Easy moist chocolate cake recipe (2024)

Published: Mar 18, 2021 · Modified: Oct 4, 2023 by Elizabeth Marek · This post may contain affiliate links · 87 Comments

This super easy chocolate cake recipe uses simple ingredients, one bowl, and takes only 35 minutes to bake. You could be eating a delicious moist chocolate cake in an hour! So let's get started.

This is my go-to easy recipe for a birthday cake and it goes fantastic with a scoop of ice cream! I'm filling this two-layer cake with a classic chocolate buttercream that uses powdered sugar and cocoa powder but if you REALLY want to amp up the chocolate flavor you might check out my chocolate fudge frosting recipe. This is also the perfect dessert for when your sweet tooth is just craving a nice warm piece of chocolate cake!

Easy Chocolate Cake Ingredients

One of the best parts about this recipe is its simplicity. By using basic ingredients that you likely already have in your pantry, we'll create a moist, fudgy, and downright irresistible chocolate cake.

The secret ingredient to the best chocolate cake is the hot coffee! Believe it or not, coffee actually accentuates the flavor of chocolate and you don't taste it at all. If you don't want to brew coffee you can also use hot water and espresso powder.

If you don't like coffee, you can use hot water.

The heat from the coffee also helps rehydrate the cocoa powder so that your chocolate cake is extremely moist.

Speaking of cocoa powder, we are using Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder because it's widely available and the flavor that most people enjoy for their chocolate cake but I encourage you to use whatever cocoa powder you enjoy.

I'm also using buttermilk in this recipe and it's the secret ingredient for amazing flavor and making your cakes extra moist. If you don't have any buttermilk you can make a substitute using 1 cup of milk and 1 Tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. The acid in the buttermilk helps break down the gluten in the all-purpose flour for a super soft texture.

This cake uses vegetable oil to keep the texture of the cake nice and soft and moist but you can use any neutral oil that you have on hand, even olive oil!

The chocolate frosting uses corn syrup but if you don't have any on hand, you can use honey which actually adds a delicious flavor to the chocolate frosting.

Cake Decorating Tools

Even though this is a very easy chocolate cake recipe and we are using simple cake decorating techniques, you may want to have an offset spatula and a turn table on hand. You can definitely get away with just frosting on a plate but it can be challenging.

I also usually use a kitchen scale to measure my ingredients because it is the best way to get accurate measurements but if you dont have one, it is ok to just use a measuring cup (watch my video below on how to properly measure with a liquid measuring cup and dry ingredients measuring cup).

How To Make Easy Chocolate Cake Step-By-Step

1. Brew your hot coffee or prepare your boiling water.
2. Preheat your oven to 335ºF (the lower heat prevents the cake from doming too much).
3. Prepare two 9" cake pans with some cake goop (homemade pan release) or use whatever type of of pan release you like.
4. Add all your ingredients (except the hot coffee) into a bowl and mix them together on medium speed until they are combined (about 30 seconds.)

   

5. Add in the hot coffee and mix for 1 minute.
6. Divide the cake batter evenly between two 9" round pans.
   
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out cleanly.
8. Let your cakes cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes then flip them out onto a cooling rack to fully cool down before frosting. I like to put mine in the freezer for 30 minutes to flash cool them so I can frost them right away.

How To Make Chocolate Frosting

This chocolate frosting recipe is perfect for this moist chocolate cake recipe. It's SO fudgy and not as sweet as traditional chocolate frosting.

1. Add the chocolate chips, milk, vanilla, and corn syrup to a microwave-safe mixing bowl.
2. Melt the chocolate mixture together in the microwave. Heat for 30 seconds and stir and then heat in 10-second increments and stir until it is fully melted and smooth. Let the chocolate mixture cool until it's barely warm.
3. Mix the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer on low speed with the paddle on high speed for about 1 minute until light and fluffy. It will look dry at first, just keep going. You can also use a large bowl and an electric mixer if you prefer.
4. Add the cooled melted chocolate mixture to the butter mixture and mix until it is smooth and fluffy. The desired consistency of the frosting will be different depending on the temperature. If it is too stiff, warm it up slightly in the microwave and stir. If it is too soft let it sit in the refrigerator for a few minutes to set up.
5. The frosting can be used immediately to frost a cake or put into a piping bag for decorations.
6. Cover it with plastic wrap and store it at room temperature for 3 days. If you plan to keep it longer, keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

Tips For Decorating A Cake

You don't need a lot of fancy tools to decorate a cake but it helps to at least have an offset spatula, bench scraper, and turntable. You can find inexpensive cake decorating sets online or at cake decorating stores.

If you need more information on how to decorate a cake for the first time, you can follow my easy tutorial on how to make your first cake.

Easy Chocolate Cake Decorations

Once the cake layers have cooled on a wire rack, it's time to bring out your creativity. I frosted my cakes with a simple chocolate fudge frosting but this cake pairs perfectly with cream cheese frosting, chocolate buttercream frosting, or even a simple chocolate ganache.

It's important that your cakes are fully cooled down before you frost them. If they are still warm and you want to speed up the cooling process, place them into the freezer for about an hour to cool them down faster.

1. If you have a big dome on your cake you can trim it down with a serrated knife to make it flat.
2. Place the first layer of cake onto your cake platter.
3. Put a big dollop of your fudge frosting onto the cake layer and smooth it out with an offset spatula.
4. Place the second layer of cake on top.
5. Cover the whole cake in a layer of frosting.
6. I use my offset spatula (or a spoon) to make swirls into the surface for the perfect-looking dessert. Add a few chocolate chips to the top to finish it all off.

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