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
My cake turned out too dense and heavy. Likely because?
The frosting turned out well.
Hi Ling, this cake does not require eggs. 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?
How far ahead can I make this cake?
Hi Mel, I haven’t maxed this out but I think it tastes best made a day ahead. One of my readers reported frosting and freezing a week ahead with great results but I haven’t experimented with that myself.
Looks Bert Yummie .. but how mush is one cup? We messure in cl, dl in Sweden
Hi Sat, If you click “Jump to recipe” at the top of the post-it will take you to our printable recipe where you have the option to view the ingredients in US Customary or Metric measurements. I hope that helps.
This cake was sooo delicious! All of Natasha’s recipes are Very good. I am always confident making one of her recipes for the 1st time with out a practice when I have company over for dinner or taking a dessert over to a gathering. She doesn’t disappoint!
Thank you for that wonderful compliment, Andrea! You’re so nice! Thank you!
No eggs ? No need ?
Hi Jennifer, that is correct! This chocolate cake does not require any eggs.
Natasha, thank you SO much for a fantastic eggless recipe! Baked it for my kid’s birthday and it was a raging hit!
That’s so awesome! Sounds like you found a new favorite Lara! Thank you for the great review!
Don’t Dr coffee what can I use? Can I use Veg. Oil instead of olive oil?
Hi Debbie, coffee will provide the very best flavor. 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.
Can you make these into cupcakes?
Hi Boe, that should work, we left some tips in the comments regarding cupcakes and pan baking, search “cupcakes”. I hope that helps
Can I substitute baking soda for baking powder?
Can I use white distilled vinegar?
Can the coffee be flavoured like French vanilla?
Hi Tasha, I would make the recipe with baking soda since it is 4x stronger than baking powder. Yes, white distilled vinegar is correct. I haven’t tried flavoring with French vanilla but I think that could work well. I hope you love the cake!
Are there any adjustments for making this cake at high altitude? Thank you!
Hi Valerie, I haven’t tried it at high altitude so I would suggest following the general guidelines for baking at high altitudes.
What coffee does it matter?
Hi Vianney, I recommend reading through our post for the tips and especially the comment. Several readers have posted great results using instant and brewed coffee.
Hi Natasha! I was wondering if you can help me out with making a smaller cake, I would use my 4” springform pan (I know some people turned this into cupcakes but I specifically want a cake, just a smaller one). Here’s what I was thinking, I’m a newbie with baking so I’d love your advice: dividing the recipe in half, decreasing baking temp by 50 degrees and just keeping a close eye on it with a toothpick, and doing everything else the same. Does that sound like a good plan? Thank you for making such a delicious looking recipe, you were the one who inspired me to start baking and made me realize I don’t need to be a professional to make difficult things like cake!
Hi Galya, without testing it in a 4″ springform pan, it is really difficult to guess. I’m not sure if the cake will rise properly in such a small pan even with cutting it in half. If you experiment, please let me know how it goes. I wish I could give you a more specific reply but I’m just not sure.
Hi Natasha,
Your recipe says 2 9″ round pans. I’d like to know how deep is the 9″ round pan so i can buy the correct pans.
Thank you
Gina
Hi Gina, we have the exact pans in our shop here, I hope that helps.
I love most of your baked recipes.Prepared to try them.
That’s so great! Thank you for sharing that with me
Hi there
How much of the instant coffee should I use, don’t have a coffee machine. My sister wants me to make this for her lol under pressure to get it right… love your creations and thanks for sharing..xxx
Hi Refliwe, I haven’t tested this with instant coffee but here is what one of our readers wrote “Update for my cake. I made it again last Saturday for my son’s birthday and it turned out great! It was reach chocolate flavor (nobody noticed coffee). I used corn oil and for 2 cups coffee I used 3 tea spoons decaf instant coffee (light/medium roast).” I hope that helps.
Best chocolate cake ever! And so so so easy to make!
Hi Yana, I’m so happy to hear that!
Hi, Natasha. I am planning on baking this for my daughter’s birthday.
Could you please specify the amount of coffee powder one would have to use for this recipe?
Hi Lalita, I would suggest making it per the package instructions since the instructions typically produce a fairly strong coffee.
Is the calorie content per slice or for the whole cake? I can’t imagine the whole cake is under 700 calories, but I am just wondering since it doesn’t say. The cake was delicious by the way! It did stick to the parchment paper though, so maybe you need to butter the parchment also?
Hi Sidney, the nutrition label and calorie count is per serving and we have the serving size in the recipe card. It wouldn’t hurt to butter the top of the parchment paper as well.
Hey natasha can you tell me what is the name of the background music you played in this cake video? Also your cake looks really luscious
Hi Shahida, the music was called “Amsterdam” from Soundstripe.
Thankyou so much
I am one of probably the very few that can’t stand the taste or even the smell of coffee. Is the coffee evident in the taste of the chocolate cake?
Hi Judy, I recommend reading through our comments about substitutions and the flavor itself. Here’s what one of our readers wrote ” “Update for my cake. I made it again last Saturday for my son’s birthday and it turned out great! It was reach chocolate flavor (nobody noticed coffee). I used corn oil and for 2 cups coffee I used 3 tea spoons decaf instant coffee (light/medium roast).” I hope that helps.
I don’t like layer cakes can I make them into cupcakes or into a 9 by 13 pan
Hi Ann, Both of those should work, we left some tips in the comments regarding cupcakes and pan baking, search “cupcakes”. I hope that helps
Hi Natasha, what else can be used instead of olive oil?
Can I use melted butter?
Hi Latha, I have always made this particular cake with oil (vegetable oil would also work), but my only hesitation with butter is sometimes cakes are more firm right out of the fridge while using oil prevents that problem. If you experiment, let me know how it goes.
To dense for me. Also eggless. This is the second eggless cake I have made and I have to say I am not a fan. Not crazy about the frosting either. I make good frosting and thought I would try something new, but again not a fan.
Hi Pamela, I’m sorry to hear it didn’t work for you. Normally this is a very soft and moist cake and rises well. This is one of our most popular cakes and I am always happy to help troubleshoot. Did you possibly swap baking soda for baking powder? Also, did you make sure to measure ingredients correctly? This cake does happen to be eggless and does not require them for great rise and texture.
I read then re-read the ingredients, was this truly eggless?! Yes it was, so I made the strangest chocolate cake recipe I’ve ever made and it is heavenly! A new favourite in our household, thank you.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review Lin!
I’ve just eaten the last piece, 7 days after making and it was still gorgeous!
I’m so happy to hear that you love it! Isn’t it awesome that it keeps well? Thanks for the lovely review!
Hi Natasha, I made this cake with my 10 year old. I’m not sure what we did wrong but the cakes rose in the middle and was a bit of a dome shape, so when we put the frosting on, it wasn’t flat like yours. What did we do wrong?
Hi Adrienne, did you use a leveled measuring spoon for the leavening? I have found that using too much can cause it to dome. Also be sure to bake in the center of your oven on regular bake mode.
Everyone in my family was blown away by this cake! They thought I had bought it from a high end café! Definitely gonna make it for everyone’s birthday cake now. However, just a question – my cake isn’t as high as yours in the video. I used 9-inch pans. How did this work out to be lower / shorter than yours?
Hi Rowena, I’m so happy your family loved the chocolate cake! Thank you for sharing that with me. It might help to review our post on how we measure wet and dry ingredients to see if there were any variances there. Also, make sure to bake right away in a preheated oven in the center of your oven on the regular bake mode (not convection). I hope that helps! Also, if no other substitutions were made, be sure your baking soda is still active (it should fizz when you pour vinegar on it). If you haven’t already, be sure to watch the video to see where something may have looked different.
This chocolate cake is amazing!!!! Made it 3 times already! And the almond Nutella cake is also super delicious along with the almond cookies. Basically, I love all your recipes!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Sonia!
Hi Natasha , can I use butter instead of oil ? And also can I drop vinegar ?
Thanks
Hi, I haven’t tried substituting with butter so I can’t say for sure, but the vinegar is necessary as it activates the baking soda and helps with rising.