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.
Can this cake be baked in a Bundt pan? If so, for how long?
Hi Lena, you can check the recipe notes and it’s all written there for you 🙂 N x
Love this cake Nagi and have made numerous times with great success – can I make same recipe with gluten free flour ?
Hi Sandra, I haven’t tried to be honest – would love to know if it works! N x
This was a great recipe i made it on facetime with my friend because of covid 19 delicious
Oh I love this Scarlet!!!! ❤️
I love this cake so much! It is tasty, and so good. I don’t how to explain it and I am not even a good cook!
so good and easy to make. the recipes that i have seen are way too complicated and they don’t even taste that good, but this recipe was so easy to make and it was also very delicious.😍😍
How long will it take if i steamit? Thanks
Hi Yam – I haven’t tried steaming it sorry! N x
Hiiii Nagi:) excited to try this recioe today 🙂 i wanted to ask please how long to bake it for if im making cupcakes? Thank you!
Hi Tasneem – I haven’t tried this one in cupcake form as it’s a fairly flat cake – so you’ll get fairly flat cupcakes. I’d say 15-20 minutes in the oven should be fine but keep an eye on it! N x
Hi Nagi, another outstanding recipe. I made this today for my son’s 4th birthday. I baked a full batch in an single 20cm pan. It rose a lot while I’m the oven, but it didn’t overflow….just. It ended up looking like a giant muffin!! 😂 I covered it with a cream cheese frosting. It tasted amazing! Moist not too sweet and you actually feel good after eating it, unlike some cakes which make you feel slightly sugared out. This one is a definite keeper for us! Thank you!
If I could give this cake recipe 10 stars I would as it is off the Planet!!! Topped with the buttercream icing it is truly scrumpdiddlyumtous!!!!!
My family eye it off the moment it comes out of the oven, they hover like sharks and then attack once that icing goes on. I have to hide it and bring it out in portions!!! THanks NAGI another winner
Omg this recipe is amazing! So chocolatey! Just how I like it lol thank you so much for sharing it with us Nagi😁 cant wait to try more recipes 😍😍😍
your cake is very good but to much choclate pls reply back
You can never have enough chocolate in a chocolate cake Lilly!! N x
No you can
This is the first cake I ever made in my life,it may not look the prettiest lol, but it was soo easy and it’s just unbelieavably soft & tastes awsome. Thank you so much for the recipe. I will definitely make it more times now, at least I will work on how to design it better.
Loved it…. its a beauty…. even the frosting… and I am not a baker… thank u so much Nagi… got the professional bakery cake at home! Thank you!!!
Wahoo! That’s great! N x
Nagi your recipes are always so great! I’ve been making this chocolate cake as my go-to for over a year now and it never fails me! I’ve passed it on to all my friends and family, it’s the BEST.
My Mum even made it for my birthday yesterday and topped it with lots of strawberries, sooo delicious. Thank you
Made this for my husband’s birthday cake as he is an avid chocolate lover. It was amazingly awesome. Also used the suggested Chocolate Buttercream Frosting and there’s no turning back now. This will definitely be my go to Chocolate Cake recipe.
Absolutely love this cake. It is my go to for the last couple of years and always get sooo many compliments. Just wondering how I could make a vanilla version? What would I substitute the cocoa with? Thanks
Hi Jodie – this one wont work as written for a vanilla cake. Why not try this vanilla sponge: https://fast-enhancement.today/vanilla-sponge-cake/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Best chocolate cake recipe ever!
Thanks Hasitha! N x
Hi Nagi, would this still work out using dairy free milk?
I imagine so Sarah 🙂 N x
This is now my go to cake recipe after stumbling across it a year or so ago. No fancy mixers in this house so the one bowl and whisk was appealing! I am the worst cook and literally can’t stuff this cake up. Every time it’s been a winner. Just waiting for the latest creation to cool so I can ice it. Thanks Nagi <3
Hi, can I use olive oil or sunflower oil?
Hi Sybil, I’d opt for sunflower as it has a more neutral flavour – N x