A decadent, moist Chocolate Cake recipe with the easiest chocolate frosting and a soft, tender crumb. This cake always gets rave reviews and makes a stunning, tall chocolate birthday cake.
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Chocolate Cake Video
I hope this Moist Chocolate Cake recipe becomes a new favorite for you. This cake is intensely chocolatey with an ultra-moist crumb and rich whipped chocolate frosting.
Chocolate Cake Recipe
My son’s first words when he saw the cake were, “Wow that looks just like the cake from Matilda!” (We watched the Matilda movie recently). My chocolate cake is intensely chocolatey and satisfies the fiercest chocolate craving without being cloyingly sweet. It really is the best chocolate cake recipe.
I paired my favorite Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting with the soft crumb from my Moist Chocolate Cupcakes to create the ultimate chocolate layer cake. The warm coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor without making the cake taste like coffee. P.S. This recipe also happens to be an eggless chocolate cake (bonus if you are egg-free).
Why This Chocolate Cake Is So Moist
- Don’t overbake — pull the cake out of the oven as soon as a toothpick comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
- Oil instead of butter keeps the crumb soft and moist even after refrigerating the cake.
- Coffee deepens the chocolate flavor without making it taste like coffee.
- Vinegar activates baking soda for a light, airy texture.
- The batter is thin on purpose to create a softer, fluffier crumb.
Chocolate Cake Ingredients
- Dry Ingredients – All-purpose flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt make up the base of the cake.
- Cocoa Powder – The best cocoa for chocolate cake is 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.
- Coffee – Use very warm coffee to create a complex chocolate flavor. If you add some espresso or espresso powder, it will have even more flavor. You can substitute with decaf coffee if caffeine is an issue.
- Wet Ingredients – Vinegar activates the baking soda, vanilla extract for flavor and aroma and I use light olive oil to make the cake super moist, but you can sub with vegetable oil.
Can I use Dutch Processed 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
Making a chocolate cake from scratch doesn’t get any easier. It’s no more complex than a boxed cake, so long as you measure ingredients correctly.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients
- Whisk together the dry ingredients
- Combine the wet mixture with the dry ingredients and stir. Do not overmix. The batter will seem thin — that’s normal and creates a super moist crumb.
- 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.
Natasha’s Tip for Frosting a Cake
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.
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.
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.
Chocolate Cake
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), or Canola oil
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:
- 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 (a kitchen scale helps for even portioning), 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 Chocolate 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
More Chocolate Desserts (for Chocolate Lovers!)
- Chocolate Ganache
- Chocolate-Frosted Eclairs
- Hot Chocolate Recipe
- Chocolate Lasagna
- Chocolate Souffle
- Black Forest Cake
- Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Hi Natacha,
Thank you for this recipe! The taste was good but the cake falls apart a bit and doesn’t hold together very well.
I did half of the ingredients because I only wanted one layer.
Thank you!
Hi I’m making this today and was wondering if I can use buttermilk instead of regular milk and vegetable oil instead of olive?
Hi Holly, vegetable or canola oil should be good too. The one I use is LIGHT olive oil so it doesn’t have any flavor. I have not tested this with buttermilk but I imagine it may work. If you experiment I would love to know how you like that.
Thank you for this chocolate cake recipe! I’ve made it before and it is amazing!
I’m making it again this evening for a birthday cake. Does the frosting pipe well? Thanks.
Hello Angelina, thank you so much for your great feedback. Yes, I imagine it will.
Hi Natasha, this recipe looks absolutely amazing. I’m not a coffee drinker. How many spoons of coffee do you use when making this recipe ? Can you use a small amount ? Or does it only work when the coffee is strong .
Hello Lee. Yes, this cake is awesome and one of our favorites. We used brewed coffee but I suggest following the package instructions which will usually give you a fairly strong coffee.
Hi, I’m not accustomed to using coffee so I googled the instructions for making a cup of coffee, I saw one which is water, sugar and the coffee. Would this work? Or don’t add the sugar?
Hi Tracy, you don’t need to add sugar. I hope you love this recipe.
Hello i have a question, today i made the cake but suddenly when i was putting the cream on it all the cake broke and i was really sad!! Please tell me why my cake is broken i use everything you say☹️☹️☹️
Hi, I haven’t had that happen before. Make sure to use American All-purpose flour and also make sure to let it cool down completely to room temperature before transferring the cake layers.
Hi Natasha,
I only have Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder. Can i use that and how will that compare? Thank you!
Hi Denise, I haven’t tested this with dark cocoa but one of our readers responded with great results trying dark cocoa. I hope hat helps.
Hi Natasha,
My layers of cake are much lighter in color that yours are and more flat.
Any suggestions?
Hi Michelle, I would recommend reading through all the recipe notes and measuring your dry ingredients accurately. Otherwise, I’m assuming it could be something with the oven? If any substitutions were made, that could be the culprit also.
Not the best thing I’ve ever had but it is pretty good the frosting takes a long time to come together but it never came together very well so I added 3/4 milk and it helped it was pretty good though
Thanks for your comments and feedback, Gabe.
Thank you for a wonderful recipe! Very easy to follow. I really like how you include the ingredient measurements in your directions. (I’ve skipped reading lines before because of same wording). I made this for my birthday today, which is also my brother-in-laws birthday. Delicious, yet easy, cake!!
Hello Rebecca, thank you for your nice feedback and a great rating. I’m happy to hear that you loved this cake, it’s one of our favorites at home too!
Is this cake tastes good with normal creamcheese frosting without cocoa powder as i need to color it to match the theme?
Hi Ramya, you could use a different frosting on this cake. Check out how we made chocolate cake with white frosting here. The swiss meringue buttercream or the American buttercream frosting would be better for adding color.
I fallow and love your recepies. This one however, the cake broke in so many pieces could not even frosted it. fallowed directions, do you have any idea on what went wrong?
Hi, I haven’t had that happen before. Make sure to use American All-purpose flour and also make sure to let it cool down completely to room temperature before transferring the cake layers.
Hi. Love all of your recipes! currently making the chocolate cake and frosting. Because it is a cream cheese and butter based frosting, does the cake need to be refrigerated after frosted?
Hi Lisa, yes I would refrigerate after frosting the cake.
Hi Natasha,
Can I know the weight of the cake please
Hi, Felicita, I haven’t weighed the entire cake so I don’t know.
Hello and congratulations for these lovely recipes. I wanted to ask something important. Can I use raw Cacao powder instead of the classic natural Cocoa powder? Or is gonna be much bitter? If yes, which is the ratio cacao-sugar?
Hi, I really haven’t experimented with raw cacao powder. You might need to google that for tips in recipe substitution.
Hi, Just wondered what oven setting you use? Conventional/Fan etc…..
Thanks
Hi Nichola, we used a regular oven on the bake setting.
So I made this cake for my birthday and it turned out soft, moist and absolutely delicious, I cant stop eating. It was not too sweet, just perfect. You don’t miss the eggs. Thanks Natasha
Hello Bessie, great to hear from you and thank you for your good feedback. I’m so glad that you enjoyed this cake!
This cake is wonderful!! Big hit! What is the best way to store it?
Thank you, Stacy. 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. It does keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. If making just the layers wrap them in an airtight wrap or container and refrigerate.
Hi Natasha! I love watching your vlogs and really like your recipes.May i know what is the brand name of your matte gold colored baking pans & where you purchased it. Thanks💖
Thank you so much for your support. You can see the kitchen tools that I use here in my Amazon affiliate shop.
your receipe asks for baking soda, i’m in the UK and we have baking powder or bicarbonate of soda, which would i use? Many thanks.
Hi Becky, I haven’t tested that to advise. It may not have enough rising power. Baking soda is 4 times stronger than baking powder.
I’ve always used bicarbonate of soda for baking soda and have had no problems
Baking soda and bicarbonate of soda are different names for the same product.
The best chocolate cake recipe/ frosting ever! I always hated making chocolate frosting because it never quite tasted like chocolate, and this frosting is a chocolate lovers dream!!
It sounds like you found a new favorite! That’s so great!
Why does the recipe say to not use extra virgin olive oil? That’s all I have or canola. Which would be better for me to use? Oh, I also have coconut.
Hi Dina, vegetable or canola oil should be good too. The one I use is a LIGHT olive oil so it doesn’t have any flavor. The one you would want to avoid for desserts is extra virgin olive oil since that does have a strong flavor.
Hi Natasha, we recently tried this cake and it was amazing!!! Best chocolate cake ever!!! We will be making this again – but is it possible to use dutch processed cocoa powder instead?
Thanks!
Hello Aubrey, so wonderful to hear that! I have an area in the recipe where I answer this question Can I substitute with Dutch Process Cocoa? I would recommend checking out that part again.