Simply Perfect Chocolate Cake
This is THE BEST chocolate cake recipe out there! Easy, one-bowl recipe, moist and melt-in-your-mouth, with tons of deep chocolate flavor!
*This post originally published on September 8, 2016. I thought it was due for an update! So, I’ve given some more detailed instructions, answers to FAQ’s, and tips for success. Hopefully you’ll enjoy this chocolate cake as much I do!*
Chocolate cake! It’s everybody’s favorite, am I right?
It is definitely mine. I’ve got a fabulous recipe for vanilla cake, a marble cake recipe that I love, and a red velvet cake that will knock your socks off. But in my book, chocolate cake always wins, hands-down!
This is something I have been meaning to share for a long time. My chocolate cupcake recipe is one of the top posts on this site, and readers are always asking me if it can be done as a cake too. So here it is (finally!): Simply Perfect Chocolate Cake.
I posted the cupcake version of this chocolate cake years ago. I remember it took me like three or four tries (maybe even five!) before those cupcakes tasted the way I wanted. There was a laundry list of “musts” in my mind for that recipe. And I was not going to rest until I could check off each and every one.
Well, my hard work paid off because that is one of the most popular recipes on my site to this day. There are tons of comments on it, from readers who tried and and LOVED it. Many of them say it’s the only chocolate cake they will ever make again! I’m super proud of it, and I’ve used it as a base as a lot of other recipes since. They all get the same kind of overwhelmingly positive response.
But I figured it was time I just gave it the classic chocolate layer cake treatment.
WHAT MAKES THIS THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE?
I’ve got a laundry list of reasons! Here is why this is the best homemade chocolate cake you’ll ever try:
- The batter is really easy to make and hard to mess up: It uses the reverse-creaming method, which I love because it means you only have to dirty up one bowl!
- The batter is really thick and almost mousse-like: One of my pet peeves is a drippy chocolate cake batter that leaves a big mess all over your counter. This is thick and gorgeous, and you’ll have to stop yourself from eating it straight from the bowl!
- The texture is tender: it’s fluffy but not so soft that it can’t stand up to a generous layer of buttercream.
- It bakes up nice and moist: I’m including an extra step here to make it even more moist! It’s optional, but if you really like an extra-moist cake, you should definitely give it a try.
- The flavor is SUPER chocolate-y: I have another pet peeve and that is chocolate desserts that don’t taste all that chocolate-y. This chocolate cake recipe is made with cocoa, so it has the deepest, richest chocolate taste you can get. Any time you’re baking a dessert that wants to taste extra-chocolate-y, it’s cocoa you want! That’s where all the flavor is at, and you can read more about it on this chocolate cupcakes post and this brownies post.
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE CAKE FROM SCRATCH
You’re going to love how easy it is to make chocolate cake from scratch!
Start by combining your dry ingredients. Sugar, flour, cocoa, leavening and salt can all get whisked together.
I like to use a combination of all-purpose and cake flour. You can learn more about why here: Why Use Cake Flour.
Next, mix in the butter. After about a minute or so on low speed, you’ll see it start to look like damp sand.
This is the time to add your eggs. Mix them in one at a time, stopping to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula after each addition.
Once the eggs are all mixed in, you can add your liquid ingredients. Feel free to use Greek yogurt or sour cream. Both work very well! Mix the dairy in, along with the vanilla, and beat the batter on medium speed for about a minute and a half, to aerate it and build the cake’s structure.
Then just transfer the batter to your prepared cake pans, and bake!
CAN THIS CHOCOLATE CAKE BE BAKED AS CUPCAKES OR IN DIFFERENT SIZED PANS?
It certainly can! You can find the cupcake version here: Chocolate Cupcakes.
As you can see in these pics, I baked my chocolate cake in three 8-inch pans. I just love the look of a tall cake!
But if you’d prefer to bake it as two 8 or 9-inch layers, or even in a 9×13-inch rectangular pan, you can totally do that. Just keep an eye on the bake time because a thicker or bigger cake may need more time to bake than a smaller, thinner cake would.
WHAT FROSTING SHOULD BE USED ON THIS CHOCOLATE CAKE?
This cake is so versatile! It can be filled and topped in all sorts of ways. You can really let your imagination go wild!
Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
- Whipped Cream Frosting
- Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Easy Chocolate Frosting
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Seven-Minute Frosting
For the pics you see here, I’ve frosted and filled the cake with chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream. It’s my favorite by far! The texture is so incredibly silky, and the chocolate flavor is really rich and pronounced. I highly recommend it!
CAN THIS CAKE BE MADE AHEAD?
I actually really like the texture of this cake once it’s been wrapped in plastic and refrigerated overnight. Letting it chill like that seems to bring everything together really nicely, and the layers stay super-moist. A lot of times when the cake has been chilled, I don’t even need to bother with a crumb coat. It’s great!
So yes I would recommend making this cake at least a day ahead, if you can!
Once filled and frosted, it can stay out at room temperature for a day or so. After that, it’s a good idea to pop it into the fridge.
The layers can also be tightly wrapped, slipped into a zip-top bag, and frozen. They will last in the freezer for about 6 to 8 weeks. Just thaw in the fridge and frost!
Next time you have a special occasion to celebrate, give this chocolate cake recipe a try! I’m sure you won’t be disappointed, and you’ll get rave reviews from your guests!
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Simply Perfect Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the chocolate cake layers
- 1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (62.5 g) cake flour
- 1 cup (86 g) cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 4 eggs, large
- 1 cup (200 g) plain Greek yogurt, or sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the cocoa simple syrup (optional)
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1/2 cup (125 g) water
Instructions
To make the chocolate cake layers:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Generously mist three 8-inch diameter by 2-inch high cake pans with non-stick spray, and line with circles cut from parchment paper.
- Place the sugar, flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl, and whisk to combine.
- Cut the butter into smaller pieces and add it to the dry ingredients.
- Mix on low speed until the mixture resembles damp sand (30 seconds to a minute).
- Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula after each addition.
- When all of the eggs are fully incorporated, add the Greek yogurt (or sour cream) and vanilla, and beat on medium speed for about 60 to 90 seconds, to aerate the batter and strengthen the cake's structure.
- Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared pans, and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean or with one or two moist crumbs.
- Cool completely, then soak with cocoa simple syrup (optional), and fill and frost.
To make the cocoa simple syrup (optional):
- Place the sugar and cocoa powder in a small pot and whisk to combine.
- Stir in the water and place over medium heat.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Use a pastry brush to soak the cake with the simple syrup before topping with filling. Repeat as you add each layer.
Quick question: What is the rationale behind starting with the dry ingredients first then adding the butter then the eggs and finally the sour cream? Usually I would cream the butter and sugar then add the eggs and sour cream then add the dry ingredients. Thanks.
Hey Michael! This is just another technique. It’s called the reverse creaming method, and it was popularized by Rose Levy Berenbaum. I just like it- to me it’s more foolproof and I like that it’s less cleanup. You can do it the traditional way too though- if that’s what you prefer. Thanks for reading!
I can’t wait to make this cake for my husband’s birthday next week. I might have missed this in the comments, but can I bake this in two layers rather than one? I’m guessing that I’d need to just adjust the baking times to a longer amount, correct? Thanks! 🙂
Hey Cori! This recipe actually makes a 3-layer cake, but you could make adjustments for sure. Just be sure to watch the bake time. You’ll know it’s done when a toothpick inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean. Good luck, and happy birthday to your husband!
Hi,
I only have one cake pan – can i make the batter in one go and then bake one layer at a time? Will the batter survive the wait? 🙂 Thanks
Hi Marko! I honestly don’t the the batter will. It really should go into the oven as soon as possible after the liquid and dry ingredients are combined. What is the diameter of your pan? And how deep is it?
Is the recipe amount the right amount for a 9×13 cake pan? If so how long would you bake it for? Thanks.
Hey Michael! This same question has actually been asked several times in previous comments. I’d refer you to Miriam’s comment (https://bakingamoment.com/simply-perfect-chocolate-cake/#comment-114455), where she gives detailed instructions on how to bake the cake in a 9×13. Hope that’s helpful!
Absolutely delicious cake!! And the frosting is SO good. We may have eaten the leftover frosting with a spoon 😉 Will definitely make this again.
That’s so great to hear! Thanks so much for the positive feedback, Siobhan!
I did end up going ahead and making this cake in a 13×9 glass cake pan last night in preparation for my mom’s birthday today. I’m pretty sure I opened the oven too many times, as my cake had fallen in the center and came out to be the thinnest part. 🙁 Not sure if that is the result of a fallen/thinner center, but I did a total of 3 checks/pokes/oven openings and it hurt my soul to have to check it that many times because we all know it’s best to not open the oven during the cook time. :/ First check was at 30 mins, not even close. Did 10 more mins (40 mins), still not very close but could tell the middle was getting slightly firmer. I did the final poke/crumb test at exactly 50 minutes and it had passed the doneness test on both the middle and edges, edges being the thickest part of the cake, so I advise to cook the cake for at LEAST 50 mins because at 40 mins, it was still a bit soupy-ish. But I’m also not sure if that would vary from place to place wherever you’re baking at. Something else to also note, I live in a higher altitude, Colorado. I’ve lived here all my life, and for all the baking I’ve done, I’ve never found or figured out a sure-fire way to add or subtract any ingredients for high altitude baking that doesn’t result in a drier cake, so I followed the recipe as is. The middle seemed more moist than the outer edges, but I didn’t cook any longer as it passed the crumb/poke test and I didn’t want to risk it burning. Even though the cake came out uneven, I did try to cut the sides down a bit to even it out. In doing so, I was able to sneak a taste and the flavor of the cake is incredible! Very well-balanced and it’s easy to see why this is such a popular recipe on the site! I also did add a slight drizzle of the chocolate simple syrup, mostly to the thicker outer edges to add moistness in case it lacked any in those areas. I also frosted with a basic chocolate buttercream because I didn’t have enough butter for the chocolate Swiss buttercream.
:/ Still excited to try it all later.
I’m sorry for this to be so long and drawn out, but in case someone else in the future has a similar question or I want to recall what I did, I hope I can help someone out with any tips I’ve provided or suggested and would love to hear what worked for anyone else if they took this route using a 13×9 baking pan/method and would love to hear about their end result and what worked for them/you! I do plan to make this cake again, with less oven checks/openings in hopes of a more even cooking. Haha. Thank you for this recipe, Allie! One of the best chocolate cake recipes I have ever come across! Can’t wait to see what my mom thinks of it when she tries it later!
Thank you so much for the detailed update! I’m sure many readers will find your experience to be so useful. I’m so glad you were (mostly) happy with the recipe, and hopefully next time you’ll have an even better result!
Would have made a fantastic trifle.
Absolutely! It’s a great chocolate cake recipe and super versatile. Thanks Susan!
How do you think this cake would do in a 13×9 pan? I imagine it would do fine, it’s a cake batter. Hahah. But I guess what I’m really wondering is what would the time difference be? Would you be able to estimate that?
I think it should work Miriam, although I haven’t tested it that way myself so I can’t speak to exact bake time. I would just keep a close eye on it and you’ll know it’s done when a toothpick inserted in the thickest part comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Good luck and let me know how you make out!
For how long does this chocolate cake bake..?
“bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean or with one or two moist crumbs.” Good luck Elise!
Hi Allie,
I need to make a chocolate cake for the bottom layer of a wedding cake. I figured I could make it a week out, freeze it and then thaw on the Wednesday. Do you think I could fill the cake on Thursday with the buttercream and put in the fridge and then cover it with ganache on Friday and leave in out until the wedding on the Saturday?
I think that should work just fine Deborah! Good luck!
Hi! Can these cupcakes be made a week beforehand and frozen? I need these cupcakes at a busy time and would love to just take them out of the freezer the day before and let thaw in the fridge. Thoughts?
That’s no problem Ly!
Hello Allie, can I replace the butter with vegetables oil…..a few recipes I’ve seen state veg. Oil. If I can is it going to be in the same measurement? Thank you
Hi Andrea! I’m afraid I’ve never tried it with vegetable oil, so I really can’t say for sure. If you end up giving it a try, I’d love to hear about the results!
Hey Allie-Sunday dinner for the family today and I am going to make this cake as the peice de resistance. My first attempt at a Swiss buttercream!!! Wish me luck.
Good luck Marcy! I hope you have fun and enjoy! You’re going to be the star of the show when you serve this!
Hi, Allie. Can I use chocolate ganache as frosting instead? Thanks.
Hi Leya! You can and I think that would be delicious! 🙂
I made this cake for my dad’s birthday and Wow! wow! Wow!
This is only the 2nd cake that I’ve ever made as my mum is the baker of the family, plus I’ve never really liked the thought of putting in all that effort and time only to find when you cut it, it’s a dissapointment. I’ve always struggled with the science of it all but a 44 years old I decided to make my chocolate loving dad a cake. It went down a treat! Everyone loved it and I even impresssed my expert of baker mum.
I spent quite some time converting cups to grams and learning how to substitute the cake flour.
All in all it took me about 3 hours from start to finish but it was so worth it.
It was quite something…llght, moist and creamy. The swiss buttercream simply divine! So much so that my son asked me to bake something just so we could use up the leftover buttercream (as I didn’t use all of the mixture on the cake).
And believe it or not I felt confident enough after my achievements, that I made some chocolate cupcakes and topped them with the swiss buttercream. They did not dissapoint.
If I can do it, anyone can.
My mum has hinted to me since that she’d like to try a salted caramel cake. So if you have a recipe that I could try for my mum’s birthday this month II’ be very grateful.
This is the best comment ever, Jo! I can’t tell you how happy it made me to read it. I’m so glad that you liked the cake and that your success gave you more confidence to keep baking. That just thrills me right down to my toes. Thank you SO much for making my day! And I have a great recipe for your mum! This is a huge family favorite- if mum doesn’t like nuts just leave them off. Same goes for the malt. https://bakingamoment.com/vanilla-malt-layer-cake-with-cashews-and-salted-caramel/. Also, if you need to convert measurements be sure to download my conversion chart here: https://bakingamoment.com/weight-conversions-for-baking/. Good luck and keep at it! The more you bake the easier and more intuitive it becomes, and it takes a lot less time too! Thanks so much Jo!
I’ve never made swiss buttercream. Can I frost the cake and leave it out overnight in a cake box or does this frosting need to be refrigerated? I want to make it for a cake walk so of course it won’t be refrigerated. Thank you in advance.
Hey Gina! I typically leave it out at room temp for a few days. It holds up just fine. I hope that helps! Good luck and have fun with the cake walk!
Hey Allie!
This cakes looks beautiful and I am planning to make the cake itself for my family. I want to use this for a 10-in round so I was wondering what slight adjustments should I make?
How many layers were you thinking Stephanie?