM!!!! this was my first chocolate cake from scratch, so easy, so simple, so utterly unbelievable:)
I made on small subsitution coconut oil or vegetable oil, cause it was all I had.
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to frost this with your whipped chocolate frosting!
Two Questions: (Sorry, I’m a beginner baker)
1. Do you think it’ll still taste good even after refrigeration; straight from the fridge? I know cold cake is usually dry and loses its moisture and fluffiness but I have to refrigerate it if I will be frosting it with whipped cream.
2. Can I cut the sugar by 25% or will it lose its texture/moisture/etc.?
Thank you so much, Mel! Your blog is so inspiring and mouth-watering haha 😀
Hi Katrina – I have refrigerated this cake a lot and it seems to do quite well as long as the frosting completely covers the cake and kind of seals it in. If you can, I’d try to take it out about an hour before serving. I’ve never tried decreasing the sugar so you’d have to experiment with that. Good luck!
Hi Mel, One of my combine crew turned 19 today, he had to work all day harvesting we got in at midnight and I thought lets make a cake so after discovering their were not box cake mixes to Mels kitchen we went naturally. He was very happy as were the rest of the crew. You should gain a few more followers in new market, custom combiners and farm crews. We were out of eggs had to use yogurt??? I think Melissa taught me that, it worked so if I just made that up well that’s my contribution to baking… thanks
The cake is good and very moist. Not in love with the frosting. The chocolate cake made with quinoa, and the whipped cream frosting, is the best chocolate cake on this site!
OK, my daughter & I made both the cake and frosting today. O.M.G.!! My arteries clogged a little more, but this is truly a delicious combo. The cake is perfectly moist & the frosting is not too sweet. I followed directions exactly, except for adding 2 tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar, and it was wonderful.
Thanks so much.
I seem to be the only one that doesn’t know why the oil is separated. Is the half a cup for greasing and the 2 tablespoons for the cake?
Vanessa – you don’t need to separate the oil for different purposes – it all goes in the cake (the 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons).
This cake is truly the best chocolate cake. Light, but moist. My only recco – substitute coffee for the water. brings out the chocolate flavor! Also – the magical frosting is amazing, and the lemon bars truly are perfect. thanks for these great recipes!
Do you have any recommendations on cooking at high elevations? I generally don’t eat/bake cake but I’m living in Colorado now and I wanted to be a good mom and make this for my daughters birthday. Just don’t want it to be flat. Thanks in advance. Looks great.
Hi Laura – I’ve googled baking at high altitudes before and there are a lot of websites dedicated to it. Usually the rule of thumb is to add a few more tablespoons flour and adjust baking temperature (sometimes decreasing by 25 degrees). You might try looking online for other tips (I live at low elevation right now so I’m not an expert on it).
Catherine & Sandra:
I’ve covered this cake in fondant a few times and it works very well. I usually cover it when the cakes are frozen which makes it easier. Sometimes, instead of using buttercream as my crumb coat under the fondant, I use chocolate ganache. Once you get the ganache smooth (which is very easy to do), it will harden. This gives you a perfectly shaped cake to cover the fondant with. Hope this helps! Happy baking 🙂
Hi mel this cake sounds very nice but I was wondering if this cake could be covered in fondant to use for a christning cake