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.
Hi Nagi, will this cake work with fondant on top? Is it heavy enough if I do 4 layers?
Would love to know if you tried this and it was OK? Thanks
Hi Nagi, I love your recipes! If I wanted to double the batter, would I need to adjust the ingredients?
Hi Nagi, can you please share what brand of cocoa powder you use? I moved here in Australia and was surprised how Hershey’s isn’t readily available. Tried Woolies homebrand and Nestle Plaistowe but think there must be one that’s better but still available at the groceries.
Hi Ai! Plaistowe dutch processed is the best at groceries 🙂 It does stack up to Ghiradelli which is what I’ve used in the states. You can get more premium ones from gourmet stores but I truly don’t think it’s worth the money for ordinary folk like myself, it would only be if I was making premium wedding cakes or the like that I would invest in more expensive cocoa – N x
Thanks Nagi! Your reply’s gonna save me so much time and trouble trying other brands. Gourmet is definitely not an option with the hefty price tag, I just wondered if there was a less known brand that offers good value.
Love your blog and how detailed you are with the steps. Can’t wait to try this recipe! 🙂
Hey Nagi should I drain the pork as the stuff from countdown leaves quite a lot of water in the pan? Because of this I’m having trouble caramalizing. Cheers
Oh this was supposed to go on your Vietnamese caramalized pork recipe.. Yes I made two Nagi dishes in one day haha
Made this without increasing the Icing to 1.5x and it still worked great. Icing was obviously thinner but still tastes great. I did 160c for 35min but will try 40 next time as the bottom of one was a bit too moist and hard to handle. Thankfully with the cake flip trick it become the top and hidden under icing 🙂 another foolproof Nagi recipe that first time cake makers like me can easily pull off and enjoy flavours better than a cafe.
Absolutely the best chocolate cake recipe I have found! I made this in a bundt pan and added a Irish Cream glaze
Made this for a birthday cake. It proved tricky to ice and a few bits came off the sides in the process – had to ‘plaster it straight’! But boy was it gobbled by guests who kept coming back for more. Really delicious 😋
Every recipe I’ve used from this site had been an absolute banger. Keep up the good work
WOOT! Thanks so much Tim! N x
Agreed, Nagi has never let me down ❤️
i have only got self raising flour can i use it instead of plain flour? thanks in advance
Hi Yolanda, you can use SR flour, just omit the baking powder but still add the baking soda. N x
Nice and moist you can’t go wrong with this cake .thank you
Hi Nagi, thank you for this recipe. I have 1 8” round cake tin.. am I able to put all the batter into one? If so, how long should I bake it for? Thank you
Hi Diana, I have other pan sizes and bake times noted in the recipe notes – I would say around 50 minutes for an 8″ pan. N x
Thank you 🙂
Hi Nagi!
Would it be ok if I used chocolate ganache instead of butter frosting on the cake?
Yes 100% Michelle!!! N x
This is such a wonderful chocolate cake. Easy to make and very quickly devoured!!
Hi Nagi,
What would be the substitute for egg in this recipe?
Hi Priti, I haven’t tried with any egg substitutes sorry! N x
Hi Nagi,
This cake looks delicious. I have so many cake pans already but not exactly like yours. I have two 22cm sandwich cake tins. Would they be suitable? I really don’t want to buy more tins.
Kind regards,
Judy
Hi Nagi, I made this cake for my nephew’s birthday and filled it with chocolate mousse and topped it with chocolate ganache. Everyone absolutely loved it! Can I use this recipe to make cupcakes?
Sounds fabulous Max!!!! I have readers that have left comments saying this works successfully as cupcakes 🙂 N x
Hi! I want to make just one 9-inch layer of the cake, do I just half the measurements of the ingredients? Also, what is the measurements for a one layer 6-inch cake? Thank you!
Hi Edzelle, yes half the ingredients to make just one cake – it will be quite short, however. I haven’t tried making this in such a small amount so I’m not sure it can be done in one 6″ pan sorry! N x
You didn’t disappoint on this recipe! Was an amazingly quick make and tasted fab.
I made it into cupcakes and everyone raved.
The only thing I added was a bit of coffee as I usually do with chocolate cakes. Just added with the hot water in ratio.
Thanks for sharing this Nagi.
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Annette! N x
Hi Nagi 🙂 I want to make the cake using granulated baking splenda, should I substitute it cup for cup? Thank you
Hi Harpreet, sorry Splenda isn’t a direct 1 for 1 sup with sugar, so changing the amount will affect the taste and texture unfortunately – N x
Yup I get that.. thanks for the reply and please do make some recipes with splenda too! 🙂
This is so yummy and easy to whip up!
Do you have a chocolate banana cake recipe that’s as simple?