This chocolate cake recipe is my most popular recipe on the
blog and one that I get the most compliments for both from my online fans as
well as from people I serve it to!
Chocolate Cake Recipe - 3 layers of chocolate cake sandwiched and covered in decadent chocolate icing and decorated with simple royal icing flowers.
A simple search for chocolate cake on the internet will return
you tons of search results. There are so many chocolate cake recipes out there
it is sometimes so hard to decide which one to choose from. Not to mention the
chocolate cake variations there are out there – you will find moist chocolate
cakes, dark chocolate cakes, easy chocolate cakes and even the best chocolate
cake recipes!
While I am not in a position to comment how people name
their chocolate cake recipes, all I can say is that the feedback you get for
your cakes speaks for itself. And I must admit, this chocolate cake recipe has
received so much positive feedback from fans who found my recipe online as well
as my customers to whom I have made this cake before.
Just like my butter pound cake recipe, this is the only
chocolate cake recipe I used in all my cake orders for chocolate cakes. I have
baked this very same cake in many different tin sizes so I am able to share
with you the recipe measurement for the different sized cake tins.
The cake stays soft and moist for a good 4 to 5 days at room
temperature. It is awesome to be eaten plain and works equally well when
frosted either with buttercream, ganache or even my chocolate icing as I have
pictured on this page here.
Chocolate Cake Recipe
Here is the printable version of my chocolate cake recipe and while you are at it, don't miss my recipe notes right below. They contain absolutely useful tips for the best chocolate cake ever!
Chocolate Cake Recipe
By Decorated Treats, Oct 22, 2019
This chocolate cake recipe is my most popular recipe on the blog and one that I get the most compliments for both from my online fans as well as from people I serve it to!
Beat butter and castor sugar till soft and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In another separate bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt 3 times. Fold in the sifted ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with milk, starting and ending with flour.
Finally add vanilla essence and combine well.
Pour the batter into two well greased and floured cake tins of equal size. Level the top and bake the cakes for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cakes come out clean. Larger cakes tend to take longer time to bake, and therefore, to prevent the cake from burning at the sides, I always use a heating core or baking strips. It will also help to reduce your oven temperature a little. I normally reduce mine to about 160 degrees Celsius, but each oven works differently in terms of temperature, so it is best that you try and see which temperature works best for your oven.
Remove cakes from oven and let them cool completely before decorating.
Baking time may vary slightly for larger cakes.
Calculated Tin Sizes
9 inches round/ 8 inches square (makes 2 layers of 2 inch high cakes)
600 g butter
600 g castor sugar
550 g self raising flour
50 g cocoa powder
10 eggs
150 ml milk
½ tsp salt
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
1 ⅔ tsp vanilla essence
11 inches round/ 10 inches square (makes 2 layers of 2 inch high cakes)
840 g butter
840 g castor sugar
770 g self raising flour
70 g cocoa powder
14 eggs
210 ml milk
¾ tsp salt
1 ¾ tsp baking powder
2 ⅓ tsp vanilla essence
13 inches round/ 12 inches square (makes 2 layers of 2 inch high cakes)
1200 g butter
1200 g castor sugar
1100 g self raising flour
100 g cocoa powder
20 eggs
300 ml milk
1 tsp salt
2 ½ tsp baking powder
3 ⅓ tsp vanilla essence
Note: Larger cakes may take a longer time to bake.
Chocolate Cake Recipe - My Recipe Notes
Line and grease your cake tins well – You don’t need to line your tins with parchment paper for this cake, suffice if you apply shortening and dust with flour. Just make sure you don’t leave any un-greased spots on the insides of your cake tin. You can see the many ways of lining cake tins in my post here. If you find using parchment is easier, use it by all means. The choice is really up to you. Lining cake tins adequately helps release the cake effectively after baking. The last thing you want is for your perfectly baked cake to be stuck to the cake tin or part of it stuck to the tin when inverting onto a wire rack.
Measure your ingredients accurately – The main ingredients for this recipe are flour, cocoa powder, sugar, butter and eggs. To this I add vanilla essence, baking powder and milk to help with the aroma, texture and size of the cake. This cake is called chocolate cake for a reason, so it is important that the cocoa powder you use if of a good quality. And the same goes to the butter. Butter gives this cake the rich taste so be sure to use good quality butter. I use salted butter in this recipe just like all my other recipes on this site. Which is why the additional salt I add to the cake batter is pretty little. If you prefer to use unsalted butter, remember to increase the salt amount slightly to compensate for the unsalted butter. And it is also important for all the ingredients in the recipe to be measured as indicated. I always measure my ingredients with a kitchen scale
instead of cups as I find measuring by cups can vary.
Use creaming method to mix the cake batter – This cake is made
using the creaming method, which means the process of making this cake begins
with the creaming of the butter and sugar until they turn light and fluffy. You
need to cream the butter and sugar for a good 2 minutes for the recipe measure
below. Well creamed cake will give you a soft and fluffy cake. When adding
flour to the batter, always alternate it with milk, staring and ending with
flour. Also, it is best to fold the flour in with a spatula instead of a cake
mixer. It may not be practical to fold the flour by hand for large cakes, and
if you prefer to use a cake mixer, make sure it is at its utmost minimum speed
and you do not mix the batter too long. Suffice if the flour and milk is all incorporated.
Adding cocoa powder to the cake batter – There are 2 ways in
which you can mix the batter for this chocolate cake. Both methods start with
creaming of butter and sugar, followed by the eggs. In the first method, the cocoa
powder is sifted with the flour and added into the batter alternately with the milk.
This is the method I have described in the recipe card on this page. The other
method is to mix the cocoa powder with 1 tbsp of hot water to form a paste. This
paste is then added into the cake batter after all the flour and milk has been
added in, right before the vanilla essence is added. Both methods will yield
same results but if you choose the latter method, you would need to reduce the
milk measurement by the amount of water you use to mix the cocoa powder.
Constantly scrap the sides of your mixing bowl – When mixing
the batter, right from the point where you cream your butter and sugar, always scrap
the sides of your bowl frequently. This will ensure the ingredients are well
mixed and your cake batter is all smooth and even. The same goes when the cocoa
is added in. This is to ensure the cake batter is evenly colored and there are
no white/light colored streaks in your baked chocolate cake.
Butter and eggs should be at room temperature – Sometimes,
you find your cake batter curdling. The main reason for this is the temperature
of the butter and eggs. IF either the eggs or butter are cold, your cake batter
will tend to curdle. If both are of the same temperature, it is fine, however,
since it is hard to cream butter when it is cold, it would typically require to
be softened by leaving it at room temperature for a while. If cold eggs are
added to the room temperature butter and sugar mixture, the mixture will
curdle. To prevent this, it is best to have both the eggs and the butter at
room temperature. If at all your batter still curdles, do not worry. Add some
flour and mix until it is no longer curdled.
Doubling the recipe - If you wish to double or triple this chocolate cake recipe,
make sure you use the cake tin sizes I have indicated in the recipe. My recipe
has been calculated to produce cake layers that are approximately 2 inches high.
Too much cake batter in a small cake tin would require longer baking time, and your
cake could end up being a little too dry on the sides, hence if you want taller
cakes, it is best to bake them in a few tins and sandwich the layers together. If
you wish to bake cakes larger than 10 inches in diameter, it is advisable to
use cake strips or a heating core. Cake strips and heating cores not only help
the cakes to bake evenly, they also prevent the cakes sides from drying out due
to longer baking time for larger cakes. See my post here on how to achieve leveled
cakes to learn more about using cake strips and heating cores.
Do not over bake the cake – Just like any other cakes, the
baking time plays a very important role in the taste and texture of this cake. Baking
the cake for too long can result is a dry cake and under baking can cause the
cake to sink. When placing in the oven, always put the cakes on the 3rd
rack. This helps prevent the top of the cake from browning too much. Check if
the cake is done at least 5 to 10 minutes before the baking time is up by
inserting a long skewer in the center of the cake. If the skewer comes out
without any wet batter sticking to it, the cake is done and can be removed from
oven. Ideally, there should be soft cake crumbs sticking to your skewer. If the
skewer comes out totally clean, the cake could have been overly cooked. Also,
when the cake is done, the sides will pull away from the tin.
Storing the chocolate cake – This cake can be served on the
same day it is baked, even while it is still warm. It is also equally good if
baked in advance and stored in the fridge until it is ready for use, within one
week. To store the cake in the fridge, once it is baked and has cooled down
slightly, wrap it tightly with cling wrap and refrigerate. Wrapping the cake while
it is still warm locks and distributes the moisture in the cake making in soft
and moist after refrigeration. When you need to use it, remove the cake from the
fridge and with the cling wrap still intact, let it warm up to room temperature.
Remove the wrapping only after the cake has reached room temperature to prevent
condensation on the cake which can reduce its shelf life. Leftovers of this
cake can be stored at room temperature for a good 4 to 5 days provided it is
handled without any moisture. Always ensure the knife used to cut the cake is
all dry and the container you intend to store the cake has no traces of water
in it. The leftovers can last up to one week if refrigerated. If you wish to
use this cake for carving, the cake is best left to rest for at least one day
after baking for the texture to stabilize for easy carving with less crumbs.
And that is pretty much all I have for you on my chocolate cake recipe.
I hope you would give this cake a try, and if you do, let me know what you think here, ok?
This light fruit cake recipe yields an absolutely moist fruit cake without any alcohol in it. The recipe comes with tin size guides, making it super convenient to bake in various cake tin sizes.
This classic, New York cheesecake recipe is probably the only cheesecake recipe you ever need - a lovely buttery crust filled with tangy cheese filling and topped with plain sour cream - the most perfect combination for a cheesecake!
Here is an easy cheesecake recipe for a classic baked cheesecake. With just 6 main ingredients, learn how to create the best, no-fail cheesecake every single time with my easy tips and techniques.
This classic, New York cheesecake recipe is probably the only cheesecake recipe you ever need - a lovely buttery crust filled with tangy cheese filling and topped with plain sour cream - the most perf…
This salted caramel recipe makes the best homemade salted caramel with only 4 ingredients and in under 15 minutes. Its so easy to make your own salted caramel whenever you want it!
Sign up for my newsletter and you will never miss another new technique or cake design. I will send it directly to your mailbox free-of-charge for you to refer and use whenever you want to.
You will also be among the first ones to receive news about any special offers or contests I have on this site.
(Your email is totally secure and I will only send you updates or news from Decorated Treats)
Decorated Treats is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Decorated Treats also contains other affiliate links, which if you purchase from may earn me a small commission. The full disclosure policy can be found here.