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
Hi Natasha! I love your recipes. However, I do have a question. Can I use Swan’s Down cake flour or Almond flour instead of AP flour?
Hi Brandi, I haven’t tried Swan’s Down cake flour or almond flour yet to advise.
Thank you for replying so expeditiously, lol! However, I could not wait for a reply and tried it. I subbed cake flour for AP flour and added 2 extra tablespoons of Swans Down per cup. ( I added the extra tablespoons to match the weight of AP flour. Unfortunately, I could not do anything about the lack of protein content in cake flour. Especially since I had no wheat gluten just hanging around in the cabinets, lol.) I’m not sure of the taste yet, but the cake certainly looks just like yours. And it smelled delicious while baking!! I’m very hopeful it’ll taste delicious.
Hi Natasha, can I substitute gluten free flour for this recipe ?
Hi Lorraine, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. Here’s what one of my readers wrote: “I’ve made this cake and it was so delicious!!! The recipe was easy to follow too, even for someone inexperienced like myself. also, I replaced the flour with 1:1 gluten free self raising flour, and added no extra baking powder or baking soda and it came out great.”” I hope that helps!
Can I substitute olive oil for vegetable oil ?
Any neutral-flavored baking oil like vegetable? Canola, etc. would be fine.
Hi, I only have one cake pan. Can I put all the batter in and just frost the top?
Thank you
Hi there! It’s important to use the right size cake pan. If you overfill the pan, it won’t bake properly. If you have a larger pan, this may work.
Hi Natasha would this recipe work in a 3 8 inch cake pan also would the recipe work if i don’t use coffee is there any substitute in place of coffee.
Hi Lydia! Yes, you can leave out the coffee. You would Likely need more batter for 3- 8” pans.
Really good cake! Thanks for sharing. Delicious 😋
Love this recipe Natasha! It’s so simple yet so soft & delicious, thank you 🙂
Was wondering if this would work in a bundt pan?
Thank you
Great to hear that you love it! I have not tested this in a bundt pan but it should work I imagine you might need to make some changes with the cooking time as a Bundt pan will usually require a longer baking time than round or square cake pans since it’s thicker. Start checking the cake around 5-10 minutes by using a toothpick.
Natasha, I owe you an apology!
Posted a low rating yesterday. Please delete it! I remade your cake from the cookbook and it’s wonderful!!!!
The second time was amazing!!!
So sorry! I should’ve tried to make 2-3 times first.
I love all your recipes! And especially your cheery smile!!😊
Hi Jamie! Thank you for the update! I’m so glad it turned out well.
Frustrated and sad. I tried to make this recipe in 3 pans the way cookbook lists. But it doesn’t say what racks to put the pans on. Only where to put the racks.
Do I rotate the pans? I put two on the bottom rack and one on the top and the edges came out crusty. So sad. Love all your recipes but this one really was a flop. Crying and going to try again. This is for a neighbor that I signed up for dessert. Hope I get it this time.
Hi Jamie, I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble with that. I don’t rotate the pans. If I put them in the top and bottom thirds of the oven, they are all going to be far enough from the heating elements that they won’t burn. Are you possibly using a convection oven or do you only get heat form the top? If using convection, reduce the heat by 25 degrees or it will bake too quickly. If your heat is just coming from the top elements, it would e a good idea to rotate the pans halfway. I hope that is helpful to you! You can still salvage it if you put that layer in the center and it will soften up with the cream.
Hi Natasha,Can I use corn oil instead of olive oil or refined olive oil
I imagine that will be fine since corn oil has a neutral flavor.
Do you measure sifted flour and cocoa powder after or before!
Hi Lisa. It really depends on the recipe. If the recipe calls for one cup of sifted flour, you would shift before. But if the recipe calls for one cup of flour sifted, then you would sift after measuring.
I did not sift the flour/cocoa here. You could measure and then sift if you wanted to. Especially if your flour/cocoa has lumps. Please watch my tutorial on How to measure ingredients here.
What would be a good substitute to use if coffee, even decaf is not an option?
You can replace it with warm water too.
Hey Natasha, I am about to make this chocolate cake and you not to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but that is all that I have in the way of olive oil. Could I use that or should I substitute one of the other oils that I have like Avocado Oil or Vegetable Cooling Oil or Coconut Oil or Real Butter?
Hi Mary, I would probably go with avocado oil since coconut oil, sunflower oil and extra virgin olive oil have a strong smell/taste to them and can impart a different flavor.
Thank you. It was so Delicious. I made it for my bible study group and it was the best chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted, if I do say so myself. lol Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes with us
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Mary! I’m so glad to hear this was a hit!
I love this recipe! I make it 3-4 times per year. For some reason lately, my cakes have been splitting apart when I put them on the cooling racks inverted as per the video. Should I be flipping them back over so the bottoms don’t crack?
Hello Kat! It can be because of several factors but one of them is because of cooling it too quickly. Rapid cooling can cause cakes to shrink and crack. Make sure to let it cool in the pan for a bit before transferring it.
I have a printed copy of this cake and the cookbook and they don’t match. the book says 2 1/2 cups of granulated sugar and the printed recipe says 2 cups. The book says 2/3 cup of cocoa powder and the printed recipe says 1/2 /c. For the frosting, the book says 4 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar and the printed copy says 5 cups. It also says 3/4 cups of cocoa powder and the printed copy says 1 cup of cocoa. The book also says 1 tbsp vanilla and the printed copy says 2tsps of vanilla. Could you please let me know what amounts are correct? Thank you, Penny
Hi Penelope. The cake in my cookbook is a different recipe from this one. Similar, but different. The one we make most often now is the one in our cookbook because our daughter requests it. Let us know which one you try.
The frosting is absolutely delicious! Although it was a bit too much icing, I’d probably use 3/4 of the recipe next time. The cake however somehow had a strange smell? As I mixed it and baked it, the smell was very strong, but it didn’t affect the flavor. The cake was fluffy and moist, everything you would want in a cake but the flavor wasn’t there. What made it sweet and tasted like chocolate was the icing, which again, is a game changer. I would definitely use the icing for other things.
What kind of smell was that? I have not experienced that before but if you can give us more details then we can probably give some tips.
My second time making this for my son’s birthday and as always a big hit. I used 3/4 the frosting recipe, but next time I will half it. I will probably also flatten the top layer cake that sits on the bottom layer cake so i don’t need too my frosting to plug the big gap! Wonderful cake-less recipe! Thanks Natasha!
Is it possible to make this cake have three cake layers instead of two? Or would it make the cake too heavy and all the cream would come out? I was wanting to make this and do two batches but the second batch is cut the ingredients in half
Hi Okie! I think so. Just be sure to completely cool and maybe even chill the cake layers before hand and that will help.
Would I be able to make a marble cake from your vanilla recipe by just adding 1/4 c of cocoa to some of the batter?
Hi Patty. I have not tried adding cocoa to that batter. It absorbs more water so I do not know if any modifications would need to be made so you don’t end up with a dry cake.
Hi Natasha,
This cake is an absolute dream. It will be my second time making it and the question which I have, is that I have to transport the cake to an indoor play place. The weather is on the warm side on that day- will the frosting melt in warm weather ? Any tricks in which I can prevent that from happening? Thank you x
Hi Samana. This frosting is on the softer side and does melt if it’s overly warm. Due to the cream cheese it shouldn’t stay out longer than 2 hrs.
I would keep it refrigerated until you have to leave and transport it in a cooled car with the AC on. You may also look up ways to transport a cake for some other ideas on keeping it cool or using a cooler.