A decadent and moist Chocolate Cake recipe with the easiest whipped chocolate frosting. This always gets rave reviews and makes for a stunning chocolate birthday cake.
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Did you know cocoa helps your brain release endorphins or your body’s natural “feel good” chemical? This explains why our moods improve when we are eating chocolate cake.
Chocolate makes everything better, from Chocolate Chip Cookies to Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, and let’s not forget Chocolate Mousse! If you are a chocolate lover, this recipe is for you.
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Cake Recipe
My son’s first words when he saw the cake were “Wow that look’s just like the cake from Matilda!” We watched the Matilda movie recently, but I’m betting this one’s even better because it’s intensely chocolatey and satisfies the fiercest craving for chocolate without being cloyingly sweet.
We combined our most popular Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting with these tried and true Moist Chocolate Cupcakes to create the best chocolate cake. You might be surprised to see coffee in the cake batter, and don’t worry, you can’t taste the coffee in the final product, but it amplifies the flavor of chocolate. Feel free to substitute with decaf coffee if you prefer.
This recipe also happens to be an eggless chocolate cake (bonus if you are egg-free).
Watch the Chocolate Cake Video Tutorial
I hope this Moist Chocolate Cake recipe becomes a new favorite for you. Homemade chocolate cake is way better than Costco’s (there, I said it).
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The Best Cocoa for Chocolate Cake
We used natural unsweetened 100% cocoa or “cacao”. You can use a variety of brands such as Hershey’s, Nestle, or Ghirardelli, but be sure to use “unsweetened” cocoa.
Can I substitute with Dutch Process Cocoa?
When a recipe calls for baking soda, it is best to stick with Natural cocoa powder because it has a higher acidity level than dutch process. You should use the cocoa called for in a recipe for the right chemical reaction to happen. You can read more about that in our Red Velvet Cake post.
How to Make Chocolate Cake
This cake doesn’t get any easier. It’s no more complex than a boxed cake so long as you know how to measure ingredients correctly.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients
- Whisk together the dry ingredients
- Combine wet with dry ingredients
- Divide into prepared 9-inch cake pans and bake
How to Get Even Cake Layers
When making a layered chocolate cake, here are our best tips for even cake layers:
- Divide the batter equally – Even heights will make for a prettier cake and even bake times. I always double-check for accuracy with a digital kitchen scale. Zero out the cake pan and weigh how much cake batter is in each pan. Your cake layers will be flawless every time.
- Test your leavening – make sure your leavening is not expired so it has enough rising power for the cake layers to rise evenly.
- Preheat the oven – ensure your oven is fully preheated before baking the cake layers.
- Bake Immediately – as soon as you add baking soda to a recipe, it starts reacting immediately so bake right away.
Tips for Smooth Chocolate Frosting
The whipped chocolate cream cheese buttercream frosting is indulgent, chocolatey, silky smooth, and one of the easiest frostings you will make. To get the smoothest chocolate frosting, be sure to:
- Cream together the butter and cream cheese first to prevent lumps
- Sift in the powdered sugar and cocoa since cocoa tends to clump.
If you prefer a frosting that doesn’t have cream cheese in it, another favorite is our Chocolate Buttercream Frosting or even Vanilla Buttercream for a delicious contrast. Both are terrific on Chocolate Cake.
Pro Tip:
It is critical to fully cool the cake layers to room temperature before applying frosting. If the cake layers are still warm, it will cause the frosting to melt and slide off the cake.
How to Store Chocolate Cake
- Short-Term Storage – if you are going to eat the chocolate cake within 24 hours, its ok to keep it at room temperature. Store it in a cook dry place away from heat and direct sunlight.
- Cover Properly – If you don’t have a cake carrier, use an overturned bowl or large pot to cover the cake and keep it from drying out or absorbing food odors. If the cake is sliced, press a piece of plastic wrap directly over the cut portions to prevent drying out.
- Refrigerating – after 24 hours, you will want to refrigerate the cake. Place plastic wrap directly over cut portions, transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to a week.
- Freezing – to freeze unfrosted cake layers, wrap individual layers in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw wrapped at room temperature. To freeze a frosted cake, freeze for 1 hour to harden the frosting then wrap with plastic wrap and foil.
- To Serve – Thaw a frozen frosted cake overnight in the refrigerator then bring to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. You may need to use a spatula on the frosting again to make it visually appealing.
I can’t help but smile when I have a generous slice of frosted Chocolate Cake on my plate. I hope this recipe brings joy and food memories wherever this recipe travels. Let me know if you’ve served it in any creative ways? We’ve done everything from sprinkles to princess themes on top which my daughter has loved.
More Chocolate Desserts (for Chocolate Lovers!)
- Chocolate Ganache
- Chocolate-Frosted Eclairs
- Hot Chocolate Recipe
- Chocolate Lasagna
- Chocolate Souffle
- Black Forest Cake
- Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for Chocolate Cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, (natural)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups warm coffee, (not hot), or use decaf
- 2 Tbsp white vinegar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup light olive oil, not extra virgin
Ingredients for Chocolate Frosting:
- 12 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup unsalted butter , (16 Tbsp) room temperature
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, (natural)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
How to Make Chocolate Cake Layers:
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter two 9" cake pans and line the bottoms with a ring of parchment paper.
- In a large bowl whisk together your dry ingredients: 3 cups flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 2 cups sugar, 2 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt until there are no more cocoa lumps (a few tiny lumps are ok; it also helps to sift the cocoa before using it).
- In a separate bowl, mix together your wet ingredients: 2 cups warm coffee, 2 Tbsp vinegar, 1 Tbsp vanilla extract and 2/3 cup olive oil.
- Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until they come together. Your batter will still be slightly lumpy. Divide equally between prepared cake pans, and bake in a preheated oven at 350˚F for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
How to Make the Chocolate Frosting:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer using paddle attachment (or using an electric hand mixer with a large bowl), beat together 12 oz cream cheese with 1 cup butter on medium/high speed until creamy (3 min), scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Sift in 5 cups powdered sugar with 1 cup cocoa powder, sifting in batches as needed to ensure there are no lumps. Then add 1/2 tsp salt. Mix on low speed until well combined. Thoroughly scrape down the bowl, then increase to medium/high speed and beat until smooth and whipped (1 min).
- Add 2 tsp vanilla and beat on medium/high until smooth (1 min). Now it's ready to be spread or piped onto the cooled cake layers.
How to Frost a Cake
- Set a cake layer onto a serving platter. Apply 1/3 of the frosting over the first layer then cover with the second layer, placing it top-side-down for an even top. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Enjoy or store it for later*
Notes
- Short-Term Storage – store covered at room temperature for up to 24 hours.
- Cover Properly – Use an overturned bowl or pot to cover the cake and keep it from drying out. If the cake is sliced, press a piece of plastic wrap directly over the cut portions to prevent drying out.
- Refrigerating -Cover as directed above and refrigerate for up to a week.
- Freezing – to freeze unfrosted cake layers, wrap individual layers in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze up to 3 months then taw wrapped at room temperature. To freeze a frosted cake, freeze for 1 hour to harden the frosting then wrap with plastic wrap and foil and freeze up to 3 months.
- To Serve – Thaw a covered frozen frosted cake overnight in the refrigerator then bring to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. You may need to fix up the frosting with a spatula.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Great recipe! The cake has great texture, good chocolate flavor, and uses ingredients that I basically always have on hand.
I halved the recipe, and it was just the right amount of batter for 12 cupcakes. I used a cherry whipped cream icing recipe, and topped each one with a chocolate dipped cherry. They were a big hit for Valentines Day! Thanks for another outstanding recipe!
You’re welcome, Sherri! Isn’t the flavor amazing! Thank you for sharing that amazing review with us!
Hi, I tried this today for Valentine’s day/boyfriend’s birthday. He liked it, my parents didn’t dad thought it was bland and mom said it tasted different. I did notice it was dense/heavy, thought it was gonna be fluffy. I just don’t know what I did wrong I followed everything, had all proper ingredients I’m at a loss. Will not give up I will try again I just would like to know what to do to make it fluffy
Hi Kristy, I’m more than happy to troubleshoot as it should not be dense. Did you make any changes to the recipe and measure your dry ingredients correctly?
Yes I made sure to prep all ingredients properly. The only thing I was unsure of. The oil. There were alot and I was debating between one that said classic oil and one said light extra virgin oil. I went with the one that said light extra virgin oil could that have caused to be dense? Should I have gone with the one that said classic?
modifications to turn this into a red velvet? just food coloring or maybe also skip the coffee?
Hi Gregg, I honestly haven’t tried making this as a red velvet so I wouldn’t be able to offer advice without testing. If you experiment, let me know how it goes.
Hi! I’m going to try this cake but am wondering if I can make the frosting without cocoa, as I need a light based frosting so I can add some theme decorations to it. If so, do i need to make any adjustments? I’ve made simple cream cheese frosting with just cream cheese, butter, vanilla and sugar. I don’t know if the salt has a role together with the cocoa? Thanks!
Hi Arantxa, I haven’t tried that but I think white chocolate frosting will work.
Hi Natasha! I love all of your recipes so far. This is the first desert that I have made. The cake looked like yours, my icing was much lighter in color, and I don’t know how I forgot to icing in between the layers. The family all loved it! Only complaint was it was a little dry. I think that might have been over cooked because I’m getting use to my new stove. My granddaughter wants this for her birthday. It was a great follow up to your meat loaf, creamy potatoes, and sautéed squash.
Please keep up the good work!
Thank you for sharing that feedback with us. It should not be dry so it is possible the lack of icing between the layers and the oven could cause that. This would be the perfect cake for a birthday party!
Hi Natasha! The cake tastes superb! I love the moist coffe taste to it, thank you so much for the recipe! I used vegetable oil instead of olive oil and it was good!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing that with us and for your amazing feedback.
Hello Natasha,
I do not have cocoa powder on hand and instead have hot cocoa mix.. will that be ok to substitute?
Thanks!
Hi Asya, I have not tried that with hot cocoa mix to advise. I’d be curious to know if it works if you experiment.
can you cut back on the amount of sugar? or use a substitute?
Hi Christine, we used 5 cups of powdered sugar. It may seem like a lot, but it is a lot of frosting and keep in mind that 1 cup of powdered sugar is actually 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. I tested this adding the powdered sugar to taste (and you can do the same), but I landed at 5 cups as the perfect balance of sweetness. I worry it will affect texture if using less but if you experiment I would love to know how you like this recipe.
My question referred to the sugar in the cake. So you say I can use powdered sugar in place of regular sugar in the cake! Never would have guessed.
Hi Christine, my apologies, I was referring to the frosting.
Hi Christine, I thought you were referring to the frosting. I wouldn’t substitute powdered sugar in the cake. Also, I haven’t tested the cake base with less sugar so I’m not sure how it would affect the outcome without testing first.
I was reading your ingredients for your chocolate cake and their is no eggs in it. All the other recipes I”ve read has eggs. Will the out come be the same.
Hi Johhanne, yes, this recipe has no eggs. We absolutely love it and so do the kids. I hope you try it soon.
Johanne, trust me, I’ve made this cake exactly as stated, twice, in less than a month! It is wonderful! Most recently at my Bunco Nite, served with a small scoop of my homemade vanilla ice cream! It was a major hit!
Thank you so much for sharing that with us Barb!
I made this cake using 1/3 cup of white pork lard instead of olive oil and it was wonderful, so delicious, and lard doesn´t taste
thanks for the recipe
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Made this cake and it was so so delicious!! Definently recommend. Was a perfectly moist cake and the frosting paired so well with it!
Hi Inna, thank you for your wonderful review. I’m so glad you loved the chocolate cake.
This cake originally came from my grandmother. She didnt put olive oil or vinegar in it. It had heavy whipping cream and buttermilk. Her cake is still award winning today.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us Beverly!
I made this for my daughters birthday and it was very nice, i was a bit unsure about not using eggs and at first thought it was a typo but nope no eggs and amazing, we did find the icing very sweet so possibly next time we won’t be so greedy and only have a small slice!! Will be making this again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed that Morag! Thank you for that feedback.
I only have extra virgin olive oil on hand. Could I use butter and if so, how much?
Hi Lucy, I haven’t tried this with butter so I’m not sure if it would affect the taste or texture. If you experiment, please let me know.
Will do. Thanks Natasha. 🙂
Hello. Can I ask the measurement of the coffe that you used here. Thank you.
Hi, if you go down to the recipe card, you can see the exact amounts of all ingredients.
Absolutely perfect!! We made this for my son’s birthday party this past weekend and it was a hit!! I doubled the recipe and was able to get another 6 inch layer and about 17 cupcakes in addition to the two 9 in layers. For the frosting I used one of your buttercream recipes!! Thank you so much for posting this recipe..it’s definitely a keeper
I’m so glad you enjoyed that Lauren! Thank you for that wonderful feedback!
If you really don’t care for coffee and a recipe uses as much as your wonderful chocolate cake recipe does, what liquid is best to substitute for the coffee? Thanks
Hello Norma. Coffee will provide the very best flavor because it amplifies the flavor of chocolate and does not taste like coffee. The next best thing would be water. I don’t know if it is an option for you, but decaf coffee would also work fine
Hi Natasha, I was wondering if the coffee can be left out and use another ingredient to replace the coffee? Can’t have caffein after 2pm.
Thank you,
Tyler
Hello Tyler, coffee will provide the very best flavor because it amplifies the flavor of chocolate and does not taste like coffee. The next best thing would be water. I don’t know if it is an option for you, but decaf coffee would also work fine
I was wondering if I could make this with vegetable oil. I don’t use light olive oil and wouldn’t like to buy it for one recipe. Is this a moist enough cake to have without the frosting and just a dusting of powdered sugar?
I haven’t personally tried that Debbi but I imagine that should work too. If you try and do an experiment, let us know how it goes.
Hey Debbie, you can use any oil with a neutral flavour, i used Rice bran Oil in my cake because that is what i use day to day.
I like the recipe’s very tasty
Thank you Samia for the great review!
Hi Natasha,
If we wanted to reduce the sweetness of the frosting and so put in less powdered sugar, say 2 or 3 cups instead of 5, would that affect the texture? Would we need to adjust the butter, cocoa, and cream cheese?
Hi Malak, we used 5 cups of powdered sugar. It may seem like a lot, but it is a lot of frosting and keep in mind that 1 cup of powdered sugar is actually 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. I tested this adding the powdered sugar to taste (and you can do the same), but I landed at 5 cups as the perfect balance of sweetness. I worry it will affect texture if using less but if you experiment I would love to know how you like this recipe.
Hi! I will be making this cake for my 1 year old’s birthday in a few weeks. I have a few questions!
1. I need the very top of the cake to be blue to represent a body of water (the sides and middle layer can be brown!) I plan to use the chocolate frosting in this recipe for the sides and center but what would you recommend for the top since I have to color it blue?I considered using the white chocolate frosting I saw in another recipe. Do you think the flavors will work well or do you have another recommendation?
2. I know it would be best made the day of the party but that’s not possible. Can I make this cake ahead of time? If so how far in advance, how do I store it, and can it be frosted ahead of time as well? The more details the better.
Thank you so much!!
Hi Allison, I haven’t tried that but I think the white chocolate frosting tinted blue would work with the flavor profile of this cake. This cake does store well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Let it come to room temperature for 1-2 hours before serving so the frosting and cake can soften. Happy birthday to your little sweetie.
I replaced all the sugars in this recipe with Swerve sweetener (erythritol), and it turned out amazing for our son’s birthday cake today! I’d reduce the Swerve next time, though, by about a 1/4 c each (so 1.5 cups of granular Swerve for the sugar in the cake, and 1.5 cups confectioners Swerve for the frosting)…as it is a bit on the sweeter side, but still yummy! He loves it, as does my husband! Definitely a win for a household aiming to reduce sugar consumption! Thanks for a great recipe, Natasha!
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for sharing the substitutions with sweetener. I’m certain it will help others in the future who would like to substitute. You’re wonderful!
Also, could not find your Chocolate Cherry Cake recipe, so I’m asking the question here: The first ingredient listed calls for 9 (?) large eggs. Is is really 9? Thanks.
Hi Terry, are you referring to this Chocolate Cherry Cake here?