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
So the zucchini chips are amazing and the sauce also.
The chocolate cake is also delicious and I have never made a cake without eggs but…..it was great. Of course the icing is the bomb!!!!!
Love your recipes and really love the videos… helps to see it in progress… please keep cooking and sharing😊
Glad you’re enjoying them! I hope you’ll love all the recipes that you will try.
Hi Natasha : I made your chocolate cake for the family reunion!! They were a big hit and I can’t thank you enough!! Happy weekend to you! Take care.
That’s wonderful! I’m glad it was a hit. Thank you. Have a great weekend as well. 🙂
I love this cake and have made it many times. My question is does it need to be refrigerated?
Hi Rita, yes, 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.
Can the coffee be substituted with another liquid? We are not coffee drinkers and I cannot stand the taste.
Hi Jessica! You can’t taste the coffee flavor, but the coffee helps enhance the chocolate flavor. You can replace it with warm water if you’d like.
Made this cake it was vert good! My husband loves choc cake!
Hi Pat! I’m glad to hear that. Thank you!
Hi Natasha,
This cake was absolutely delicious!
Would it work with white chocolate buttercream icing and, if so, do you have a recipe for it please?
Thanks 😊
Hi Kasia! Yes, I think that white chocolate buttercream would pair wonderfully with this cake. I do not have a recipe for buttercream but I have a whipped White Chocolate Frosting here that you may enjoy. It uses cream cheese and heavy whipping cream.
I would like to try the chocolate cake, but my husband can’t drink coffee, any alternatives?
You can replace it with warm water.
I can see the 5 stars, thank you!
THIS WAS THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE I’VE EVER HAD!!! I made this for my teacher’s birthday, and it was a huge hit. I was initially a bit sceptical of the cream cheese chocolate frosting, but it was AMAZING!!!! The cake was perfectly rich and chocolate and not too sweet!!
I’m so glad it was a hit, Oona! Thank you for your great feedback!
Thank you dear again for ur excellent recipe . Made for my daughter’s birthday and it was yum😘😘
You’re welcome, Grace. Good to know that it was a hit!
Can I use vegetable oil instead of olive oil?
Also, Natasha, do you have recipe for meat balls in the crockpot? Preferably sweet and sour.
Thank you🌷
Hi Linda, My go-to’s for cakes and baking are canola oil, vegetable oil, and extra light olive oil (my favorite). Other oils tend to be more fragrant.
Hello – Could you suggest something to replace 2 cups of coffee?
You could use warm water in its place.
Can I ask a question about the chocolate cake recipe please when you said to use 2 cups of warm coffee how many Tbs or tsp of coffee do I need to add to the 2 cups of water to make the 2 cups of coffee
Hi G, we used our espresso machine, I haven’t tried it with instant coffee, but I recommend checking your package instructions.
We have an espresso machine as well. Did you brew two large cups? I don’t usually like coffee flavor in food, but love coffee- weird I know. Anyway, I just don’t want it to be too much coffee with the espresso. I am leaning towards trying one cup espresso and 1 cup warm water- but usually like to try recipes as is written the first time around.
Hi Lisa! We used 2 cups of brewed coffee in this recipe. The coffee flavor doesn’t come through but it definitely helps enhance the chocolate flavor in the cake. That much espresso may be a bit strong so you may want to experiment with it and add water to your preferred taste. When drinking coffee, I have used 2-3 shots of espresso and added them to hot water to “water it down” and make it into more of a “cup of coffee”. I hope that helps give you an idea of where to start. Either way, I’m sure this recipe will still be great with more or less coffee, some of my readers omit the coffee completely.
Hi Natasha, How much batter would I need to make a 2 kg cake?
Hi Nisha, I haven’t weighed this cake so I’m not sure how to advise. If you go to the serving size, you can scale the cake ingredients that are listed up or down. I hope that helps.
Can you make this cake in a bundt pan without the frosting.
Love watching you & trying recipes.
Hi Marie, I haven’t tried that myself, but I saw in a comment one of our readers share this: “I made this cake yesterday, it turned out amazing! I used a Bundt pan, baked at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, it was perfect!” I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha, love your recipes! I have made the chocolate cake so many times and also love all your other recipes. One thing I recently tried with the chocolate cake is baking it the day before. The cake stayed moist and the only thing I needed to worry about the next day was making the frosting. Such a time saver 🙂
So glad you enjoyed this. Thank you, Gisela!
Love this recipe. Some of the best Chocolate cake ever!
Can this be made into a sheet cake? How would the recipe be adjusted? How long would you bake, I’m assuming a 9×13 pan
Hi Vince! So glad you enjoy this recipe. I did not test this in a larger pan. I recommend using a cake pan conversion chart (you can google this) and adjusting from there. Keep the temperature the same, but you’ll have to bake it longer so keep an eye on it and it is done baking when a toothpick comes out clean.
Hi Natasha, I always follow your recipes., and they go well always. But this cake was sooo fluffy. I baked the 2 pans and waited 1 hour to take them out but my two cakes broke easily and not suitable to cut them in half, level them and fill with frosting . What did I do wrong can you advise?
Hi Sama, I haven’t had that outcome, so I can’t speak to that. Substitutions may hinder the recipe outcome ensure that each step was closely followed and no substitutions were made.
Hi Natasha! Just a quick question. Can this cake be used with fondant? I mean can we cover it with fondant..
Hi Maham, While I haven’t tested that, I think fondant could work well with a crumb coat of frosting underneath it.
Thank you 😊
I’ll try the cake for my daughter’s half birthday and then will share the review aswell 😊. And I’m sure like always the recipe won’t disappoint at all. 😊
I hope you both love it! Happy Half Birthday!
Hi Natasha, tried a lot of your recipes and they’ve consistently turned out great.
I’d like to make this for a friend’s birthday but I’m stumped with the coffee though. If using instant coffee powder, how much will i need for this?
Hi Lala, we used brewed coffee but I suggest following the package instructions which will usually give you a fairly strong coffee.
Love your videos so fun to watch and recipes great!
Thank you
You’re welcome. Thank you for always watching!
Help! I took my cakes out of the pans after letting them rest 15 minutes on a rack, and removed the parchment. As my cakes started to cool, they cracked a lot. What do you recommend to avoid the cakes cracking as they cool? Should I leave the parchment paper on? Leave in pans longer to cool before removing cakes from pans? These are for a birthday cake and I’m already starting over.
Hi Christina, be sure to let it cool completely before transferring, that may take longer than 15 minutes. That is the most likely culprit of a crack.