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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Hi Bebe and Heather,
Thank you so much for the information. You guys are really helpful. I’ll try to bake this following your tips and suggestions and I’ll keep you guys posted. Thank you!
Hi there! Just a clarification as I overlooked it last time. I have to bake using bain marie method, right? Sorry I got confused towels soaked in water. I’ll opt to reduce the recipe by 1/3 and use the 8” x 4” pan. Thank you!
Hi Kay, No, the cake is not baked using the bain marie method. Heather's recommendation to use damp tea towels (wet them then squeeze out the excess water) will give you an insulating effect, allowing the sides and center of the cake to bake at the same rate. The tea towel would be folded to fit around the sides of your cake pans. You could also use Wilton Bake Even Strips. Here is a link to a video show how to use Wilton strips.
If you do a google search, there are other videos on making your own bake even strips
Thank you BeBe for the clarification. I would have made a huge disaster! I’ve watched the video and it’s very helpful. I made your chocolate marble cake using 2 different depths (same pan size), and they came out in different sizes. Using soaked towels would have made a difference.
Thank you for all the help and wonderful recipes!
Can all of your recipes be made with the conventional method? I had trouble with sunken middle and weird texture when I used reverse creaming.
I'm sorry you had a problem with reverse creaming. Yes, if you would like to make the recipes using the conventional method, I suggest that you rewrite the recipe using that mixing method. After you write it out, count the ingredients to make sure nothing is left out. Hope all goes well the next time you bake the cake.
Hello Melissa & Bebe. Would the Classic Chocolate cake recipe hold well under fondant?
Thank you.
Hi Wally, Yes, it will hold up under fondant.
Thank you for the recipe. I made this cake yesterday for my sons birthday this weekend. The laayers did not rise alot so i have 3 very flat cakes.
I used the reverse method.
what could be the possible reason for this?
Hi Reshma, I am sorry that you had a problem. There are several possible causes. Your baking powder or baking soda may be out of date, when you add 1/2 of the liquid, it needs to be added slowly, the batter was mixed at too high a speed or for too long. You might like to use the conventional mixing method rather than the reverse creaming method. Click on the link below for the same recipe but written using the conventional method.
https://www.mycakeschool.com/recipes-tutorials/chocolate-cupcakes-classic/
Hi. My new oven has two fans and quite powerful. Would it be ok if I reduce the temperature to 325?
Sanaz
Hi Sanaz, I think that would be fine, just keep an eye on your cake. Reducing the temperature usually causes the bake time to be a bit longer, unless your new oven is baking hotter and faster than your old one. Hope all goes well.