The BEST Chocolate Cake Recipe in the world. This moist, rich chocolate cake with chocolate frosting is one of the most popular cake recipes. This 5-Star Rated Chocolate Cake Recipe is the best homemade chocolate cake. Everyone will ask for this Chocolate Birthday Cake for every single birthday celebration!
The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe
Everyone loves this homemade chocolate cake recipe...just read the reviews!
I have been on a baking quest for years....trying out every single chocolate cake recipe that I can get my hands on. It's my duty as a baker to ensure that I test them all, right? I wanted to test out every baking method, different ingredients, all types of brands of cocoa powder, butter vs. oil in cakes...all to find the best chocolate cake recipe.
My sister-in-law owns her own cake business and is the baking goddess. Years ago, she decided that every Sunday she was going to test out a different chocolate cake recipe. She did this for months on end and through her exhaustive research, she found her favorite.
This Love at First Sight Chocolate Cake is an adaption of her ultimate cake and it's everything a perfect chocolate cake should be - rich, moist, fudgy, and the best chocolate cake you will ever eat. We've done the research for you so you don't have to. This is a 5-star rated moist chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting.
I have been baking ever since I can remember with my Mom and Grandma. They have taught me so much over the years about baking and I will be sharing all of the tips and tricks I have learned to make a perfect homemade chocolate cake. There are tricks of the trade to make sure the cake easily comes out of the pan and how to frost the cake so the frosting comes out smooth. Baking is all about ratios and you have to find that perfect balance. Here are some of the most important things I have learned about the art of baking cakes.
What ingredients are in Chocolate Birthday Cake?
- Oil
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Buttermilk
- Vanilla
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Flour
- Baking Soda + Baking Powder + Salt
- Hot Water
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Heavy Cream
The cake is super moist as a result of using both oil and buttermilk. The buttermilk creates a tender crumb. The hot water (or you can use hot coffee) makes it extra moist and helps to dissolve the baking soda and activate it.
The chocolate buttercream frosting is made with sweet cream butter, unsweetened cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and heavy cream.
What type of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder should I use in cake recipes?
According to America's Test Kitchen, "Cocoa powder is the chocolate liquor that is processed to remove all but 10-24% of the cocoa butter. Cocoa Powder comes in natural and Dutched versions. Dutching raises the cocoa powder's pH levels, which neutralizes its acids and rounds out its flavor. Both natural and Dutch cocoa will work in recipes. Dutch-processed cocoa will produce baked goods with a darker color and moister texture."
If you notice in the photos of my Love at First Sight Chocolate Cake, I used two different types of cocoa powder, which creates different hues.
The chocolate cake recipe photos at the top of the post use a Guittard Dark Dutch Cocoa Powder. This is a true black cocoa powder with an intensely deep, rich flavor thanks to a 10-12% cocoa butter content.
The homemade chocolate cake recipe photos below use a Callebaut Dutched Cocoa Powder. It has a warmer color with reddish-brown notes. It is slightly sweeter than the dark dutch cocoa powder. I find this unsweetened cocoa powder in the bulk section at Winco. It is much less expensive at Winco, than you can find online.
You can top this dark chocolate cake with chocolate shavings or chocolate sprinkles. This chocolate birthday cake is the perfect cake to bake for any celebration!
How to make the PERFECT CHOCOLATE CAKE:
- Oil works best in chocolate cakes (in my humble opinion). Even though I am the biggest butter fan, adding oil to a chocolate cake batter creates a moist texture. I have used both canola and coconut oils and both turn out beautifully. When I use melted coconut oil, there is surprisingly no coconut oil taste in the cake. My favorite baking appliance when making cakes and cookies is my KITCHENAID MIXER. You can find all types of colors and sizes by clicking HERE.
- Cake flour does make a difference in the tender crumb of the cake but you can substitute all-purpose flour.
- A high-quality cocoa powder can change the depth of chocolate flavor. I use Callebaut Cocoa (which I find in the bulk section at Winco. It is so inexpensive when you buy it from the bulk bins. You can buy as little or as much as you need).
- Using both baking soda and baking powder gives it the best rise. Homemade cakes don't puff up as much in the middle as boxed cake mixes do so don't be surprised when they are a tad flatter. It makes them so much easier to stack and frost.
- Buttermilk is a must because it gives it the melt-in-your-mouth texture.
- Don't overbake your cake. You want that moist, tender crumb so watch it carefully.
- My favorite baking pans are these ones -- Wilton 8 Inch Round Pan and USA Round Cake Pan, 9 inch. A flat spatula to frost a cake is essential and is only around 5 bucks -- Wilton Angled Icing Spatula.
- Spray the pans with non-stick cooking spray. After baking, let the cakes cool for about 15 minutes before removing them from pans. If you want to make them extra easy to frost, stick them in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes. Remove from freezer when ready to frost.
- Spread a thin layer of frosting called a "crumb coat" all over the cake. This helps to smooth out the crumbs to prepare for the final coating of frosting. It is like a primer for a cake.
Every Valentine's Day, I make my husband his very own chocolate cake. The problem is that he goes to work, leaving me at home staring at a triple layer chocolate layer cake that is begging to be eaten....by me. Oh, the torture. But I always say that if I am going to eat the calories, make it worth it. This cake is worth every single calorie, I promise.
This is also our most requested birthday cake. This chocolate birthday cake with chocolate frosting is always a crowd-pleaser!
So what's with the name -- Love at First Sight Chocolate Cake?
I was fresh out of high school and about ready to embark on my freshman year in college when I met HIM. You know the guy that stops you in your tracks and makes your jaw drop to the floor. He was sipping water out of the drinking fountain at a college dance and my friend grabbed me and said, "did you just see the eyes on that guy?"
I looked over to see this tall, dark, and handsome guy with piercing blue eyes walking down the hallway. My friend, who felt that she just found her soulmate, ran after him to ask him to dance. I tried to play it a little bit cool even though my heart was beating out of my chest at first glance.
As we walked outside to the dance, the music was starting to fade as a slow song begun. I was standing in a large group of friends when I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around to see "him." He was even better looking close up and I didn't think that was even possible. He asked if I wanted to dance and of course, I answered a resounding "yes" as he grabbed my hand to guide me to the dance floor.
The connection was instant and undeniable and I thought to myself that I didn't want it to end. Lucky for me, before the end of the night he asked for my phone number and I was one giddy girl all the way home.
So that "love at first sight" encounter actually turned into real life, true, unconditional love. This guy eventually got down on one knee in a small fishing boat in the middle of the lake, surrounded by candlelight to ask me to marry him.
I was a young 20-year old who had a lot of life to figure out but we decided that we were ready to grow together - to learn, to make mistakes, and to eventually start a family together. We will hit our 20 year anniversary this November (woo hoo!) and I love him so much more now than the day we got married.
Let's get back to this Love at First Sight Cake because I am falling in love with this more and more by the minute. This is seriously the BEST Chocolate Cake Recipe.
What cake pans should I use?
To make this homemade chocolate cake, I usually use three 8-inch cake pans to make three thin layers. You can also use two 9-inch thicker layers, if you prefer. To see which brand is my favorite, you can find the links above. This chocolate cake recipe makes at least 12-24 slices of cake, depending on how you slice it. It is the perfect chocolate birthday cake to feed a crowd!
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Love at First Sight Chocolate Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 1 ¾ cup Flour
- 1 ¾ cup Sugar
- ¾ cup Cocoa high quality
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ cup Oil canola or coconut oil
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla
- 1 cup Hot Water
Chocolate Buttercream:
- 1 ½ cups Butter softened
- 1 cup Cocoa
- 5 cups Powdered Sugar
- ⅓ cup Cream Half n Half or Milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. If you have a flour sifter, sift all dry ingredients.
- In mixing bowl, beat oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla for 1 minute. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined. Pour in hot water and mix together. The batter will be liquidy but that's a good thing -- it will create a moist cake.
- Spray two 9-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. You can also use three 8-inch cake pans for this recipe. Pour batter evenly into each pan. Bake at 22-27 minutes. Place toothpick or cake tester in the center of the cake to check if it comes out clean.
- Let cool before frosting.
To make Chocolate Buttercream:
- In mixing bowl, cream together Butter, Cocoa, Powdered Sugar, and Cream until light and fluffy. You may want to add more cream or milk depending on consistency. Once the cake has cooled and has been removed from pans, frost each layer with frosting.
- Top with chocolate shavings, chocolate chips, sprinkles, M & M's or whatever your heart desires.
Video
Notes
Go get a fork, a plate, and dig into the best chocolate cake on the planet.
Happy Baking!
Emily
This cake was AMAZING! How could I adapt it to make cupcakes instead? @modernhoney
Emily
This cake is delicious! I made it for a Christmas party last year, and it was a huge hit. I wonder how many cupcakes the recipe would yield?
Denise
Hi, your cake looks amazing! I only have three 16cm x 7.6cm cake pans. Could you let me know how the recipe can be adjusted for these smaller cake pans? And would I have to shorten the baking time? Thank you
Michelle
This cake is delicious!! Next time I make it I’ll have to use something other than cooking spray on the cake pans because it didn’t come out of the pans well but with enough buttercream frosting I glued it back together again :-). I did a little twist: I put some frosting & peanut butter cups & cream in a food processor & blended it together for the filling between the cake layers then I put Reese’s pieces on top of the cake & put some of the frosting in a piping bag & had fun with stars around the base & in between Reese’s pieces. It may not be professional looking but in my opinion it turned out perfect!
Denise
Hi, this cake looks amazing! I only have three 16cm x 7.6cm pans. Can you let me know how I should adjust the recipe? And do I have to shorten the baking time? Thank you!
Bobby
I tried the cake today and I can't believe it. It is so soft moist and tastes perfect. Thank you so much. I have only 5 stars here otherwise I would have give you 100 for the cake
Sherry
Your recipe looks fantastic and I can't wait to try it. I have one questions - can I use Dutch Processed Cocoa powder? If so, do I need to make adjustments to the baking powder and baking soda? Thanks!
Jane
I tried this recipe the other day and I was surprised at the results....after reading all the comments I expected a nice, light fluffy cake but what I ended up with was basically a flat thin board. Perplexed I went over the recipe again I realized what went wrong...total oopsie moment lol. I had gotten a phone call while measuring out the dry ingredients and somehow missed adding the baking soda and baking powder so no wonder it didn't work out! I gave it another shot today - using ALL the ingredients this time and it came out wonderful! I cut the recipe in half mind you, being empty nesters its too dangerous to have a big cake in the house - especially when my sweet tooth is twice as strong as the hubby's lol. It's the perfect amount to have a small bite and not have to worry about buying new clothes that will fit
Wendy
My daughter and I entered this cake in the Los Angeles Fair 2018 Chocolate Contest and won first place!
Judges wrote : "Super moist, rich chocolate, Fantastic" We have been sharing the winning cake with family and friends. It is nice to have made something that you can confidently share with others. We also made this cake for my daughter's 6th birthday party last year. It was a hit. We made it with a white cream cheese frosting and it is super yummy with that too! This is my "go to" / standard cake recipe forevermore. I have made it enough times now, I feel super comfortable making cakes! No more box cakes for me!!
Thanks again for this recipe! It is truly a winner!!!! Literally!!!
Coco
Hello,
When you say 3 thin layers how thin do you think they are?
Thank you.
LOVE your blog btw!
Linda Balmer
Hi - hope you are well. I want to make this cake as the bottom layer of a 3 tier wedding cake. The frosting would be part of the 'crumb coat'. As it is a moist cake, is there an issue with fondant being too heavy? Also, for a 12" round pan what would I times you basic recipe by? Would you recommend cooking 3 layers in batches so they cook more evenly? Finally, how many days does the cake stay fresh for?
Look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes - Linda
Modern Honey
Hi Linda! Great questions! I haven't ever made this recipe into a 12-inch cake pan but I will try my best to help you. 🙂 It is a moist cake but what I love about it is how easy it is to remove from pans and move around. I think fondant should be just fine. For a 12" pan, you may be fine with just one recipe or maybe 1 1/2 times the recipe. When I make this cake using three 3-inch pans, they fill the 8-inch pans about halfway. I think cooking in batches is always a good thing. The cake stays fresh for about 5 days. If it is frosted with the chocolate frosting, it stays moist longer. I hope this helps! Again, I know this recipe so well for smaller cakes so I hope it works out beautifully for your larger one. All the best -- Melissa
Amy
How did the cake hold up did it turn out okay?
Scott Driggs
Best chocolate cake EVER! Thanks for the recipe.
Laura Day
Hi!! I'm making a Thomas the Tank Engine train cake and need to make several cakes a few days earlier. Could I bake your recipe on a Wednesday and freeze them and then take out on a Saturday to put together the cake and ice?
Modern Honey
Hi Laura! You can absolutely freeze the cake layers ahead of time. By freezing the layers, it actually makes them easier to frost. I hope that helps! Have a great night!
Elaine
I stumbled onto this recipe while searching for a birthday cake recipe and lord oh lord is this incredible. I was very nervous after adding the cup of hot water because it was VERY liquidy. So thin. But it turned out PERFECT and is incredibly moist. I substituted almond milk for the buttermilk and used only 4 cups of sugar in the frosting and it was great.
Modern Honey
I love to hear it! You are so right...everyone gets nervous when they see the batter become so thin but it bakes up beautifully. I am so glad you agree. Thank you for making it!
Susie82
I made this cake 3 times already and is the best chocolate cake ever in the universe every time I make this chocolate cake comes out very moist and extremely delicious. This is perfection in a cake!!! Great recipe and thank you for sharing it. Is the BEST CAKE EVER!!
Modern Honey
Hi Susie! You are so sweet. THANK YOU! I appreciate you so much trying my recipe and I am so happy you love it!
Sabrina
Thanks for sharing your story and recipe! I'm researching chocolate cake recipes for a wedding cake I'm making for my cousin. I love the sound of this being a moist fudgy cake, but I'm concerned about the structure of this recipe. Do you think it can hold up to being stacked into a 3-tiered cake? If not, what do you suggest I adjust in order to give it more stability?
Modern Honey
Hi Sabrina! How sweet of you to make it for a wedding. I have had many questions about it. The beauty of this cake is how easy it is to frost and stack. It is moist but sturdy enough. I haven't ever made it larger than a 4 layer 8-inch cake so I can't guarantee it. I would suggest going to a Michael's or baking store to find ways to keep it in place. Good luck!
Victoria
I made this cake for my dad's birthday last week and it was a huge hit. This was the first chocolate cake that the entire family raved about and I have tried many recipes over the years! We took dad out to a restaurant and brought the cake in with their permission.
We got comments from other customers and from our waiter about how wonderful the cake looked. I made the 8" round double layer.
The only change I made to your fabulous recipe was to use less butter in the frosting than it called for. I couldn't bring myself to use that much. I used the coconut oil for the cake. This is a keeper! Thank you!
Modern Honey
Awww I love to hear that, Victoria! I am so glad your Dad loved it and it was a huge hit. Made my night!
Jolly
Can I use cake flour?
Modern Honey
Absolutely! Cake flour works amazing in the cake too.
Danielle
I’ve made the cake twice and I love it, but both times the cakes sunk in the middle. I used 9 in round cake pans. I followed directions exactly as they are written, with the exception of replacing water with coffee.
Any idea what I could have done wrong?
I live in a high altitude city. Do I need to do something different?
Modern Honey
Hi Danielle. It sounds as if the cakes weren't fully cooked through. The center is the last place to cook so sometimes I will cover the cakes with foil halfway through the baking time to make sure the edges don't get too done before the middle is fully cooked. Since you live at a high altitude, you can always adjust the oven temperature 25 degrees higher. This may help it cook faster and get done in the middle. I hope that helps!
Monty
Made this cake today except adding some chocolate extract with the water and using half oil/half butter. Also increased recipe by 50% and used three 7 inch pans. Enough batter left over for 6 cupcakes. Cake trimmings were AWESOME, moist and tender. Filled cake with a chocolate ganache mildly flavored with Kahlua. Frost outside with a less sweet chocolate buttercream recipe from another site. Froze cake until Wednesday birthday celebration. Great recipe, thanks!
Modern Honey
Hi Monty! I love your creativity. It sounds fabulous! Thank you for trying my recipe.