Chocolate Cake from Scratch
This amazing Chocolate Cake from Scratch is ultra moist and so rich and decadent!
We always get rave reviews from this chocolate cake recipe. It is one of our go-to chocolate cakes for all sorts of fillings and frostings (from Almond Joy Cake and Mint Chocolate Chip Cake to Chocolate Oreo Cake and more.)
Table of Contents
Why we Love It
There are so many reasons to love this amazing chocolate cake. Here are just a few:
- Velvety soft, moist texture
- Decadent and rich cake for chocolate lovers
- Makes plenty of batter for an impressive three layer cake
- Perfect go-to chocolate cake for birthdays and other special occasions
How to make a Scratch Chocolate Cake
*You can find the full, printable recipe for this rich chocolate layer cake further down in this post, but here is a quick rundown of how we made the cake!
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour three 8 inch cake pans (We often line our pans with parchment paper as well)
- In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: sugar, all purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk these dry ingredients for 1 minute to blend.
- Add softened butter a few pieces at a time while the mixer is on low speed. Mix until the dry ingredients look like coarse sand and the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, milk , oil and vanilla until blended.
- With the mixer on low speed, SLOWLY add about half of the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 1 ½ minutes at medium speed. Scrape the bottom and sides of bowl. Add the remaining egg mixture in 2 pourings, beating for 20 seconds after each pour. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl.
- Next, slowly add the cup of hot coffee (prepared instant coffee or brewed) and mix another 30 seconds until blended. The chocolate cake batter will be very runny. Don't worry!
- Pour into 3 prepared 8" pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back to the touch or a small wooden pick comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached.The cake layers will pull away ever so slightly from the sides of the pan.
- Cool the cakes 10 minutes on a wire rack and then turn out of the pans.
- *Yields approximately 9 cups of batter, plenty for three 8 inch cake pans and a nice, tall cake!
Recipe FAQs
More Chocolate Cakes
Aside from today's rich chocolate cake, we have created many more Chocolate Cakes that we love!
Some of our most popular are: Marble Cake, Chocolate Velvet Cake, German Chocolate Cake, and Black Forest Cake.
Chocolate Cake from Scratch
This moist, decadent classic chocolate cake from scratch is the BEST! This cake recipe uses the Reverse Creaming Method of mixing, creating an extra moist cake with a tight crumb and velvety texture.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 2 ¾ cup (322g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (82g) unsweetened cocoa (lightly spoon into cup then sift)
- 2 teaspoons (10g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (2g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (2g) salt
- 1 cup 2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, softened (do not soften in microwave)
- ¼ cup (54g) vegetable oil (we use Canola oil)
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup (220g) milk
- 1 teaspoon (4g) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (220g) hot coffee, it can be instant or brewed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Grease and flour THREE 8 inch cake pans
- In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk for 1 minute to blend.
- Add softened butter a few pieces at a time while the mixer is on low speed. Mix until the dry ingredients look like coarse sand and the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, milk , oil and vanilla until blended.
- Method is important when using the Reverse Creaming Method. With the mixer on low speed, SLOWLY add approximately ½ of the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 1 ½ minutes at medium speed. Don't mix above medium speed. Scrape the bottom and sides of bowl. Add the remaining egg mixture in 2 pourings, beating for 20 seconds after each pour. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl.
- Slowly add the cup of hot coffee and mix another 30 seconds until blended. The batter will be very runny. Don't worry!
- Pour into 3 prepared 8" pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes 10 minutes on a rack and then turn out of the pans.
- *Yields approx 9 cups of batter.
- Making cupcakes? Check out our Classic Chocolate Cupcake Recipe (conventional method of mixing for fluffier cupcakes) Holds up well to fondant
Notes
- These cake layers can be wrapped individually in plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil, and frozen for up to three months.
- Thaw at room temperature, removing the wrapping after 30-45 minutes.
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Hi Mariam, If you are having large cracks on the top of your cake, it could be that your oven is too hot. If you buy an oven thermometer, you will be able to check the accuracy of your oven. It could also be that you oven rack is placed too high.
Hi Aisha, Thank you so much for your review of the recipe, so happy you like it!!
Question. I want to make this cake for a funeral dinner that will serve about 100. I was planning on making this cake as a 13x9 cake. Would the bake time change or would this work well for a 13x9 cake?
Hi Beth, Yes, this recipe works well as a sheet cake. Here is a link to Karen's Kitchen serving chart I often use,
This link is for Wilton's Serving Chart, it typically uses more cake batter per pan, http://www.wilton.com/cake-serving-guide/cms-baking-serving-guide.html
I would use a couple of rose nails in the pan for more even baking.
This will be my first scratch cake containing milk. Since I'm baking the milk, it doesn't need to be refrigerated, does it?
Hi Jacqueline, no it does not need to be refrigerated. Hope you like the recipe!
I have never tried the rose nail in baking. Do I put it in the top or bottom? And I bake it with the nail in it?
Also, would I need to do the batter twice or double it, for a cake that is the half sheet size?
Hi Beth, The rose nail is greased and floured (or sprayed with non-stick baking spray) and placed flat side down into the cake pan and the cake batter poured around it. If you forget to put in the rose nail, it can also be placed in after the batter is in the pan. Bake with the nail in. When the cake is baked and turned out you will see the round flat end and just pull it out leaving only a small hole. Here is a link with pictures, https://www.cakecentral.com/tutorial/20232/cake-baking-flower-nail-method-tutorial. This recipe makes 9 cups of batter so you would need to double the recipe. Click on the links I sent earlier to see the Wilton chart or Karen's Kitchen chart for the number of cups you will need for the number of servings needed. The size varies, but the typical half sheet size is 12x18. I just want to add that the Chocolate Cake doctored recipe (using cake mix) is also good.
Thank so very much for the help and for teaching. ? I'll make sure and attach a picture when the cake is completed.
Hi I can not drink coffee can I replace that for something else?or simply not used it?thank yoy
Do I need to make adjustments for high altitude? I'm at 4,800 ft, which has had an affect on many recipes. Not sure if anyone has experienced altitude issues with this recipe?
Hi Julie, I have never baked at high altitude but this is a link to tips that I think will be helpful to you. Advice from Shirley Corriher, author of BakeWise the Science of Baking, is within the information. Hope this helps.