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.
Loved This Recipe?!
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Bebe, thanks for your quick answer! I see now. Half a recipe would be 4 1/2 cups. So there would be 1/2 left over for cupcakes. Right??
My friend having the birthday wants a chocolate cake with strawberry icing. Sounds like this cake will go great with your strawberry icing!
Thank you so much! Judy. Simi Valley, CA
I baked this cake using the reverse method and it came out very good. The cake was so moist and light. My family enjoyed eating this cake.
Hi Corenza, I'm happy that you tried the recipe and enjoyed it. Thanks so much for posting your nice review.
Thank you SO MUCH for this recipe! My customers love it and it always comes out amazing. Moist, fluffy, very chocolatey. I even make it using dairy free substitutes (Smart Balance margarine and soy milk) and it is great. In fact, I’ve never made it with dairy. The batter smells like chocolate syrup! I’m wondering if this recipe will work in a bundt pan. Would I need to make adjustments to bake time/temperature?
Heather, that sounds great. Are you using the sticks of smart balance?
I use Smart Balance in the tub. I can’t get the sticks where I’m at.
Heather this would be great for me because it's non dairy. Do you measure the same amount of Smart balance tub as called for in the recipe? Tub margarine probably has more water.
For me, this would be parve.
Thank you so much!!!
I measure it the same by weight. Smart Balance is a lot firmer than most tub margarine. But softer than butter. It only needs a minute or two to soften.
Hi Melissa! I really want to try this recipe, but right now, I only have one 8” round pan and one 6” round pan (both at least 4” deep). Can I pour all the batter in and just cut the baked cake in half? In that case, do you have an idea how long I should bake it for? Thank you so much!
Hi Kay, I was not able to locate a baking chart using 4 inch deep pans. Many bakers have problems baking in 3 and 4 inch deep pans. The outer edge of the cake can easily become overbaked causing it to become dry and hard while waiting for the center of the cake to bake completely. The top of the cake layer can also become very dark so cover loosely with aluminum foil. For the best result, I would wait until you have the correct depth pan. If you decide to give it a try in deep pans, lower the temperature to 325 degrees. I am not sure of the length of baking time. Also, use an inverted rose nail in the center of the pan to bring more heat to the center and baking strips added to the outside of the cake pans will help. Below are links to 2 cake charts that you could use as a guide.
http://www.wilton.com/cake-serving-guide/cms-baking-serving-guide.html
If you make this recipe, but reduce by 1/3, it will work in the 8” x 4” pan. Reduce the oven temp (I bake all cakes 3” or deeper at 300), wrap the sides of the pan with tea towels soaked in cold water (make sure they go all the way up the sides of the pan) by using safety pins or binder clips to secure them. You will need to bake the cake longer at this temp, but it helps to keep the sides and top from over cooking before the center is done. I normally make this recipe in two 8”x3” round pans and never have an issue with it. If you don’t want to reduce the recipe, use both of the pans (8”x4” and 6”x4”) and bake as above. Just remember that the 6” will cook faster than the 8”.
Hi Heather, Thanks so much for posting your information, it will be very helpful to everyone to know what has worked for you.