This chocolate cake is extra moist, soft and fluffy. Filled and covered with rich, velvety and delicious chocolate ganache made of cocoa powder. So simple and easy to make!
Why this is the Best Chocolate Cake?
- Rich and Intensely Chocolatey
- Ultra Moist
- Soft and Fluffy
- The cake is not too sweet and has less sugar compared to other chocolate cake recipes.
- The frosting is irresistibly delicious and not too sweet. Made from scratch smooth and velvety chocolate ganache with cocoa powder.
- Simple and easy frosting.
Chocolate Cake Ingredients
All-Purpose flour – make sure to measure with a kitchen scale or use a measuring cup to spoon and level it off.
Hershey’s Cocoa Powder– Substitute with dutch processed cocoa or good quality 100% cocoa powder.
Leavening agents– baking soda and baking powder: ratio for this recipe is 2:1 for a good rise and fluffy cake.
Salt– add flavour to the cake.
Eggs– you will need 2 large eggs and one egg yolk to add richness to the cake.
Sugar– granulated sugar
Oil– this makes the cake moist. Use vegetable oil or canola oil
Buttermilk or substitute with whole milk or coconut milk and add 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Sour cream– for extra moist cake and balance the flavour (it has a fat content of around 20%). Substitute yogurt or heavy cream and add 1/2 tsp lemon juice.
Hot Coffee-espresso or it depends on how strong you like it. Adding coffee intensifies the chocolate flavour. Substitute with coffee granules (instant coffee) dissolved in hot water or just hot water if you’re not a fan of coffee.
The hot liquid reacts with the baking soda becoming a carbon dioxide gas which forms bubbles {it’s a baking Science thing eh! : )} to give a good rise, to a soft and fluffy cake.
Pure vanilla extract– a flavour enhancer
How to make moist Chocolate cake
This is the same chocolate cake recipe I used in my Black Forest Cake. If you make this cake, the method is the same. Except for the cake strips that I didn’t use and the baking temperature.
Prepare the baking pans (3 of 8″x 1.5″ round baking pans). Grease the pans then dust evenly with cocoa powder or flour. You can also simply line it with parchment paper.
For the dry ingredients. Measure and sift all the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.
For the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, measure and mix all the wet ingredients (except for the coffee). Make sure the wet ingredients are at room temperature for easy mixing. Then add the dry ingredients in four additions to avoid big lumps.
Adding the hot coffee. Add the coffee slowly to the cake batter and mix until well blended.
Divide and pour the cake batter evenly into the 3 round baking pans greased and dusted with cocoa powder or lined with parchment paper. Tap on the table to remove and knock out some big air bubbles. Use a kitchen scale to divide the cake evenly or you can eyeball it about 2/3 to 3/4 full in the baking pan.
Bake in preheated oven at 350°F for about 25 minutes (with cake strip) or at 325°F for about 20 to 25 minutes (without cake strip) or until the inserted cake tester in the middle comes out clean.
Cool in a pan for 10 minutes. Loosen the cakes with an offset spatula, then place them on a cooling rack. Remove the parchment paper (if using) to cool completely. Cover with a kitchen towel to avoid drying out and to avoid a crusty edge.
Pro-Tip
Bake at a lower temperature to avoid the cake to rise too quickly and to avoid the dome top. Using a cake strip, help to control the heat in the cake for even cooking. This results in a flat and even cake top, so there is no need to trim the cake.
Making ahead and Storing
If making ahead, cool completely and place in a sealed container. Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Prepare the chocolate ganache. You can make this ahead and refrigerate it until it’s ready to use.
Filling and Frosting the Chocolate Cake
Filling and frosting this chocolate cake is so simple and easy. Before assembly, make sure the cake is completely cool. Place a dollop of the chocolate ganache on the cake server to glue the first layer of the cake. Use a spatula to fill each layer of the chocolate cake ( about 1/4 cup) then frost and covered the cake with the rest of the chocolate ganache. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
More cake recipes you may also like.
Chocolate Marble Mirror Glaze Cake
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how it turns out in the comment below : ) I love hearing from you.
The Best Moist Chocolate Cake
Watch How to Make It
Equipment
- 3 8"x 1.5" round baking pans
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup Hershey's cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
Wet ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup buttermilk or milk add ½ tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup hot coffee or 2 tsp instant coffee granules dissolved in ¾ cup hot water.
- Chocolate Ganache with cocoa powder
Instructions
- Prepare the baking pans. Grease the pans, then dust generously with cocoa powder or line with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 325°For at 350°F if using a cake strip.
- Measure and sift all the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. In a separate bowl, mix all the wet ingredients (except for the coffee). Then add the sifted dry ingredients in four additions to avoid big lumps. Add the hot coffee slowly to the cake batter and mix until well blended.
- Divide and pour the cake batter into the prepared round baking pans. Tap on the table to remove or knock out some air pockets. Doing this also helps to even out the cake.
- Bake in preheated oven at 325°F for about 20 to 25 minutes (without cake strip), or at 350°F for about 20 to 25 minutes (with cake strip), or until the inserted cake tester in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool in a pan for 10 minutes. Loosen the cakes with an offset spatula, then place them on a cooling rack. Remove the parchment paper (if using) to cool completely. Cover with a kitchen towel to avoid drying out.
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the chocolate ganache.
- Filling and frosting the cake. Before assembly, make sure the cake is completely cool. Place a dollop of the chocolate ganache on the cake server to glue the first layer of the cake. Fill each layer of the chocolate cake ( about 1/4 cup using a spatula), then frost and covered the cake with the rest of the chocolate ganache.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
