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 – 25 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.
What a winner! I made the cake this morning for my daughter’s birthday. She requested a double layer chocolate cake and loved it. The whole family loved it’s rich moistness. My son’s already requested it for his birthday.
Thank you for sharing such a simple, delicious recipe and providing helpful tips.
Hi Nagi, will this work with olive oil or will it effect the texture?
Hi Alice, a neutral flavoured oil that won’t overpower the cake is a better option here. N x
Looks like a great cake that I would love to bake Could you use less sugar or smart sugar to bake this cake?
I made this cake for my mum’s birthday and it tasted delicious, but for some reason it took far longer than 45 mins to cook, I’ve made this recipe before and had the same problem, i’m pretty sure i followed all the steps correctly and i was wondering if anyone else had had this problem?
You probably have the same problem I had when I started baking! I set the temperature according to the recipes and it always took longer time to bake. So I bought an oven thermometer and it showed me that the the real temperature in my oven was 20° below the set temperature!
Best recipe! It came out perfect! Love all your recipes Nagi. Not going to look for recipes anywhere else x
Beyond superb, this is by far the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made. I had soooo many comments on how delicious it was, and for my husband to comment it has to be amazing, thank you so much!
This is indeed the very BEST chocolate cake ever. And one of the easiest. The buttercream frosting was the icing on the cake!!!!! I will never need to go in search of another chocolate cake recipe.
Can I make the the recipe in one cake tin? If so what should I change in the recipe?
Hi Maria, I mention this in the recipe notes. N x
This. THIS Chocolate cake is SO good, it is so good it can even be eaten without icing/frosting/cream IF you wanted to that is. It is so moist and delicious and easy to make, I am not usually a chocolate cake person but THIS.. THIS is so good, even after a few days in the fridge in airtight container, it’s perfectly fresh. It’s now officially my choc cake go-to. Another win from Nagi!
Awesome recipe! I’m no baker but this turned out successfully. My husband who’s a picky eater thoroughly enjoyed this cake and requested me to bake it again. Simple to make and delicious! Moist even after 4 days. Thanks Nagi!
Hi Nagi, I am thinking to make this into a soccer ball birthday cake for my son’s birthday :). We tried this cake before and is delicious. Is a dip round pan going to work ok?
Hello
I love you recipes!
I just wanted to ask if the chocolate and vanilla cake recipes can be layered – ie will they turn out about the same height?
This was a really great recipe, very easy to add to to make it your own. I used 1/2 cup soy milk and the other 1/2cup of freshly squeezed orange juice for the moisture. I also grated the rind of one orange and added it in, as well as rum-soaked sultanas that we made over two days. Also added in rum instead of vanilla extract (1:1). Baked for about 45 minutes. It was soooo delicious and moist!! Definitely reccommed!
Sounds divine Bill, what a great idea! N x
Hi Nagi! This cake is amazing and chocolate was never my favorite. I haven’t found a white cake that has the same moistness so my question is…can i omit the cocoa, reduce the sugar and have a white cake with this recipe?
Hi Gail, a white cake as in vanilla? You can’t change this particular recipe without affecting the texture but you can try this one: https://promotown.info/my-very-best-vanilla-cake/%3C/a%3E N x
Hi Nagi thanks for your answer and yes i did try that cake and it was delish, but not quite the flavor/texture i was looking for. I love the texture of the chocolate cake and was hoping it would convert into a vanilla/white cake with the same ease as the chocolate.
No matter…i love all your recipes yummm. I could compete with Dozer lol
I don’t have any baking powder, does that matter? Or should I add some more bi carb soda?
Thanks!
Hi Annabelle, yes you need the baking powder for this recipe sorry! N x
This is definitely the best recipe I have ever had, super fluffy and chocolaty and almost like a fluffy mud cake now I only bake my cakes and cupcakes off this recipe!
🤍 To Nagi 🤍
We did everything what this method/video said but our cake had not risen at all, it left massive cracks on top and we think it’s because of the boiling hot water. All fresh ingredients were used (none over due). Just to inform you and ask for any suggestions or feedbacks:)
Hi
Can I just cake flour instead of all purpose flour?
I am wanting to make a marble cake for my sons birthday could I make double the ingredients and leave cocoa powder and hot water out of one batch and add vanilla then swirl through, Your thoughts please
Nagi – this was totally delicious – so light and chocolatey! I’m going to try to re-create it for my son who is gluten and dairy intolerant. Will report back on success (or otherwise!)