This is a really easy yet exceptional Chocolate Cake that truly tastes of chocolate. The crumb is beautifully tender and moist, and it keeps for up to 5 days. It requires no beater, just a wooden spoon.
Frost generously with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting for a terrific birthday cake or chocolate ganache for a luxurious rich option. For a richer, fudgier chocolate cake, try this Chocolate Fudge Cake. The ultimate glaze to impress, however, is without a doubt Chocolate Mirror Glaze…..
This is the Chocolate Cake
If you’ve been reading for a while, you know that sometimes I get real stubborn about doing certain things the “right way”. And there’s also a time and a place for shortcut recipes and quick dinners.
Then there’s recipes like this Chocolate Cake which tick all the boxes – it’s easier than the way I’ve been making everyday cake for most of my life, and the results are better.
You’ll love how it really does taste of chocolate even though it’s only been made with cocoa powder (the secret is to add boiling water – it makes the chocolate flavour “bloom”).
You’ll love how tender the crumb is, and how it stays moist for 4 to 5 days.
You’ll love how the cake can stand on its own so you could just dust it with icing sugar then serve slices with dollops of cream on the side. Though of course, smothering it with frosting never hurts….
This is the famous Hershey’s Chocolate Cake recipe which I tried on the recommendation of Michelle from the Brown Eyed Baker (one of the first places I go in hunt for baked goods). I tried it without massively high expectations, because I thought “how much better can this be than the usual, being such a simple recipe?”
I love being proved wrong when it comes to food. So wrong in fact, that even though I tinkered with the recipe multiple times, I landed right back where I started using the recipe exactly as written.
I truly think this might be the only recipe on my entire website that I’m publishing from another source without changing the ingredients at all. It’s unheard of! But to me, it’s perfect as it is. I don’t see myself using any other recipe for an everyday Chocolate Cake, ever again.
Incredibly quick and easy
It’s astonishingly quick to make the batter, with all the ingredients mixed up in one bowl using a whisk.
There’s no need to cream butter like the usual recipes because this one is made with oil which is the reason why this cake is beautifully moist. No more dry chocolate cake! 🙌🏻 (Also means this is more forgiving than most, having once accidentally left it in the oven for 15 minutes longer than necessary and it still wasn’t dry).
I’m publishing this recipe as part of the Easter Recipes posted yesterday! So here it is, dolled up for Easter. The same cake in the photos above, the same frosting, topped with speckled Easter eggs, baby chicks (both from Woolworths in Australia), and a chocolate basket. I’ve provided directions in the notes of the recipe for how I made that chocolate basket (hint – it involves a balloon…).
My everyday Chocolate Cake
Easter aside, I call this my everyday Chocolate Cake because it’s just that – my new favourite to make for any occasion. There will be times that call for a mud-cake like Fudge Cake made with both cocoa powder and melted chocolate. There will be times that call for intensely dark chocolate cakes. There will be times that you need / want the nutty brownie-like Flourless Chocolate Cake. And there will be times you’re after one that’s light-as-air, a delicate chiffon cake.
This one is for all the other times when you just want a great, classic Chocolate Cake. Which in my world, is 80% of the time! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups plain / all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder , unsweetened (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda (bi-carb soda)
- 2 cups white sugar (Note 1)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs (~55-65g / 2 oz each)
- 1 cup milk (low or full fat)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or canola)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- 1 1/2 batches Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (slide scaler on recipe)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C°/350°F (160°C fan). Read Note 4 regarding shelf positions.
- Grease 2 x 22cm/9" cake pans with butter, then line the base. (Note 3 re: springform pans and other pan sizes).
Batter:
- Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl. Add Sugar and salt. Whisk briefly to combine.
- Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Whisk well to combine until lump free – about 30 seconds.
- Add boiling water and whisk to incorporate. The batter is VERY thin (see video).
- Pour batter into cake pans.
Baking:
- Bake for 35 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. See Note 4 regarding cook time if pans are on different shelves.
- Cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks upside down (Note 5).
- Cool completely before frosting. I frosted the cake with my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (scale recipe up by 50%).
Recipe Notes:
- bundt pan – 50 minutes
- single 22cm/9″ pan – 40 to 45 minutes
- 2 x 20cm / 8″ pans – 38 minutes
- 3 x 20cm / 8″ pans – 32 minutes
- 33 x 22 x 5 cm / 13 x 9 x 2″ rectangle pan – 35 – 40 minutes
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Dozer vs tiny toy chick.
Chick won.
Hey, nowhere mentions adding the coffee powder. It’s not in the video either!!!???
Lovely cake, enjoyed by everyone. Not a lot of structure for heavy icing, but a lovely texture and so easy. Has anyone tried putting a teaspoon of instant coffee into the boiling water? Would it upset any cake-chemistry?
I’ve sub the water for the same amount of espresso, I just extract it when I need the hot water and add. I think the powder will cause the same effect, so it won’t really affect. I particularly don’t think it gives coffee flavor, but just nicely emphasises the chocolate flavor. It is as fluffy as without the coffee.
Instant coffee would make it amazing, my mums signature when she does self saucing chocolate cake! The mocha taste is amazing
I have made this cake before and it was nice. Today I’ve made it and there a dry little bits at the bottom of the cake. My baking powder is 4 weeks past its BB date could that be why?
Nat I have baking powder that should have been used by 2022, I still use it and the cake came out fine. Maybe it wasn’t mixed enough.
I’m surprised it doesn’t call for some coffee or instant espresso. Has anyone tried that addition?
Has anybody noticed a really strange aftertaste? This recipe calls for bicarbonate of soda plus baking powder. Bicarbonate of soda always requires something like vinegar or lemon juice to activate it. However, this recipe does not include either of those items. I think this is the cause of the funny aftertaste. I’m really surprised not more. People have noticed this!
I’ve made the cake haven’t tried it yet looks great can’t wait to try!
Hi Nagi,
I absolutely love making this cake! It has beautiful chocolate flavour without being overpowering, and it is so moist.
I make it as one whole cake in one pan, as opposed to two cakes in two pans per your recommendation. Without fail, my cake always cracks on top. Can you please tell me what I can do to prevent it from cracking?
Hi, I’m definitely no expert, but have made this 3x in the past week for various occasions and the one thing I noted was that when I baked the rectangular single cake, it did better at 160 ⁰C , for a longer period of time. I think the cracking occurs when the top forms a crust whilst the batter is still raw underneath. I didn’t end up with a crack the second time.
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should i add a simple syrup to this? or is it okay withoout it?
im making a cake to be served two days after baking.
WOW! Y’all, this was the MOST amazing cake I’ve ever made. So often, I find chocolate cake is dry and dense. But this is super moist and the frosting is to die for. A perfect birthday cake for my niece!! 5/5 stars!
Can this cake be stacked?
Fantastic!! So simple and soooo good!! I massively reduced the sugar (300g?) used 500ml cream whipped with 1 pkt of vanilla sugar and strawberries instead of the buttercream. Will certainly make this again!!
Hi! I am planning to bake this (again) next week and would like to reduce the sugar – did you reduce by 300g or use 300g?
Idk who is lying in the reviews but this was not good, I even followed step by step and I even cooked it longer, this is a consistency of undercooked pudding, not a cake. The boiling water should of been a indicator of that but I wanted to try something new, definitely not again
A Keeper!
Made this for my grandson’s 7th birthday party. I used the ganache (whipped) for the outside and the whipped ganache mixed with extra whipped cream for inbetween layers. This made it more like a mousse filling. It was delicious! Comments from kids and parents alike saying it’s the best cake they’ve ever eaten! Easy to make too. Nagi you are amazing….thank you!
Good quality, great portions, proper packaging. The food tastes good and gets served quickly.
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lmao is this just an ad for a biryani place?
Great chocolate cake recipe btw
I don’t like chocolate cake and I don’t like to bake.
Yet, I made this cake as a 3-layer cake for my husband’s birthday. I used 7″ pans because it’s just for the two of us.
My husband loved it and he praised my baking -which is a private joke between us for decades, because I cannot (and don’t want to) bake, which is funny because I love to cook.
The cake was moist, not overly sweet, very airy and fluffy, and not as dense as most of these chocolate cakes are.
Thank you, Nagi!
I made this into cupcakes (cooked for 20mins) but totally forgot the oil! Still delish but
probably won’t stay as moist for as long. Also stuck quite a bit to the paper.
I used this for the base of my daughter’s birthday cake – made a double batch and used the time adjustments at the bottom of the recipe.
It turned out PERFECT. Made ahead by three days and kept it wrapped in cling film until I was ready to decorate the night before.
DELICIOUS, soooo easy to make and had rave reviews from kids and parents alike.
Can’t recommend highly enough.
Hi Jessica. I’m wanting to try this for my son’s birthday so love that you made it 3 days early!!! I’m wondering if you did much so decorate and how the the cake held? I’m wanting to use quite a lot of buttercream but another comment said if can’t handle a lot.
I added 50g less sugar and used dark chocolate ganache and it wasn’t sweet at all. If I made it again using less sugar, I’d ice it with buttercream instead.
I used to make this regularly as per the recipe and now I have made this with gluten free flour as my children now have to follow a gluten free and dairy free diet and I’m trying to make things I used to make for them. I made a marshmallow topping. Please could you share more gluten and dairy free recipes? Thanks