The Best Moist Chocolate Cake
Moist and fluffy Chocolate Cake Recipe. Filled and covered with rich, velvety and delicious chocolate ganache made of cocoa powder. Simple and easy to make! Not too sweet!
Servings: 12 slices
Calories: 344kcal
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.
Video
Notes
Bake at a lower temperature to avoid the cake to rise 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.
Make sure the wet ingredients are at room temperature and the coffee is hot when adding to the cake batter. The baking soda reacts to hot liquid to create carbon dioxide gas forms into bubbles. This reaction gives a good rise that makes this cake soft and fluffier.
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.
Make the chocolate ganache ahead and refrigerate it until it's ready to use.
Nutrition
Calories: 344kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 502mg | Potassium: 292mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 386IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 3mg