The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe – A one bowl chocolate cake recipe that is quick, easy, and delicious! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free choices have been added!
The most delicious chocolate cake recipe. Ever? There are several claims about the greatest chocolate cake recipe. I understand. 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.The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe Ever
It was wonderful to hear that they felt the cake was equally as amazing after their final mouthful as they did the first.
Here’s another amazing feature of this dish. Without the use of a high duty mixer, the cake batter may be produced in a bowl. 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 just fine.
I’m not going to kid you, this makes a very rich, moist chocolate cake recipe. So, if you’re a chocolate cake purist, this isn’t 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 on the plate revealed this.
Ingredients
You’ll need the following materials to make this chocolate cake.
- all-purpose flour
- sugar
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- espresso powder – I provide additional information about espresso powder below.
- milk – Other options include buttermilk, almond milk, oat milk, and coconut milk.
- oil – Vegetable, canola, or melted coconut oil may be used.
- eggs – when baking, I like to use room temperature eggs
- vanilla extract
- boiling water
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.
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 to incorporate, or use your paddle attachment to whisk through the flour mixture until fully blended.
Mix in wet ingredients. Mix in the milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract on medium speed until fully blended. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter until well combined.
Bake. Divide the cake batter equally between the two 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. Frosting with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting .
Espresso Powder
The use of espresso powder in both the chocolate cake and the chocolate icing, in my view, was one of the components that truly brought this cake recipe to life.
If you haven’t tried a little espresso in your chocolate baking, you should.
The espresso elevates the tastes in the same way that vanilla extract does, and I now consider it an important element of my spice cabinet.
Espresso powder is widely available in supermarkets and even online. online if your grocer doesn’t stock it normally, but I use it fairly frequently and it can become a little pricey. I’ve begun to make my own. homemade espresso powder I’m not looking back now that I’ve done it! It is so easy to make and have on hand!
Believe me when I tell that it is well worth the effort to have only for those occasions when you are baking with chocolate!
So, if you have a chocolate cake aficionado in your midst, bake this dessert for them. If they’ve had a difficult day, this will undoubtedly lighten it for them. If they’ve had a good day, this chocolate cake is a terrific way to celebrate!
Let me reiterate: this boosted basic chocolate cake Plus this Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe = the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had!
How to Make Ahead and Store the Homemade Chocolate Cake:
The cake and the chocolate icing may both be prepared ahead of time. Allow the cakes to cool completely, wrap them well in plastic wrap and place each layer into a gallon zip-top freezer bag. The cake layers may be frozen for up to a month.
To frost the cake, simply remove from the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator with wrapping intact. After the cake has totally thawed, frost it.
Place the cake on the counter at room temperature. I like to store under a cake dome to keep the cake fresh.
Chocolate Cake Modifications You May Be Interested to Know About:
Please keep in mind that I have revised the recipe to incorporate some new items that I have used over the years. This chocolate cake has proven to be much more flexible than I had anticipated! I’ve included some of the tweaks I’ve tried that I believe you may be interested in.
As a Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Recipe:
I’ve successfully made the cake into a gluten-free chocolate cake recipe by substituting an equivalent quantity of gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour stated 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 substituted buttermilk for the milk with excellent 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 may see that the cake may need to be baked for a few minutes longer. Always use the skewer to check for doneness.
I’ve also had fantastic results using Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer.
To Use Butter and Other Oils:
I tried the chocolate cake recipe with other oils in addition to butter. I experimented with substituting melted coconut oil for the vegetable oil specified in the recipe. I’ve also tried replacing the oils in the chocolate cake with the same amount of melted butter. 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.
The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe {Ever}
Dessert — 45 mins
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Servings 24
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe – A one bowl chocolate cake recipe that is quick, easy, and delicious! Gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free choices have been added!
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder homemade or store-bought
- 1 cup of milk, buttermilk, almond milk, or coconut milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable, canola, or coconut oil, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray or grease two 9-inch cake pans with baking spray and gently dust them.
For the chocolate cake:
- In a large mixing basin or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
- Mix in the milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract on medium speed until fully blended. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter until well combined.
- Divide the cake batter equally between the two 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 cool for approximately 10 minutes before removing from the pan and cooling fully
- After adding the hot water, the cake batter will be quite thin. This is right, and it yields the most delicious and moist chocolate cake I’ve ever had!
Freezer Friendly
Let the baked cake layers cool completely. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, then foil. Freeze each layer for up to 2 months in a freezer bag. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight with the wrapper still on before serving. The layers are ready to fill and frost the following day.
High Altitude: If you reside at a high altitude, alter the recipe to reflect your altitude.
Nutritional information is for the cake only.
Calories: 124kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 178mg | Potassium: 114mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 229IU
Do let me know how you like it.
Here are some more ways I like to create this cake!
Chocolate Cupcakes
If you want to make cupcakes from this recipe, I’ve given my recipe. Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing are the greatest. . This recipe makes a perfect dozen so that you can scale the recipe to make as many chocolate cupcakes as you need! Talk about simple!
9×13 Chocolate Cake
This version is fantastic! 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 unquestionably a winner!
Large Chocolate Sheet Cake
This recipe, when scaled for a crowd, bakes wonderfully in a rimmed half sheet baking pan and is ideal for all kinds of get-togethers. Consider it the 913’s big brother! This recipe calls for Fudge Frosting, but you may use any icing you like instead!
That’s all there is to it. There are so many ways to enjoy this delicious cake. There is almost one for every requirement. But, if I’ve missed one, be sure to let me know and I’ll work on it for you!
Many of you have inquired whether there is a way to prepare an equally excellent Vanilla Cake Recipe. Friends, I’ve tested, tested, tested, and now I can happily declare YES! I’ve already mentioned it. the best Vanilla Cake I’ve ever tasted, too!