Incredibly decadent, rich and sweet, glazed with perfectly silky chocolate ganache, this recipe brings out the perfectly chocolate flavor and the melt-in-your-mouth moisture. This homemade chocolate cake is born to be a dream of chocolate lovers!
This week has been kinda long since I still have so much stuff to do. And I am not the only one who thinks that time flies so quickly, aren’t I? I am gonna get back to school in the next 2 weeks yet I’m not feeling ready for that, I just wish that the summer break would keep going and going on. Yesterday was Labor Day and happily I didn’t miss that! Made a chocolate cake to celebrate and a small batch of this cake has called it a day!
I would love to say, this is the perfect cake for any events, celebrations or even for when you don’t feel like doing anything. I’ve tried so many many different recipes to find out the best homemade chocolate cake recipe and here it is. Deep and dark, moist and tender crumb, full of chocolate flavor.
BUTTERMILK OR REGULAR MILK?
The acid in butter milk will help keep this cake tender and moist compared to regular milk or low fat milk. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you are still able to make it at home as it’s quick and easy to make. Start off with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar (or 1 tablespoon of lemon juice) and fill the rest of 1 measuring cup with milk. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken and….Voila! You have buttermilk!
BUTTER OR OIL?
I prefer using oil than using butter for this moist chocolate cake recipe. While butter will perfectly enhance the buttery flavor in other recipes like Lemon Pound Cake, Butter Cookies, oil can be better at giving this chocolate cake a lighter texture and keep it moist for days since the flour and cocoa powder are dry ingredients.
WHAT ARE INGREDIENTS IN A CHOCOLATE CAKE?
As I said above, going through so many tries on this cake got me experienced. I will share with you the other ingredients that have made this cake so good.
- The dry ingredients: all purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder, sugar and salt
- The wet ingredients: buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract, eggs ( at room temperature), optional add-ins to enhance the flavor of chocolate such as instant coffee, baileys or rum.
HOW MUCH CAKE DOES THIS RECIPE MAKE?
I make this recipe into a layered cake, using 2 8-inch springform pans. This recipe also yields a double-layered 8-inch round cake or 3 layered 6-inch round cake. For bundt cake lovers, I would say this is a good option either. Just one note: make sure you fill the bundt pan with batter and coat it in butter thoroughly. I’ve tried baking this recipe into a 10 x 3 bundt cake before and it turned out perfectly.
DRESS UP YOUR CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH FROSTING
Well, I made this cake without frosting just to see how it goes and WOW, it’s so chocolate-y and delicious standing on its own. So moist, fluffy and it’s like ready to melt in every bite. However, if you’re a chocolate dreamer, any chocolate flavored frosting would be a great pair to this chocolate cake, like chocolate buttercream frosting, chocolate ganache, am I right? Cream cheese frosting? Count me in! Vanilla whipped cream on top? Hey can I sign up for this?
I use whipped chocolate ganache to pair with the flavor of this cake but feel free to glaze with whatever you want. I think there are various ways to top this best homemade chocolate cake and I don’t really have a specific answer, it all depends on your flavor of choice.
More Cake Recipes:
Perfect Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For The Cake
- 1 tablespoon butter, for greasing the pan
- 1 3/4 (225g) cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (75g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons (10g) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (8ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup (240ml) hot water/hot coffee
For Chocolate Ganache
- 12 ounce (339g) semi-sweet chocolate bars chopped
- 2 1/2 cup (360ml) heavy cream or whipping cream
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
Make The Cake.
- Preheat an oven to 350°F/175°C. Grease 2 8-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, oil and vanilla until smooth. Add buttermilk and mixed until combined. With a mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Then add hot water/coffee and stir to combine. Keep whisking until the batter is fully combined and smooth.
- Pour the batter into a 9x5 loaf pan or your preferred cooking pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely.
- Once it is completely cool, top with your favorite frosting. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes before cutting. The leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Make Chocolate Ganache
- Place chopped chocolate in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
- In a small saucepan bring cream to a simmer and bubbles are just starting to form around the edges of the pan. Remove from the heat. Pour over chocolate, allow to sit for 3-5 minutes.
- With a whisker or a metal spoon, gently stir in the cream and chocolate together until a smooth, silky consistency. Avoid over whisking, which can cause air bubbles to the ganache. Allow it to set.
- When the ganache is firm but still soft, transfer it to a mixing bowl and whip it on high speed until fluffy (about 3 to 4 minutes).
Assemble The Cake
- Place the first layer of cake onto a cake stand, then top with a 1/2 cup of frosting. Spread to edges, smoothing evenly. Repeat with second layer.
- Add remaining frosting to sides of cake, then use a cake scraper to smooth frosting out around edges.
- Pour caramel sauce on top of cake then use a spoon/cake spatula using to help pull drips down the cake.
2 Comments
Helly Tong
April 27, 2021 at 1:39 pmThis looks so good ? I added rum to make it a bit flavorful and it turned out great.
Thu Nguyen
July 16, 2021 at 10:12 amI may try adding the wine next time too