The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe {Ever}
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The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe – A one bowl chocolate cake recipe that is quick, easy, and delicious! Updated with gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free options!
The best chocolate cake recipe. Ever? There are plenty of claims for the best chocolate cake recipe. I get that. But with one bite of this decadent, moist chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, every single person around the table commented that this was the best chocolate cake they’d ever tasted.
So as for my house, this chocolate cake recipe now holds that honor.
As the compliments continued, I didn’t begin to tell them how easy it was to make.
In all honesty, it is probably one of the easiest cakes I’ve made in a long time, really, but I just smiled and thanked them.
As we continued on gobbling up the cake, drinking our coffee or iced cold milk, the compliments just kept coming.
Then the requests for the recipe started.
That’s generally when you know that folks really like what you’ve made if they ask for the recipe and tell you for what event they plan to serve it.
As a cook, that really is one of the highest compliments you can receive – well, at least in my book.
The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe Ever
It was great to hear that they thought the cake was just as good after their last bite as they thought it was with their first.
Here’s another great thing about this recipe. The cake batter really can be made in a bowl without the use of a heavy duty mixer. Of course, that just makes things easier, but this is easily a recipe my Grandmother would have enjoyed making in her tiny kitchen with a whisk and a bowl. And I’m sure it would have turned out perfectly, too.
I’m not going to kid you, this makes a very rich, moist chocolate cake recipe. So if you are a faint of heart chocolate cake person, this is not the cake for you.
Based on the Old Fashioned Hershey’s recipe, I sort of went a bit heavy-handed with some changes testing cake after cake until I got it just the way I wanted it, but the end result was oh so worth it. The crumbs left on the plate gave that away.
Ingredients
For this chocolate cake, you’ll need the following ingredients.
- all-purpose flour
- sugar
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- espresso powder – I give more information on the espresso powder below
- milk – you can also use buttermilk, almond milk, oat milk, or coconut milk
- oil – you can use vegetable, canola or melted coconut oil
- eggs – when baking, I like to use room temperature eggs
- vanilla extract
- boiling water
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying them with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring them. You can also spread the pans with my homemade chocolate cake goop (pan release).
Whisk dry ingredients. Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
Mix in wet ingredients. Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter until well combined.
Bake. Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the chocolate cake comes out clean.
Frost. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely. Frost with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
Espresso Powder
One of the ingredients that really made this cake recipe come to life, in my opinion, was the addition of espresso powder in both the chocolate cake and in the chocolate frosting.
If you’ve not tried a bit of espresso when baking with chocolate, you really should.
The espresso works to elevate the flavors in much the same way as vanilla extract and I now think of it as an essential part of my spice cabinet.
Espresso powder is easy to find at the grocery store or even online if your grocer doesn’t stock it normally, but I use it fairly frequently and it can become a little pricey. I’ve started making my own homemade espresso powder and since I have I’m not looking back! It is so easy to make and have on hand!
Believe me when I say, it is very much worth the effort to have just for those times you are baking with chocolate!
So my friends, if you have a chocolate cake lover in your midst, make them this cake. If they’ve had a bad day this is certainly something that will brighten it for them. If they’ve had a great day, then this chocolate cake is a great way to celebrate with them!
Let me just say again, this amped up classic chocolate cake + this Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe = the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had!
How to Make Ahead and Store the Homemade Chocolate Cake:
Both the cake and the chocolate frosting can be made ahead. Allow the cakes to cool completely, wrap them well in plastic wrap and place each layer into a gallon zip-top freezer bag. Freeze the cake layers for up to one month.
To frost the cake, simply remove from the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator with wrapping intact. Then, frost the cake once it has completely thawed.
Store the cake at room temperature on the counter. I like to store under a cake dome to keep the cake fresh.
Chocolate Cake Modifications You May Be Interested to Know About:
Note that I have updated the recipe to include some additional ingredients that I have tested through the years. I have found that this chocolate cake is even more versatile than I originally imagined! I’ve listed some of the modifications I’ve tested that I think may be of interest to you.
As a Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Recipe:
To make the cake as a gluten-free chocolate cake recipe, I’ve successfully used an equal amount of gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose flour listed in the recipe.
As a Dairy-Free Chocolate Cake Recipe:
To make the cake a dairy-free chocolate cake recipe, I’ve used almond milk as well as coconut milk in place of the dairy. While not dairy-free, I’ve also used buttermilk in place of the milk with great results.
As an Egg-Free Chocolate Cake Recipe:
To make the cake an egg-free chocolate cake recipe, I’ve used 2/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce in place of the 2 large eggs in the recipe. You will note that you may have to bake the cake just a few minutes more. Be sure to check with the skewer for doneness.
I’ve also used Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer with great success.
To Use Butter and Other Oils:
I have tested the chocolate cake recipe with additional oils, as well as butter. I’ve tested using an equal amount of melted coconut oil to the vegetable oil called for in the recipe. I’ve also tested using the same volume of melted butter in place of the oils in the chocolate cake. While it does make the cake texture slightly different, it is still delicious and worth trying if you’d prefer to use butter in place of oils in your chocolate cake.
Whew! See what I mean! This is the chocolate cake of everyone’s dreams, I think!
The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe {Ever}
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (396 g) sugar
- 3/4 cup (63 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (9 g) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (2.8 g) kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon (2.3 g) espresso powder, homemade or store-bought
- 1 cup (227 g) milk, or buttermilk, almond, or coconut milk
- 1/2 cup (99 g) vegetable oil, or canola oil, or melted coconut oil
- 2 large (100 g) eggs
- 2 teaspoons (9.4 g) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (227. g) boiling water
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray, buttering and lightly flouring, or brushing them with homemade chocolate pan release.
For the chocolate cake:
- Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
- Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter until well combined.
- Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the chocolate cake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.
- Frost the cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
Notes
1. Kosher salt – I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you substitute with Morton’s Kosher salt, fine sea salt, or table salt, you will only need half the amount of the salt called for in the recipe. 2. Milk – The grams in the recipe are for whole milk and buttermilk.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do let me know how you like it.
Here are a few additional ways I like to make this cake!
Chocolate Cupcakes
If you are looking for cupcakes from this recipe, I’ve shared my recipe for the best chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting. This recipe makes a perfect dozen so that you can scale the recipe to make as many chocolate cupcakes as you need! Talk about easy! 🙂
9×13 Chocolate Cake
I love this version! It is a delicious, scaled-down version that is just the thing for potlucks, reunions, tailgates, and travels perfectly! I’ve also scaled-down the frosting so that has the frosting to cake ratio that my family prefers. It is a definite winner!
Large Chocolate Sheet Cake
Scaled for a crowd, this recipe bakes beautifully in a rimmed half sheet baking sheet and is perfect for all sorts of get-togethers. Think of it as the 9×13’s big brother! 🙂 This recipe features Fudge Icing, but you can definitely substitute the icing for whatever you fancy!
And there you have it. There are so many ways to enjoy this delicious cake. Practically one for whatever need you might have. But, if I’ve missed one, be sure to let me know and I’ll work on it for you! 🙂
Many of you have asked if there is a way to make a Vanilla Cake Recipe that is just as delicious. Well friends, I’ve tested and tested and tested and now can proudly say – YES! I’ve shared the best Vanilla Cake I’ve ever tasted, too! 🙂
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published 2012.
This is my first time to give feedback on anything on line. I just have to do this! I was looking for a chocolate cake recipe for my daughter’s 15th birthday when I saw the picture of a slice of a truly moist chocolate cake. I said to myself, I have got to try this recipe and see if it will live up to the title ( The Best Chocolate Cake Ever!). I was ecstatic when I had a bite! I finally found a truly moist chocolate cake and it’s not too sweet either! We all loved it! All her friends said it was the best chocolate cake they’ve ever eaten! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’m including it in my food compilation. More power to you Robyn! Do you have a red velvet cake recipe as good as this? My 12 year old daughter is asking me to bake her favourite cake.
Thank you for your sweet comments, Malyn. I’m so glad your daughter and her friends loved her birthday cake. This is my Red Velvet Cake recipe that my mother always made for me when I was growing up. Hope your daughter likes it as much as I always do.
Fantastic! My wife and I are trying to start a new hobby together and with the kids. This was our first ever from scratch cake and buttercream frosting! It turned out great and we had a great time. Thanks for the detailed instructions and tips. We are forcing ourselves to give a lot away before we eat it all. No one can believe we actually made it, haha. We look forward to trying out more of your recipes.
What a great hobby, Connor! My family loves to cook together, too. I’m so glad everyone loved the chocolate cake and hope you find many more recipes you love making together.
This cake is SO GOOD! No regrets! Not only is it delicious, but it’s easy to make and not very time-consuming. Make sure you enjoy it!
Thanks so much, Hannah!
Will this cake hold up to decorating? We would like to make a unicorn cake with it and want to know if we do 4 layers would it hold up? Is it sturdy?
I made this cake yesterday for my husband’s birthday and it turned out DELICIOUS!
I am an excellent cook, but I do not love to bake so I don’t have a ton of experience. Basically I make my husband a birthday cake each year and sometimes bake for Holidays. This cake and the frosting were pretty simple but I did have one major problem. I could NOT get the cakes out of the pans. Both cakes came out in pieces and a lot of it stuck to the pan. I used a butter knife and spatula to try to coax it out but that didn’t really work. I prepared the pans with olive oil cooking spray- could that be the problem? Or maybe it should have baked it a couple more minutes? I did let them cool for 10-15 minutes before trying to remove them. I patched them up with frosting the best I could. It wasn’t extremely beautiful but I did manage to get it stacked and on my cake stand. And the flavor was on point! Any tips to get them to come out the pan easier? Because I’m definitely making this cake again!
Elizabeth, try a baking spray like Baker’s Joy instead of the olive oil spray or you can butter and flour the pans. The cake will also stick to the pan if it is not done. I’m glad you still liked the cake even though you had these issues.
Elizabeth Minkler- Best way ever to get cakes out of the pan: Grease and flour the sides of the pan, then cut a circle of parchment paper the size of the pan bottom, no need to grease or flour that part,- works EVERY time! Also great for banana bread, zini bread etc.
Best cake ever! We made this cake and put a brownie mix in the middle and it was DELICIOUS!
I haven’t tried this with a brownie mix in the center but it does sound delicious, Michelle. Thanks!
This is the best chocolate cake recipe ever! I bake this cake for so many parties. Everyone loves it. It is great with chocolate butter cream, cream cheese frosting, and white mountain cream (boiled marshmallow frosting). This cake never fails me!
Thank you, Elizabeth. I, too, love how you can use so many frostings with this cake and each one is delicious.
I made this dairy free and it was so amazing. It’s been so long since I’ve had cake so thank you!
I was just wondering with the egg replacement if it worked out just as good?
Thanks, Chloe. I’m happy you loved the dairy-free version of this cake. I have used egg replacement in this cake and everyone liked it. I hope you do as well.
Yep! Best chocolate cake recipe ever! Everyone at the table said the cake is amazing, not too sweet, and so moist, and of course chocolatey. I could eat this cake without frosting and I’m a frosting kinda girl! I made it with coconut milk and coconut oil.
I’m so happy everyone loved the cake, Megan! Thanks.
Amazing cake, so moist and yummy 🙂
Thanks, Alex!
This was amazing! I didn’t have high hopes as I’m not a baker. Used half the sugar, with icing you don’t need. Also didn’t have time to roast the beans so just added 1 tsp of ground espresso. Turned out great!
Thank you, Yolanda. So glad you liked the cake.
I would love to make this cake! However in the UK we don’t use the ‘cup’ measurement, we use grams. Is there anyway you can convert these measurements in to grams for me please??? Or can anyone help with this? Thank you! X
You can google to get the conversion of cups to grams etc
Yummy and soft l converted cups into grames one cup being 150g using Google and l made my own butter milk just l cup of milk which is about 250g and added 2 table soon lemon, l also used coffee since l didn’t have espresso, very soft and very yummy definitely recommend thank you lots
I’m so happy you enjoyed the cake, Sandra.
Really good, I subbed 1:1 unsweetened applesauce for the oil and the cupcakes came out tasting good but looking wet and were a little too sticky. Some middles also caved in.
Second try, I subbed 3/4:1 applesauce to oil and baked for 15 minutes and they were perfect. I also used canned coconut cream instead of milk.
To top, I whipped some cream and added cocoa, espresso powder, a small amount of granulated sugar, and used milk powder to stabilize the cream.
I’ve never tried substituting applesauce for oil in my cakes. I’m glad you found the ratio you needed and were able to substitute other ingredients to meet your dietary requirements. Thank you.
taste is great, however, I am a butter only user. As such, I would recommend creaming butter and sugar. It is impossible to add butter to this recipe otherwise and have it mix well. If you don’t use butter, no worries. Also, I found the espresso powder in the baking section of Walmart near chocolate chips, etc. No one in the store knew where it was or what I was even talking about, and I asked a lot of people, employees and customers.
Tess, I have substituted melted butter instead of the oil in this cake if you prefer to use butter. You would add the melted butter just as you would the oil. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Can you use parchment paper with this
The batter is thin, Nikole, so I prefer to butter and then flour my cake pans. Hope you enjoy the cake.
Does the espresso actually give any hint of coffee flavor? I don’t enjoy coffee flavor in anything.
I don’t taste the coffee flavor, Jessica. It just enhances the chocolate flavor. Hope you enjoy!
Hi, I am from the UK and just wondering what sugar you use for the cake? Is this granulated white sugar or brown sugar? Really looking forward to making this for my son’s birthday this weekend 😁 It looks amazing and I will let you know how it goes. Thanks
Lorraine, I use granulated white sugar for this cake. Hope everyone enjoys the cake. Wishing your son a very happy birthday!