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.
What is a substitute for Espresso powder? I can’t make it at home right now, I saw that instant espresso or instant coffee would work, do I change the measurements?
You can just omit it, Kyra. The cake is still delicious without it.
Hi there! Have you ever tried sweet ground cocoa instead of unsweetened? On the back of my Ghiradelli Premium Baking Sweet Ground Cocoa it says “for each 1/2 cup of Unsweetened Cocoa, use 1 cup of Sweet Ground Cocoa and decrease the amount of sugar the recipe calls for by 1/2 cup.” Thinking about making it this way since I don’t have unsweetened on hand but wanted to see if you’ve tried it before!
I haven’t tried that, Lauren. If you do, let me know how it turns out.
What modifications would you recommend for baking this cake at a higher altitude? Specifically, a mile above sea level. Thanks in advance!
Addie, the best site I know for baking at high altitudes is the Colorado State University Extension. Hope this helps!
I would love to add cherries, do you think cherry preserves would work or maraschino?
Mary, several people have commented that they used cherry preserves or jam, cherry pie filling, etc. between the layers of this cake. Hope you enjoy!
Hi, I’ve made this cake and it’s delicious, thank you for sharing the recipe! I was wondering if it is possible to use a natural sweetener like dates instead of sugar and if so, what should the proportion be? Has this been tried with other sweetener? Thanks!
I’m sorry, Sneha, but I haven’t used dates in this recipe.
Sooooo good! Really easy to make and so incredibly moist, fluffy and spongy at the same time. I used liquid MCT coconut oil and added a tiny bit of Greek yoghurt to make up the milk quantity (I was going for a buttermilk effect) and the result was excellent! I had some ready-made chocolate icing, so I used that to sandwich the two cakes together, but I’d definitely like to try it with the chocolate buttercream recipe or even chocolate cream cheese icing. I think this will definitely become a birthday favourite in our house. I might even do x 1.5 the quantities next time to get three layers and make it really impressive!!
I hope you try it with the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting sometime, Katie. I think you will love it. I’m glad you love the cake! xo
I was wondering if you could just take out the cocoa to make it into a vanilla cake? I love this chocolate cake recipe so much but I can’t seem to make vanilla cake very good based on other recipes.
Jordan, you can replace the cocoa powder with an equal amount of flour to make a vanilla cake. I have made a vanilla cake this way many times. Others had a problem with the cake falling so I developed my Best Vanilla Cake Recipe.
Just made this had to leave a review before im done. Omggg, so light and fluffy and tasty. Maybe i shouldnt have made this right before being trapped in my house by a snow storm. This cake may not make it so days. Gonna have to make another tomorrow. Anywho i had marshmallows to get rid of so i just pushed those giant marshmallows into the batter and it still came out great. My other mod was using the coconut oil option, i only used 1 cup of sugar cause i knew the marshmallows were going in and i used some smores coffee syrup i was trying to use up
This sounds awesome with the marshmallows, Jess. Thanks!
This recipe is amazing! I don’t usually like chocolate cake and I went back for seconds! I wish I could post the picture of the cake I made – I made them in a tart type pan and made a giant “Oreo” cake. Thank you for sharing! I bake a lot and I usually come up with my own recipes – this one is being added to my book ♥️
I’m so glad you loved the cake, Nam!
Hi, thank you so much for this recipe! You mention being able to use a variety of different milks. Assuming that you have experimented with these different milks, did you think the buttermilk or the ”normal” whole milk yielded better results? Buttermilk obviously has a different taste profile so I am wondering how these two different milks weigh up against one another, and which one you would recommend the most for achieving the best flavour possible? Thank you in advance for your time!
Helay, I normally use whole milk in this recipe but have made it several times with buttermilk. There is a slight taste difference but it is just a matter of preference.
Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!! I was wondering, would it be ok to use left over batter for cupcakes? I made this cake, but it was really huge! So I was wondering if I could retain a bit of batter to make cupcakes on the side? Many thanks 😊
You can make cupcakes with this cake batter, Mel. I revised this recipe to make 12 cupcakes – Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe. I hope this helps.
I am not sure about the milk – is it only almond, buttermilk, or soy? Or is regular milk one of the choices. I have sweetened almond and 1% on hand. Which would be better.
Kay, you can use milk, buttermilk, almond or coconut milk. I normally make this cake with whole milk. The cake may be too sweet using the sweetened almond milk. I have not made this cake with 1% milk but I think it would be fine.