Best Chocolate Cake Recipe

This is the very best chocolate cake recipe. Made with quality cocoa powder and fresh brewed coffee for boosted flavor and frosted with chocolate buttercream!

Ready for a homemade chocolate cake recipe that will blow your mind? This from scratch cake is insanely delicious and a family favorite. Made to celebrate every occasion and easily the most moist chocolate cake recipe I have made to date!

Recipe Features:

• From scratch cake recipe: Both the cake and frosting is completely from scratch and practically no-fail.
• Rich chocolate flavor: Seriously bold with it’s cocoa goodness.
• Can be made as a cake OR cupcakes!

What You Need:

This cake is BOMB. Er, is that what the kids are saying now? No? How about delicious? A-FREAKEN-MAZING? Basically it is the best chocolate cake recipe I have made. Ever. In my entire life.

Which is saying a lot since I actually don’t really care for chocolate.

I’m not going to go over all of the ingredients, you can find those in the recipe card below, but I do want to touch base on a few that stand out.

• All-purpose flour- I have only used all-purpose in this recipe so I cannot confidently say if any other variety will work.
• Cocoa powder- Pick a quality cocoa. Hershey’s will work in a pinch. I know that is the one that you find at most grocers, but if you can swing it opt for Valrhona or Callebaut (affiliates).
• Baking powder and baking soda- needs to be fresh.
• Milk- Whole milk is my go-to but I have also tested this with 2% with great results.
• Oil- Vegetable oil works just fine but do not use olive oil.
• Vanilla extract- ALWAYS USE PURE VANILLA.
• Coffee- See my notes below for potential substitutions.

Step by Step Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2- 9″ cake pans and set aside.
2. Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
3. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla to a large measuring cup. Stir with a fork and mix into your dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the coffee.
4. Divide the batter between your two prepared pans and bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I find it helpful to use a kitchen scale to ensure even cake sizes.
5. Cool completely, frost, and enjoy!

Tips and FAQs:

Here are some of my go-to tips for making cakes. I hope some of them come in handy!

• Grease your pans AND add parchment to the bottom. I cut out circles to place in the bottom of my pans before I add the batter. This helps the cakes pop out without crumbling.
• Use room temperature ingredients. There is some serious science behind this and it will give you perfect cakes every time.
• Let the cakes cool in the pans before you turn them out.

What to substitute for coffee in a cake recipe:

A few of my readers have reached out inquiring what they could substitute for the coffee. I highly suggest making the recipe as-is, but if you are not thrilled about the addition of coffee to the batter you can substitute with water or milk. 

Related Recipes:

Like this recipe? You will love my:

• Chocolate Whipped Cream Cake
• The Best Chocolate Cake Donuts
• Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe
• The Best Ever Red Velvet Cake
• Chocolate Cake Shot Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Best Ever Chocolate Cake

Created by: Jesseca

Course Desserts

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

2 -9″ cakes or 24 cupcakes

This is the very best chocolate cake recipe. Made with quality cocoa powder and fresh brewed coffee for boosted flavor and frosted with chocolate buttercream!

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

For the Cake:

• ▢ 1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 cup good quality cocoa
• ▢ 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 2 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ 1 cup whole milk room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 cup oil
• ▢ 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 cup fresh brewed coffee

For the frosting:

• ▢ 8 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
• ▢ 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• ▢ 2 cups butter softened
• ▢ 5 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Cake:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2- 9″ cake pans and set aside.
• 2. Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
• 3. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla to a large measuring cup. Stir with a fork and mix into your dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the coffee.
• 4. Divide the batter between your two prepared pans and bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I find it helpful to use a kitchen scale to ensure even cake sizes.
  
  5. Cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting:

• 1. Add the chocolate chips to a glass bowl. Set aside.
  
  2. Heat the heavy cream in in a small saucepan until just simmering, being sure to stir constantly.
  
  3. Pour over the chocolate chips. Allow to sit 1 minute then stir until smooth. Set aside.
  
  4. Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
  
  5. Slowly stir in the chocolate. Scrape the sides of the bowl and continue to stir until combined.
  
  6. Mixing at low speed, add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until incorporated.
  
  7. Add the vanilla and whip 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth.
  

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 541kcal | Carbohydrates: 96g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 378mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 45g

Equipment

Scoop

Brown Cupcake Liners

Cupcake Pan

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