Best Chocolate Cake Recipe

This rich, moist chocolate cake recipe comes together from scratch in one bowl. Two fudgy layers, velvety chocolate buttercream, and no special equipment needed.

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Ingredients Needed

Find the full recipe with printable directions below.

• All-purpose flour: A great flour to use for the structure. It’s light but sturdy enough to hold up to the remaining ingredients.
• Granulated sugar: For the sweetness needed to take bitter cocoa to sweet chocolate.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder: Use natural (not Dutch Processed) that way it will react the way it needs to with the baking soda giving it a light and airy texture. Using Dutch-processed will lead to a denser crumb.
• Baking soda: Reacts to not only the cocoa powder but the acidity in the buttermilk. This is the secret to amazingly soft textures!
• Hot water: Dissolves the cocoa powder and sugars nicely leaving behind no granules. It also brings out the flavor of the cocoa powder.
• Buttermilk: A tangy milk that’s got the necessary acidity that regular milk doesn’t have. If you don’t have any it’s super simple to learn how to make buttermilk using regular milk and vinegar or lemon juice!
• Vegetable oil: Great for added moisture. It’s a fat that doesn’t dry out or become solid at room temperature.
• Large eggs: Bring these out ahead of time. You want all your ingredients to start at room temperature for even baking.

How to Make Chocolate Cake

1. Start by sifting the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Sifting takes an extra minute but it removes any lumps and is part of what gives this cake its light crumb.
2. Next, mix in the hot water, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla with a hand mixer or whisk until well combined. The batter will be thin, and that’s exactly what you want. Divide it evenly between two 9-inch cake pans lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake at 350°F on the middle rack for 28 to 35 minutes. You’re looking for a toothpick that comes out clean, though a few moist crumbs are perfectly fine with a fudgy cake like this one.
4. Once the cakes have cooled completely, place one layer on a cake stand or serving platter and spread frosting evenly over the top. Add the second layer, then frost the top and sides. Refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes before slicing so the frosting sets up.
   

Recipe Tips

• Coffee and chocolate. Espresso powder helps to intensify the chocolate flavor. I’m not a coffee drinker, but if you are you can add 1-2 teaspoons of espresso powder or replace the hot water with 1 cup of freshly brewed coffee. 
• Measure precisely. The secret to a moist cake isn’t the fat, it’s the liquid-to-dry ratio, so exact measurements matter more than usual here. Learn how to measure flour correctly and bring your ingredients to room temperature before you start.
• Single-layer cake. You can switch to a 9×13″ pan and make a sheet cake rather than a layered cake. If you’re using an aluminum pan, keep the same baking time. If it’s glass, reduce it to 325 degrees. If you need a smaller cake, make this crazy chocolate cake.
• Stand mixer. Yes, you can use one if you have one and would prefer it to an electric mixer.
• The oil. Stick with a neutral oil that doesn’t have an overpowering flavor. Canola oil or vegetable oil work great, as does sunflower oil. After all, it’s the chocolate we want to taste.
• Make cupcakes or cake balls. This batter works beautifully for chocolate cupcakes from scratch, and leftover cake is the perfect start for cake balls.