Before plunging into making your cake the best ever, here are a few things you need to know.
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How to make a cake moist?
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Using butter, eggs and milk straight from the fridge.
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Batter is curdled.
Cake layers don’t rise sufficiently
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For a proper rise, all ingredients have to be at room temperature.
Reference: Room temperature video
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How to prevent a cake from drying?
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Baking cake for too long
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Cake is crumbly
Cake is dry
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Use a toothpick to check for doneness. Lightly press the top of the cake.
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How to frost a cake?
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Not cooling cakes before frosting
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Frosting becomes too soft to decorate
Frosting melts
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Never frost until it is completely cooled. Little residual heat is soften buttercream
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All-Purpose Flour
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The structure of the cake. Do not use cake flour– when combined with ultra-light cocoa powder, cake flour is too fine.
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Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder
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Do not use dutch-process cocoa powder. If you’re interested, see dutch-process vs natural cocoa powder for an in-depth explanation.
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Baking Soda & Baking Powder
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Use both baking soda and baking powder for lift.
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Salt
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Salt balances the flavor.
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Espresso Powder
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Espresso powder is optional, but I recommend its addition because it enhances the chocolate flavor. The chocolate cake will not taste like coffee.
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Oil
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Don’t use butter in this cake batter. Cocoa powder is a particularly drying ingredient, so this cake needs oil for suitable moisture.
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Buttermilk
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This chocolate cake requires the moisture and acidity from buttermilk. Lately I’ve been using a mix of sour cream and buttermilk, as well as reducing the hot liquid.
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Possible substitution for chocolate cakes
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Gluten-free
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Use equal amount of gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose flour listed in the recipe.
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Dairy-free
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Use almond milk as well as coconut milk in place of the dairy. While not dairy-free, I’ve also used buttermilk in place of the milk with great results.
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Egg-free
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Use 2/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce in place of the 2 large eggs in the recipe. You will note that you may have to bake the cake just a few minutes more. Be sure to check with the skewer for doneness.
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With butter and other oils
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Use equal amount of melted coconut oil to the vegetable oil called for in the recipe. I’ve also tested using the same volume of melted butter in place of the oils in the chocolate cake. While it does make the cake texture slightly different, it is still mighty delicious and worth trying if you’d prefer to use butter in place of oils in your chocolate cake.
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Best chocolate cake recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder homemade or store-bought
- 1 cup milk buttermilk, almond, or coconut milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil canola oil, or melted coconut oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Instructions
For the chocolate cake:
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Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
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Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter until well combined.
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Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the chocolate cake comes out clean.
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Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.
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Frost cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
Notes
The cake batter will be very thin after adding the boiling water. This is correct and results in the most delicious and moist chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted!
Freezer Friendly
Let the baked cake layers cool completely. Wrap them well with plastic wrap and then with foil. Put each layer into a freezer bag and freeze up to 2 months. To serve, thaw in the refrigerator overnight with wrapping intact. The next day, the layers are ready to fill and frost.
Best technique for frosting a cake: Frosting a Cake
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