Decadent Delicious Chocolate Cake

Today we’re making a decadent delicious chocolate cake. If you enjoy this, you might also like our moist chocolate loaf cake with rich fudge frosting. This easy chocolate cake recipe will satisfy any sweet tooth. Let’s get started!

What You’ll Need

For the Chocolate Cake

• 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (50 grams) cocoa powder (natural or Dutch process)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup boiling water (or hot coffee)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, room temperature

For the Chocolate Buttercream

• 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups or 338 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 cups (680 grams) sifted powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup (25 grams) cocoa powder (Dutch process recommended for darker color)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or more, to taste)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• 1/4 cup milk or cream (or other liquid of choice)

How to Make It

Making the Cake

1. First off, set your oven to 350°F (175°C) so it’s nice and hot.
2. Grab two 9-inch baking pans, spray with baking spray or some butter. The parchment paper is your guarantee that the cakes will come out neatly with no cracks, no tears.
3. Into a large bowl, add the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Give this a sift.
4. Grab a whisk and mix this up. The sifting started the mixing, but now you want to get everything nicely distributed.
5. In another large bowl, add the vegetable oil, whole milk, and vanilla extract. Don’t forget to add two large room temperature eggs. Whisk that up until it’s nice and smooth.
6. Grab that dry mixture back. Add the wet mixture in. Whisk that up until it is almost combined. It’s okay to see a couple streaks of flour.



7. Add one cup of boiling water. Pour this in as you whisk. The batter will be runny, but don’t worry about that. All that means is it’s going to be a magical batter.
8. Divide this evenly in your pans. You can use a kitchen scale (about 700 grams per pan) or eyeball it with a toothpick as a depth meter.
9. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Don’t worry about using cake strips; this batter is so thin it doesn’t need them.
10. Let the cake layers cool completely.

Making the Chocolate Buttercream

1. Start with three sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature. Cream this on medium for about 30 seconds, just until it’s silky smooth. You can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer.
2. Have your sifted powdered sugar ready.
3. For the cocoa powder, I’m using a Dutch process one so it’s extra dark and chocolatey looking. Sift the cocoa powder to avoid lumps.
4. Cream the butter one more time on low with the sifted cocoa powder, so it mixes in without creating a giant, messy cloud. Once it’s incorporated, scrape the bowl down.
5. Add a generous quarter teaspoon of kosher salt.
6. Add the powdered sugar in, about a cup or two at a time, and mix on low.
7. As the powdered sugar mixes in, you can alternate with a tablespoon or so of milk or cream.
8. As you go, make sure you scrape the bowl down. Remove everything from the beater because stuff collects there and doesn’t get mixed properly.
9. Once all the sugar is incorporated, add one teaspoon of vanilla (optional) and the last little bit of milk, using a full quarter cup here. Always make your chocolate buttercream a little more slack than you think it should be, because it sets up. The cocoa powder absorbs liquid and will set quicker than you imagine.
10. Mix this on medium for one minute until it’s light and fluffy.
11. If your frosting is all bubbly or set up during decorating, just run your mixer for 30 seconds, and you can add in an extra tablespoon of cream or milk if desired.

Assembly and Decoration

1. My cake layers have cooled completely. Invert one onto a cake plate and remove the parchment paper.
2. Add about one cup of frosting right in the middle. Spread the frosting out into an even layer, moving it all the way to the side.
3. Pop the next layer on.
4. Cover with the remaining frosting. Smooth it out and work the frosting down the side.
5. Decorate this cake however you’d like. You’ll use every last drop of frosting from this. For an alternative topping or filling, consider making an easy chocolate ganache for smooth silky desserts. Once covered completely, swoop to your heart’s content, or you can smooth it out. Top with sprinkles, chocolate chips, chopped chocolate, cacao nibs, anything you love.
6. Give your cake a slice, and it’s ready to enjoy.

Recipe Notes

• Flour Measurement: It’s very important that you don’t add too much flour. Either use a scale or fluff the flour up and sprinkle it into your measuring cup, then level it off. If you just scoop the flour up with the measuring cup and level it off, you’re going to add 40-70% more flour, and your cake’s not going to be nice and soft and moist. It’ll be dry and bready.
• Sugar’s Role: The sugar isn’t just for sweetness; it also makes your cake soft. If you reduce the sugar, it’ll be less sweet, but it’s going to get harder and breadier.
• Cocoa Powder in Cake: Natural cocoa powder is slightly acidic and will react with the baking soda, giving us a puffier cake.
• Salt for Balance: For any dessert, salt is crucial for balance. You cannot taste things unless the salt is there; it prevents a flat sweet note.
• Oil for Softness: Using vegetable oil will keep your cake pillowy soft, even if it’s coming straight out of the fridge. If you use butter, it’ll be very hard until it’s completely room temperature. Also, the taste of butter will be lost in a chocolate cake.
• Boiling Water vs. Coffee: You can use one cup of boiling water or one cup of hot coffee. The coffee will really let you taste the chocolate more and amplify the chocolate flavor. The boiling water adds moisture and activates the cocoa powder, making it more intensely chocolatey.
• Buttercream Customization:
  • You could swap out half a cup of butter for half a cup or four ounces of cream cheese. You would definitely add less cream, though, because that’s adding water in.
  • You could use some sour cream, sub that in for the butter or for the cream.
  • You could add spices to it, too, like cinnamon and a little cayenne for a Mexican hot chocolate buttercream.
  • Add a quarter teaspoon of espresso powder if you’re going the coffee route to amp up the chocolate flavor.
  • The milk in the buttercream doesn’t have to be milk. It could be brandy, dark rum, or whiskey for a different vibe, or even coffee for a mocha cake.
• American Buttercream Texture: A lot of people complain that American buttercream is too sweet, grainy, gritty, and dense. This can happen if it’s not made correctly. Whipping the butter and sugar together properly and adding enough liquid (milk/cream) helps make it creamy and perfectly balanced. Adding salt also makes a big difference in letting the chocolate pop.