Feb 12, 2018, Updated Sep 20, 2024
Grab these Tools
To make this cake, you’ll need: Okay fine, so there might have been drool anyway. Actually, when the cake emerged, there was probably drooling and clapping. I tell you that because I trust you won’t judge me. It surprises me every single time with how good it is for something so easy. It is a great emergency chocolate cake to have in your repertoire for forgotten birthdays, last-minute visitors, or urgent Friday night chocolate cravings.
All-purpose flour: Swap all-purpose flour with a gluten-free alternative if you need to. Granulated white sugar: Adds sweetness of course, but also contributes importantly to the moist texture. I don’t recommend you reduce it. Unsweetened cocoa powder: Natural or dutch process cocoa powder both work here. Baking soda: No baking powder is needed, the baking soda reacts with the acidic ingredients to make the cake rise. Salt Eggs Buttermilk: Contributes to the cake’s tenderness and slight tang. If you don’t have buttermilk, here are the best buttermilk substitutes. Milk and lemon juice, full fat greek yogurt or sour cream all work well. Butter Vanilla extract Hot coffee: The secret ingredient that intensifies the chocolate flavor and contributes to a moist texture. If caffeine is a concern, go with decaffeinated coffee. I always keep a jar of instant decaf on hand for this purpose. You can alternatively swap in instant espresso powder.
You won’t know it’s there, it just deepens the flavour of the chocolate and the heat helps smooth out the batter and get rid of lumps. But feel free to use just plain boiling water in its place.
Mixing Bowls: For combining your dry and wet ingredients. Standing Mixer: Ideal for mixing your batter, but a hand mixer or whisk works too. Rubber Spatula: To fold in the coffee and scrape the sides of the bowl. Two 9-inch Round Cake Pans: The perfect size for this cake. Parchment Paper: Helps prevent sticking and makes removing the cakes easier. Cooling Racks: Essential for cooling the cakes after baking. Oven Mitts: Safety first when handling hot pans. Butter Knife or Palette Knife: For loosening the cakes from the pans.
How to Make Moist Chocolate Cake: An Easy Guide
This Moist Chocolate Cake recipe is so easy and yields a deliciously rich and tender cake for your next birthday celebration. Everything gets tossed in the standing mixer (no creaming of butter and sugar, or alternating between dry and liquid as in typical cake recipes), poured into cake pans, and popped in the oven. Easy as 1-2-3. For a deeper dive, however, here’s my complete guide to “How to Make a Cake from Scratch“, with insights and tips from my background in food science. Over there, you’ll learn all the detailed essentials of cake-making, from ingredients and tools to troubleshooting.
How to Make the Cake Batter
Combine Dry Ingredients: In your mixer’s bowl, mix together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Adding Wet Ingredients: To the dry mix, add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth. Final Touch with Coffee: Remove the bowl from the mixer. Gently stir in hot coffee with a rubber spatula. The batter will be quite runny.
How to Bake The Cake
Preheat and Prepare Pans: Start by preheating your oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour two 9-inch baking pans and line them with parchment circles. I like to “flour” the pans using cocoa powder so that it doesn’t leave a sticky white residue on the baked cake. Pour and Bake: Evenly distribute the batter between the two pans. Bake in the middle rack for 25-35 minutes, or until a thermometer reads 190ºF. Cooling Down: Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Then, run a butter knife around the edges and flip them onto parchment-lined cooling racks.
How to Remove the Cake from Pans
To start, prepare a cooling rack by lining it with parchment paper. This prevents the cake from sticking to the wire rack and makes it easier to handle later. Complete Cooling: Allow the cakes to cool completely before handling or frosting. This ensures they’re firm enough to decorate and serve.
Best Frosting for Moist Chocolate Cake
I love to smother moist chocolate cake in fluffy vanilla frosting (the five-minute kind made with just whipped butter, sugar, cream or milk and vanilla).
Mmm… Drooling again. Note to self: try to control that.
This time I smothered it instead with a super easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
Not the fancypants Italian buttercream, the shortcut American-style buttercream that is basically just butter, icing sugar, and cocoa powder.
Again, brain short-out aversion strategy.
Storing Baked, Unfrosted Cake Layers
Once cooled, the cake layers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 3 months. I don’t recommend refrigerating unfrosted cake, as it actually speeds up the staling process. It’s best to save refrigeration until it’s really needed, if cream fillings or fruit toppings are used.
How to Freeze This Homemade Chocolate Cake Recipe
This chocolate cake recipe freezes beautifully and I’ll typically make it a few days in advance when preparing for a party. Just wrap the cooled, unfrosted cakes well in plastic wrap before popping them into freezer bags. Thawing: Unwrap the frozen cake layers while still frozen. This ensures the sticky surface of the cake doesn’t glue itself to the wrappings. Thaw frozen cake layers partially at room temperature before icing them or decorating them. You can frost cake layers while still cold (this actually makes it easier to spread the frosting).
How to Store Moist Chocolate Cake with Frosting
Once frosted, cover it loosely with plastic wrap or use a cake dome. The cake can be stored at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for longer. Here’s everything you need to know about how long cake lasts in the fridge. I make sure that it’s at room temperature by the time it’s served again for best texture (although my husband loves it straight from the fridge).
Can You Freeze Frosted Cake?
Yes, you can freeze a frosted cake, although the success of this depends partly on the type of frosting used. Here are some tips for freezing a frosted cake:
Buttercream and Ganache: Cakes frosted with buttercream or ganache freeze well. These types of frostings hold up to the freezing and thawing process without much alteration in texture or taste. Freezing Method: First, freeze the frosted cake uncovered for a few hours or until the frosting is firm. This prevents the frosting from sticking to the wrapping. Wrapping: Once the frosting is firm, wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil or place it in a freezer-safe container. This helps to protect the cake from freezer burn and absorbs any odors. Thawing: To thaw, remove the cake from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Before serving, let the cake sit at room temperature for about an hour for optimal flavor and texture. Frostings to Avoid Freezing: Some frostings, like those made with whipped cream or cream cheese, may not freeze as well. They can become watery or separate when thawed. Decoration Consideration: Delicate decorations or those made from fondant might not withstand freezing and thawing as well as the cake itself, so it’s best to add these after thawing if possible.
How to Adapt The Chocolate Cake Recipe a Different Size Pan
One of the most common questions I get is on how to adapt it for cupcakes or another size cake pan. I have used this recipe to make sheet cakes, layer cakes, cupcakes, mini cupcakes, etc. Really, you can’t go wrong.
For cupcakes: bake at 375ºF for 20-24 minutes, until the tops feel slightly springy when pressed. For an round pan smaller than the nine inch cake pans called for: f the pan is smaller, start checking doneness 10 minutes sooner. For a larger pan: if the pan is larger, give it more time and cover with aluminum foil if the top is getting dark before the middle feels slightly bouncy (your finger shouldn’t sink, like it’s still raw beneath the surface).
If you’re not sure about cooking times, the easiest thing to do is grab your cooking thermometer. The temperature should be 190ºF in the middle. Start testing when the cake has risen, feels slightly bouncy when pressed in the center, and is a shade darker. A toothpick or tester inserted in the center will have just a few moist crumbs attached (not wet batter). If you love this one, I’ve got lots more cake recipes be sure to check them out! Moist Vanilla Cake Chocolate Orange Cake Moist and Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes Portuguese Orange Cake Carrot Cake with Buttermilk
