The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe

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There’s a reason I call this the Best Chocolate Cake Recipe: it’s so good restaurants have asked me to start making it for them! This moist and fluffy chocolate cake is going to be your go-to recipe once you try it.

The Best Homemade Chocolate Cake

This is the kind of chocolate cake everyone should have in their recipe collection. An easy, one-bowl cake with the perfect crumb that’s covered with a simple homemade chocolate buttercream frosting. This moist cake is made completely from scratch and has incredible chocolate flavor.

I literally cannot stop eating this cake whenever I make it.

I made this cake for my niece’s birthday last year. When it was served, one of the moms asked my sister-in-law where she’d gotten the cake. She pointed at me and the mom came over to ask me about it. Turns out she has two restaurants in Atlanta and was curious if I’d be interested in making cakes for her restaurant.

Whaaaaaat?!?

Pretty neat, but I actually said no. However, this cake is THAT good! Make it and you just might be asked to bake for a restaurant. And whether you want to actually do that or not, don’t you want to be the one with a cake that’s so good you could bake for a restaurant? You know you do. 😉

A slice of layered chocolate cake on a plate

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

After testing many chocolate cake recipes, this one is hands down the best. Here’s why:

  • It’s easy to make. Only one bowl!
  • Uses simple ingredients.
  • Has a rich chocolate flavor with a moist, fluffy crumb.
  • Is covered is an easy chocolate buttercream frosting.
  • Is drizzled with chocolate ganache.

How is this Recipe Different?

If you’re familiar with my recipes, then you’ve probably seen several variations on chocolate cake. This is my original chocolate cake and is still my favorite to this day. It’s my go-to. That said, I definitely have more than one recipe! Here is how they differ:

  • My Easy Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe was created after getting quite a few comments from people who were confused about the low baking temperature of this cake. So the newer version is baked at 350 degrees, eliminating the confusion. As a result of the changes made in that recipe, it’s not quite as tender as this original version. But it can be handy if you need a more sturdy cake for something you’re decorating. Both of these chocolate cakes use oil, which I think works really well in chocolate cake especially. It adds great moisture.
  • My Chocolate Piñata Cake uses butter instead of oil simply because some readers prefer the taste of butter and I aim to please! Plus, as far as sturdiness goes, butter based cakes are generally much more sturdy. That’s why this version of chocolate cake holds up much better to having holes cut into it and being filled like a piñata. 🙂

So to recap, the main difference between this recipe and my others is that this one is the most tender and moist, it uses oil instead of butter and it is baked at a lower temperature (which means it also takes a little longer to bake).

Ingredients for a homemade chocolate cake on a marble counter

What You’ll Need

You won’t need any fancy ingredients to make this easy chocolate cake. Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll need. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for specific amounts.

Chocolate Cake

  • All purpose flour
  • Sugar
  • Natural unsweetened cocoa powder – I often make this cake with dark chocolate cocoa. It gives the cake an even more rich chocolate flavor. That said, regular cocoa works too and is also wonderful.
  • Baking soda
  • Salt
  • Eggs
  • Buttermilk
  • Vegetable oil – This cake is made with oil, instead of butter. It makes SUCH a moist cake!
  • Vanilla
  • Hot Water

Frosting

  • Butter – At room temperature
  • Powdered sugar
  • Vanilla extract
  • Natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Water or milk

Ganache & Decorations

  • Semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Heavy whipping cream
  • Sprinkles – Optional
Close up of a decorated chocolate cake with ganache

How to Make Chocolate Cake

One thing to note is that this cake has a very thin batter. And no, it’s not a typo – it’s a slow-bake cake that bakes at 300 degrees.

So, here’s how you make it:

Make the Cake

  • Prepare your pan & preheat the oven. Prepare three 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom, and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 300°F (148°C).
  • Mix the dry ingredients. Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together.
  • Add the wet ingredients. Add eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil to the dry ingredients and mix well. Add vanilla to boiling water and add to mixture. Mix well.
  • Bake. Divide batter evenly between cakes pans and bake for 30-33 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
  • Cool. Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

Make the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

I usually make the chocolate frosting while the cakes cool. Here’s how:

  • Beat the butter in a stand mixer until smooth.
  • Add the sugar. Slowly add 4 cups (460g) of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
  • Add vanilla and half of the water or milk and mix until smooth.
  • More sugar. Add another 5 cups (575g) of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
  • Mix in the cocoa powder. Add cocoa and mix until smooth.
  • Add remaining water or milk until the frosting is the right consistency.

Frost Your Cake

Once cakes are cool, remove cake domes from top with a large serrated knife. See my tips on how to level a cake and how to stack a cake.

  • Frost the first layer. Place first layer of cake on cake plate. Spread about 1 cup of frosting on top in an even layer.
  • Frost the second layer. Add second layer of cake and add another cup of frosting on top in an even layer.
  • Add more frosting. Frost the outside of the entire cake to finish things up. Feel free to use my tutorial for frosting a smooth cake.

Make the Chocolate Ganache & Add More Frosting

Technically you could just stop right here. By this point, you’ll have an amazing cake with chocolate buttercream frosting! But if you want to go a bit fancy, this chocolate ganache is an easy way to do it.

To make the chocolate ganache:

  • Add the chocolate chips to a medium-sized bowl (see my tips on making chocolate ganache).
  • Heat the heavy whipping cream just until it begins to boil, then pour it over the chocolate chips. Allow it to sit for 2-3 minutes, then whisk until smooth.

That’s it. Just two steps! Then you add the ganache to your cake:

  • Drizzle the chocolate ganache around the edge of the cake, then pour the remainder of the ganache on top of the cake and spread evenly. I like to use a squeeze bottle for drizzling around the edges. See my tips on making a chocolate drip cake.
  • Allow the ganache to firm up a bit
  • Pipe the remainder of the frosting around the top edge of the cake and pipe a border around the bottom. I used Ateco tip 844.

Add Sprinkles and Serve!

Add a few sprinkles to the cake, if desired, then serve. Sprinkles are totally optional of course, but why not?

A slice of layered chocolate cake on a plate

How to Store a Frosted Cake

This cake can be stored for 3-4 days on the counter. It should be well covered under a cake dome if possible.

You can also store it in the fridge to extend its shelf life to 4-5 days, but the frosting will harden. When I store a frosted cake in the fridge I usually place the cake in the fridge uncovered until the frosting hardens (about 2 hours). Then I cover it with saran wrap.

When you are ready to have some cake, simply cut a slice and warm it in the microwave (if desired) for about 15-30 seconds. The frosting will soften right up and you’ll have warm chocolate cake to enjoy.

Recipes That Use This Cake as a Starting Point

This recipe is so simple and easy to make, in addition to being delicious, that it has actually become the base for many other flavor combinations I’ve made and it’s always a hit!

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”6SNqtutV” upload-date=”2018-08-05T17:10:42.000Z” name=”Best-Chocolate-Cake-BLOG” description=”This Moist Chocolate Cake is seriously the best chocolate cake you’ll ever make. It is so moist and rich in chocolate flavor!”]
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A homemade chocolate cake on a cake stand
Recipe

The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Prep Time: 40 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 12-14 slices
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Description

This is the Best Chocolate Cake recipe! Moist homemade chocolate cake made completely from scratch. This is the kind of chocolate cake everyone should have in their recipe collection!


Ingredients

CHOCOLATE CAKE

  • 2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour (measured correctly)
  • 2 cups (414g) sugar
  • 3/4 cup (85g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk
  • 1 cup (240ml) vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup (240ml) hot water

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

  • 2 1/2 cups (560g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 9 cups (1035g) powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (114g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 45 tbsp (60-75ml) water/milk
  • Pinch of salt

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

  • 6 oz (1 cup | 169g) semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • Sprinkles

Instructions

Make the Cakes

  1. Prepare three 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom, and grease the sides.
  2. Preheat oven to 300°F (148°C).
  3. Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together.
  4. Add eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil to the dry ingredients and mix well.
  5. Add vanilla to hot water and add to mixture. Mix well.
  6. Divide batter evenly between cakes pans and bake for 30-33 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
  7. Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

Make the Frosting

  1. Make frosting while cakes cool. Beat the butter in a large mixing bowl until smooth.
  2. Slowly add 4 cups (460g) of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
  3. Add vanilla and half of the water or milk and mix until smooth.
  4. Add another 5 cups (575g) of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
  5. Add cocoa and mix until smooth.
  6. Add remaining water or milk until the frosting is the right consistency.

Assemble the Cake

  1. Once cakes are cool, remove cake domes from top with a large serrated knife. See my tips on how to level a cake and how to stack a cake.
  2. Place first layer of cake on cake plate. Spread about 1 cup of frosting on top in an even layer.
  3. Add second layer of cake and add another cup of frosting on top in an even layer.
  4. Add final layer of cake on top and frost the outside of the cake. Feel free to use my tutorial for frosting a smooth cake.

Make the Chocolate Ganache

  1. To make the chocolate ganache, add the chocolate chips to a medium sized bowl (see my tips on making chocolate ganache).
  2. Heat the heavy whipping cream just until it begins to boil, then pour it over the chocolate chips. Allow it to sit for 2-3 minutes, then whisk until smooth.

Finish Cake

  1. Drizzle the chocolate ganache around the edge of the cake, then pour the remainder of the ganache on top of the cake and spread evenly. I like to use a squeeze bottle for drizzling around the edges. See my tips on making a chocolate drip cake.
  2. Allow the ganache to firm up a bit, then pipe the remainder of the frosting around the top edge of the cake and pipe a border around the bottom. I used Ateco tip 844.
  3. Add a few sprinkles to the cake, if desired, then serve. Cake is best when well covered for 3-4 days.

Notes

This recipe calls for hot water. You don’t have to use hot water – the cake will still bake fine – but the hot water allows the cocoa to “bloom”, which brings out a richer chocolate flavor in the cake.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 941
  • Sugar: 101 g
  • Sodium: 496.6 mg
  • Fat: 49.6 g
  • Carbohydrates: 127.7 g
  • Protein: 7 g
  • Cholesterol: 38.1 mg

Categories

Enjoy!

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1,636 Comments
  1. Teresa

    I tried making this and the cakes didn’t done. They sunk in the middle. I did everything right and I even googled what could have caused it and none of those things were the issue so I’m almost thinking it could be altitude? I’m at about 2300 where I live so I was wondering if you could give me any advice.

  2. Sandy V

    My go to is your amazing Chocolate Kahlua cake, but I wanted to make one without alcohol for someone, so tried this. Easy to put together. I love oil cakes because of the light texture, and you can mix by hand if you want. Made per your instructions, except I did use buttermilk, and I used hot coffee instead of water. And I read in one of your comments that Hershey’s special dark may not rise as well, so I added a 1/2 t of baking powder to be sure of the raise.
    I made 2 8″ rounds plus 6 cupcakes from this recipe (a cake to give and cupcakes to have).
    I know some people have problems baking the cake at a low temp. I preheat my oven to 325, and bake for just the first 5 min at 325, then lower the temp to 300 so cakes cook slow and even. This trick works perfect for me. Cupcakes took 18 min, cakes took 30.






  3. Jen

    I love this cake it is a big hit. Would I be able to use it in a 9×13 pan or a 12×18. I would love to make a double layer cake but I was not sure if I would have to double this. Any help would be great. Thank You






    1. Lindsay

      Glad you enjoy it! Yes, for a 9×13, bake for about 40-45 minutes. It should make a full 9×13 cake that you could cut into two layers, if you’d like. I haven’t used a 12×18 before, but I imagine it would be fine.

  4. Janelle

    Hi Lindsay, I love the texture of this cake so much! I was just wondering, which of your white cakes would be similar to this in texture? Thanks so much!

  5. Eszter

    Hello. I would like to make the cake. I’m from Hungary, we don’t have shortening here. (I saw in the video that you use shortening to make the frostening)
    What can I use instead of shortening?
    I only have one cake tin. Can I bake the batter separately one after the other, or will the raw batter go to waste while the other one is baking?
    Thank you very much 🙂

    1. Lindsay

      The video shows the old version of the buttercream. The current recipe uses all butter. And you could bake one layer at a time. It should be fine.

  6. Sadia

    The taste of this cake is lovely but I’m not sure if I’ve baked it long enough. It’s crumbly and sticky. A cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean but when I sliced a bit off the top of the cake (to level it), it was very sticky. Please advise if this is how its meant to be. Thank you.






    1. Lindsay

      It’s hard to know exactly what you mean. There’s a lot of moisture, so the top of the cake can be a little bit sticky to the touch. And crumbly as in dry?

  7. Fanny

    Hi Lindsay I am looking for mocha cake recipe ,I haven’t found it yet,but I am thinking with this recipe add caffe or espresso powder the hot water what do you recommend?ir my sister’s birthday she wants mocha cake.

    1. Madi

      Absolutely! I swap the hot water for coffee and it tastes amazing.. it’s definitely subtle, but you could make the coffee stronger? Or use espresso?

    2. Lindsay

      So the coffee would be fine to add and many people think it improves the chocolate flavor, but you can’t actually taste it. I’d recommend using coffee flavored frosting.

  8. Mehjabeen

    Hi I did buy me a square pan ( not pyrex so not a glass 1) an this is the size 23×22×4,8cm so can I use this pan for this recipe an wats bake time?

    1. Lindsay

      I want to be helpful, but I’m not sure I can be. It seems like your pan may be about 9 inches square. You’d probably want to bake two layers. I’m not sure of the bake time. Maybe 25-30 minutes?

  9. Mehjabeen

    Thanks for feedback, I must admit this is tooo light and fluffy an spongy that topping isn’t even necessary I don’t use topping always , nonetheless I’m wondering can I substitute butter, I mean use butter to replace the oil, will taste be same

  10. Christine

    If I wanted to use 9 in pans, would I have to add more batter? Will the layers be too thin to halve and stack?

      1. Ana

        I love this recipe, made it for my son’s birthday and it was a big hit! Just one question, if I want to use a 6 inch pan, what adjustments should I make to the measurements?

    1. Katie Barnard

      I can’t wait to try this recipe! Could I use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil? I try to stay away from seed oils. Thank you in advance 🙂






  11. Mehjabeen

    Hi yes pyrex is a glass pan / tray an also I don’t know how to measure pans , I do know some people start from the 1 mark an then others from measuring from before 1 mark/ measurement so I don’t know from where to measure from

    1. Lindsay

      I really think it’d be best to invest in some good cake pans, if you’re doing much baking. As for your glass pans, I can’t really advise well on those. I would just give it a try and make the adjustments needed for your pans. I’m sorry.

  12. Mehjabeen

    The reason for me asking is because I make the mistake time and time an time again, with cupcakes and cakes, when I make cupcakes certain rise well whereas others don’t, yes my cupcakes do rise but certain cupcakes rise more than the rest whereas when I use 2 pans for normal cakes the 1 cake rise more than the other one so therefore I stopped using 2 pans , I just use 1 pan an even wen I use one pan only sometimes my cake dont rise an sometimes it does rise even with one baking pan ,it rises sometimes so I need to know for this recipe should I use my square small pyrex pan or tray or big tray

    1. Lindsay

      It’s really hard for me to answer that question since you haven’t told me the size of the pans. I don’t know if either will hold the full amount of cake batter or not. You should probably just try it. Also keep in mind that Pyrex (which I’m assuming is glass) bakes a little differently. It takes longer to heat, so you may find you need a longer bake time and that the sides and bottom of the cake are a little more baked. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.

  13. Vanessa

    Can I use melted butter in place of vegetable oil?

    Btw, I’ve made this cake a few times and it is perfect!!






  14. Mehjabeen

    Hi I dont have these pans which u used , I do only have 2 square glass pyrex tray/ dish : one big tray an 1 small tray , I don’t have ruler and no measurin tape so I don’t know sizes but yes I did use water to fill up to check on sizes an I realized that the small tray holds over 1 litre less than 2 litres water , whereas the big tray holds over 2 liters less than 3 litres water so I wanted to know if its better to use my small glass pyrex tray or the big 1

  15. Louise Cooke

    OMG it really is the best chocolate cake! I made this for my daughter’s 21st birthday and loaded it with her favourite chocolate treats. I didn’t need all of the buttercream and would definitely cut down next time. Thanks for sharing!






  16. M. Mart

    This is my favorite cake recipe and I’m not usually a chocolate fan. I always make it exactly as written but was wondering how I should do the measurements/bake time if I were to do it as a sheet cake instead. Thoughts? Thanks!






  17. Katelyn

    I love this recipe! I’ve made it about 5 times in the last 6 months. The last two times the cake hasn’t been as “chocolate-y” as the first few times (before frosting). Not sure what I’m doing wrong but am going to try making it tomorrow with a brand new box of cocoa powder.






  18. Louise

    Very excited to try this recipe for Christmas 😊 Just messaged on your cupcake recipe page was very happy to find this recipe also! Would it be ok to use milk instead of buttermilk as I did with the cupcakes? Thanks!

  19. Stella

    Please can I double the recipe or there is a specific measurement for doubling. I followed your recipe and they all loved it






  20. Kim

    Hello,

    I want to make this cake but only have 9” pans can I just use 2, 9” pans? Should I make any adjustments?

  21. Sheneka Spencer

    I have been looking for a moist chocolate cake for a birthday cake would this recipe be suitable for a heart cake ?

    1. Lindsay

      I assume it’d be fine. It’s very tender and some people find it hard to work with, but this is the recipes I’d use.

  22. Marc Roy

    This is a fantastic cake although I did use less oil (2/3 cup instead of 1) and less sugar (375 grams instead of 414). Also, used seedless raspberry jam and fresh raspberries in between the layers instead of chocolate buttercream frosting. This meant that there was a ton of delicious frosting left over which will be put to good use. That chocolate ganache drizzle is a great touch.






  23. Sara

    Hi,
    Thank you for sharing this recipe.
    How to calculate if we use a 7inch pans? Can I replace the cocoa powder in the butter cream or mix with melted chocolate? If yes how much?
    Thank you in advance for your reply!
    Kind regards,

    Sara

    1. Lindsay

      It depends on how tall you want your cake. You could leave it as is and make 7 inch layers and just have it be taller, or you could try cutting it in half, it’ll just be a shorter cake. As for a buttercream with melted chocolate, check out the buttercream on my Raspberry Chocolate Cake.

  24. Jacque

    This has become my go-to recipe for chocolate cake!! My family always requests it for birthdays. Deeeeelish!! Thank you for sharing!






  25. Sierra Solitro

    This is the absolute best chocolate cake recipe. It stays super moist, isn’t too sweet, and has an intense chocolate flavor. 😃






    1. Lindsay

      I imagine that would be fine. It’s not something I’ve done and I don’t make a lot of square cakes, so it’s hard for me to say if you would need to adjust anything.

  26. Benamin Humphry

    I have a 10 inch spring form pan, if i followed this recipe would i need to do two cakes for the desired effect?

    1. Lindsay

      So first, this is a super thin cake batter. If your springform pan leaks at all, this batter will leak out. For a similar height cake in a 10 inch pan, I’d double the recipe.

      1. Benamin Humphry

        Thank you for that information. Cooking time , Do you think 1 hr at 150 degrees would be sufficient for the 10 inch?

      2. Lindsay

        I honestly don’t know. That sounds like a lot, depending on how much batter you are adding to each cake pan.

      3. Benamin Humphry

        I am using 1 10 inch pan, I tested this recipe using an 8 inch spring form pan and the cooking was was around 50 minutes. if I double the recipe for a 10 inch pan, I would think iwould have enough batter to do other things such as cup cakes,or a base for a swiss roll.

  27. Lizzy

    Can I make the cake layers ahead of time and then assemble the next day? If so, do I have to put them in the fridge?

    1. Lindsay

      Definitely. I usually store them in an airtight container on the counter. You could also wrap them in a couple layers of clear wrap.

  28. Allissandra

    Milk
    Hey Lindsey, I was wondering what you meant by ‘remaining water/milk’, remaining from what?? Thx- I love ur recipes!!!

    1. Lindsay

      There’s water/milk/cream in the buttercream ingredients. You add about half of it, then at the end you can add more, if needed.

  29. Anina

    Thanks for this great recipe! If I want a taller 8″ cake, would it work if I increase the ingredients to 1.5 and use 4 x 8″ cake pans?
    Or will four layers be too heavy/unstable as it’s a moist cake?
    Thanks 🙂

    1. Lindsay

      I haven’t made it that tall before, so I’m not sure if it would be an issue. If your frosting is thick enough, I’d think it’d be fine.

    1. Lindsay

      Sure. Your cake layers will just be a little thicker so you’ll need to bake them a little longer. I’m not sure of the exact time. You may need another 5 or so minutes of baking time.

  30. Darcie

    This is such an amazing recipe. It’s the favorite of my family and friends. I’m even using it for a friend’s wedding cake.






  31. Gypsy

    I’ve gotten the highest of compliments on this recipe every time I make it. People always tell me it’s the best they’ve ever had.






  32. Devi

    I’ve make this cake a few times for my family and it’s always a hit.
    I want to make a 3 layer 10”. Do you think I can do so with 1 and 1/2 times the ingredients?
    Thanks so much!






    1. Lindsay

      So glad it’s a hit! I would probably double it for a 10 inch, but you could certainly try 1 1/2 recipes worth.

  33. Sophie

    This cake is the actual best cake I have ever made! So many compliments! I was curious, if I have extra icing. How long can it be stored in fridge for?






    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Buttercream should be fine in the fridge for up to a month and in the freezer for up to 3 months.

    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad you enjoy it! Yes, you can make a 6 inch cake with 4 layers. It all depends on how tall you want it. I made a 3 layer 6 inch chocolate cake that is about 4 inches tall with half the recipe. If you want it taller, you could use the whole recipe.

  34. Jaiilise

    Hey I used the measurements you posted on Pinterest for this cake. The amount of cocoa was 1 3/4 cup how do I amend the recipe to suit? I already put it in the flour?

    1. Lindsay

      I don’t add the ingredients to Pinterest. They pull those automatically from websites and they are not always accurate. I’m sorry they listed the ingredients incorrectly. That is more than double the amount of cocoa that’s actually in the recipe, so you’d need to at least double everything else, which would give you a very large cake. I might start over and just be sure not to look at Pinterest for those in the future. I’ve seen them be inaccurate plenty of times. Sorry!

  35. Maggie

    Hi Lindsay
    Thank you for this beautiful recipe!
    I’ve made it a couple of times and they turned out great.
    I’m looking to make a 10 inch version, being a moist cake, do you think it will hold up ok as a 3 layer cake?

  36. Maranjeliz

    Hi, amazing recipe! Bug where I live its seems to be impossible to find Buttermilk. Anything on how I can make myself or replace?

  37. Summer

    I loved this recipe but I was wondering if I could just not add the cocoa powder and use it as a vanilla cake recipe?

    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

      No, other adjustments would need to be made. I would recommend this vanilla cupcake recipe. It is my version of this chocolate cake in vanilla form. Even though it’s a cupcake recipe, it can be made as a cake too.

  38. Chantal

    Hi😊 I am so excited to make this cake for a bday party tomorrow👏🏻 It seems intimidating a bit but I feel it’s possible 🙏🏻 I was wondering in the video you show to put some shortening in the ice but the ingredients it’s not there. Do we need to use it or not? I am so sorry if this question was asked before but there is over 1500 comments and I didn’t have time to for through all of them so I apologize for my laziness in advance

    1. Lindsay

      I used to use some shortening in my frosting, but now I use all butter. I would recommend all butter, but you could go either way.

  39. Christine

    I live at altitude in Colorado,(>5280 ft) and I have always had a problem with these chocolate cakes using boiling water. They always sink in the middle. While that’s not a total disaster, it does make for a lopsided layer cake. Suggestions on adjusting the recipe? I always love some chocolate cake!

  40. Josephine Mullane

    Is it possible to make a one layer cake by dividing the ingredients into thirds or would that not work? I really want to make this cake but have no reason to do so except that I want to eat it and a three layer cake for one person would just be a “bit too much”. Thank you.






    1. Lindsay

      It may be a little tough to divide the ingredients by three, particularly the eggs. You could divide everything in half though and make a single layer.

  41. Kelly

    I absolutely love this recipe! I love baking and have tried many different recipes, but none that compare to this one. Thank you for sharing something that I will bake the rest of my life!






  42. Nina

    I use this cake recipe as a base formula, it’s great! The only subs I make is using Ghirardelli cocoa powder, and instead of hot water I use hot coffee- highly recommend. Thanks for a great recipe!






    1. Renna

      Do you have a coffee icing recipe ? My grandma used to make it on the stove and she passed so I don’t have her recipe.

    1. Lindsay

      Yes, that would be fine. Just wrap them well before thawing and then thaw the cake in the fridge before using.

  43. Sarah

    Hello,
    I love this recipe and made it multiple time already.
    I can’t remember if I’ve used whole or light buttermilk?
    I currently only have light buttermilk. Will it still taste the same?

    1. Lindsay

      The only time I have seen that happen is when my sister-in-law used baking powder by accident instead of baking soda. Is it possible you did that? Or perhaps that your baking soda is no longer good? The other possibility would be the type of cocoa you used. Natural unsweetened is best. If you used a Dutched Coco, that could make them more dense.

      1. Emma

        Hi, thank you for getting back to me. I had assumed that baking soda was powder but when I looked it up t was bicarbonate of soda. I did re-make and it was a great cake. Thank you x






  44. Matthew

    Hi there! Have you ever done this as a 1/4 sheet cake? Was wondering if the ingredients would need to be recalculated or the baking time changed. Thanks!

    1. Lindsay

      For a 9×12 (which I believe is the same size), you don’t need to change anything. Just bake it for 40-45 minutes.

  45. Sabina Jain

    One of the best cake recipes! I made it for my husband’s birthday and he said this is by far the best cake that I made. Thanks for the recipe!

  46. Ali

    Would I be able to use half oil half butter in the recipe to get a tender but more carvable texture? I love the flavor and tenderness of this cake, but need something just SLIGHTLY more stable for doing a geode-esque design. Or would just ensuring it’s frozen before carving help with that? Thank you!!

    1. Lindsay

      I don’t think I’ve ever tested this recipe with butter. I would not use all butter, but your suggestion for half oil and half butter might be OK. It would certainly change the texture and possibly make it more carve-able. Sounds like it would be worth testing.

  47. Beth

    I love this recipe, and have used many times using 8inch tins.
    How do I make it for 10inch cake? I am using 2×10 inch tins so I presume this recipe will be enough for that?
    Many thanks!

    1. Lindsay

      Glad you enjoyed it! I haven’t worked with egg replacements, so I’m not sure. I feel like there’s been discussion about that in the comments though, if you want to look for that.

  48. Becky

    This cake is phenomenal. I made it for my sister’s birthday, and she said it was the best cake she’s ever had. I agree.






    1. Lindsay

      I have not experimented with freezing full cakes. I typically freeze slices. That said, this one would probably be fine. I would just wrap it well, and then be sure to thaw it in the fridge before using.

  49. Bette Bruce

    I love this cake and have made it many times. My friends often ask me to make it for them. One issue is it always sinks a bit after it comes out of the oven. No matter if it’s rectangle, round pans, or cupcakes. Only cake that does this for me. Any ideas?






    1. Lindsay

      Hmmm. I’ve made this cake so many times and don’t have that issue. It sounds like it could be slightly under baked. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it!

    1. Lindsay

      It depends on what size and height cake you want. I have made this as a 6 inch chocolate cake and cut the recipe in half. That might not be enough batter for a 7 inch though. You could certainly try the full recipe amount for this cake, but I’d do at least 3 layers so they aren’t too tall and dense.

  50. Ranjana Mishra

    I love this recipe. How should I use this recipe to make 2 10 inch square cakes? Could you please help? Someone needs the chocolate cake for a big party

  51. Chelsea

    Very moist, and very flavorful. Used a cup of hot coffee in place of hot water but did everything else the same. This is my go to cake now!






  52. Suzanne

    Have made this recipe many times and it’s a family favorite!
    Thoughts on subbing avocado oil for vegetable?
    Thanks!

      1. Lindsay

        I have not ever tried baking with olive oil. I’m not sure if it would affect the outcome, but I imagine it would change the flavor a bit.

  53. Valerie

    I have made this cake 5 times and every time I make it, I get so many compliments! I haven’t even added the ganache and it’s still so good!!! I am just wondering though how I would make this into a mini cake?






  54. Karen

    I am getting ready to make this chocolate cake recipe and I see that it doesn’t call for baking powder, is that correct or was that mistakenly left out of the recipe?

  55. Vinicia Glass

    Hi,

    Could you use this recipe to make a full sheet cake? Or half sheet cake thick enough to make two layers out of the cake without being to soft to make two layers.

    1. Lindsay

      So this recipe makes enough to make a 9×13 cake that could be two layers. You could make a half sheet cake, I believe, but with one thin layer. If you wanted two half sheet layers, you’d want to double it. It’s a super tender cake, so it may be tough to cut in half and move the layers around.

    1. Lindsay

      You can freeze the cake if you need to. I typically recommend freezing the unfrosted layers in a could layers of clear wrap and either foil or a ziplock bag, then thawing the fridge. They layers should be fine frozen for about a month or so.

  56. Grace

    The cake was DELICIOUS and moist without being heavy. The frosting was perfect. I got so many compliments from everyone who tried it and even people who just looked at it.






  57. Mary

    This was absolutely delicious!!! I had my doubts because of the way it mixed and thin batter but it turned out perfect and will now be my go to chocolate cake! Thank you!






  58. Latasha

    I cant wait to make the cake! I just need to know if its boiling water or just hot water? The video says boiling water but the recipe says hot water

    1. Lindsay

      Either way is fine. I usually heat it in the microwave until boiling and then add it. You just need it nice and hot.

  59. Meghan M

    So good!! My favorite. Just wondering if this freezes well? Just the cake layers of course. I need to bake it a week in advance.






  60. Asia

    The cake turned out great ! I made it in four pans,instead of three ,after reading some reviews about batter overflowing ,and I got 4 perfect layers . When it comes to frosting,the suggested 9 cups of powdered sugar are way too much for my taste . I just added 4 cups and it was DELISH !
    Thank you for the great recipe !






  61. Wendy

    This is my go to birthday cake and always get rave reviews. I use hot
    Coffee instead of water. Will one recipe be enough for a 10 inch layer cake

  62. Anna

    Made this for my daughters birthday. Filled the pans 1/3 of the way full and they cooked over. I went to poke them after the 33 minutes and they are extremely soupy. Not sure if it is because the extra water in the recipe or not. We tasted the batter and it has great flavor but I’m not sure why this slow bake isn’t working well.

    1. Lindsay

      Are the cake pans at least 2 inches tall and 8 inches in diameter? They definitely should not overflow. As for it not baking through, it sounds like something could’ve been miss measured or perhaps there’s just a big difference in our ovens.

    1. Lindsay

      Sure, your cake just won’t be as tall. The bake time is actually very similar. I would just keep an eye on it because you may need minute or two, but it shouldn’t be much.

  63. Kenya

    Omgoodness this is the ABSOLUTE best chocolate cake recipe ever!! It’s sooo good you don’t even need icing thank you so much for the recipe!!






  64. Elena

    Quick question if I only have 2 8 inch rounds can I divide the batter equally between the two? How would that effect baking time ? Also can I use hot coffee instead of hot water ?

  65. Mk

    Hi! I noticed in your ingredients you don’t have shorting listed as a ingredient but in the video you do. Just wondering how much to use? Thank you

    1. Lindsay

      I used to use shortening in my buttercream, but lately have been using all butter. You could do it either way. If you want to use shortening, I used to use half butter and half shortening.

  66. EmmaJude

    This cake is fantastic!!!! I’ve made it so many times and everyone loves it. Just one question, how long will the frosting keep fresh in the fridge?






  67. Shanna Warner

    I absolutely love the cupcake version of this recipe. AMAZING! I’m wondering if I can make this cake recipe as a 9×13. Would you be able to help me with that?

      1. Shanna Warner

        The 9×13 cake turned out perfect at 40 minutes. I’m so thankful for this recipe! DELICIOUS!






      1. Kris

        The goal would be ~3 inches, single layer. Planning to make multiple for a decorating party, so I thought the larger recipe would be better (filling each pan 2/3 full). Just wondering how well it rises and what recommended adjustments would be made it if bakes differently? Thanks!

      2. Lindsay

        So I don’t really recommend baking a single layer that tall. You’ll end up with a very dense cake that’s likely over baked on the outside. I’d do at least two layers.

      3. Lindsay

        You could freeze it, but you shouldn’t need to. I usually bake it and then frost the next day. It is so moist it holds up extremely well.

  68. Jan

    Made this cake and everybody seems to love it I don’t think I’ve ever had a cake that’s his light and his moist is this and I’ve tried many other recipes do you have any recipes that are similar to this in different flavors I guess I’m meaning using the oil and the buttermilk and water rather than butter

  69. Sherry

    Can this recipe be made white/vanilla by omitting the cocoa? I made gluten-free cupcakes with this recipe and they were amazing!






      1. Jessica

        Hi! I am planning to make this cake this weekend. I am new to baking, so this might be a dumb question, but I have 9 inch pans. I want this cake to look similar to yours, but obviously it may be thinner because of the extra inch in pan size. Do you have any reccomendations for how to make it look like yours with a 9 inch pan? I.e. tweaks in the recipe?

  70. Emmadilemma

    Hi, is your best chocolate cake recipe stable enough for a multi tiered cake ( with dowels of course)? I have to make one today !

    1. Lindsay

      I don’t make tiered cakes these days, but I have used this in a tiered cake before. As long as the dowels are supporting the cake above, I don’t see why not. This cake is super tender though, not firm and dense. So if you’re looking for firm and dense, this isn’t it.

  71. Rachel

    I forgot to ask you this in my earlier question. Have you ever substituted coffee for the hot water? I was just wondering. Thanks.

    1. Lindsay

      I don’t think I have done the coffee. I know many people have and plenty of people swear by it in chocolate cake. You can certainly use it. I think the main benefit to using hot coffee is actually that it’s hot, which the water in this cake is hot too. The heat from the liquid helps the cocoa “bloom”, which intensifies the chocolate flavor. Either way will be great. Feel free to try the coffee. This cake has amazing chocolate flavor either way.

  72. Rachel

    I have a question. I plan to make this cake in a couple of weeks and I was wondering if this cake recipe that the lady wanted you to make for her restaurant had the dark chocolate cocoa in it or the regular unsweetened cocoa? If it was the dark chocolate cocoa, did you use Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa? Thank you.

    1. Lindsay

      Gosh it’s been a while, so it’s hard to remember. I’m guessing it was the dark cocoa and it would have been the Hershey’s special dark cocoa, but they have changed their cocoa recipe since then. It’s now 100% dutched cocoa and I believe it used to be a mix of regular natural unsweetened cocoa and dutched. You can try the all dutched, or maybe do a 50/50 mix.

    1. Lindsay

      As long as you’re using dowels and supporting the cake above it, I don’t see why stacking would be a problem. I hope you enjoy it!

  73. Kenya Bloodsoe

    Made this yesterday and it was AMAZING! I did add half a box of instant chocolate (jello) pudding omg the cake was so moist and good! This is my go to cake recipe!!!

  74. Lou

    Thank you so much for this recipe! I have made it twice, and both times have had people who don’t like chocolate cake ask me to make it for their birthday. I have one question about the baking time. Though the recipe says 30-33 minutes at 300 degrees, it has taken much longer than that. I even bought an oven thermometer to confirm if my oven temp was accurate and it is. I just baked the cakes for a third time, and it took over an hour for them to finish baking. Any suggestions or insight?

    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad to hear that!

      Hmm, that does seem strange. That is what the bake time is for me. If you checked your oven temperature already, then I’m not really sure. I’m sorry!

  75. Danielle

    For people who asked about gluten-free flour: I use GF flour, remove 1/4 cup of oil, and add an extra egg. Comes out beautifully every time! But maybe because of the extra egg (?) I usually have to bake this recipe closer to an hour.






  76. Jennifer Miller

    Hi! If I were to use 3 6 inch pans, would I need to reduce the recipe at all. Thank you and love your site!

    1. Lindsay

      It depends on how tall you want the cake. In my 6 inch cake recipe using this recipe, I actually cut it in half, which gives you a cake that’s around 3 1/2 inches or so tall. If you’d like it taller, you could certainly use the full recipe in this post.

  77. fiona

    Hello Lindsay, thank you so much for this recipe – i’ve used it in the past and it always comes out perfectly, but lately when i’ve done it there has been a crust on top? would it be because of the pan size i’ve used? i used a slightly larger pan than usual, the cake feels slightly more crumbly than usual… i’m wondering if it’s the type of cocoa powder






    1. Lindsay

      I’m not sure. I’ve never had that issue, even with different pan sizes. I suppose it’s possible that it’s the cocoa powder. I’m just not sure.

  78. Hayley

    Hi Lindsay!
    Could I cut this recipe in 2/3 (for the cake) and have only two layers? I’ve never made a layered cake before so three layers is a bit daunting.

    1. Lindsay

      You’d replace one tablespoon of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar. But this recipe works well with regular milk too.

  79. Shabz

    Hi Lindsay,

    I’ve made this cake so many times and love it! Thank you!

    Just wanted to know – I wanted to make it for second tier from a three tier cake (10”, 8” and 6”) – would it hold the 6” cake?

    I’ll be using dowels and 2mm cake boards in between tiers.

    Any tips would be super helpful!

    1. Lindsay

      I don’t really do tiered cakes, but have done a few in the past and didn’t have any issue using this cake. As long as the dowels are providing support for the cake above, it shouldn’t be a problem.

    1. Lindsay

      Yes, it would work. I’m not sure of the exact bake time. I might try adding 5 to 10 minutes to the bake time and just keep an eye on it.

  80. Sandy

    This is by far the best chocolate cake I have made and I’ve made many. We enjoyed is very much.. so moist with wonderful flavour…






  81. Isabella

    I’ve made this cake many times and I love it! I’m wanting to try it for cupcakes though. Could I use this recipe for cupcakes?

  82. Rebecca

    When making this recipe, how thick will the layers be if making three 8″ layers? If making two 9″ layers? Thank you.

    1. Lindsay

      I can’t tell you the exact height. But my 8 inch layers are typically around an inch in height. I haven’t made this as a 9 inch in years, so I really don’t remember the height, but the cake wouldn’t be as tall when put together. I’m guessing each layer would be just over an inch tall.

      1. Rebecca

        Thank you, Lindsay! I baked a 9×13 cake last week, and it was absolutely delicious! I will definitely be using your recipe to make layer cakes, as well.






  83. Maura Steele

    This is my go to chocolate cake. I just 1/2 the amount of sugar since the frosting I make is really sweet. Sometimes I put fresh raspberries in between each layer when I want to be fancy😁






  84. Babette

    Hi, i’m going to make this cake for a friends birthday, but I have 9″ cake pans, What time and temperature adjustments should I make to convert from 8″ pan to 9″ pan.
    Thanks, can’t wait to try it.

    1. Lindsay

      You don’t need to change the temperature. Baking time should be fairly similar. I’d just keep an eye on it.

  85. Ria

    I’m obsessed with this recipe and make it all the time, and I want to make it again for Christmas. However, I happen to be surrounded by a lot of people who don’t eat eggs— is if possible to make this cake eggless?

    1. Lindsay

      So glad you enjoy it! You. may be able to make it eggless, I just don’t have experience with that, so it’s hard for me to say. I’m sorry!

  86. Beam

    Please disregard my previous posts. I found the error I was making. I was treating a 32 ounce bag of confection sugar like 4 cups, when to was closer to 8 cups.

  87. Bryn

    I’m planning on making this cake for Christmas. if I’m not planning on decorate it with a piping bag (just icing the cake and layers, not the extra swirls/dollops of icing), how much icing is necessary? could I halve just the icing part and still have enough for the cake? thanks!

    1. Lindsay

      Gosh that really depends on how much frosting you like. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who will tell you that you could cut it in half and have plenty.

  88. Michael

    Wonderful cake – but I had a real problem with the frosting. It was very thick. I ended up adding 3-4 times the milk to get consistency. When I was adding the confection sugar, it was super thick. When I tried to spread frosting, the cake started to crumble. Event though it was it turned out very ugly, everyone loved it. Would love any advice. Do I need to thin the frosting even more?






  89. Michelle

    I discovered this recipe a few years back and it’s been my go to recipe ever since. I add coffee to mine and use dark cocoa powder because I like a richer chocolate flavour. All in all, I love this recipe and thank you for sharing it.

  90. Maria

    The closest to 300F that my oven setting has is 284F or 320F. Which alternative setting would you suggest I use and, if so, how long would it take to bake this recipe using such alternative setting? Many thanks!

    1. Lindsay

      I suppose I’d probably try 320°F. It’s hard for me to say the exact bake time since I haven’t baked it at that temperature. It would take a little less time though.

  91. Laura

    Hi Lindsay,
    Can this recipe be used in a 8” and 10” two tiered cake? If it can how many cups of batter are needed for the two 10” pans? Do I double the recipe or make two separate batches? Thank you I love this cake 😍

    1. Lindsay

      I would think it’d be fine in a tiered cake as long as it’s doweled. For two 10 inch pans, I’m guessing you’d want to double it.

  92. Amy H.

    Do you have suggestions for a vanilla that is as moist and light as the chocolate? I’ve tried the easy vanilla recipe and while they are good, I want a vanilla like your chocolate one 🙂 thanks!

  93. Tracy

    I made this cake for work and everybody loved it! Can I make this into cupcakes and if so what temp and time? Thanks

  94. Hazel

    Hi! I love this recipe! I was just wondering, for the cakes, which type of sugar is used? Caster sugar or granulated sugar? Thank you!!

  95. Amy

    Cake tasted amazing and was very moist however when I tried stacking and frosting it completely crumbled apart ! Do you think it needs to be baked longer?

    1. Lindsay

      It’s difficult for me to say from a distance what the problem was. It is a super tender cake, so it may just be that you need to handle it a little more carefully.

  96. Tammy L

    The cake was moist and delicious, however, when I went to stack the cakes, the edges of the cake fell off. What did I do wrong?






    1. Lindsay

      I’ve never had that happen or heard of it happening. I’m not sure. Did the actual cakes break apart? I know they are very tender. Do you just need to handle them a little more carefully?

  97. Susie

    I have tried different recipes, found this one online last week and decided to try it for a dinner party.

    Everyone who tried my cake thought it was from a bakery – it is so moist and rich. This recipe is a keeper! I loved the frosting recipe you provided, as well.






  98. Riana

    Please tell me, can I freeze this cake, and how to use it when needed? I want to bake it over the weekend and ice it in the next week for a birthday cake






    1. Lindsay

      Yes, it freezes well. Just wrap it well in clear wrap and then another layer of foil. You could also store it in a Ziploc bag. Thaw it in the fridge prior to decorating.

      1. Riana

        Thank you. This cake is divine. Since I baked it the first time, I’ve had a lot of requests for it.






  99. Samantha

    This recipe is gold. I’ve made it twice now and both times it received high praise. Thank you. My question is: I’d like to bake the cake today, store in the fridge and frost tomorrow night for serving the third day. Is that wise? The cake is so moist I’m not sure that is the best option or if it’s best to bake, frost and serve.






    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad it’s been a hit! As you mentioned, this cake is super moist. You can definitely get away with doing it that way, but naturally fresh is always best. Just depends on what your timing looks like.

  100. Mehjabeen

    Hi how much baking powder do i need , i don’t c it an another thing can i make cupcakes with this recipe an how much do i get an wats baking time

    1. Lindsay

      You could bake the cake and in two 9 inch layers. The baking time would actually be about the same. Or you could try increasing the recipe to 1 1/2 recipes worth if you wanted a third layer and a taller cake.

    1. Ariel McAllister

      You can also use 1 cup of milk with a tablespoon of white vinegar and let sit for 5 or so minutes and whisk it and it’s the same as buttermilk

      1. Lindsay

        No, I don’t. You’ll just have to do a little math. I believe things will work out quite evenly.

  101. Kara

    Making this cake today for my MIL’s birthday and will frost it tomorrow! I have some Ghirardelli caramel sauce. Could I add that as a thin layer in between the cakes along with the chocolate frosting?

    1. Lindsay

      You can, just keep in mind that if it’s a fairly thin sauce it will likely soak into the cake layers around it.

  102. Kate

    This is the best tasting cake I’ve ever made! It’s been a while since I’ve made it and just watched the video. You use shortening in the video but it’s not in the recipe. Can you clarify that please? Thank you!






    1. Lindsay

      You can use all butter or half shortening and half butter. I used to use shortening in my buttercream, but I don’t really anymore.

  103. Nicki Baker

    I’ve used this recipe a few times and I love it! I’d like to make it in 6 inch pans and wonder what changes I might need to make to timing or temperature? Thank you






  104. Ashley Goreas

    I LOVE THIS CAKE!!

    I’ve made it so many times I can’t even count 😅

    I have a friend with a dairy allergy but she loves chocolate cake, do you think this could be make with oat or almond milk?






    1. Mariel

      Hi! This is the bessst chocolate cake ever. I use ripple milk with vinegar to make buttermilk with Lindsey’s recipe and it turns out fantastic!

    1. Lindsay

      So glad you enjoy it! I don’t see why it couldn’t be used in a tiered cake as long as things are doweled properly and it doesn’t have a bunch of weight sitting on top of it.

  105. LJ

    In some of your recipe notes, you state you use powdered buttermilk. The instructions on the container stated to mix four tablespoons of powder with one cup of water for one cup of buttermilk. When I did this, it was clumpy and did not dissolve well. A video I watched said to mix the buttermilk powder with the dry cake ingredients and then add the water. I have never used powdered buttermilk before and I want to make sure I am using it properly.

    I have made this particular recipe using liquid buttermilk and it was delicious.

    1. Lindsay

      The instructions on the one I use say to add the powder with the dry ingredients and then use the water when you would use the buttermilk.

  106. Mehjabeen

    Hi im looking for vinalla cake that dont use creaming method like this one , wil i b able to use this an just leave out cocoa

  107. Morris Mangum

    Does the frosting really take 9 cups of sugar? 1035 grams equals 4.4 cups. I’ve made this cake twice and the icing always is way to thick.

  108. Bev

    I would like to know what tip I could use instead of the Ateco tip 844? I use Wilton tips and wondered what was similar to this one? Your recipes always look so wonderful. Looking forward to making this. Thank you.

  109. Lisa

    I am making this cake fory husbands 60th birthday. I am wondering if I would be able to use 1 teaspoon less baking soda and add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to make the cakes rise higher. Also, would I be able to add 1 cup of cocoa rather than 3/4 cup to make cake chocolatier without coming out with different results? The recipe looks like it will be delicious!

    1. Lindsay

      Those adjustments will alter the way your cake turns out. Adding additional cocoa could dry it out a little bit. And it’s a very chocolatey cake so it’s really not necessary.

      And baking soda and baking powder are not a one to one swap and they work quite differently. The cake rises perfectly as it is written.

  110. Christina

    I love this cake!
    Can it be made into a sheet cake and if so, will it change the amount of the ingredients?
    1/2 a sheet cake?

    1. Lindsay

      I don’t think I’ve made it in that size pan before, but I think it would be fine without changing anything.

  111. Sarah Henwood

    Hi i want to make a cake from a different recipe( love your recipe do 🤣) so the recipe calls for 9 ounces of butter, i want to use oil. How much should i use. The recipe is chocolate cake from Food52

    1. Lindsay

      I’m not familiar with that recipe, but typically you can’t just swap out ingredients like that without expecting major changes in how it turns out. If it’s a butter based cake, do they cream the butter and sugar together? Because you won’t be able to do that with oil and then your cake won’t rise properly.

  112. Dana

    This was the best, most delicious cake recipe I have tried yet!! I keep getting requests from family members, especially my husband, to make this regularly. Perfect and delicious!!!

    1. Lindsay

      Yes, you can. It is a little bit different texture. I know a lot of people think cake flour makes cakes lighter but I personally don’t prefer it. I think all purpose flour is lighter. Cake flour will give you a tighter crumb typically.

  113. Ann Richards

    Fantastic! I changed to coconut oil, froze the cake for a week before I defrosted and then iced. Made the buttermilk with lemon juice. Doubled the mix and used 10inch pans. What an amazing cake

  114. Marie therese Kossayfi

    Hello,
    I want to try it buy I can’t find buttermilk.
    Is there anything that I can switch it with?
    Thank you

  115. Amy H.

    This cake is divine! We have made this several times and cupcakes. My son has requested it twice for his birthday and absolutely loves it !






  116. Fanny

    Hi Lindsay
    Today I experimented by double the recipe. 3 -9 pans and temp:300 f
    Cooktime:42_45 depends the oven.
    Layers were 2 inches each one and beautiful and moist .I think is perfect for a wedding cake.






  117. Lauren Kinsella

    Hi, How long would you bake this cake for based on the ingredients being doubled and using 10 inch cake tins. Also at what oven temperature? Thanks

  118. Sarah Henwood

    Hi I’m doubling the batter and I want to add both hot water and hot coffee how much coffee to add?

  119. Jay

    So excited to try this. I’m making a 6inch cake pans for multiple layers. Will the oven temperature remain the same?

  120. Naomi

    Hi I have tried this recipe _ once came out great and once came out falling to pieces.. not sure why! Anyway I’m trying again but just noticed u say 2 cups of sugar, yet 414g – 2 cups of sugar is way more than 414g.. so which should I go by? Thanks

    1. Lindsay

      Be sure you are adding parchment paper to the bottom of the cake pans to help them release easily. As for the sugar, both measurements are correct. I use weight to measure the sugar, but 2 cups is correct as well.

  121. Yanz Pastry

    I love ur recipes all of them I use them for my small business yanz pastry thanks so much sure so kind to share with us ur most amazing recipes plz do a post cakes with have coffee I have this obsession about coffee

  122. Victoria L DiMaria

    Hello, I was wondering do you think I can double this recipe for 10 inch pans? Not sure what I should do. I would like to make a bigger cake for my brother in laws 60th birthday. Thank you in advance for your suggestions. I love your recipes!

  123. Melissa

    I make this cake in a 9×13 all the time. When I made this tonight, it has fallen apart when I removed layers from pans. I didn’t use parchment but did use non stick spray. I also used cake flour. Could either or both be the cause?

    1. Lindsay

      I’m sorry for the delay in responding…it’s hard to say from a distance, especially if you don’t normally have trouble. Do you normally put parchment paper in the bottom? I would think that would help. If you normally use all purpose flour and this is the first time using cake flour, it’s possible that contributed, since it might make the cake a little softer/more tender. But putting parchment in the bottom of the pan should make it so that it comes out of the pan easily and shouldn’t fall apart.

  124. Jessica Claire Barends

    I’ve made this recipe multiple times now and it takes more than an hour in the oven. It’s dense I’m the center and dry om the exterior, I thought it was my oven but I tried it by a friend’s and its still ended up bad.

    1. Lindsay

      Are you baking it all in one pan? There’s absolutely no reason why it should take an hour to bake if baked as instructed.

  125. Ann

    I made this cake, and frosting too, for a birthday party at work. Wow – so delicious! I received compliments even from the non-chocolate people. The frosting was too sweet for me. I knew it would be so I made a ‘naked frosted cake’. Next time I would use some sour cream or plain greek yogurt to the frosting to cut that sweetness. I didn’t have time to do ganache and it still looked beautiful. Thanks so much Lindsay! – Ann






  126. Hiba Khan

    Hey is it possible to scale out the recipe to make 4 layers? And if so then would I need to support the cake when layering it?
    Thank you!

  127. Stacey

    I was hoping to use this a sheet cake for a crowd. Should I double the recipe.
    I’ve made this cake in the round pans and it was delicious but feel it will serve a crowd better in a sheet pan.

    1. Lindsay

      It’s not a super dense cake but as long as you use proper supports for the tier above, I’d think it should be fine.

  128. Candy

    Excited to try this recipe! I’ve had trouble with the recipe I’ve been using…..my cakes always come out with the middle sunk in. I’m not sure why…..I’ve googled why and made sure to follow the directions. I bake and decorate cakes and this is the only cake that gives me trouble. So I am excited to try your recipe! Hopefully they will come out perfect!! Any ideas on why I’ve had this trouble?

    1. Lindsay

      It’s always hard to say why things happen from a distance and not knowing the recipe you used, it’s also hard. I’m sure if you googled, a lot of the things I would say are going to be similar to what you found online. Assuming the recipe called for the appropriate amount of baking soda or baking powder, that should be fine. But if too much of that is added (or it’s outdated) it can cause the cake to sink. Cakes can also sink if you open the oven too soon. And then again if some other ingredient isn’t measured correctly. It really is hard to say, but I hope you enjoy this one!

    1. Lindsay

      Yes, this cake does very well being frozen. Just wrap the layers well in clear wrap and foil before freezing and then thaw in the fridge before using.

  129. Marita

    Absolutely soft and moist. I made this cake for a friend without frosting. And making the cake with frosting. For a friend on his birthday son this coming weekend. Love the texture and moist of the cake sponge. Thank you for this recipes.






  130. Sarah Hartman

    This recipe is wonderful! Can I make cupcakes using this recipe? What would the bake time be (if I could)? Any other changes? Thank you!

      1. Sarah Hartman

        I’m sorry, but where is the link to the cupcake version of the recipe? I don’t see it above. Thank you!! Looking forward to trying it for a friend & her son’s graduation.

  131. Micah

    Absolutely love this recipe ❤️ Thank you so much ☺️ From New Zealand! I need your wisdom now… my son has asked for a caramel cake for his 5th birthday and I was wondering if you have a recipe that is a winner or if I could adapt this recipe? And how I would do that? Thanks so much xxx






    1. Lindsay

      Glad you enjoyed it! As for a caramel cake, you could check out this drumstick cake. It has caramel between the cake layers and you could make some additional caramel to swap out the one layer of chocolate. You could also add some caramel sauce to the frosting. Hope that helps!

  132. Stephanie

    Looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it! Quick question for you, do you measure out the ingredients or weigh them?

  133. Mrs Allie

    Dear Lindsay thank you for the lovely receipe, it’s a must try one, wanted to know if I can substitute the Buttermilk for plain yogurt thank you

    1. Lindsay

      I haven’t tried yogurt but I wouldn’t recommend it. You can use regular milk if you don’t have buttermilk.

  134. Sherry Lasenby

    Just made this today for Mother’s Day. My mom requested a moist decadent chocolate cake. This recipe is excellent. Followed your ingredients and directions exactly and it is perfection. Thank you!






  135. Roselena

    Good Morning !

    I made this cake a year ago and WOW. I had lost the recipe and just couldn’t seem to find it but I did today and i’m so happy !

    I did have a question, I want to make a 2 layer Letter Cake for Mothers day. Will this recipe hold the cake up or would it be too soft?






    1. Lindsay

      Sorry, I’m a little late for Mother’s Day. I hope it worked out! I would think it’d be fine for making a letter. You just might want to refrigerate it to get a little firm first, so it’ll cut easier.

  136. Paula

    This is by far thee best chocolate cake I have ever made! I was unsure about the 300* temp as well as the fact that the batter seemed runny. It is soooo good! Thank you!

  137. Mandy

    Love how easy it is to make this and how delicious it turns out !
    I’d like to make a tier cake with this recipe. Hoping it’s not “too moist” to put together. I’ll take any tips you may have 😜






    1. Lindsay

      So glad you enjoyed it! I don’t do a lot of tiered cakes, but I think if it’s well-doweled, it should be fine.

  138. Iffat

    I just had a question. I hate the smell of oil in cakes. So I have tried substituting some oil for butter. Is that ok? Do I need to change cooking times if I do this?

    1. Lindsay

      I haven’t tested it that way to see if it would work, so I can’t recommend it. But you could certainly give it a try.

  139. Emily

    This is the only cake I ever make. I love this recipe and I don’t even really like cake. I use the original half butter/half shortening frosting recipe. The only thing I change is that I use a cup of hot coffee instead of a cup of hot water. The coffee really brings out the chocolate flavor.






  140. DaEisha

    This is my favorite chocolate cake recipe and I make it every time I want a chocolate cake but now I no longer have my 8 inch pans so will three 9 inch pans work

  141. Anitza garcia

    I live this recipe but did you change the frosting recipe?? I could’ve sworn it used to have Vegetable shortening

    1. Lindsay

      Yes, it states all butter now. But feel free to use shortening. It’s just half the amount of butter would be shortening so that it’s even amounts of butter and shortening.

  142. Jen

    Love this recipe, made it several times already. Curious question, if I wanted to bake the cakes in a 6” pan, do I need to adjust the baking time?

    1. Lindsay

      If you’re making the full recipe in 6 inch pans, then I’m guessing you would. I have also made it into a 6 inch cake using half of the recipe, if you’d like to check that out.

    1. Olivia

      I really don’t know what’s going on. This has been my go to cake for years, and ive made it gf and vegan before. I’m making it for a dessert course and am trying to make it GF which I’ve successfully done before. Made it in a 9inch pan bc my 8 inch ones leak. Made a few to make a layer cake. Two i forgot to put baking powder which obviously didnt rise much but turned out fine (not usable for the course but still edible and delicious) one I accidentally put baking powder instead of baking soda/bicarbonate of soda which worked but didnt rise as much as it should have but also took ages (more like 45min to an hour sort of scenario) to cook. Finally got the recipe right (possible its subconscious nerves due to upcoming laser eye surgery) and it took 45 mins (usually in the same oven they take 30 but I make them in a shallow 8inch tin which has started leaking) in I think a 10 inch tin. Left it to cool on a wire rack for a while and it eventually collapsed and crumbled and I had to chuck it as I couldn’t use it for my course and I have 2 chocolate cakes already we’re eating didnt want a third (all GF)
      and it was partially raw in the middle. Is this cos I’m making it in a 10 inch tin now? How long should I be cooking it so it isnt raw and doesn’t crack and split after cooling?

      1. Lindsay

        I don’t really make any 10 inch cakes, so it’s hard for me to say the exact time. You want to bake it until a toothpack inserted in the middle comes out clean. It shouldn’t have any issues baking at a larger size. Maybe double check your baking soda to be sure it’s fresh too. Sorry you’re having so much trouble!

    1. Lindsay

      The batter for this cake is very, very thin. So unless you are sure that your springform pan absolutely does not leak, I would not use a springform pan. I also don’t recommend baking an entire cake in one pan. It doesn’t bake evenly and will turn out more dense. You definitely won’t get the intended result that way.

  143. Nicci

    Hello!

    Quick question – I really love the chocolate frosting from your Moist Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes. Can I use it with this cake too? Or do the addition of chocolate chips change the consistency and make it tough to ice the cake?

    I will be trying this recipe out tonight as I have LOVED every other cake recipe you have – I get compliments all the time and people don’t believe me it’s not bakery bought hehe.

    Thanks!

    1. Lindsay

      I haven’t made an 11 inch, so I’m not really sure. And I guess it depends on how tall you want it to be.

    1. Lindsay

      If you’re using the shortening, I’d use salted butter. If using all butter, I’d use unsalted butter and add your own salt.

  144. Katherine K McSparrin

    I made this for my son’s birthday last year. It is to die for. Absolutely the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten!! I/We all loved it so much I am doing it again this year. I also wanted to make it into cupcakes for his friend party. Any tips on how to cook or if they will be as decadent?






  145. Samantha

    I made this for my mother in laws birthday last weekend and it was amazing! Could I use this same recipe in a different size pan and just adjust cook times or would the measurements be different?

    1. Lindsay

      Glad you enjoyed it! Depends a little on the size of the pan, but generally speaking you shouldn’t need to make any adjustments other than baking time.

  146. Si

    Just pointing out, oven preheat states “300” I set mine to 355 F. Very important as that low a temp for only 30 minutes bake time is setting up for gooey cake not fluffy cake. Other then that, a beautiful easy recipe that never fails. ❤

    1. Cassie Chytracek

      I have made this cake base twice in the last week, both times the 300 degree setting has required an additional 8-10 minute bake for the toothpick to come out clean. I use 3-8″ round cake pans as recommended.

  147. Aimee

    Lindsay, this chocolate cake recipe is every bit as good as you said!! Thank you for sharing it. It’ll be my go-to recipe for chocolate cake from now on!






  148. Shannon

    Can’t wait to try this for an upcoming birthday! Can you use unsweetened CACAO POWDER in place of the cocoa powder?

  149. Suelyn

    I’m not a baker but I love cakes, especially chocolate cakes, I carefully followed this recipe and it came out delicious, my husband and sister could not believe I made such a delicious cake, definitely making this again next time gonna do vanilla frosting.






  150. Oludotun

    Great cake! It gave me hope that I was capable of baking a chocolate cake. Before I mostly stayed away from a cake that is something of a classic.
    Think I found a typo while reading : don’t you want to be the one with a cake that’s so could you could bake for a restaurant?
    Perhaps you want wanted to say “good” instead of “could”?






  151. David

    I’ve made this cake twice in the last month for birthdays. Absolutely amazing cake. Everyone loved it, especcially my nephew, who I’m sure will request this cake every b-day! I wish I could post a pcture of how they turned out. The only thing I’d do differently, is to cut back the icing ingredients by 10-15%, as I had a lot left over. Since ovens vary in temps, check the doneness before the min cook time. Mine was done at 29 min.






  152. MF

    Hi there! It appears that this recipe has been changed or updated. My best friend and I used to make the original for years but when we went back for it recently, it had been updated. We’re looking for the dark chocolate cake with the dark chocolate frosting. I can see the original image on my pin board but when I click, it brings me where. Can you please share the original dark chocolate recipe?? We loved it!!! Thanks!

    1. Lindsay

      The recipe hasn’t changed, the photos are updated and it mentions using regular unsweetened cocoa powder now, rather than the Hershey’s Dark (which has changed in the last couple years). Feel free to still use the dark cocoa. Everything else is the same. Glad you enjoyed it!

  153. Emily

    Hi, can I use baking powder instead of bicarbonate of soda? Worried I’ll taste the BS? And can I use self raising flour or does it have to be plain? Thank you






  154. Mark Casey

    Awful Recipe, turned out dreadful, the baking time stated produced an 80% raw cake, had to leave an extra 15 minutes to get a dry toothpick, even then after turning out onto wire rack it was so moist it began to seep through the wires, the dome collapsed and it tasted bad, not even chocolatey. I will not even attempt to ice this it’s going straight in the bin

    1. Lindsay

      I’m sorry you had trouble with. All ovens vary. If you needed more time, that’s fine. I’d recommend putting parchment paper on your wire rack before turning a cake out onto it. It’s a VERY moist cake, which is part of what makes it so good.

  155. Kadeeja

    Hi, so I have a question. Which cake recipe is the best? This one, or your https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/raspberry-chocolate-layer-cake/ ?? Because the batter is different, in your “best chocolate cake” you use buttermilk instead of milk, and 2 tsp of baking soda instead of 1tsp of baking soda and baking powder. So, which cake batter should I pick? I’m making a cake for Christmas and I’m nervous because I want it to be perfect, but they both look incredible. I can’t choose. Help me!!! Should I use milk or buttermilk? only baking soda or both baking powder & soda? thanks in advance.

    1. Lindsay

      You honestly can’t go wrong with either. The best chocolate cake is my personal favorite, but some people are thrown off by the fact that it bakes at 300 degrees and it’s so tender. The raspberry chocolate cake is baked at 350 and is slightly more firm so that it’s a little easier to work with. The addition of baking powder in the raspberry one contributes to the slightly firmer texture.

      1. Kyla Gaudiuso

        I have actually baked this multiple times in a 9×13 pan and baked for 40 mins. It works amazingly well!

  156. Patty

    Can I substitute the shortening for more butter? I made this awesome cake last year and don’t remember if I did.

  157. Veda bucher

    I just sent a question to see if you could use 2 nine inch cake pans instead of the 3 eight inch inch cake pans. I forgot to ask if you can do this, what temperature do I bake it at. Thank you.

      1. Lindsay

        The way I see comments on the backend makes it hard to answer your question. You replied to something I said, but I’m unable to see what I said. All I see is your question. Sorry! So, would it need to be cut in half to do what?

      1. Rachel P

        How many days in advance can you make this and if for cupcakes how long should I bake them in the oven?

    1. Lindsay

      I believe I’ve done 6 thin layers before. It’s a very soft and tender cake though, so if you were looking for something really sturdy, this may not be it.

  158. Glenda

    This is the chocolate cake I grew up on and the standard for my own family, now. It is sheer perfection! My mom gotit from an old church cookbook, back then. The difference is that when I was a kid we made it with lard. Now, I use butter. I’m going to give it a try with oil, now. Yum! You’ve made me hungry for chocolate cake! lol






  159. Olivia

    I do love the flavour of this cake (though it tastes a bit eggy for me, mainly bc I cut out eggs. I’ve tried so many times making this GF vegan and it has worked. Before I cut out eggs for good I used to love the flavour) however, it is too fudgy to hold together. At least this time. Before I or my mum has managed to stack it and ice it but I’ve always made half a recipe (and I think I’ve reduced the water/liquid too – haven’t made it in a while)
    So for the first time in ages I made this (using mostly valhrona cocoa powder, which is a little annoying bc valhrona is good quality cocoa powder and not cheap) and made a full batch, for my 21st birthday party. Made it as is (ie normal flour, eggs etc) and followed the recipe to a T (the only thing I didn’t do to a T was I made my own buttermilk from semi skimmed Jersey milk and the juice of a lemon and left it to curdle) instead of how I usually modify it with chia eggs and GF flour bc I know I’m going to be eating gluten dairy and eggs (which I’m not supposed to have) and I had some pan leakage (not the fault of the recipe I didn’t put the bases in the tins properly ) and it was so so moist it stuck to the bottom of the greased pan a bit and running a knife along the bottom (after 10 mins of cooling) to unstick it/get it onto a plate caused it to crack and basically split in half so I had to throw the layers (the others didn’t split but did crack a little but due to the pan leakage were super thin) Now I’m slightly stressing since my party is tomorrow afternoon and I have no cake and have to figure out how to make a cake last min as I can’t get one made at such short notice.
    Would recommend to make at home (with a half batch – and definitely a half or even third batch of icing as you get so much – and reduced liquid) where if you can’t ice it due to cracking etc it doesn’t matter but if you need it for an event where it has to be iced I’d look somewhere else.






    1. Lindsay

      The recipe clearly states to line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper. This prevents them from sticking. I’d recommend trying that next time.

  160. jennifer

    I love this cake it has been my favorite out of all the cakes I have baked. But my question is can it be made in a half sheet cake? I want to make a few little cakes with this recipe as a base.






  161. Emel

    I am a baker and I was looking for a cake like this , I am using this recipe since 1 year all my customer are really happy every time they told me it’s really tasty moist . Thank you soo much for this tasty recipe.






  162. Leanne Markland

    I LOVE this recipe, been making it a while now and it’s always a hit! I struggle with the cake breaking when I’m trying to frost due to it being so moist and soft, any tips? I normally just use it for cupcakes due to this but really want to be able to crack a big cake.






      1. Leanne Markland

        Brilliant, will give it a go!
        I love your website, it’s always my go to for recipes x

  163. Lup

    Amazingly delicious!!! I”m so happy my son enjoyed his birthday cake. Now my other son wants me to bake him a vanilla cake. Do you have an amazing recipe for vanilla cake?? Please?






  164. Beverly

    You weren’t exaggerating with the name of this cake recipe. I made this cake for the guys at work. We all loved it! There won’t be any other recipe used for future chocolate cakes after this.






    1. Lindsay

      If you bake it as a single layer, you should cut the recipe in half. Otherwise it will be far too thick and turn out dense and dry. You could use an 8 inch or 9 inch cake pan.

  165. Jill

    I’m sorry to say I didn’t like this cake. I really wanted to love it! It reminds me a lot of Mississippi Mud Cake, which I also don’t like. I think it’s the cup of water that does it. I’ll continue my search, but thank you for sharing.






  166. Ellen

    Brilliant chocolate cake recipe, so moist and was a big hit with everyone. The recipe allows you to times the mixture by 3x but the measurements in g’s don’t change for the liquids is this incorrect ?

    1. Lindsay

      Glad it was a hit! The 2x and 3x thing is automatically done by the recipe card. I have no control over it. I’m considering removing it because several people have noticed inconsistencies like that.

  167. Anna

    Hi there,
    I would like to make 9 inch cake. Can I just split the recipe into 2 -9 inch cake pans? How much longer do you think I would bake it?

  168. Amy

    Hello there..I was wondering what sugar you use when making the cake ..is it normal granulated white sugar or light brown sugar? And I’m assuming the powdered sugar is caster sugar..cant wait to make this !
    Thanks

    1. Lindsay

      I use granulated sugar in the cake and powdered sugar in the frosting. Caster sugar and powdered sugar are not the same thing.

  169. Lavinia Roy

    This is my 3rd time making this cake. I is soooo delicious and moist. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!

  170. Nikolett

    Hey, I have a question about the vegetable oil. Can I replace it with coconut oil? I would like to make this cake for my husbands bday however he doesnt consume vegetable oils at all. I dont know if I would use coconut oil I would get the same results..

  171. Gisele Dawson

    Hello Lindsay

    I would like to start by THANKING YOU for the cupcake recipe!! By far the best I’ve ever done and the compliments I received!! Thank You Thank You
    My question is, if I make this recipe into (4) 6 inch layers are there any adjustments or would it be just less baking time?

    1. Lindsay

      So glad you’ve enjoyed it! Not sure about the 6 inch cake, since I haven’t tried it, but you should only need to adjust the baking time.

  172. Mary Victor

    I made this cake many times. Everyone loves the taste. The cake always dips in the middle. Recently it dipped even more. What am I doing wrong? I lightly beat the egg and then the liquid ingredients!

    1. Lindsay

      It’s hard to say from a distance why that is happening. Are you using natural unsweetened cocoa powder? Or Dutch processed? Also be sure that you’re using baking soda and not baking powder.

  173. Aracely Cano

    This cake was so absolutely moist and chocolatey it honestly didn’t need frosting. I had 2 6 inch cakes left over and they were eaten just as is with ice cream on top and it was perfection. Definitely one for the books!






  174. Debbie

    Lindsey! This cake is amazing! I have made many of your desserts and this is one of my favorites along with your cannoli cake. I made this cake for a neighbors birthday this past weekend and it was a huge hit. The best chocolate cake I’ve ever had or made. Thank you for a great recipe.






  175. Liz Bennett

    Hi Lindsay!
    Sometimes there are coincidences in life that are truly remarkable. I went on the hunt today for a chocolate cake recipe for my father in laws 70th birthday party this weekend and the first one I chose was yours. I look at the picture and I’m like I know her… We had just met while I was walking around the neighborhood with my little girl! So cool! So now I’m your official stalker/new neighbor/baking lover friend! If I see you on another walk I’ll let you know how it turns out.
    Thanks for the recipe,
    Liz Bennett

    1. Lindsay

      I’m sorry, I’m only just seeing your comment! How funny is that?! I’m surprised you recognized me from the picture since I’m always such a mess at home LOL! I hope you enjoyed the cake!

  176. Dana Van Clieaf

    Hi! I’ve got this cake in the oven in a 9×13 pan-it’s been an hour and is still very liquidy. Everything was measured correctly-I’ve used 10c of batter for the pan. I know this is a slow bake cake but this seems a bit long. Any ideas on what might have happened?

  177. Dana Van Clieaf

    Hi Lindsay, I’ve made this cake a few times and it always turns out perfectly in cake and cupcake form-thank you for sharing it.
    Have you ever made this as a sheet cake? I’d like to make it in a 12×18 pan and wonder if you have any suggestions as far as cooking time or temp.

  178. Amber

    Hi!
    I haven’t tried this recipe yet but, what would be the temperature for cupcakes and for how long should I bake them?






    1. Megan

      I love this recipe and make it for my son’s birthday every year. I was wondering if the frosting recipe has changed at all over the years as I remember it being much darker like the photo that shows up on Pinterest. The photo in the recipe itself shows a much lighter frosting like what I got when I made it today.






  179. Kayla

    hi! I was wondering what would be the measurements for the icing if I was to only make enough to fill in between the layers? Also, could I replace the shortening with extra butter? thank you!

    1. Lindsay

      You can replace the shortening with butter, yes. But rather than adjust this one, I would just follow this recipe for chocolate buttercream. Things vary slightly, but it’s basically the same and it’ll make just a bit more than needed for filling (I use about 1 cup of frosting between each layer).

      1. Tulah

        Hi! Id like to make this cake this weekend and was wondering what shortening you used in this recipe?

  180. Nikki

    Hi, the cake tastes amazing. Will this cake be sturdy enough to a 2 tier cake? I want to make this as the bottom tier.

    1. Lindsay

      I have used it in a tiered cake before. As long as the cake above isn’t resting on the cake, but is resting on dowels, it should be fine.

      1. Nikki

        Thanks you so much Lindsay, I’ll let you know how it turns out. BTW i love your recipes, the few that I’ve tried were huge hits. Keep it up!!

  181. Allison Afflick

    How would this cake do with your vanilla butter cream? I want to make it for my daughter’s birthday so I will need white frosting as a base.

  182. Victoria

    I’m a chocoholic and not ashamed to admit it! Been baking for 40 years and have made many chocolate cakes and this is by far the best recipe ever! I can stop looking now, thank you.






      1. Anna G.

        Hi Lindsay, I am so eager to try this chocolate cake recipe. I have tried many of your creations and all have been spot on and delicious. I want to make this chocolate cake as a second tier. I will be using dowels soas not to disturb the bottom layer. Is this enough batter for a 10 x 3 round pan? What temp should I utilize, 300 or 350? Ty!!!

      2. Lindsay

        No, it’s not. Not sure how much batter you’ll need. Maybe double it? And I’d use 300 degrees.

  183. Judi James

    Having previously made this cake many times, ALWAYS a big hit, I’d like to try making a sheet cake version for my son’s wedding. Do you have the adjustments for that? Ideally a half sheet 13×18, but I could also do a smaller sheet in two layers. Any help would be greatly appreciated! TIA






    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad it’s been a hit! I haven’t made it that size so I’m not really sure. But I do think it would be fine. You should only really need to adjust the baking time.

  184. Valentina

    Hi,I’m planning to do this cake,but I don’t like the buttercream..can I use a sort of simple ganache to fill it? Anyway I tried the cupcake recipe and it’s delicious.
    Thanks

  185. Nivethitha

    Hey I love this recipe so muchhh ! But often when I frost the cake it tends to fall apart and easily break ? What should I do to make it firmer ?

  186. Sivan

    So many compliments!
    I reduced the amount of sugar to 3/4 of original as I always do.. question: I baked it in one pan (I prefer cutting over baking layers) and it took forever on 150.. can you suggest other baking parameters?






  187. Shannon fowler

    Absolutely love this recipe the best chocolate cake I’ve ever tried! However.. really hoping the 940 calories a slice is a mistake 😬😬😬

  188. Paty P.

    The ABSOLUTE BEST chocolate cake EVER!

    It has the perfect balance! It’s sweet but not overwhelming, with the cacao punch without being too extremely powerful, so you can eat a lot and still getting room for another piece.

    Everyone in my family said this is THE UNBEATABLE ONE, for life!

    I made it exactly as the recipe says and also using chocolate brigadeiro cream for filling. Next stop: coconut brigadeiro and chocolate ganache, to give it a twist.

    I’m just so so SO in love with the recipe.
    Thank YOU so much for sharing it with us!

    PS.: I find the cake crumb just perfect – tender and super moist, but sturdy enough to prevent the layers of falling apart. I bake the cake the day BEFORE and keep it in the fridge, and the next day it’s ready to cut it and put the filling and frosting.






  189. Trina

    This is the BEST BEST BEST Chocolate Cake I’ve ever made and tasted. Love it and it’s my only Chocolate Cake recipe from now on.






  190. Carly

    I love this recipe and is my go to for any chocolate cake. But I’m always scared how wet it is! Please tell me I’m not the only one…I’ve even added more flour to thicken up!






  191. Adrienne

    I have a question. Love this cake. But every time I make it, it seems too moist and crumbles on me. I’m working on my daughters 21st birthday cake right now and same thing. Any tips before I throw in the towel. ❤️






  192. Nishta

    Hello Lindsay… I love that recipe…it’s too good.
    Can this recipe be used for 2 or 3 tier cake like for a wedding. Or it will be too soft ?

  193. Karyn Cooney

    I used this recipe to make the Grooms Cake for my niece’s wedding. It came out so moist! I had never made a tier cake, or a chocolate from scratch before. Excellent recipe!! I did use a different recipe for Buttercream frosting as I didn’t want shortening in my frosting. But everyone loved this cake. Thank you!!






  194. Abbigail Hassan

    I really really miss baking your cakes i have to be dairy, soy and egg free due to babies allergies is there a way to swap out the buttermilk and egg in this recipe 😫

      1. Abbigail Hassan

        Thank you suppose all that’s left to do is try, oatmilk and chickpea water here i come! 😅

  195. Nikki

    This is my go-to for chocolate cake. Everyone always compliments me and loves how delicious and moist it is!

    I need to make a giant sheet cake and triple the recipe. Do you have any recommendations on baking time and if I keep the temperature the same?:)






  196. Carol

    I made this cake and it was delicious! If I wanted to make cupcakes with this recipe what notifications do you think I’d need to make?






  197. Alexa

    I will this recipe and have made it a few times, Can I use the recipe to make cupcakes? How many cupcakes do you think it would make?

  198. Macayla G

    Hi Lindsay, I wanted to make this cake for my sister’s high school graduation because she loves chocolate cake and I love baking so I wanted to impress her with my baking skills lol, but I was wondering if I could use 3 9 inch baking pans instead of 3 8 inch ones, and if I did, would it change the tallness of the cake drastically enough to not be able to apply the “drip” effect.

  199. Morgan Halton

    is there anyway you can use this recipe for a sheet pan cake? Like 13x9x2? I am doing a number cake and this is my favorite chocolate cake recipe.

  200. Alejandro Brinker

    Hi Lindsay, I wanted to tell you that I did make this cake. I have to say, I really did enjoy it so much that I wanted to use this recipe for a chocolate mousse cheesecake, however when I was trying to stack the mousse, it made a huge mess and the cakes literally stated to fall apart. So I have a question for you. Since this recipe makes a very tender cake, do I have to be extremely gentle with it? But otherwise, fantastic recipe.






  201. Manuri

    Hi,I have 3 quetions.

    (1)you have mentioned flour 2 cups and sugar 2 cups.but in grams its different.Is it a mistake or what?i’m bit confused.can you please tell me.

    (2)what can i use instead of buttermilk?

    (3)can i use melted butter instead of Oil?then what is the quantity?






    1. Lindsay

      1) Volume and weight measurements between two different things are not the same. By volume, they are both 2 cups. By weight, they are different.
      2) Regular milk.
      3) No, it won’t work the same with butter.

    1. Rena

      How can I adjust the amounts to have it made in a 9×13 pan ? It was way too much batter for 9×13. It was the very best chocolate cake I ever had. Thank you so much for posting these recipes.

  202. Hailey

    This looks delicious, do you know if this recipe will work as cupcakes instead? Also, how long do you think I should bake it as cupcakes and how many cupcakes do you think this recipe will make? Thank you ahead of time!

  203. Shirley B

    I love this recipe but struggle a little with it in high altitude. Any suggestions on how to adjust the recipe so that the center doesn’t fall?

  204. Anna

    Hello! Oh wow! I love your recipes! Thank you for sharing! Your cakes come out perfectly EVERY time!

    Out of curiosity… can I freeze this cake?

    Thank you x

    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad to hear that! As far as freezing, you can definitely freeze individual layers. I don’t typically freeze entire cakes, but you could try it. And you can certainly cut the final cake into slices and freeze it that way.

  205. Dana

    This recipe looks delicious! I plan to make it for my son’s birthday, but I’d like to know how long you mix it with the hand mixer? The instructions just say “mix well” ; does that one minute, two minutes? I don’t want to overmix and have the cake fall. Thank you!

    1. Lindsay

      You just want to mix until things are well combined. Once that happens and there’s not a bunch of lumps or streaks, you can stop mixing. There’s no preset amount of time. And with this cake you can actually just use a whisk. It comes together incredibly easy.

  206. Rukshaar

    Hi Lindsay, I love your recipes have made a couple of them, chocolate cakes are my fav.. did the strawberry buttercream frosted one, the tiramisu bialys poke and made more and they all have turned out fantastic! Your frostings too have been the best for me specially the cream cheese.. the only one that didn’t turn out runny. Thank you so much for sharing these. I’m now planning to make a candy land cake for my nieces birthday and want to ask you which recipe to use for a firm cake as I need to poke in heavy lollipops. I’m worried the cake shouldn’t split with the weight of 3-4 lollipops as they big and heavy. Please help me.






    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the recipes! I typically try not to make really dense cakes, but my old old vanilla cupcake recipe is on the more dense side and you could double that to make it a cake and see how it works.

      1. Rukshaar Deboo

        Thank you so much for the prompt revert but could you help me with something in chocolate that is more firm.

  207. Kelsie

    I’ve tried your easy moist chocolate cake which is delicious!
    Which out of that one and this one would be more stable as a fondant covered layered cake?

  208. Sandie

    Great base. I made the following changes and it was a hit:
    Doubled the recipe, made a sheet cake, increased baking time by 20 minutes, reduced sugar by 1/2 cup, made it dairy free (dairy-free buttermilk), instead of vegetable oil I used 1/2 coconut oil and 1/2 olive oil. The flavor was amazing. The cake was extremely moist.






  209. Emma

    I wondered if the cake will still be moist if I leave it sitting for a day before I decorate and serve it? Also I want to make it with only 2 layers how should I alter the amounts? I can’t wait to able it the cake looks amazing!






    1. Lindsay

      It’ll definitely stay moist if you bake it to David. As for making two layers, you can either divide all the batter between two pans or cut the recipe by a third.

  210. GURKIRAT

    I love this recipe and I am thinking to give it a try for my husband bday. I have one question that I have 9 inch cake pans and will measurement will remain same for two 9 inch pans. Can I prepare the cake layers a day ahead?






    1. Lindsay

      You won’t have as tall of a cake, but it will work fine. If you want a taller cake, you could try using one and a half recipes worth. And yes, you can definitely bake it a day ahead.

  211. Selah

    Third time making this chocolate cake, it is perfection! I get excited when someone requests my chocolate cake because it means I can use this masterpiece of a recipe! My brother, who has gone to culinary school and is the family food critique asked for the recipe to make for his bake off at school. It is that good! Lol, this cake has perfect texture and is wonderfully moist! Will forever recommend this recipe!

  212. Leah

    Can you tell me how to make this cake in a 13×9 pan? I’m making it for a birthday party that 30 people will attend, so I’m trying to make it bigger than an 8” round cake.

  213. Catherine Rose

    This recipe is THE ONLY recipe I use for my chocolate cakes. I get so many compliments when I make this cake. Thank you so much!!






  214. Tanisha

    Hi! im super excited to try this recipe but i was just wondering whether i could use normal butter rather than vegetable oil and expect the same result?

  215. Michelle

    Oh yeah, and in addition to my last comment, I’ve done 1 1/2 times the recipe and it works well for 3 10” layers.






  216. Michelle

    My husband and I agree this is the best chocolate cake we’ve had. It’s moist, soft and I bake it frequently and is a highly requested cake from family. I usually use a whipped cream frosting but the cake itself is definitely a favorite. Thanks for this wonderful recipe!






  217. Charlotte

    This is my go-to chocolate cake recipe! I love it! Do you have a conversion guide for measurements for three 6″ tins?






  218. Margaret

    I’m going to try this recipe today but I’m a little confused with oven temperature I have a fan assisted oven so do I reduce the oven temperature by 20 degrees and cook a little longer?

  219. Lois

    Can I bake this cake in a 9×13 or a larger square pan, maybe 10×15. If so what oven temperature would I bake it at.






  220. Josette Ciolino

    I adore this cake! I have made it dozens of times, as a Bundt and layered cake and cupcakes. I get so many compliments. The darn cake stays moist for days!






  221. Paulina

    This is delicious. Definitely not sturdy enough to decorate as it started crumbling away when I was icing it, but it’s insanely delicious. I used whipping cream as I don’t like buttercream. Next time I am going to try easy moist chocolate cake to do three layer semi naked cake, hope it will be almost as good as this one.

  222. Renee

    Family and friends loved this recipe. I will definitely make this recipe again. The only change a made was I cut back on the icing sugar which was perfect for us. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!

  223. Amy Pezet

    Hi there! I love this cake, but I need to make a 6inch version of it. By how much should I reduce the ingredients?

    1. Paulina

      I made it in 6 inch tins. Just increased cooking time by 5 minutes and the cake was super tall. It’s difficult to convert to 6 inch as only two eggs.

  224. Allycia Aligour-mohammed

    Made this recipe. It was really moist. Definitely making this again. My children loved it

  225. Geetanjali Tung

    Wow… This looks super delicious! My mouth is watering here literally… I am making this for sure!

  226. Mikaylah

    I just finished making this cake and I am so excited! It turned out beautifully thanks to all of your tips! I’m new to cake making and have had some fails, but this turned out perfectly! Thank you so much. I wish I could post a picture! I followed all of your tutorials for the cake, buttercream, and ganache. I can’t thank you enough. 






  227. Sara

    Love love love this recipe! I have never made a cake from scratch till this one now it’s my go to for everything! I’m going leave the cocoa out today and just make a white cake for my daughter’s birthday, hope it still works the same!






  228. Dawn

    Oh my goodness!!!  This is better than delicious!  I made this for the family for Valentine’s dinner…it was the biggest hit!  My daughter in law said, you could sell that, it’s that good!  I laughed since you said you were asked to make them for a restaurant!  Thank you for the fantastic recipe!  It’s a keeper!






  229. JANET LEE FEKETE

    Lindsey, i have tried many of your recipes in the past and i need to make a 12×18 sheet cake and need to alter your Chocolate cake recipe…how do i do that?

    i have to make it this thursday

  230. Tami

    I have to say I was a skeptic, not on the taste but the cooking time. 30 minutes at 300 degrees, no way! But YES!! It totally cooked in that timeframe and perfectly. However I didnt have 3, 8″ pans only 2 so I split between the two and made mini cupcakes. If I split between 3 pans I would have had very thins cakes. They rose but then shrunk after cooling. The cake is extremely soft, moist, perfect texture and it taste good, it wasnt the best cake for me.






  231. Karen

    Hiya, I’m making this cake, but 30 minutes in and it is super liquidy in the middle still. Do I just keep adding time?

  232. Porter

    HI! This recipe was delicious and moist, however, when I made it, the layers turned out extremely thin, about half of what it was supposed to be. Just curious about what happened. We live in the Dominican Republic, so it is very humid here. Could that have been the problem? Thanks!

    1. Lindsay

      Humidity could possibly have something to do with it. I’d also check that you used baking soda and not baking powder.

  233. Lisa

    Thank you for this recipe. I baked this cake exactly as you directed for my son’s birthday, and we three who ate it agree it’s the BEST chocolate cake ever – moist, flavorful, and perfect in texture. I used your easy vanilla buttercream frosting instead of the chocolate buttercream icing, and I had just enough coverage for this cake, plus enough for the middle layers. You helped bring extra joy to my son’s birthday weekend – thanks again! I am putting this recipe in circulation in my personal cookbook as my only go-to chocolate cake recipe, even above and beyond those I’ve used for years from Martha and Betty.






  234. Christy Sloat

    I finally did it! First and most importantly, this truly was the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted, and the chocolate buttercream frosting was heavenly. This is coming from someone who is not a fan of any frosting so I normally scrape it off. But THIS frosting…i couldn’t help but eat right along with the cake. Not only was it delicious, but it was the perfect complement to such a moist cake.

    For the recipe, just a few things I learned the hard way in hopes that it will help someone else. First, I agree with the others who commented that it took longer to bake (closer to 45-50 minutes at 300). But that was not big deal, I just kept checking it with the toothpicks until it was done.

    Second, this cake is SUPER MOIST like Lindsay says, so it’s a total pain to frost. I managed to get there eventually, but just trying to do the crumb coat made me want to throw the cake at the wall several times. Use a LOT of frosting and a light hand with the spatula when spreading. It mike look like a mess but you can always cover it with the next layer. Take your time and be patient.

    Third, the Wilton #789 tip that Lindsay recommends for frosting the sides of the cake is an absolute MUST. I thought I could get away with using the angled spatula and turntable and boy was I wrong. Thankfully I had made two cakes (longer story involving the oven temp on the first cake), so I experimented with frosting the first cake (which I gave to my neighbors), saw the error of my ways, and ran out to purchase the suggested icing tip for frosting the second cake, which was for my husbands birthday. It was still a chore, because the cake is so moist, but without this frosting tip it was not only impossible, but horribly unattractive!

    Fourth, the other tool I could not have done this without was the Ateco Decorating Comb, which Lindsay also recommended (for frosting a smooth cake). Regardless of how smooth you want your frosting to be, without this tool, I think it would be extremely difficult to frost THIS moist of a cake using this type of frosting.

    The last tool I wish I would have purchased was the cake lifter. I probably wouldn’t use it for all cakes, but for this one, again because it is SO moist, it would have made things so much easier. Thankfully, I did purchase some of the cardboard rounds, so I was able to improvise with those and only managed to crack one layer (not bad!)

    Please keep in mind that I am a total beginner here. So the more seasoned bakers may know some other tricks to avoid needing all the tools, but I felt like they were a tremendous help.

    Lindsay – I hope you don’t mind my tips for any other beginners. I don’t want them to get frustrated and give up because this cake is amazing and so delicious. I wish I could upload a photo because it looks like something from a magazine! It came out beautiful and delicious. I posted it on my FB and I had more comments about how beautiful the cake was than “tell your hubby happy birthday” LOL! And most importantly, he loved it! We’ve been together 23 years and this was the first cake I ever made for him from scratch. He said it was well worth the wait!






    1. Lindsay

      Your tips are great and it’s great to hear that my tips were helpful ultimately. So glad you enjoyed the cake!

    1. Lindsay

      If you’re using two layers, the time is probably similar, actually. If doing three layers, it’d be less but I’m not sure by how much.

  235. Alex

    Baked this cake this afternoon and just had to comment! I used hot coffee instead of hot water but otherwise followed this recipe exactly and it is SO THICK, RICH AND MOIST. I used 6” cake pans that are about 3” deep and filled half full. I ended up having to almost double the cook time before they were cooked through to the centre but it was worth it. They are so dense and delicious – almost the texture of a flourless chocolate torte or a brownie. I will definitely be using this recipe again!






  236. Christy Sloat

    One last question Lindsay…. I made this cake today, but I got confused reading the beginning of the post when you said you had changed the temp to 350 (you were talking about your other chocolate cake!). I realized my mistake about 15 minutes into the baking time and turned the oven down to 300 to finish it out. My husband’s birthday is tomorrow so I have time to re-do if you think the consistency will be off. Should I re-do or leave it? They seem to have come out ok and right around the time you said 30 minutes (not all pans were done at the same time because I think one had more batter than the others…oops). Please advise?

      1. Christy Sloat

        No worries! I decided since I had enough ingredients to give the first one to my neighbors and make a second one (at the right temp!) for my hubby’s birthday, just in case! I gave the details below in another post with some tips I learned as a beginner and trying this recipe BUT it ended up coming out amazing. First cake (temperature oops) was tasty but did not hold up well to handling or frosting! Second cake was a bit of a challenge to frost because it is so moist but came out beautiful (like magazine beautiful) and was the most delicious cake that I (or my family) has ever eaten!!!!!! Thank you so much for your responses and for sharing this recipe in the first place.

  237. Christy Sloat

    Hi Lindsay,

    I’m getting ready to attempt this recipe for my husbands birthday and I had one question. This may sound dumb, but I notice that you use a hand mixer for a lot of your videos. Is there a reason, like is it better to use the hand mixer or can I use my Kitchen Aid mixer? Thanks so much!

    1. Lindsay

      I use my kitchen aid when baking but often use the hand one in videos because it’s easier to show. Both work just fine.

  238. mobasir hassan

    Truly appreciate the way you have made this delicious cake. I am not a baker but you described everything so nicely that really helped me to make it. Though it was not as beautiful as yours for my first try, i hope next time it would be better. Thanks for the lovely treat.






  239. Emma

    If I just want a 2 layer 8 inch cake should I just use 2/3rds of the cake batter and the frosting and use the same amounts for ganache/drip? It looks so good. Wish i has seen this recipe this morning after 2 failed chocolate cakes. I have done a third one but so full from trying the first 2 I haven’t even tried it lol

  240. Shahnaz Walford

    Hello
    I would like to adapt this recipe for a 2 layer 10 inch cake how do I adjust the quantities? 

    Thank you 😊 

  241. Rylee

    This is hands down the best chocolate cake recipe I have ever tried. For the past year I have tried soooooo many recipes and none of them have been as good as this one! I halved the recipe to create just one cake because my cake tin is bigger and it works a treat. Thank you!






  242. Denise

    I am a first time baker of cakes and chose yours to make I am so sad. I followed the directions completely, measured sifted, etc.
    Toothpick came out clean, took them out to cool. noticed some sinkage in the middle but thought i could fix that. once I turned them out onto a rack to complete cooling, they started crumbling and one cake split in half. I am afraid to frost it but still going to do what I can. All of my ingredients were fresh and I used the wet strips on the outside of the pan to decrease the dome. Your recipe calls for baking sode and wondering if it should have been baking powder? I don’t know what went wrong.

    1. Lindsay

      Sinkage could be if they were a little under baked or if the oven was opened too early at some point during baking.

      There is no baking powder in this recipe. But it is a very tender cake so you do have to be careful when taking it out of the pans. If you’d like to try a slightly different version that does use baking powder and baking soda, you could try the cake layers in this cake. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/peanut-butter-chocolate-layer-cake/

  243. Tiana

    Hi,
    I always get worried when I come across a cake/cupcake/sheet cake recipe that calls for vanilla extract in the frosting. The reason is because I once tried a vanilla sheet cake recipe and it was a disaster. The frosting tasted of vanilla extract and was really yucky. The smell gave me a headache. 2 tsp of vanilla in the frosting of this cake recipe seems like a lot. Will it ruin the chocolate flavor and give me a headache?
    Thank you so much!
    Tiana

    1. Lindsay

      It sounds like youmay be very sensitive to vanilla extract, so I’m not sure that I can really answer that for you. However, vanilla extract helps cut down on the bitterness that cocoa can add to things. So I personally think the vanilla flavor enhances and makes the chocolate flavor better. But again, it sounds like maybe you have a sensitivity to vanilla extract so that’s up to you. You can leave it out if you like.

  244. John

    I am looking for recipes for my “Pre Christmas munch box” which we give out to friends and family. I wanted a chocolate cake to be one of the four things that go in the box. I tried a few different recipes but this one received five stars from all of my “testers”.

    I made up cupcakes and filled them with home made raspberry jam and they were an amazing taste sensation. The chocolate in the recipe and the jam were such a contrast.

    The cake is light, moist and delicate (Too delicate not to be supported by a cupcake case) and very morish all round.

    This will be my go to recipe from here on in. Thank you Lindsay






  245. Yuna

    Hello Lindsay,
    Is there some type of typo in this recipe or something? Because 9 cups of powdered sugar in the frosting is INSANE. I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I’m afraid I’m going to get diabetes or something.

    Thank you,
    Yuna

    1. Lindsay

      Nope, no typo. A standard decorators buttercream has 4 cups of powdered sugar to every cup of butter. You can certainly reduce the amount if you prefer, but it is correct.

  246. Michelle K

    What a delicious chocolate cake! Took approx 10 minutes longer in the oven for me.   I mixed it up a little and decided to make a mocha icing (using espresso) and brushed each layer with the leftover espresso prior to icing.   A tasty treat to welcome December!  As I’m writing this, I’m thinking of using that next time I’ll  brusha coffee liqueur over the cake prior to icing 😊😋

    Thanks for an awesome recipe that I’ll definitely use again! 

  247. Lynny Nicole

    I made this cake for my dads birthday which is in thanksgiving, cake out really delicious! took a bit longer in the oven than it said on the directions though, but overall it came out good






  248. Stacey Jones

    For the frosting, do I use softened butter or cold butter? Thank you for your time! I can’t wait to make this soon!

  249. Hannah

    Hi! I made this cake over the weekend. I followed the recipe closely, but I must have done something wrong at some point. It came out so crumbly! It still tasted delicious and moist. But it fell to pieces when I took it off the cooling racks and frosted it. It looked a hot mess. But tasted great. Any ideas where I went wrong? I tried scanning all the comments to see if anyone else had a similar issue but couldn’t seem to find an answer.






    1. Lindsay

      It’s hard to say. It’s a very tender cake so you definitely have to be gentle with it and wait until it’s cool before moving it around too much.

  250. Holly

    Just wondering what type of sugar you use in the cake? I’m from the UK so not sure if it needs to be caster or granulated? Thanks!

  251. Anamar Cora

    So this is basically like the Hershey’s chocolate cake but uses buttermilk instead of milk. I’m going to try this to see how it comes out. I would recommend to anyone making this cake to use half water and half strong brewed coffee or you could actually us all coffee. You always use coffee when baking with chocolate-believe me it will make all the difference. I can’t wait to try the frosting-haven’t seen a recipe like this for chocolate frosting sounds delicious

  252. Reena

    Hi! Absolutely love all your recipes 😍. I have tried soo many of your recipes and all the time it becomes a hit. I have fan assisted oven so the oven temperature mentioned in the recipe has change or I can use the same temperature? Please help
    Thank you 😊 






    1. Lindsay

      I’m not sure about different types of ovens. But if other recipes have turned out well for you, I’d think it’s be fine to keep it the same.

  253. Dina

    Hi again! I was reading through all of the comments and I noticed you mentioned you used a 9 x 13 pan for this recipe.   I was wondering If I read that right and if so,  about how long you baked for.  TIA

  254. Alysia

    Hi Lindsey,

    I was planning to make a mini tall cake with a 6 inch cake pan. I haven’t made a tall cake before so this is going to be my first time. Do you think I can use this recipe (measurements) to make a mini cake (around 4 layers) or do you think it would be too much? 

    Thanks!! x

    1. Lindsay

      I haven’t used it as a 6 inch cake so it’s hard for me to say. My understanding is that people have done that before and it has worked out well, I’m just not sure how many layers they did etc.

      1. Zaynah

        Hi Janet! I absolutely love your recipe and use this for my cakes that I decorate. I love the quantity as i can make 3 layers from it in one go! Do you think if i remove the cocoa, i can make vanilla cakes with this same recipe? Really looking for something that will make the same amount only in vanilla 🙂

  255. Charlotte

    Hi Lindsey ,
    I have realised I’ve order the wrong size tins I was wondering how long will I have to cook each cake for if there were in 24cm tins instead of 20cm ?? 

    Thank you 

  256. Donna Bay

    I made this cake this weekend. It  tastes very rich and good, and it stacked and cut perfectly. But, we felt it was almost too moist, kind of wet. My question, I always use King Aurthur flour, and per their website a cup of KA weighs 120g, so I added 240g instead of the 260g from your recipe, so wondering what brand of flour you use?  I know different brands can be different weights. Wondering if I just didn’t have enough flour or maybe I should have baked it longer. I made 3 8” layers for 33 min. Thank you. You make make beautiful cakes! 

    1. Lindsay

      I use the grams measurements that are listed in my recipes, so those are the ones you’ll want to follow, regardless of the brand of flour. I’ve used many different brands with the same gram measurements with this cake and 260g is correct.

  257. Dina

    Hello!! I’d really like to make this cake in 3, 9” round pans… do you think 1 1/2 this recipe will work? 
    TIA

  258. Stephanie

    Looks delicious! Would it be good with whipped cream frosting instead of the chocolate frosting? and if I were to make it a two layered cake – do I leave it longer in the oven or better change the quantities?






    1. Lindsay

      Yes, it’d be fine with whipped cream. And if you do two layers, you’d need to bake the layers a little longer.

  259. Pamela

    Hi Lindsay, You are the ROCK STAR of cake making! I am making a three tiered wedding cake, 8″, 6″ and 4″ and using the wooden dowels between layers to support the cake. I am going to use your vanilla, lemon and this chocolate cake. I was going to make your vanilla cake for the bottom layer, but now am thinking it should be this chocolate cake. My question is……..is this cake strong enough to support the cake and be the bottom layer? Please advise.

    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad you enjoy the cakes! I don’t do a lot of tiered cakes, so I’m not sure my advice is the best, LOL. That said, this is a very tender cake so it’s not going to hold weight. But if you’re supporting the top cakes with dowels, I would think it’d be fine. The cake shouldn’t need to support the weight.

  260. Ellie Kardani

    Hi there, so i noticed this days 2 cups of sugar for the cake, but it says 418 grams. When i put two cups, it’s near half that amount. Is it a typo or is it 418 g of sugar? 

    1. Lindsay

      2 cups of sugar is 414 grams. If you’re only getting half of that, then I would try remeasuring or checking your measuring cups because that’s really off. Either way, I use grams and the 414g is correct.

  261. Ash

    I tried the cake recipe part and I got to say, you’re right! Its the best moist chocolate cake ever! Everyone who tried the cake said its wasn’t sweet, delicious and super MOIST!

    I had to bake slightly longer (about 50mins each) for three 8” round tray as the cake was baked at 300°F (148°C) instead of 350°F (I only saw this after I reread your post while the cake was baking, so it was too late for me to crank up the temperature slightly).. But all the 3 layers turned out so so so perfect! No humps and such! Perfect flat layers!

    I am a seamstress and not a baker unlike my mom..& i baked this without her help..
    It has always been a dream for me to bake for a wedding..
    And guess what?
    I got the green light by a future bride & groom to bake their two tier wedding cake this October using this exact recipe!!!

    You’re an angel!
    Thank you very very very much for this recipe!






  262. Sara

    Hi. i really want to try this recipe. However, I only have one 8×3-inch pan. Is it okay to make the full recipe and put all the batter into my pan then bake it? Won’t it overflow? Thank you!

  263. Christina Maddox

    Hi Lindsay – question I read your notes on leveling the layers so after you make the cut do you throw out that extra cake (the dome) that you just cut to make the layer level? Thank you for explaining.
    CM






    1. Lindsay

      Typically I either throw those away or my husband and I take a fork to them , lol. But I’ve heard some people say they make cake pops with it.

  264. Marina Zandegiacomo

    Hi Lindsay. I’ve been asked to make a 2 tier tall drip make with a semi naked finish. Do you think this recipe would be sturdy enough for the weight or would a more dense cake hold better?  I was going to put in dowels but don’t want e cake to collapse due to the height and weight?  Thanks

    1. Lindsay

      I’m really not sure I’m the best person to ask as I don’t stack cakes. I would think that if properly doweled, any cake would be fine.

  265. JEFFREY DAYTON

    I have made this recipe many times, always a hit. My daughters husband sister is fond of chocolate cake, but I have not been able to deliver then we moved 600 miles away
    She is very ill almost lost her a few times
    So I am keeping my promise, sending the layers and icing to my daughter so she can do it and give it to her

  266. Angela

    Hello, i have made this cake but i don’t know why the texture is quite dense. Maybe i do over mix?
    in this recipe the baking soda is 2 teaspoon? how if i use only 1 teaspoon?
    And i don’t have a buttermilk so i make from milk and give a little lemon juice.

    1. Lindsay

      The only other time I’ve heard someone say this cake was dense, they also tried to use lemon juice and milk to replace buttermilk. While that substitution may work in some cases, it doesn’t seem to work well in this cake. If you don’t have regular buttermilk, just use regular milk – no lemon juice.

  267. Lizzy

    This recipe looks so amazing! My 8 year old and I usually do box cakes but decided to give your recipe a try. The first time, it just didn’t rise so we made it again and the same thing happened. It tastes delicious and is super moist and decadent, but just didn’t rise much. Can you please let me know what we may have done wrong? We followed the directions exactly but our buttermilk was low-fat – could that be the problem? I didn’t notice until just now. Thanks so much!

    1. Lindsay

      It’s really hard to say from a distance what could have been the issue. With such a simple method, it sounds like maybe it has to do with an ingredient. Is your baking soda fresh?

  268. Janina

    This is the best chocolate cake!! I love the taste of both the cake and frosting !! I didn’t have buttermilk and also used 1/2 milk and 1/2 cream as a sub and it was great! I did not have parchment and just greased and floured my pans . They did not pop out like I wanted but I made it work! I didn’t have 8” pans so I used two 9” and had them in the oven at 300F for 35-40 mins instead. This recipe is just perfect!! Thanks Lindsay!! 






  269. Trudy

    Hi, I made this cake today but I was disappointed because it was anything but light. It was quite dense and did not rise as much during baking. I did not have buttermilk so used a substitute with lemon juice and milk. Could be the reason for it turning out heavy and squidgy. 

    1. Lindsay

      That’s the first I’ve ever heard of someone having this turn out dense. Normally people say it’s too light and tender, if anything. If the milk is the only change you made, then I’m guessing the lemon juice didn’t agree with things. You can actually replace the buttermilk with regular milk and that works well. No need for lemon juice.

  270. TracyK

    Can i replace oil with butter and how much please? Or half half? As the slices just fall apart as its delicate with the oil

  271. Tom Farnsworth

    So Lindsy, I have made your cake, as cupcakes about a dozen times now… I really love it. My oven has a faulty hunt. the temp drops almost 100 degrees before it returns to stability… I’m considering replacing the control board, but the problem may be in the board design. What brand stove do yo recommend?
    In the Croatian recipe, it seems to me the oil was heated not the water and the total cake volume may have been larger.

    It’s cherry season so I’m serving the cupcakes as deconstructed black forest… to give it a chance to compete with cherry pie.

    Thanks again for the great recipe.

    tom






    1. Lindsay

      I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the recipe. As for recommendation, I have had GE profile appliances and KitchenAid and while I love the KitchenAid countertop appliances, I haven’t loved the major appliances (oven, microwave, fridge). I always loved my GE profile ones though and will probably replace my KitchenAid ones soon.

      1. Tom Farnsworth

        So L.,
        As per your suggestion I have tried tweaking the recipe. I increased all the liquids to 250 mls from 240 mls and increased the baking temperature to 350 deg for about 28 minutes. I bake cupcakes so I can not swear how a cake would respond… but this made a significant improvement. The cakes rose higher and were even moister. I personally use PC EVO olive oil for this sort of thing. The natural emulsifiers improve the behavior of the batter, it’s cheap and there is no stale olive oil taste. I am going to continue to slowly increase the oil content as I remake this great recipe. I’ll tell you how it turns out.

        Kitchen aid has declined in quality ever since Hobart sold the brand. I gave away my kitchen aide food processor. It continually jammed. I use a Cuisinart with which I am totally satisfied. KA’s stand mixer is ok but very noisy and really heavy. The old model was better but I gave mine to my son and it disappeared in a divorce. I personally use an old sunbeam stand mixer that I got at a thrift store for $3 It’s light and quiet and does a great job for anything short of bread.. For even smaller jobs I use an immersion blender that I got for $1.50 at the same thrift store. My Kitchen aide is displayed on a shelf like a trophy moose head… Once living but now just a decoration.

        The one brand name appliance I find irreplaceable is My Vita Mix blender .






  272. Maxine

    The BEST chocolate cake I’ve ever had! I was nervous about the batter ( thin – but exactly as you described in recipe) but it turned out perfect. 






  273. Crystal

    I tried this last week and it was a hit!!! Thank you much 

    I’d like to make this recipe using tulip cups, do I still bake at 300F and for how long? 

    I’ll be halving the recipe as a trial run but these are amazing 

  274. Elena

    “Cake is best when well covered for 3-4 days”, you mean is better to do it 3-4 days before to eat? or that we can store it for 3-4 days if something left?
    Sorry my english is not ver good.

    Your recipes and uour work are amazing, thanks

  275. Brandy

    Hi Lindsay-
    I always love all your recipes! I’m looking for a chocolate cake recipe for a birthday cake to be baked in a dinosaur shaped tin. I was wondering if you think this cake would be good for that or if it might fall apart from being to moist? Thank you for the help!

    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad to hear that! I don’t really make any shaped cakes, so I’m not sure. But if you’d like to try a chocolate cake that’s a little more sturdy, you could use the cake from this chocolate cake. It’s very similar, but just a little more sturdy.

      1. Brandy

        That is the other recipe I had looked at! Thank you for the input on which is sturdier. I’m sure they are both delicious.

  276. ANA

    THE recipe is awesome taste is amazing. LOVe the moist ness in the cake. But the cake is too moist to handle. What am I  doing wrong. THe edges are just too fragile. 






  277. Tom Farnsworth

    Thank you so much for including the metric volumes and weights in your recipe. I never quite know what 1 cup means, especially when used with some weights.. so I can’t uniformly use the wrong 1 cup… and of course we all know that 1 cup of flour is who know what even if you know what cup is being referenced.

    I chose your recipe because you use the largest proportion of vegetable oil that I could find. I am trying to replace an old country recipe given to me by a Croatian lady decades ago. She was a fabulous cook and the recipe was stapled in the back of one of my favourite cook books. It was sadly claimed by life’s entropy. Her recipe had 2 cups of vegetable oil and hot water but no butter milk that I can recall. It produced a 3 layer cake, but may have been a bit larger in overall size. This cake had the most amazing property of improving with age…. It never got stale…. just fudgier, so I could make it ahead for the long ago fledged kids birthday parties. To your recipe’s credit, the cake was gone so fast I can’t comment on it’s keeping properties.

    I have just made this recipe for the second time. The first instance was still gel after 30 minutes so I threw a piece of foil over it increased the oven temp to 350 for 10 more minutes and all was fine. I am using a relatively new higher end GE oven. My oven thermometer says the oven heats to 300 degrees on the button, and I have never noticed anything strange about the hunt.

    I made cup cakes this time and set the temperature to 310 degs and the product was done in 32 minutes. I am at 168 feet above sea level. I wonder if yo have thought about experimenting with a higher proportion of cooking oil considering the possibly favourable results.

    Thanks for the recipe.

    tom

  278. sara

    hello,

    I’m from Slovenia. I would like to bake this cake for my grandma for birthday. But here in Slovenia we do not have this hersheys cocoa. Can I use 100% cocoa powder or chocolate powder? 

    Thank you so much for help

  279. Melissa

    This cake is delicious!! Do you think it would work for a tiered wedding cake? I can’t decide if it is dense enough to be stacked. 

    1. Lindsay

      I’m not sure I’m the best person to ask. I’ve made only two tiered wedding-style cakes and it was about 8-9 years ago. I did use this cake for one of the layers for one of them though. For me, it was fine. But it’s certainly not a dense cake, if that’s what you prefer to work with.

  280. Adriana

    Thank you for the recipe! Made this cake For the first time today for Mother’s Day, Best chocolate cake ever, my family loved it 
    I will be making this cake again forsures 10/10 






  281. Shannon

    OMG! I haven’t even finished decorating the cake. We’ve only eaten the part that was trimmed off the top, and this is the best cake I’ve ever made, possibly the best cake I’ve ever eaten. So moist!. I also added coffee instead of water. I did have to add more baking time, and then turned the oven up to 325 until it was done.

  282. Jane Pickering

    I made this cake yesterday for a Birthday and it was a great success! I did how ever, make one small change to the recipe….. In stead of adding just boiling water at the end, I added strong brewed coffee to add a deep, rich flavour. Everyone loved it! Thanks so much for sharing !






  283. Raneem

    HI, if I will bake it in 3, 9 inch pans by how much should i increase the batter and baking time? i want it to be the same height as yours, thank you.

    1. Lindsay

      It’s hard for me to say how to get it exactly the same height, but I’d try maybe 1 1/3 times, or possibly 1 1/2 times.

    1. Lindsay

      You can freeze the layers before frosting them, if you’d like. Just be sure to wrap them well and thaw them in the fridge.

  284. Sam

    Hello Lindsay

    Omg, one of the best chocolate cakes recipe Ive ever made, so easy so moist so tasty.  This is one recipe i want to use as my go to.  I tried printing the recipe but for some reason i wasn’t able too. The light gray font was not visible on the paper.  is there a way to darken the font so that I can print the recipe.

    Thank You so Much for a awesome recipe.

    1. Lindsay

      The font isn’t a full black, but it shouldn’t be so light that it doesn’t print. I might check your printer settings and cartridge. I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake!

  285. josie

    this cake recipe is incredible!! i’ve never been able to achieve a perfect chocolate cake (which is my baking shame tbh) but when i say this cake is shop-bought/bakery level chocolate cake, i mean it. so light and fluffy but really rich in flavour! i made a larger cake and cupcakes, both lovely, and paired with coffee buttercream and put some coffee granules in the hot water.

    honestly the best cake, i never need to look for a new chocolate cake recipe again. thank you!!






  286. Jubemi

    My go-to Chocolate cake every time. Husband and Sons love it. I just realized I’ve been using this recipe for over 2 years but I’ve never dropped a review which is unfair. This is absolutely the best chocolate cake recipe. Full of flavor, moist, and perfect with Greek yogurt or icecream.
    Off to whip up a batch now. God help us during this quarantine.😀

  287. Ira GL

    Hi! THIS CAKE WAS SO GOOOOD! It was so moist, very chocolatey rich yet still was not too sweet! I had to improvise with the buttermilk by using evaporated milk and calamansi juice though, but still it was sooooo good! Thank you so much! ❤️






  288. Monica

    Hello! I made this cake and came out delicious. My question is how come it doesnt have baking powder? Is the baking soda enough to make it rise? I had seen other recipes before with baking powder and no baking soda but never the orher way around, this is the first one. 
    Thankyou! 






    1. Lindsay

      Different recipes use different things. It all depends on the recipe and the texture that the person who made the recipe is looking for. It also can vary based on ingredients and they how they react together. I’m glad you enjoyed the cake!

  289. Anum

    This cake is absolutely yummy, not to mention really easy to prepare. If I wanted to make this a classic white/yellow cake, can I just omit the cocoa powder? 






    1. Lindsay

      Not exactly. I have a vanilla version that I shared as part of this recipe, if you want to check that out. That said, I prefer oil based chocolate cakes, but when it comes to vanilla, I tend to like butter based ones. If you’d like to try something like that, you can try my favorite moist vanilla cake or this yellow cake recipe. I hope that helps! So glad you enjoyed the cake!

  290. Kat

    Truly the Worlds Best Chocolate Cake!  I’ve made it several times woth rave reviews..the latest I put toasted peacans on one layer and chopped chocolate covered pretzels on the second tier….yum.

    1. Lindsay

      They are both very moist cakes and quite similar. At the end of the day, I typically use this one because it is my favorite. The other one is just slightly different and has some baking powder in it. It’s also baked at 350° instead of 300°. It’s a touch more firm. This cake is super tender. You really can’t go wrong with either though.

  291. Thars

    Hello Lindsay,

    No matter how many times i try, i always end my burning my cakes. I wanted to try out this cake.
    What if i have 3 square pans of 20 x 20 cm, 4 cm height. Can i still do the exact receipe?

    1. Lindsay

      I’m not really familiar with pans in centimeters. 4 cm doesn’t seem very tall. And from what I can tell, the size is a little smaller than the ones I use. As long as the pans are tall enough so the batter doesn’t overflow, I would think it should be fine. They would probably just need longer to bake.

  292. Tiyana L Clabaugh

    Hi! Thank you for sharing this gorgeous recipe with us! My cakes are currently in the oven. Quick question for you: Can I use Half and Half for the genache instead of heavy cream?

    Tiyana

    1. Lindsay

      I’ve honestly never tried it to say from experience. But I’m not sure that it would set up properly because it has different amounts of fat.

  293. Heather

    Love love LOVE this! I made it for a friend’s birthday this weekend and it was a huge hit! I also love how you put the cups and grams measurements in your recipes, makes it so much easier with my food scale. I love your site!






  294. Kim

    Omgosh. My family has this recipe for Chocolate Cake. It has always been called Aunt Nells Chocolate Cake and we actually have 2 versions of the recipe. One is for a larger cake and one is for a 9×13 pan. Our recipe has been passed down for more than a century. Everyone loves this cake. I think it’s because of the buttermilk and hot water. It came to me from my mother, and her mother and her mother and so on.  I’m making it tomorrow because a friend is visiting and it’s his favorite cake. 






  295. Sharlene 😎

    Hi, Lindsay! I was wondering if I could replace the hot water for 1 cup of fresh brewed coffee instead, while adding the vanilla? I’ve had experiences where adding coffee to chocolate REALLY brings out the chocolate flavor. I’m going to make this recipe for my coworker’s birthday. She LOVES chocolate.

  296. Jan

    Hi! The cake is very, very moist, so moist in fact that it almost broke removing it from the pan. I noticed that the recipe is almost identical to Hearsley’s chocolate cake recipe, the only difference being that your recipe has double the amount of oil and a little extra flour to compensate. Still, very good, hoping it won’t break when I fill and frost it!

  297. Evelyn

    Thank you for the recipe… There is no better chocolate cake than this one. If it was for my kids I would have to probably bake one every two days… Really really good. 






  298. selma

    hello, first of all Merry christmas.

    I was just wondering can i use butter instead of oil and how many grams of butter?

      1. Carla Young

        Thank you so much for answering my question and so QUICKLY!!!!!
        I have made this recipe twice before and it was EXCELLENT!!!!! I just didn’t remember what kind of flour I used. I will make a note of it on my printed recipe! 






  299. Shun Laksh

    The Cake looks so Amazing… Am going to try tomorrow. I have a doubt. Will the hot water cook the eggs in the batter?!

      1. Shun Laksh

        Thank you. I Tried the recipe for my kid’s birthday. It turned out Excellent. Thank you for the amazing recipe!!!

  300. Amy Jo

    Lindsay,
    As of now I’ve made this cake about 4-5 times after finding this recipe a couple of months ago! It turns out perfect every single time! Everyone loves it & it’s such an easy recipe to make. I have made it in 8” pans & I’ve also made it in 10” pans. I did a 3-layer 10” cake. For anyone wondering…this recipe fits perfectly in ONE 10” round cake pan. I made the recipe 3 times in a row because I didn’t have enough room in my oven for 3 10” cake pans all at the same time. I will say the first time I made it I was worried because it’s a very thin consistency cake batter but popped it in the oven & prayed it would come out resembling cake & it did! Thanks for posting this recipe! It’s awesome! 






    1. Vanessa

      Hi Amy Jo, thanks for sharing your experience with the 10″ pan, do you recall how long you baked the cake for? And at what temperature?

      Thanks a lot Vanessa






  301. Sienna

    Did the pictures for this recipe change? I swear when I first saw this page, the chocolate cake itself was darker and the frosting was super dark, nearly matching the cake, almost black looking. Unless you have another cake that I am mixing up with this one.

    I could have sworn that was how the picture of the cake looked.

    1. Lindsay

      The photos have changed, but the recipe is the same. The only difference being that I used regular cocoa in the one in the pictures this time instead of dark cocoa. Either will work.

  302. Judi James

    i used two Wilton 8″ round pans and increased the bake time since that’s all I had. The top did turn out to be a little bit gooey, but i just removed that thin layer and it was perfect. I will be buying a third pan because this will be my new “go-to” recipe for all my chocolate cakes!!

    My 87 year old mom can’t stop raving about this cake, and my sister said it’s the best cake she’s ever had. She even went as far as to suggest that I think about starting a cake business!

    Thank you!!






  303. Julie

    Hi Lindsay,

    I’m making this cake for Thursday,  so I’ll be frosting it Wednesday night. What are your thoughts on making the cakes Tuesday  night?  Just wrap in plastic wrap after they cool and refrigerate? I’ve read it’s also easier to frost cakes right from the refrigerator and some suggest a simple syrup too. I want them to remain moist and am torn about doing everything Wednesday night.

    Thank you

    1. Lindsay

      Making the cakes the night before would be more ideal, but Tuesday should be fine. You could refrigerate them, just wrap them well.

      As for working with them cold and using a simple syrup, I think that’s a personal preference. I rarely work with my cakes cold and prefer them room temperature. I’ve also never used a simple syrup. You could certainly try it though.

  304. Chris Wenzel

    This was the best chocolate cake I have ever made. So moist and tasty.  Very simple to make. And the frosting was so light and fluffy for a buttercream. Will be making this cake over and over again. 

  305. Collette

    Sorry another question!! Do you think this would work well in a tin shaped as a number 1? It’s 35cm x 19cm’s? 

  306. Sarah

    Hi Lindsay,

    your recipe and all the reviews sound so amazing I’m going to make this cake for a family 40th birthday party. I’m in England where we don’t have baking soda- we either have bicarbonate of soda or baking powder- don’t suppose you know how much of each I would need to use?
    Also you mention 2 cups of sugar in the main cake recipe- is this castor sugar or granulated sugar or another kind like demerara or brown? Lol sorry for all the questions but I haven’t got time to do a trial run and I don’t want to mess it up! Thank you 🙂






    1. Lindsay

      I *think* bicarbonate of soda is the same thing. I hope so because I’m not sure of another substitute. And the sugar is granulated white sugar.

    1. Lindsay

      I really don’t work with fondant at all. I’m probably not the best person to ask. But this is a very soft cake, so if you’re looking for something more dense that holds its shape super well this may not be the best one.

  307. Divya

    Hello! Thanks for the recipe it sounds amazing but we don’t eat egg, what would you recommend is the best replacement for egg? 

    1. Lindsay

      I have never worked with egg replacements, but I’ve seen various egg replacement options on the baking aisle in the grocery store.

  308. Lin Cline

    I made this cake last night and it was totally AWESOME! I did use coffee in place of the hot water. I liked the idea that I didn’t have to use a mixer for the cake and my mixer was ready for the frosting without cleaning up. My only comment, and I don’t think it’s so bad, is that it did not dome and after it cooled, I could start stacking and filling. I had seen another recipe that had the same cake with just more ingredients. Less is better if it taste this good. I did have a fair amount of frosting left and I actually put a cup of frosting between each layer. I’d love to share a picture but it won’t let me. Thank you






  309. Brie Brown

    Another winner! Just finished cutting into and eating this delicious cake! All three of the guys at my house are Literally licking their plates. May the Lord continue to bless and inspire you, as you bless and inspire so many others! Thank you, Lindsay! 






  310. Madel

    Hi. Will this cake stay moist for two days. One day without frosting. How would you recommend storing it before icing it?

  311. Hannah

    This recipe sounds amazing and possible my new go-to!!
     I do have a question for you. In the recipe you used a unsweetened cocoa powder, but if using a dutch processed cocoa powder, would you use the same ratios? Dutch processed cocoa is a lot more rich than regular unsweetened cocoa. 

    Thank you!!

    1. Lindsay

      I haven’t ever used a full Dutch processed cocoa powder before. I’ve used one that is half and half and had success, but I’m not sure about full Dutch cocoa.

  312. zee

    Love your insta page and your website!
    I wanted to bake a cake for my hubby’s birthday (the first one we’re celebrating together since we’ve gotten married! Still newly weds) using recipes from your website.
    Are there any cake pans you recommend me purchasing? Advice on both circular and rectangular pans to invest in would be appreciated 🙂

  313. Brianne

    Hi there!
    Amazing cake. This is definitely my new go-to chocolate cake recipe. Easy to make, and so moist and delicious. Great texture! I made it this past weekend, and used coffee instead of water. Then I made a Kahlua espresso buttercream and hazelnut praline crumble to go in between the layers. It was incredible and everyone loved it!

    My question for you is this- I love this recipe’s simplicity and moistness. Could this be a building block for any cake? If I were to replace the cocoa powder with a little extra flour, and replace half the water with lemon juice with some lemon zest, would that work for a lemon cake? Thanks!






    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it. If you’d like to try a vanilla version, you can find that here. As for lemon, that’s a little more complicated. The acidity makes a big difference and that is unlikely to work for this cake. If you’d like to try a lemon cake, I have a few options. This one is currently a favorite.

  314. Lola

    Hi, could you please tell me how to make the icing less sweet without compromising on the volume/ amount of frosting?






    1. Lindsay

      That’s actually really hard to do. Reducing the powdered sugar naturally decreases the volume of frosting. If you decrease the powdered sugar, you’ll need to increase the other ingredients to add additional volume for the same amount of frosting.

  315. Christon

    Wow. This recipe has me at a loss for words. It was so incredibly delicious and perfectly moist! The frosting and ganache really added depths of chocolate flavor and the cake was fluffy and rich! I will never use another chocolate cake recipe! This one is unbelievable. Trust me, you need this in your life if you haven’t had it already. Thank you thank you Lindsay!!!






  316. Maniecel

    Hello,

    Can I make this chocolate batter to make marble cake? Cause it’s  thin one. Can I make a swirl once I combine with vanilla?

    Thank you,

  317. Kelly smith

    Hi. What you mean by shortening for the buttercream I’m not from America so put shortening on England is lard. Os this correct for something completely different. Thank you.

    1. Lindsay

      I’ve never worked with lard, so I’m not entirely sure. If you’re not sure what to use, you can just use an equal amount of butter to replace the shortening.

  318. Emma

    I just tried using this as a bday cake covered with fondant. Its a very soft & light cake, it was tricky to carve & ganache. But my family don’t like the usual heavy buttery super sugary traditional bday cake with butter cream. So I gave this a go. It went down well filled with 50/50 dark & milk ganache 😋

  319. Lucky Cedarlane

    I just make this cake (the 3) this morning and they are cooling now. LOOK AMAZIG, Smell Great . for a birthday cake filing with Strawberry cream cheese frosting made with fresh strawberries. thought it was to watery ,but no cam out NICE ! can not wait to taste it (good from the moist crumble in the paper), Just an fyi, I sifted the flour, sugar, coco powder and did it all in my stand mixer in order in the recipe Dis NOLA BOY livin in NYC is SO HAPPY WIT DIS Recipe !

  320. Faye Wong

    Hi lindsey,

    will the chocolate ganache melt the buttercream? because when I tired pouring the ganache over the cake last time it melted the buttercream. Also what can i use instead of buttermilk? Thank you so much!!!!!

    1. Lindsay

      The buttercream should be plenty thick enough and not melt. I’ve never had that happen before. If you are concerned about it though, you could chill the cake for a little bit before adding the ganache. You can replace buttermilk with regular milk.

  321. Marcia Morrison

    First, I rated the recipe 4 stars instead of 5 because when I made the frosting as written, it was very stiff. I had to add several Tbsps of milk in order to reach a spreadable consistency. Once I did that, the frosting was fine.
    Now on to other comments:
    I made this cake for a family birthday this week. I always make a half recipe (or half of a box mix); that way there are 6 to 8 servings without much left over. Therefore I cut this recipe in half and baked in 6″ pans instead of 8″ pans. I checked them in the oven at 30 mins. The center was underbaked, so I added another 15 mins then took them out to cool. Just today, while writing this review, I realized that I’d put the batter in *two* 6″ pans. If I’d used *three* 6″ pans, I think the recipe’s bake time of 30-35 mins would have been about right. The texture was dense but moist.
    I let the cake site overnight, and frosted the next day. I had no trouble with the cake staying together as I moved the layers into position. I suspect waiting a day between baking and frosting may have helped.
    Because one of the guests needs diabetic-friendly foods, I did make one change. I substituted erythritol for regular sugar in both the cake and the frosting. I think it was more successful in the cake. The powdered erythritol I used in the frosting, in place of regular powdered sugar, gave the frosting a taste I didn’t care for. Next time I’ll try a different frosting and a different sugar substitute. (Also, that much erythritol can cause digestive disturbances, which I can attest to.) Another note: the layers came out flat instead of domed, which was fine for assembling the cake, but might have been from the cake not rising as much as it should have. That might have been due to the erythritol as well.
    The cake was well received by the people at the birthday party. I expect I’ll try this one again.
    [Technical note: the “life love & sugar” site was very slow today. I wasn’t able to complete this review online because the site kept freezing while I was typing. I got around that by typing this elsewhere, then doing the copy /paste thing.]






  322. Connie

    I haven’t made the cake yet but it looks delicious.  Can I use coconut oil (melted) for the oil in the cake?  Thank you.

  323. Andie

    Hi Lindsay! I love all of your recipes, ESPECIALLY the cheesecakes! I’ll be making this cake for a graduation party this weekend, but have actually never traveled with a cake (I usually just make them at home and have people over). Any advice on assembly and then traveling with a cake? I would appreciate any and all advice!!!! Thanks so much! 

    1. Lindsay

      You could refrigerate it before traveling with it so that it stays a little more stable. I also like to a put a little piece of that sticky stuff you put under rugs to keep it in place underneath the cake board to keep it from moving around while I drive. Other than that, just drive carefully. My husband has said it’s never scarier driving than when he’s driving me with a cake, LOL.

  324. Rose Gonzales

    Hi Lindsay,

    I tried this recipe last night and the cake was so good. Good thing I found your page and I saw your recipe for Vanilla Buttercream frosting that can hold in a humid environment. Can’t wait to try it 🙂

    With this very moist and soft cake, can i use this in making 2 tiered cake (10″ and 8″ with 4 layers each) with the Vanilla buttercream with a naked cake design? Can it hold for a day? Do I need to freeze it first before assembling it to avoid crumbs?

    Thank you so much!






  325. Emma

    Hi Lindsay. Approximately how many cups does this recipe make? I hoping for it to make around 6 cups. Thanks in advance.

  326. Linda k.

    Wow I’m new to your site but I can tell you everything looks amazing. I can’t wait to try this cake with a chocolate frosting recipe that I have that is awesome. I’ve been looking for a nice moist cake that is deserving of the frosting I make and I think I found it. This cake looks awesome and with all the great reviews you got I can’t wait. Everything you make looks amazing. You should be proud. Please keep baking! Lol






  327. Susan Som

    Hi

    Can this cake be covered with fondant? Can i make the cake in advance and how many days in advance can i make it wnd it still tasye good?

    1. Lindsay

      I really don’t have a ton of experience with fondant, so I’m not sure I have the best advice. When I did work with it a bit, I found most cakes were fine if I used chocolate ganache on them. If I used buttercream, the corners often didn’t stay nice. This is a very tender cake. This cake lasts very well for 3-4 days, assuming it’s well covered – even better if it’s frosted.

  328. Laura Smith

    Hello,

    This cake looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it! What would you recommend doing to the recipe for 3 9″ cake pans? Thank you so much!

    1. Lindsay

      I’d reduce the baking time – try checking it at about 25-ish minutes, then add a little more time, if needed. The cake layers will be a little thinner.

  329. MARY E SGRO

    I am the WORST BAKER in the solar system, hands down. But that doesn;t stop me from trying to better myself(lol I made this today and only changed up the hot water with a cup of plain hot columbian coffee! Baked it in 9 X 13 GLASS PAN for 50- 55 minutes @300. this cake came out perfect!!!!! BUT TASTE WAS LIKE HOLY WOW!!!!! MOIST, PERFECT FLAVOR AND OMG, LIKE AUNTIE USED TO MAKE! I even made homemade buttercream frosting, THANKS FOR SHARING THIS RECIPE!






  330. Nate

    I’ve made this cake a few times already, and it is the best chocolate cake recipe I have ever made by far. I used coconut oil (warmed up just a tiny bit to get it to liquefy) instead of vegetable oil, and it worked so well and was so rich! THANK YOU!!!!

  331. Sharmaine

    I made this for my friend’s birthday yesterday and it turned out so delicious! Substituted the cup of hot water for Jamaican coffee and loved the extra hint of flavor it brought out 🙂

    1. Lindsay

      Hi Carolmartine! I was actually just in the middle of responding to your email. Check your inbox. And yes, that’s correct. 🙂

  332. Rohan

    Hello mam, do you have eggless recipes for cake-cupcakes. Would you love to share. I use your recipes and i try to just take eggs and make but not happening . Any advice you can give me. As i am going to star my business from home with your recipes which i love the most and people too. But when i do eggless its just comes too bad comparison of egg recipes of cake and cupcakes. Can you please help me out

  333. Julie Vanderwaals

    Hi,
    I made the cake this morning for my daughter’s 50th birthday on Wednesday. When I took the cake out of the oven, I left them on the side for 15 mins, I then released them from the cake tins, and left them for a further 6-7 mins.

    So I made the ganache/icing, so put one half of the cake on a plate, then the cake started to crack on the top for a bit, any way, i put the ganache on one half of the cake, then added the second cake on top, it too started to crack on the top of the cake, I did get a bit anxious, so I continued completing it all.

    I’m afraid my cake didn’t finish as it looked on the page, …. your’s was nice & smooth, mine a bit ‘wobbly’

    The actual cake is lovely, ..just my icing is not the best.!

    Many thanks for the recipe, I’m sure I will do better next time!






  334. Julie Vanderwaals

    This cake looks amazing. It is my daughter’s 50th birthday, and I am going to make it. I pray it comes out as is in the pic.
    I’m a little concerned how one member made this cake, and said her cake sunk in the middle, I don’t want this to happen!
    Any suggestions on help with this cake will be a great help to me, but need it asap, as I am making the cake tomorrow!
    Thanks
    Julie






    1. Lindsay

      The best bet is to follow the recipe. I would also recommend not opening the oven too soon before the cake sets, that may make it sink. I hope you enjoy!

  335. Sandy Brown

    I would give this recipe 10 stars!!! I bake a lot and this is the best chocolate cake I have ever sunk my teeth into. I made it for my husband’s birthday and it is a winner, he loves it too. I made it as you listed with the exception of adding 1 tsp. of baking powder, i used buttermilk powder instead of buttermilk and I baked it in 3 9-inch pans. I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder also. I had to bake it for 4-5 additional minutes. I filled and frosted it with chocolate whipped cream frosting, which is perfect for this cake. My husband and I don’t like very sweet frostings. The cake is lighter than air, it really melts in your mouth, it is so moist and chocolaty. Thank you for posting this recipe, it is the only chocolate cake I will bake now.






  336. Deborah

    How it is that The Best Moist Chocolate Cake requires no baking powder only baking soda, and the Easy moist chocolate cake has both baking powder and baking soda?
    When I made the Best moist Chocolate cake it did not rise to a nice height.

    1. Lindsay

      They are different recipes with slightly different textures. Baking powder is not required for a cake to bake properly, especially not a chocolate cake. A lot of chocolate cakes only have baking soda because of the way it interacts with the acid in the cocoa. The cake should rise just fine, I’m not sure why it didn’t. I’m sorry you had trouble.

      1. Debra

        No worries. Thanks for the reply. The cake taste good, maybe I will use two pans instead of three pans the next time.

  337. Sally Geevarughese

    I made this cake for my cousin’s birthday this week. She specifically requested a triple layer chocolate cake so this recipe was perfect. I completed it with a lavender colored marshmallow fondant and lots of sprinkles and the end result was a hit with the entire family. They all raved about how delicious and the moist the cake was!

    Thank you for sharing this recipe!






  338. Merideth

    I have been making this cake for years. This is basically the Hersheys dark chocolate cake and I see a couple substitutions that you made. Instead of milk. You use buttermilk. You increased and decreased the baking soda  and baking powder. You did change the frosting slightly. So, give credit where credit is due. I have this in my Hershey’s cookbook.
     This Hersheys dark chocolate cake is absolutely delicious.  If you want the original recipe. Go online and look up her shoes especially dark chocolate cake

  339. Oona Bond

    Hi Lindsay!
    Your chocolate cupcakes are my go-to recipe – they are incredibly easy to make and taste divine. Now I want to make it in the cake form but I have a question – I only have 2 cake tins but I really want to make 3-tier cake. Will the batter hold while the first batch is baking or should I make it in 2 batches (2/3 and 1/3)? Thank you!






    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad you enjoy the chocolate cupcakes! And yes, the batter should be fine while you bake the first 2 layers.

  340. Nicole Guerrero

    Hi there! This looks like a to die for chocolate cake!! How could this recipe be adjusted for 3 6″ rounds?

  341. kinga

    Hi, how does this recipe compare with your chocolate mousse cake which I have made and everyone loved? Thank you.

    1. Lindsay

      They are actually fairly similar cake recipes, but I’d have to say that this one is my favorite ever. 🙂 It’s even more moist and tender.

  342. Debbie

    Hi Lindsay, You have been so helpful in the past and I made this cake for my daughters birthday and everyone loved it. So thank you. But I have been asked to do a cake for an adoption celebration and I wanted to use this cake, they want a two layer sheet cake the sizes are for the bottom 12″ and for the second layer 10″ my question is how much cake batter would I need for that size cake? I have made sheet cakes before but not layered and not that big. I am hoping it turns out well for them such a great celebration. I hope your still reading older questions I need to find out as soon as possible they want to pick up the cake Dec 7th.

    1. Lindsay

      Hey Debbie, I’m sorry but it’s been years since I’ve made cakes that size and I truly don’t remember. I hope the cakes turn out great! Adoption is such a great thing!

  343. Lyn

    I made this chocolate cake several times and I got rave reviews. I’m not a professional baker, I’m just a beginner but I followed your recipe to a T and it was amazing! The cake was so moist. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. I wish I can post pictures here so you can see the cakes I made with your recipe, then you will be proud of me being only a beginner. 😀






  344. Ticia

    Hi! I’m drooling over this recipe and will be making this cake for Thanksgiving….I’ve been craving something very chocolatey and light. Any recommendations for a lighter frosting like whipped cream or chocolate mousse? I’ve never made a cake with either before but this recipe sounds like it would go great with light frosting.

  345. aya

    so the water should be boiling when adding? or it’s fine just lukewarm? what makes the difference ? please help thanks

  346. Debbie

    HI Lindsay, as you know I love and use a lot of your recipes sweet lady. I used your moist chocolate cupcakes for Halloween. Everyone loved them. Now my daughters birthday is this Friday and I am making her cake she said she wants the chocolate cake I used in the cupcakes is this the same but in cake form? I want it to be very dark like the one in the photo. Also dark frosting as I am doing it as a mirror cake she hasn’t ever saw one, so I thought I would make her one. I have done the mirror glaze on frozen mousse, but never on cake they say you can use it on buttercream cakes that have been frozen 2 hours. Could you use this cake and your buttercream listed here to freeze it 2 hours after putting it on the cake, before putting on the mirror glaze or would it effect the texture and taste of the buttercream? Thank you for always helping your cakes are beautiful love them all.

    1. Lindsay

      Sorry for my delay, Debbie. This is the same cake as the moist chocolate cupcakes. The cake in the photos is especially dark from using the Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa. Freezing it for a couple hours should be just fine. I’ve never made a mirror cake, but so fun! I hope she enjoyed it!

      1. Debbie

        Thank you Lindsay, she loved the cake and it turned out beautifully. Such a wonderful recipe I can very well see why the lady wanted you to make them for her business. This cake is so delicious, everyone loved it. Thanks again for all your wonderful recipes.

  347. Sofia

    Hi Lindsay. I want to make this cake for my sons first birthday…for the adults, I have a smash cake already planned for the birthday boy. Question. If I was to bake this in a 9 inch pan one layer at a time, what would be the cook time? Thank you. Can’t wait to try it out!

  348. Ashley

    I made this cake last weekend and it was fantastic. I made it for a birthday party and it was a big hit!! Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!!! 






  349. Sara

    Hi Lindsay!
    To bake this in a 9×13 for my daughter’s birthday party, would you recommend these exact measurements? Or, should I 1.5 the recipe?  I think doubling it would be way too much…
    Thanks!
    Sara

  350. Kev

    Aaaaaand I have a new go-to chocolate cake recipe.  WOW.  

    Easy to prepare but anything-but-basic results!  The moist, tight crumb is perfection and the depth of chocolate flavor is on point.  P.S. Chocolate cake has never been a #1 go-to for me…I’ll typically pick anything over chocolate unless it’s a brownie.  THIS cake is a shining STAR, though.    

    Took a chance and added a bit of instant espresso to the boiling water but, I doubt it even needed it.  Only other additions: raspberry preserves on top of the icing between the layers AND I opted for your vanilla buttercream instead of chocolate (no shame in the shortening game, either!)    

    The result was a beautiful “black & white” cake topped with fresh raspberries.  But the star was undoubtedly your perfect chocolate cake recipe.  Readers, look no where else.  THANK YOU Lindsay.  






  351. Kendra

    Love, love, love this cake!! It’s turned my family into dessert snobs – nothing measures up! One question though – I tend to have a hard time getting the frosting to stick to the cake, particularly on the sides. Any suggestions?

  352. Beth

    Hi love the recipe your chocolate cupcakes vanished in a day! Just a quick tip which might stop people from having my disaster with this recipe… use a cake pan that doesn’t have a detachable base! It went everywhere!!

  353. Anne Seely

    Hi! I recently made the cupcake version of this cake and LOVED it! I loved the fudgyness of the frosting, so so yummy. I was planning on making the cake version when I realized that its a different frosting recipe. Can you use melted chocolate chips in this too? Maybe the fudgy frosting is a better piping consistency? I’m not questioning you, I’m just curious! Thank you 🙂

    1. Lindsay

      Either would be good, honestly. And both are great for piping with. The fudgy frosting is just a new one that I’ve been enjoying. You can find the measurements I use for a full cake on this raspberry chocolate cake, if you’d like to use it with this chocolate cake.

    2. Jolene

      Hi there, I baked the cake according to your recipe but it still doesn’t set and I have to bake it longer, may I know why ? I have an oven thermometer as well !

  354. Louisse

    Hi Lindsay, first time to see Your blog and really loves to try this recipe. But i have some concerns regarding on storing the cake (i mean the cake + the frosting). i really dont much any time to make this. We will celbrate my uncle’s bday on Saturday and i am planning to do it on thursday. Would it be the same taste, consistency, etc. after 48 hrs in the refrigerator? What are Your recommendations for storing it? Thank you very much!

  355. Erin Beardall

    This looks absolutely delicious! Do you have any high altitude tips for this recipe? Thank you so much. I want to make this for my birthday!

  356. Monica

    Hello! Love this recipe and excited to try it out! Quick question…if I made the cake layers a day or 2 in advance, would you recommend i refrigerate them until ready to assemble? Also, do u refrigerate the cake after doing a crumb coat?
    Thanks in advance!

    1. Lindsay

      I personally wouldn’t refrigerate them, I’d just keep them in an airtight container. And I don’t usually refrigerate after the crumb coat. I honestly only refrigerate cakes when truly needed – like with certain fillings and frostings. The cold tends to dry out the cake.

  357. Christopher

    Hi! First, thank you for sharing your recipe. I attempted to make it for Father’s Day. It tasted amazing, and was very moist. My only issues were that my layers seem to bake too thin(almost like a brownie), and it stuck to the pan. Also, the layers broke upon removing them from the pan. I was able to reassemble 2 of the layers, and hide my mistakes with frosting(haha), but the 3rd layer crumbled beyond repair, and I decided to throw it in a bowl, cover it with ice cream, and eat it myself. I must admit that this was my trial run of making this cake, and I’m planning to bake it again for an upcoming dinner party. I wanted to get advice on where I could have gone wrong, in regards to the layers baking too thin, and the cake crumbling? Does the quality of the baking pan affect the way a cake comes out? I’m asking because this was the first time using the particular set of cake pans that I used. Again, the cake tasted amazing, and I’m sure my issues were the result of something that I did wrong. 

    Thank you for your help! 

    Cameron

    1. Lindsay

      Hmm, I’m not exactly sure what would cause that. Did you open the oven much during baking? That lets out heat and can cause the cake to fall. The cake pan itself might have an effect, but seems unlikely. I use light colored Wilton cake pans.

  358. silvana

    hi Lindsay !!! My name is Silvana and I’m from Argentina. I ended up here because a friend tagged me on your famous baileys and chocolate cake????. I was reading the recipe but I have a problem: here the buttermilk doesn’t exist. what can I do? thanks????????????

  359. Amanda

    I would prefer not to use vegetable oil, can I replace with butter or coconut oil? Would the measurement remain the same?

  360. Bobby

    I made this cake for my son’s 25th birthday. He LOVES chocolate! I’m going to tell you this is, without a doubt, the best cake i have ever made! Its soo moist and tender and VERY chocolatey! Thank you so much for the recipe and i also enjoyed your vanilla cake recipe that i made for my family picnic!

  361. Sandy

    Hi,

    I made this over the weekend. I baked at 350 for 30 minutes. Came out beautifully, but it cracked. No big deal, until I tried to frost it. It fell completely apart. I had to throw in all into a trifle bowl and call it dessert. What happened? Great cake just didn’t hold together.

    1. Lindsay

      It’s definitely a tender cake, so you want to be careful with it. I know the recipe is listed at 300 degrees though, not 350. I personally find that baking it at 350 changes the texture of the cake, which could have contributed to your problem.

      1. Sandy

        Thanks! I’m going to try it again at the correct temp. Hubby loves it! Says it reminds him of a SuzyQ, back when they were good! HA!

  362. Ryan G.

    I tried making this cake using the metric measurements the first time and found the sugar and flour measurements (especially the flour) completely off. The flour was supposed to be 300 grams according to another conversion site, yours says 260 but when I measured it the conventional way (cups) it measured in grams at 341 grams. So I was wondering when you measure and convert do you check or do you use a conversion tool. My first attempt was pretty runny even before I added the hot water. The sugar was a bit off too. I loved the cupcake recipe which is why I wanted to give this one a go.

    1. Lindsay

      The measurements aren’t off. If you look at a number of conversion sites, they rarely show the exact same measurements as another site, so comparing my numbers to theirs will be different. People also measure cups differently all the time, which is why weight is more accurate. I use the metric conversions myself just as they are written every time I bake this cake and they are correct. The batter for this cake is VERY runny.

  363. Ashwini

    Hi Lindsay.. I live in South Africa and Dark Cocoa powder isn’t easily available.. if I use normal unsweetened cocoa powder must I adjust the quantity of sugar used?

  364. Lynn

    Just wanna say your recipe is amazing thank you so much. Since I saw the recipe I’ve done the cake thrice and just this week i replaced the chocolate frosting with a light whipped cream frosting and it was soo delicious. Love it.

  365. Faye

    Hi Lindsay can i use normal coco powder instead of Hershey’s dark coco powder? And i want to use fondant to cover the cake, will it work? And would it have a weird taste?

    1. Lindsay

      Yes, regular cocoa is fine. Fondant should be fine on the cake and taste would depend on the fondant you choose to use.

  366. Marilyn

    Hi Lindsay! I would love to try out this brilliant recipe of yours, but is there anything I can substitute for the buttermilk as I can’t find buttermilk here in my place.

  367. Yullia

    Hiiii!!!

    Greetings from holland!! Haha

    I have found your site just yesterday,and i though ohhh nooo(in a positive way):):).
    But i can not believe that you look so good and you make all this sweet and beautiful things haha..

    I want to make a cake for my sons 3 birthday…
    I wanted to buy a chocolate cake that i lovee…but then i thoughd why not making my own…then in the birthday pics are my own cake also hahaha,,a bit different then buyed….butttt what ibwant to ask…

    1.i have only normale dutch cacao..its written 100% cacao unsweetend…its verry dark.and because i didnt knew what is dutched and regulsr cacao ,so i have looked on google…and i still dont understand one thing because there was written something like that the cacao that i have that i must better use baking powder instead of bakingsoda…something with ph sour or something…so what do you reccomend just stick with your normale recipe and use backingsoda or backing powder?
    2. In the recipe there is written 1 cup buttermilk…
    I dont know if its the same like ‘ karnemelk’ in dutch but i thing it is…like a little bit sourerly milk …but we only have it in liquid…not powder…because i have read in the comments that you used poweredly buttermilk? Or am im wrong? What must i do with that? Use 1 cup liquid buttermilk?anddd euhhh

    The cake spring or how do you say that ,the thing where ypu put the batter in…there is writting 8inch and i have looked it up and there was that is 20,something cm is that writ yes?

    Can you please please answer my questions because i want to make it on sundag or saterday

    I hope it will workk because the picture plus al the good comments make me want it so bad hahaha…
    I hope i will make more from your site ,but i hope that i wont me 200 kilo haha becausr its lookk soooooo nicee and delicious hihihihi

    Greetings andd thumbs up for you beautiful site.

    Yullia

    1. Lindsay

      You can use 100% unsweetened cocoa, that’s fine. Still use the baking soda. And liquid buttermilk is fine. I use the powder, but they are interchangeable. 20cm sounds about right for the pan size. I hope you enjoy it!

  368. Joe

    Hi and thanks for this awesome recipe, it really stands out and sounds perfect. Im going to bake it tomorrow but I’m feelin like goin big here. To fill three 9” rounds would you recommend 1 1/2x or 2x the recipe? Also should I leave the temp @ 300 and increase baking time a little bit? Thanks so much

    1. Lindsay

      I’d say 1 1/2x and yes, leave the oven temperature as is. You’ll probably need to bake a little longer, just keep an eye on it.

  369. Gaby

    Hello I have a question that nobody has ever answeared me. I would like to know why my cake never looks like yours all even and each layer equal. Mine is more like a dome. Thin in the edges and up in the center? ???? help!

    1. Lindsay

      The majority of cakes will bake with a little dome on top. To get the cakes flat, they have to be leveled with a sharp knife.

  370. Nate

    This cake was AMAZING! I was wondering if you could recommend a yellow cake recipe of yours that has a similar texture? thank you!!

  371. Sabrina

    I’ve just been informed by my dressage instructor that in France you will most likely always see a chocolate cake at the stables/barn. The reason? If you fall off the horse, you must bring a chocolate cake the next time you come for a lesson. Well…guess who’s taking a chocolate cake on Wednesday? LOL I have a quick question…can I use cream/heavy cream instead of milk?

  372. animegirlewurabena

    Can I use Dr Oetker’s
    Dark cocoa, please. Also, if I can’t find it, can I just use regular cocoa powder. Thanks in advance.

    1. Lindsay

      It’s been a very long time since I made a tiered and/or fondant covered cake, but I do believe I’ve used this one for that before.

  373. Cristen Samay

    Hi! Love your blog! I’m making this cake for a friend on Thursday to enjoy Saturday. Would you recommend freezing Thursday night to defrost Saturday or just simply refrigerating? I know that some chocolate frostings “sweat” when left out, do you find that with this chocolate frosting recipe? Just want it to be perfect! Thank you!

    1. Lindsay

      Are you making the entire cake on Thursday, or just the cake layers and then building the cake on Saturday? If you’re making the entire cake (frosted and all), you should just be able to refrigerate it. I only notice “sweating” when a cake is taken out of the fridge and allowed to come to room temperature, but in my experience it doesn’t really cause any issues. I hope you enjoy it!

  374. Hannah Meyer

    Hey Lindsay, 
    I’ve never made a cake from scratch before but I am an artist and I want to make a cake for my boyfriend for his graduation party.
    I want to make this chocolate cake but I want the icing to be a deep red because it’s going to be a motorcycle theme. I’m wondering how you think it would taste to use your recipe for vanilla frosting and this chocolate cake recipe? 

  375. Suman

    Hi Lindsay, I’m going to try the cake soon. It looks amazing.
    One question , can i use whipped cream frosting?

  376. karen

    Hi Lindsay, Wow, is this cake sweet. The recipe calls for 9 cups of powdered sugar, is it

    sifted powdered sugar or straight up 9 cups of sugar????

  377. Devon

    Making this cake tomorrow and am wondering, is the boiling water/vanilla mixture added while it is still that hot?  Or are you supposed to let it cool a little.  Going to make this cake with your vanilla frosting per my grandfathers request and will be trying a ganache on top for the first time!  Hoping it turns out as well as the milk and cookies layer cake I did for my dad!!

    1. Lindsay

      Yes, I add it while still hot. I hope you enjoy it! Glad to hear you enjoyed the milk and cookies cake – love that one!

  378. Beth

    OMG Lindsay… I used this cake recipe along with your ganach filling from another of your recipes and then my own icing variation to make cupcakes for a coworkers birthday. They turned out to be awesome. One coworker said they were “one of the best cupcakes I have ever eaten”… I was also told it was like heaven in your mouth. They were light and not too overwhelming as most triple chocolate cakes are. Thank you for the wonderful recipes… I want to make all of them!!!! So very happy I found your blog.

  379. Jeanette

    Is this the best cake to use for ice cream cakes? Does it soften quickly out of the freezer?

    Do you have a good vanilla cake for ice cream cakes? I have a chocolate one that is ok, looking at your to improve my ice cream cakes though ;), but my vanilla is rock hard out of the freezer :(.

    Thank you!!!

  380. Jamie

    Hello from Yorkshire, England, Just baking this cake now for my 6 year olds butterfly birthday cake. As usual your recipe is fantastic. It is really moist and delicious. I have yet to make a recipe from you that isn’t amazing. I am planning on covering it with a layer of chocolate gnash with a special surprise layer of caramel in the middle. xx

  381. Sarah Freeman

    Hi Lindsay!

    I enjoy baking as a hobby and made your chocolate peanut butter cake for my mother-in-law’s birthday in May and the whole family RAVED about it! As a family if dentists, they aren’t big sweet eaters, so that says a lot! My husband ordered me your cookbook for our one year (paper) anniversary and I was planning on baking the “Chocolate Layer Cake” from there. Being the indecisive person I am, I decided to check your website first and make sure that’s definitely what I want to do. I compared this recipe to the one in your cook book and notice they’re a little different. How do the finished cakes differ? Does the 3 eggs in the cookbook one make for a more dense cake maybe? Thank you!!! 

    PS- Her cookbook is AWESOME!! It’s a great investment if you enjoy baking! 

    1. Lindsay

      I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it! And that you enjoy the cookbook! 🙂 The cakes are a bit different. You are right that the on in the book is a bit denser.

  382. Lena

    Hi, I am not really sure what’s gone bad with my cake, but at 300, 25 minutes was definitely not enough. When I pulled them out, they were still pretty liquidy in the center.

  383. Anu Philip

    Hi Lindsay, I made a single 8inch cake with half the ingredients and it tasted awesome! I absolutely loved it. It’s so moist and chocolatey. It’s so soft it crumbles quickly. How did you get such clean cuts when slicing? Anyhow THIS is going to be my go to chocolate cake. Thanks a lot! 

  384. Chris

    I made this for my daughters birthday last weekend. It was AMAZING! I had compliment after compliment on the cake. Needless to say it ALL went in minutes and the link to you site was sent round as so many wanted the recipe. Thank you so much!! Slowly making my way through the rest of your recipes. Nothing has disappointed so far but this really stood out as outstanding!!!

  385. johanna

    Hi. I love your cakes! I need to substitute the flour for gluten free flour. I have had success using GF flour with a 1 to 1 ratio. I was hoping to change it up and use coconut flour. Do you have any suggestions on recipe adjustments when using coconut flour? Thank you!

  386. Chelsea

    Hello!
    I make this cake pretty often. My family loves it! I was wondering if you have any suggestions or would change up anything if I wanted to do this with a smash cake? Cook time and would it still be at 300 or a maybe a little higher? Would ingredients change at all? Also, do you have a vanilla frosting that might be good with this? Thanks in advance.

  387. Kaela

    Hi!!! I know this was posted a while ago! LOL. But I was wondering if using unsweetened cocoa powder would work? Probably a dumb question. I’m sort of a newbie here.

  388. Stephanie

    Can I mix the three 8″ batter pan into 1? My oven is small and it will take too long for me to bake one at a time.

  389. Kyla

    I just made this cake and finished frosting it. It’s for my Father in law’s birthday this evening. I made it in 2, 6″ pans and then put the remainder in a 10″ pan as I don’t have 3 pans that are the same size. I was really amazed how much they rose. It took about 45-50 minutes for the 6″ pans to cook through, the 10 inch was done just a bit before 30 minutes. So much that I decided that we would keep the 10″ for us and make cake pops tomorrow. I also had a lot of frosting left so it will be a great project for the kids and I to make together! I haven’t tasted it yet but had my husband and boys try some of the 10″ cake with the frosting. They agree that it’s the best chocolate cake that they have tried! It will definitely be added to my recipes and made many more times! Someday I hope to frost a cake as beautifully as you to! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!

  390. Leslie Perkins

    Absolutely wonderful cake! Lots of chocolate flavor and so incredibly moist. If you have been looking for a moist, rich, amazing, chocolate cake, stop searching and bake this cake immediately! You won’t regret it!

  391. Vianca

    Hey! I’m about to make this cake, as I’ve made it before and it’s just delicious. I’ve always made it in 8-inch cake pans, but now I’m doubling the recipe and making it into four 9-inch cake pans. And my question is, does this cake batter rise much? I’ve happened to forget, and I want my layers to be about 1.5 inches big. I’m not sure if it’ll be enough.

    1. Lindsay

      It should rise a good bit. I would think each layer would be at least 1 1/2 inches high – maybe a little more.

  392. Ramsey

    Hi Lindsay! Thanks so much for posting this recipe. It looks amazing. Could I make this in a 9 by 13 pan? I wanted to make a cake for my principal because she is retiring. Thanks so much!

  393. Kim Alba

    This looks so yummy, can’t wait to make it!! If I’m using 9 inch cake pans instead, do you know how much more time I will have to bake it?

    1. Lindsay

      If you are using three 9 inch pans, you’d actually bake it for a little less time. If you’re using two, it might be a touch more. I’m not sure of the exact time.

  394. Milia

    Hi! This is THE BEST chocolate cake recipe ever. Question, my 8″ pan is the three incher. Any idea how long to bake it for or should I just bake it in thirds? TIA

      1. Milia

        You were right! I mean, it still tasted delicious, but it took over an hour to bake, making me nervous that it was going to be dry. In fact, it never did bake all the way through so when the center collapsed, I just turned it into a piñata cake and cut out the center on two of the layers, filing it with sprinkles and mini choc chips.  At any rate, the cake was a hit and it was still THE BEST choc cake ever!

  395. Kyla

    I made these into cupcakes and I put too much batter in the cupcake tin, like I always do. I also noticed a few had sunk a little and didn’t realize why until I opened one, and it was slightly underbaked. But ohhhhh boy, is it ever good! I almost think underbaking them just made them more delicious….like a molten lava cake with frosting. Definitely using this recipe again. 

  396. Juliette

    Hi ! 
    First pardon my english, I’m french and while i’m pretty good at reading, I’m not so sure about writing (let’s not talk about the awful accent I must have).
    I found your blog because I wanted to try my hand at layer cake. Let’s just say that your recipe are fabulous. I made quite a few change since I cannot find all the ingredients you use and I had to adapt to my oven, but thankfully, I found a DIY for buttermilk and Sour cream that work well.
    I love your chocolate cake (and my family love it  just as much).
    I have a question though : the dark chocolate hershey cocoa powder you use, is it a 100% chocolate? I used Van Houten 100% chocolate (since of course there is no way to find hershey cocoa powder in France…) but the coloring is not the same as yours and I find the very dark almost black colour very interesting (I made the coconut and chocolat layer cake, the black and white would have been great).

    So any way, your cake is delicious, your blog is great and now I have a cookie recipe (yours, I tried 3 and yours came on top by a clear margin). My brother agrees with your Hubs, your cookie recipe is the best and nothing must change (except adding peanut butter, because apparently peanut butter should be everywhere)

    So after my ranting, I just want to thank you because I can only imagine the amount of work you put in your blog and I wish you luck with your futur baby.

    1. Lindsay

      Thanks so much Juliette! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake and the cookies! The Hershey’s Special Dark is actually a blend of natural cocoa and dark cocoa, so that’s probably the difference. It definitely lends a darker cake, but probably not as dark as a purely 100% dark cocoa.

  397. Stephanie

    Hi, i followed the recipe as listed but had to bake an extra 10 minutes as it was still runny at 33 min. i frosted the cake and everything seemed fine. when i sliced the cake it was very crumbly. still tasted delicious and moist but the slice did not hold together well at all.

    any thoughts or suggestions?

  398. Penny

    Hi Lindsay this is. Great cake!! Just wondering how long does this cake last in a sealed container? And can you freeze it?

    1. Lindsay

      It’s a very moist cake, so it should be fine for 3-4 days. Of course always best when fresh. I have frozen the layers individually, before layering the cake and it did well.

  399. Sri

    Hey Lindsay ! I was seriously looking for a fool proof chocolate cake . Though I have made few chocolate cakes before but never with buttermilk. Made this recipe today ( I halved this recipe as i dont have big size tin ). OMG ! I regret that i saw your recipe late while all these years i was searching for one . Came out soooooooo good and super moist . Tons of thanks for such a nice recipe.

    I never wrote a feedback for any recipe which was posted online. But today’s outcome made me do it. Seriously couldn’t stop boasting about the recipe. Keep going. Cheers to you 🙂

  400. Jessica

    Okay. I never write reviews. N-E-V-E-R, never! Sometimes I think about it when something is good but “This Cake” (which is what everyone at my son’s tenth birthday called it) was the best cake I have ever had! The BEST! So good. Everyone talked about it, the whole day. I got text after text after the party was over. People went back for seconds! Everyone wanted to take some home! Rich, moist yet fluffy, chocolately, not overly sweet but still sweetly satisfying! Ugh, I love it so much!

    **I did make some adjustments (out of necessity) to the frosting. My son has a mild milk allergy so he can have milk if it has been baked but not raw. The cake part was followed exactly. The frosting however, which I would have loved to use butter in, I had to use a vegan butter substitute and coconut milk. I used Smart Balance. This frosting was still super good. It was a little bit thick and we had some troubles getting it to stick to the cake in some parts. Next time I will add just a little bit more milk and I think it will be fine. BUT!!!! no one could tell that it was dairy-free (this is not always the case). It tasted amazing. Soft and fluffy, chocolate sweetness.

    I also added a safe-to-eat cookie dough (also made with vegan butter substitute) in one layer which complimented this cake nicely. My aunt told me that I have to make this cake for everything and has decided that we have Cake Sunday’s from now on!  I would make this cake over and over and over and over. I’m literally eating the last piece while I type.

    😀 <—that's my cake face.

    Mmmmmnomnommnomonomnmmmmmnomnonom. K, thanks, bye. 

  401. Annika

    Thanks for the recipe!
    I’ve got just one question: I have 3 Cake pans, but they don’t fit on the same rack… Should I bake them with fan or let one sit on the Counter while baking the other ones?
    Best Wishes
    Annika

  402. Chienye O

    The very best chocolate cake i have ever had and i cannot believe i baked it. I made it into cupcakes as per the s’mores choc cake recipe. I have since made it three times since saturday and it is friday (X_X).

    I love that the ingredients are readily available here in Lagos, Nigeria.

    I used Cabdury’s cocoa and it was super rich, dark and amazingly moist. I cant believe i have eaten so many dry choc cakes when such a recipe exists and so easy to make! Thank you so much Lindsay!

  403. Chienye O

    Hi Lindsay!

    I’m in Lagos, Nigeria. I made this cake into cupcakes (using your s’mores recipe; figured out it was the same thing)

    This is the best cholcate cake I have ever had! Moist and amazing! I used our Cadbury cocoa. Such a rich chocolate flavour and so so easy to make. I love that all the ingredients are readily available here. 

    Everyone loved them so much that I made another batch the next morning (yesterday).

    Thank you so much!

    Chienye ????

  404. Erin

    Is this batter thick enough to mix white chocolate chips into it? I wanted to do a chocolate cake with white chocolate chips throughout and white chocolate frosting for my niece.
    Thank you either way!

  405. Madhurya

    Hello! I wanna make this for a party but shortening isn’t available where I live. Do u have Amy suggestions what I can use as a substitute?? It looks amazing btw!

  406. Alyssa

    HI I scanned through the comments trying to find if anyone has tried substituting the eggs. My daughter has a party guest who is allergic to eggs and I was wondering if anyone has successfully made this cake with an alternative like flax eggs? We have made this cake many times and is a favorite. 

  407. Agnes

    Hi, 
    Thank you so much for the recipies. I’ve been searching for a super moist cupcake/cake. Not easy believe it or not. I made the other chocolate cupcakes the ones with sour cream. They are great. With one exception, the tops seem to flatten after they cool. 
    I would like to try this cake as cupcakes, but not sure how to scale down the ingredients. Could you tell me? Thanks!
    I just found your book!
    Agnes

  408. Joy Thomas

    Hi. I am a beginner and no idea about baking cake, but I want to try making this because it looks good. What kind of flour did you use on this? Because it said only flour on the list. Thank you. 🙂

  409. veronica

    Thank you for putting the chocolate cake i’ve been looking for one. Because my sister wanted a chocolate cake

  410. Rachel

    Is this all done without a mixer? By hand? Looks delicious and super easy! Also, can I replace boiling water with hot coffee? And, does this recipe double and triple well? Thank you so much! Im going to make this as a 1/4 sheet cake. Depending on feedback I get. Either way ill try it for the family soon! Thanks for the recipe! !

    1. Lindsay

      I usually use a mixer, but you could just use a whisk too. It’s a pretty easy batter to mix together. Yes, you can replace the water with coffee. I haven’t tried double or tripling the recipe, so I’m not sure about that. I hope you enjoy it!

  411. sylvia washington

    Does this cake bake up well in as a cupcake? I got a friend wanting some chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing.

  412. Bella

    Thank you for the recipe lindsay! I’ve made it but change it as cupcake and they turned out really nice !! So moist and chocolatey ! Love it so much ❤️❤️

  413. Shobi ram

    Hi for icing u mentioned shortening without tht can I prepare icing r is tht can b replaced by anything else

  414. Sandra

    I saw this recipe and thought “wow” so I tried it as a taster for a potential wedding cake.

    I followed the recipe to the letter, except I baked in 2 7″ pans and an 8 1/2″ loaf pan. I left them in for 35 minutes, but opened the oven at 32 minutes. When I went to take them out, they were still liquid in the centers. In for another 5, still liquid. Another 4 and I took the rounds out and out and cooled them, leaving the loaf in another 3. After 10 minutes, I moved to a cooling rack, but when I turned over the loaf, it dripped. Everything back in the pans, back in the oven, this time at 325 for 10 mins. The domes are still wet, but what’s below the domes seem done.

    The batter tastes delicious, and I’m curious what the rest will be like after it cools, but I’m sad it didn’t work out for me.

    1. Lindsay

      With this being such a thin batter and a slow bake cake, the smaller pan sizes and loaf pan may not work so well. I’d definitely think the bake time would be long.

      1. Sandra

        Thanks for the reply!

        The flavor of this cake was fantastic so, the next time I make it (because I will try again!), I think I’ll up the temperature. I’ve had success with batters of similar consistencies that are cooked for the same time, but at 350. I’ll give that a shot. 

        I’m a very amateur baker – I enjoy it, but don’t do it often enough – so I don’t know how different factors affect things. 

  415. Mia

    Gorgeous looking cake. Thinking about making it for my son’s 5th birthday. I was wondering is it surdy enough to cover with fondant? Thanks

    1. Lindsay

      I do believe I’ve covered it with fondant before, but it is a very moist cake. I like to use ganache under the fondant to make sure it’s firm.

  416. Marianne

    WOW!! Absolutely everything you want a chocolate cake to be!! I didn’t have any dark cocoa powder left so I used the Fry’s I had and 1 bar of Bakers Unsweetened melted. No adjustment to the sugar and it was perfect!
    Thank you so much!

  417. Quennie

    Hiya! I’m quite confused on the vanilla part is it whole vanilla? And if it is do i scrape the beans off or add the whole thing in the water? Thanks I’m planning on baking this cake for my moms birthday and this cake looks bomb.

  418. Patricia

    Lindsay, this truly is the Best Chocolate Cake! This year I have undertaken to make a birthday cake for each person in my office. Since there are 35 of us an 8 inch cake just doesn’t go far enough. I ended up purchasing 10 in pans so that even the stragglers would get some cake. I made this cake last week but in your Turtle Cake and the consensus was this is the go to chocolate cake. Even those odd ones who don’t like chocolate liked this cake. I doubled your recipe and weighed the three pans to make sure that I had even layers. Unfortunately, the cake had to sit in the refrigerator for two days because I was down with a migraine. AND it was still the best! I also kept the tops to eat because this cake is just to yummy to waste even a crumb. I do recommend using a cake lifter to move the layers because this cake is so tender it could easily break. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for such a wonderful cake! PS – Your blog is one of the few that I visit regularly. Your recipes are amazing.

    1. Lindsay

      Thanks so much Patricia! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the blog and that you love this cake as much as I do! 🙂

  419. Diana

    Is there a way to use less sugar to make the frosting less sweet? It’s too sweet for me. I use a frosting recipe that doesn’t have shortening, and much less cups of sugar, and it’s still too sweet for me.
    Any advice?

    1. Lindsay

      I’m not sure that I really have a solution you. I’ve seen frostings that use sour cream before. Maybe try looking for one of those to try. That would probably cut down on the sweetness a bit. Maybe this one.

    2. Leo

      this is 2 years late but try using a chocolate cream cheese frosting. it is less sweet and it tastes wonderful!

      you can also use a flour buttercream frosting but involves more work.

      you can just google any of these to find the recipe that works for you.

  420. DIVYA JAIN

    Hi !

    I love love love this recipe and make this all the time !! The issue I have with the cake is every time I try to stack or assemble it, the cake just crumbles and falls apart. How can I stack and ice a cake this soft and moist without breaking it? Can you do a tutorial on assembling this particular cake?

    1. Lindsay

      Hmm, it definitely is moist but I don’t usually have trouble moving it around to assemble it. Maybe try refrigerating the layers first. That will firm them up a bit for you to work with them.

    1. Lindsay

      You can certainly use a different brand of cocoa, I just usually use Hershey’s. I’m not affiliated with them in any way actually. I do, however, often get questions about which brand I use so it’s included.

  421. Gaby

    Hi! Thank you for sharing this wonderful cake recipe! Question, for the frosting what kind of butter do you use? And is it salted or unsalted?

    1. Lindsay

      I typically use Challenge Butter or Land O Lakes Butter and I use salted in my frosting, but you could also use unsalted and add salt to taste.

  422. Bre

    Hi there I was wondering can you bake the cake in a 6inch cake tin and can you freeze the cake ?

    Thankyou 🙂

    1. Lindsay

      I haven’t tried a 6 inch pan, but the cake should freeze well. Just be sure to wrap it well with clear wrap, then aluminum foil.

  423. Bre

    Hi there I recently stumbled appon your website so far. I love everything can you bake this cake in a 6inch cake pan like tallish cake pan ? Thankyou

    1. Lindsay

      I haven’t tried it in a 6 inch pan. I’m sure it’d bake, but you’d need to experiment with how many layers you’d get from the batter and baking time.

  424. TC

    I have a friend whose favorite cake is chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I’d like to suprise them with if for their birthday next week. Do you have a less sugary chocolate version? And could I make this ibto a six inch cake?

    1. Lindsay

      I don’t have another version of this particular cake. If the sugar you are referring to is the powdered sugar in the frosting, you can reduce it you’ll just end up with less frosting (in terms of volume). I’m sure it’d bake fine as a 6 inch, I just haven’t done it to be able to advise you.

  425. Carly

    I skimmed the comments and didn’t see anyone ask about adjustments for high altitude. I’m in Colorado. I’m planning to make this for my sister’s birthday next weekend. It looks amazing!

      1. Kaye Vanfossan

        Lindsey, 
        I’m in NM, and also have to adjust for baking at 7,000 ft altitude. Please PM me and I will tell you the correct adjustments for this cake–I am baking it for the first time today!   March 11, 2017

    1. Patricia

      Carly, I also need to adjust for high altitude. I live in Albuquerque, NM and our altitude is almost exactly that of Denver. I finally found a site that has been a godsend! Go to this web page for Arthur Flour https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html I use the pointers on this page for every cake I make and have had no issues since finding this site. I sit down with the recipe and the information they provide and make the adjustments for every ingredient before starting the recipe. Truly you will will be so thankful. They also recommend publications from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Good luck baking!

      1. Kaye Vanfossan

        Patricia-I found this information shortly after moving to northern NM and it is a baking life-saver!   Baking at 7,000 ft is a challenge!!

    2. Kaye Vanfossan

      Carley—I’m in NM, and also have to adjust for baking at 7,000 ft altitude. Please PM me and I will tell you the correct adjustments for this cake–I am baking it for the first time today!   March 11, 2017

    3. Jennifer Moses

      Did someone figure out the adjustments for high altitude?  I am making this in two 9″ pans for a wedding cake, but when I tried it, the middle really fell.  I did not open the oven, and cooked it a little longer, and it fell even more.  

  426. Sam O'shea

    I made this cake for a luncheon at work..truly the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made…everyone raved about it. I made it into 3 layers …between the layers I had raspberry puree and cream cheese frosting ( tinted pink). and the cake was topped with piped frosting, fresh raspberries and drizzled chocolate..it looked and tasted amazing..

  427. Joe

    I finally got up the courage to give this one a go. I couldn’t believe how easy it was!! I took it to work for a co-worker who wanted “something chocolaty”. I’m not the kind to pat myself on the back but this might be the best dessert I’ve ever made. All of my co-workers (I’m the only male amongst 10 females) want this for their birthdays. I have always enjoyed making cheesecakes but this beauty is my new favorite!

    1. Lindsay

      Awesome! 🙂 Yes, it’s SUCH an easy cake and definitely still my favorite chocolate cake. I’m so glad it was a hit!

  428. Christina

    Hello!
    IT IS THE MASTERPIECE!
    Which I want to cook ahaha))
    Can i ask you if it is possible to bake sponge in only one pan and then divide it? Or fudge cake is really hard to dividing?
    Thanks!

  429. Elizabeth

    Hi! I know it says you would recommend using the dark chocolate rather than the regular, but I was wondering if using regular cocoa powder would mess it up. And also, if I am using a 13×9 pan would I just vary the baking time?

    1. Lindsay

      Regular cocoa will not mess it up. And yes, you’ll need to adjust the baking time. I haven’t baked this as a 9×13 so I’m not sure how to advise.

  430. Sameena

    Hi Lindsay
    I would like to make this for a birthday cake but I do not have access to the Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa powder. Could I use regular Cocoa powder instead?

    This looks amazing btw! 

    Sameena

  431. Gabrielle

    This is one of the best chocolate cakes ever it was a huge hit. Thank you so much for posting this recipe I will never buy another box chocolate cake

  432. Baylee

    I have never successfully made a homemade cake! Before I try to make this delicious looking cake, does it normally turn out more dense or fluffy?

  433. Christina

    Hi Lindsay, thanks so much for sharing your recipe.  It looks divine, and I can’t wait to try it!  I want to make this for a family event, but my mother is allergic to milk.  Do you have a non-dairy substitute for the buttermilk you would recommend.  I was thinking that almond milk and vinegar would do the trick, but if you have anything else you might think would work better that would be helpful.  I’m just not sure whether the almond milk has the same properties as the buttermilk.  Thanks, and you’re blog is amazing! You’re clearly very talented

    1. Lindsay

      Hi Christina! I have also used regular milk in this recipe, so I think almond milk should work fine. Thank you! 🙂

  434. Cathy

    WOW!!! This was one amazing cake. My son wanted a s’mores birthday cake, so I used this recipe for the cake and icing and topped with toasted marshmallows and dusted the sides with graham crackers. The one thing I wanted to point out is that in the recipe is states to cook the cake for 30-35 minutes. I had to actually cook the cake for 45-50 minutes. Other than that, this will definitely be my go to cake when I am need of a chocolate fix!! 

    1. Hiba

      Me tooo i had to bake it for 20 min extra than the time indicated. I think it’s cuz our oven isn’t as hot or it’s a very slow cooking process (150 degree celcius is very low) with a large quantity of cake. Other than that it turned out great! but i used normal cocoa instead of the dark one since it’s not available where i live 🙁 was still good but i think it would’ve been 10 times better with the dark cocoa. BTW I LOVE UR RECIPES THEY R SO CREATIVE AND ON POINT FROM THE INGREDIENTS TO THE METHOD TO EVERYTHING ELSE!!! Thanks for sharing it with us. One question though….. have u done any culinary classes or have u always baked on ur own?

  435. biyanka fernando

    hi, your best chocolate cake is so yummy. I made that so many times. need your help to make that without coco powder. 3/4 cups. so please tell me what to add instead of that 3/4 cup of coco powder. I need that recipe.

    1. Lindsay

      I’m not sure this cake would work well without the cocoa. I’ve tried it myself and it makes a very different cake. If you’re looking for a good vanilla cake, I’d suggest trying this one.

  436. Jeff

    I love this cake but the frosting comes out to thick.  It is the best tasting cake ever, but I have a really hard time with the frosting since it is soooooo thick.

  437. Sean

    Holy Shiz!!! I’ve been a hobby baking for a while now and is always on the look out for new cakes to make.  I’ve been looking for a cake this dark, both frosting and cake, for a while!  It looks tremendously delicious.  Quick question, though.  I only have 9″ cake pans.  Do you think I could use two 9″ cake pans as opposed to three 8″ cake pans?   Thank you for making this cake.  

  438. Rue

    Hi How are you? lovelly recipe was drawn to your website through pinnterest. i stay in Namibia and we use different metric values like 1 cup is 250ml here, how can i modify your recipe and i cannot find any super dark cocoa just regular one this side.

  439. Kami

    How do you frost a cake cake with normal frosting( not buttercream) so smoothly?? You should make a tutorial on that 😉

  440. Chelsea

    Hello!
    I am new to baking and im trying to practice and learn to make pretty cakes lol
    I am going to attempt this cake but I was wondering how you’d suggest storing this cake. I get so nervous with the fridge. I recently made a cake that turned out good and I had to store it in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting. it just did not taste the same when i took it out. Any suggestions on successfully storing a cake in the fridge without it getting a weird taste? And is this chocolate cake ok to leave out but covered? Sorry so many questions, im stuck!

    thank you!
    Chelsea

    1. Lindsay

      Refrigerating cakes isn’t my favorite, though I know it’s necessary sometimes. If you felt like there was a weird taste after refrigerating, it could be that it was in the refrigerator with something else that had a strong flavor and the cake absorbed some of that other flavor. To avoid that, make sure it’s well covered. I also find that refrigerating cakes makes them dry out quicker. Also, cakes are typically best at room temperature, so if you refrigerate a cake it can often be best if you let it sit out for a bit before serving. With this cake, you don’t have to refrigerate it. I don’t.

  441. Heather Bennett

    I used you recipe for 1 x 10″ cake, then made another 2 for 3 layers. Trying the fondant tomorrow and then icing. It was my mistake with the temp as I make cakes regularly

  442. Heather Bennett

    300f is only 148c for UK, I should’ve checked instead of reading the comments. Cake burnt…. Should’ve listened to the wee voice in my head. I wondered at the slow bake comment when oven was so high. Glad I’ve got double quantity to start again ????

  443. Heather Bennett

    Is baking soda the same as bicarbonate of soda? We only have baking powder or bicarbonate of soda in UK…. Going to try this, this weekend as a birthday cake.

      1. Elsa

        Hi Lindsay, I have made this cake once..doubling in a 9″ pan. I have to admit this is the best moist choco cake i’ve ever had. Could you help me with this, how do I make this cake in 2 layers instead of 3 and what size pan do i use to serve 20 people?

      2. Lindsay

        I don’t really do cakes for events, so I’m not exactly familiar with what size cake serves what number of people. Depending on how big a piece everyone is going to want, I would think you could get away with a 10 inch cake. I haven’t done this as a 10 inch, so you may need additional batter. Maybe one and a half recipes worth? And then I’m not sure of baking time.

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Yes, you can. You’d just want to make the layers a little less time, I just can’t remember how long.

  444. Jamie

    Is this a buttercream frosting or an icing ? I am confused as I’m not a baker but wanted to bake a cake and pipe some rosettes on but I’m not sure if this frosting would hold since you are saying its icing. I read that buttercream would hold intricate designs better. If anyone can let me know that would be great. I was also planning on putting some fruit between the layers, any suggestion on how and if that is a good idea?

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      It’s a buttercream frosting and would be great for piping. Putting fruit between the layers should be fine, just be sure to either cover them fully with frosting or to pipe a rim around the outside edge of the cake (and filling it with the fruit) or you could end up with some moisture seeping out of the middle.

  445. Julie

    I made the chocolate cake layers for my daughter’s wedding cake but filled and frosted it differently – she wanted raspberry filling and white frosting. The chocolate cake was so moist and delicious it was unbelievable! It was the best wedding cake I have ever had if I say so myself! I baked one recipe in two 9″ pans and then made half a recipe and baked it in one 9″ pan (I only own two 9″ pans). I also used the Magi-cake baking strips around the pans and the layers came out perfectly flat. I froze the layers until the night before the wedding when I completed the cake.
    Thank you for sharing this recipe.

  446. Tashanna

    I absolutely love your blog and I have tried a few of your recipes and they are all awesome. I do have a question about this recipe. I’ve made this cake twice and each time the cakes never rise as high to get a nice tall cake. I even weigh my plans while filling them to make sure each pan has the same amount of batter. Could I add some baking powder to help them rise? Any suggestions? Thanks for sharing your fabulous recipes!! By the way this cake has been a hit everytime and beat out a store bought 9 layer chocolate peanut butter cup cake this Thanksgiving because it was so moist!

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      When you say they don’t rise tall enough, do you mean that the individual layers of cake don’t rise in the center enough and have a nice dome on them? Or do you mean the cake isn’t as tall as you’d like it to be when all put together? The cake should be between 3 and 4 inches tall once it’s iced and put together.

    2. Samara

      Looking to bake ahead, do these cakes freeze and thaw ok for that? Should I soak with a simple syrup before frosting? 

      1. Lindsay

        They should freeze and thaw fine. Just wrap them well and thaw in the fridge. Shouldn’t need a simple syrup.

  447. Pinkcandy

    Hi there! Love this chocolate cake, thank you for sharing… Just want to ask about the other alternative for buttermilk since we only have powered buttermilk here. Thanks in advance;-)

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I actually have used powdered buttermilk in this cake and it works great. Just add the powder with the dry ingredients and the water in place of the milk. The other alternative is use regular milk, which works well too.

  448. Leigh

    When I saw this cake I just had to comment. I’ve been baking a version of it for years. In fact, it’s so moist, chocolately and pretty much foolproof that my entire family and everyone at work always insisted on it for every occasion. It got to the point that I was so bored baking it, so I’d substitute a different cake. But no matter how delicious, it wasn’t THIS cake, and the chocoholics I’m surrounded by simply weren’t satisfied. I don’t know how you manage to get your family and friends to consume such a variety of yummy flavors. I guess because they’re not chocoholics like so many of us – something I didn’t think was such a limitation. That, along with your statement about your family and the way you grew up without chocolate, reminded me of when I was about 3 or 4 years old. My older sister was in day camp, and my parents enrolled me too. As a chocoholic I had never eaten any other flavor of ice cream. I liked words, and while I had no clue what it meant, I thought “allergic” must mean something good. So one day when they asked what flavor ice cream we wanted, I said, “Oh I’m allergic to chocolate,” meaning I love it. But they brought me vanilla, and I tossed one of my patented temper tantrums, which they got my sister to deal with. She did so by slapping me, and ultimately it was suggested to my parents that perhaps I wasn’t quite ready for camp yet. Maybe if they’d just fetched me a dictionary…

  449. Devil Woman

    I made this chocolate cake for my family a few weeks ago. It is the best chocolate cake I have ever made or eaten. It is a very moist cake and very chocolately but not overpowering. This is my now go to for a chocolate cake. Definately a keeper. Thanks so much for sharing.

  450. sharon / theprincipledtype.blogspot.com

    oh my. oh my! you are very convincing!! (and yes, i want to bake cakes for local restaurants? or at least be asked! how cool was that?!)
    your pictures are divine. i have a similar thinned/battered chocolate cake recipe. i smell it’s time for a bakeoff at my house! hey, it’s for science, right? –so hopefully the calories won’t count ~

  451. Kara

    Hi Lindsay!
    I came across this recipe looking for a wedding cake for my sister. I halved the recipe to test it, used cake flour, and poured it all into a 9″ pan, but followed the rest of the directions. I just took it out of the pan, and it seems way too soft to be stacked and peels off when I touch it. Do you know what I could have done wrong, or how to fix it?
    Other than that, it’s a delicious recipe! Thank you 🙂

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      What do you mean by peeling off? It’s definitely moist and crumbs can come off. I’ve stacked it many times and used it with fondant as well, so it should be fine. I don’t usually refrigerate it, but you certainly could.

  452. Diana

    Hi, Lindsay, I really want to make this cake for a friend’s birthday this Friday and I only have 2 9-inch pans. I calculated the thickness, if I were to use these pans, to be ~1.2 times the thickness of your cake layers. These pans are also only 1.5 inches tall, instead of 2 inches. Could you tell me how thick (about) your layers are, so I can make sure my batter doesn’t overflow? Also, any tips on different baking time and stuff would be appreciated.

    Thanks!
    Diana

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I honestly didn’t measure quite how tall they are and would hate to give you a wrong guess. It might be close. I have 2 and 3 inch tall pans.

  453. JulieL.

    WOW! Best cake ever, and I didn’t even frost it…just wanted to taste the cake alone. Game changer! Couldn’t get my hands on all of my 8″ cake rounds, so I made this as a bundt cake. Just added about 15 min to the cook time. Delicious! Can’t wait to try it as the real, frosted version. Thank you!

  454. Alicia

    Hi, I started making this today but I don’t have vegetable oil… do you think butter or olive oil would work as a substitute?

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I believe I’ve tried butter before and it didn’t work well. Olive oil would be a better bet, but since I haven’t tried it I don’t know for sure how it’ll work.

  455. Eileen

    Oh please stop putting Crisco or solid shortening in your recipes NOT good for the human body do not feed to children. You can put it on your wrist it does not melt at body temp. leave it on a shelf no bugs will touch it and it will stay forever..PLEASE stop using this in food.

  456. Mary Anne Endeman

    I made this today, only I made cupcakes. I didn’t have the dark chocolate so used the regular kind. I also used hot strong coffee instead of the water. Turned out wonderful!! Thanks for your inspiration!

  457. Angela

    The flavor of this cake are absolutely amazing! Probably the best chocolate cake recipe flavor-wise I’ve ever had. I followed the recipe just as you listed except used 9 inch pans instead of 8 and baked them for 29 minutes–toothpick came out clean, cake was nice and bouncy, perfect. However, the cake just fell completely apart when I assembled it and iced it. It’s just a cake wreck of delciousness I am trying to salvage, somehow, but possibly making a moten lava/gooey butter cake, throwing it back into the oven mixed with the icing, something, anything! It’s just too good to throw out. Maybe it needed to cook a bit longer? I’m not sure what happened but if I try this again, I’ll invest in 8 inch pans. 🙁

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      It is a very soft cake, so you do have to be careful when working with it. This may be a silly question, but did you remove the cake domes before stacking it? I know some people don’t do that and because this cake is so soft, it probably would fall apart if you didn’t. I also have a cake lifter that I’ll use sometimes to lift and move the cake around, which can help.

  458. Lizz

    The first time I made this it was perfect! But the second time it fell flat and wouldn’t cook all the way. Was the water too hot? And, is this batter suppose to rise much at all?

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Hmm, strange. It shouldn’t have been an issue with the water. Did you perhaps open the oven door too soon? That can cause the center to fall and not bake correctly. The batter does have what I’d say is a normal rise.

  459. Alexandra robertson

    Can this be made into 2 8inch cakes instead of 3 successfully? Or make 2 with less batter abd use the extra from the third to make cupcakes?

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Yes, it can. I can’t remember the exact baking time, but they’ll just bake longer since they’ll be thicker layers.

  460. Kathleen

    Holy. Cow. I made this cake for Easter and I can’t get over how delicious it is! While mine didn’t turn look quite as nice as yours (maybe a future post on tips for icing a cake?), it didn’t even matter once you took a bite! Definitely my new favorite!

  461. Kimberly

    I have made this cake three times, and it is beyond DIVINE!!! It is so moist and absolutely amazing. I made it yesterday for an Easter dessert with a different icing, but OH.MY.GAWD…I couldn’t get enough. Furthermore, I have made several of your other desserts, as well, and they have all been exceptional. Keep up the good work!

  462. Nicole

    Hi Lindsay!! I am making a 3 tier wedding cake and they want it chocolate. This recipe is my go to for chocolate cake. It’a so good!!! If I’m making a 6″, 12″ round and the middle being a 8″ square, should I make this recipe 2 x’s…….right? Thanks in advance!!
    ~Nicole

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I imagine you’ll need to make several batches for all three layers, but I’m not sure exactly how many.

  463. Zelie

    Hi…. i saw your blog through someones page in facebook…she linked a recipe you made, it was just one recipe and instantly i became a fan.

    Well i have a question which is a bit silly but ill ask anyway..lol

    Just wondering how the frosting tastes? I mean is it too sweet? I love sweets and the likes but not too sweet, if that make sense.lol

    Anyways continue making beautiful and delucious sweets. GOD BLESS!

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I’m so glad you found the blog! How sweet it is would probably depend on who you ask. I definitely have a big sweet tooth, so it’s possible you’d find it a bit sweet. Overall though, I’d describe this cake as more chocolatey than truly sweet.

  464. Michelle

    Lindsay — I love love love your blog and read every post… Sunday I baked your Strawberry Crème pie for my Mother in law — I modified it using organic Coconut flour and Coconut sugar as my husband and I are trying to minimize white flour/sugar…. so we can live longer to eat MORE awesome recipes… (joke). I am so impressed with your skill of decorating your cakes, as well as slicing them…. Mine usually are a mess or look like something a child made… Possibly you can share some of your secret skills with all of your fan base….. I am definitely making the Chocolate cake — it looks fantastic. Keep up the awesome work — you brighten my day… MKS

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Thank you so much Michelle! I’m so glad you enjoy the blog and recipes. 🙂 I actually would love to do just what you suggested and share some secrets with my readers. I’m hoping that I’ll be doing that very soon. Stay tuned!

    2. Sheba

      Hi Lindsay,

      My husband’s bday is coming very soon and he requested me to make a very moist chocolate cake. I found your recipe and I am planning to try it. I just like to ask what butter should i used salted or unsalted? What about the shortening? Is there a substitute to it?

      By the way i am your new subscriber here from Skien, Norway and i also follow your YouTube account.

      Best Regards,

      Sheba

      1. Lindsay

        You can use either salted or unsalted. If you’re using half butter and half shortening, you could just use salted. But you can replace the shortening witH additional butter in which case you might want to use unsalted butter and add your own salt. I find that if you’re using an all butter buttercream and you use salted butter, it’s too much salt.

  465. Ansa

    This is one of the BEST chocolate cakes I’ve tasted! This will be my go to chocolate cake from now on!

    Thanks for sharing,
    Ansa

  466. Michelle

    Hi Lindsay,
    The cake certainly looks yummy and easy to make, but 3 layers seems a little too tall for about 4 people. How do I reduce the quantity of the ingredients for 2 layers in 8″ pans?

    Thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂
    Michelle
    India

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      You could try cutting the recipe in half, but I’m not sure if that’s what you are trying to achieve.

  467. Rebecca

    Hi! I just found this on Pinterest and I was wondering, do you think this cake would freeze well? I’m preparing to make an ice cream cake and looking for a good batter to use for the cake part, and this recipe sounds amazing! Do you think it’d work well for an ice cream cake? Thank you!

  468. Jo

    Hi Lindsay,

    Came across this recipe in my fb news feed today and really want to try it for a fundraising event end of next week – looks like it will bring in some pennies for charity, (probably from me buying every slice!!! haha).
    I’m in England and not sure what you mean by shortening? For example, usually shortening in pastry is lard – but surely can’t use this in frosting? I think there are vegetarian alternatives, would this be the best alternative? Or can you suggest something else that might be similar?

    Many thanks 🙂 🙂 Jo (from a sunny at the moment England) xxx

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Hi Jo! Shortening is a butter replacement here. You can just use butter to replace it. Good luck with the fundraiser!

  469. Crystal

    Hi there,
    I was wondering if you might have advice if I did this as a 13 x 9 layered cake. Do you know how long I should cook it for, should I double the recipe? it looks amazing. My son wants chocolate cake for his birthday and I think this would be fantastic!!! Thanks so much for the inspiration!!!

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I’ve made this cake a ton, but never as a 9×13. I need to try that. I don’t think you’d need to double it. One recipe should be fine. One and a half at the most.

      1. Crystal

        I ended up tripling the recipe to make two 9 x 13. I made a big layered cake for my son’s birthday. It was absolutely delicious. Incredibly moist and just so yummy. It was perfect because I was able to make it a couple of days before hand, and kept it in the fridge so that it was still super tasty and moist two days later for his party. Thanks so much for the recipe. It will definitely be made again!!!

  470. funsize wife

    I was asked to make chocolate cupcakes as a take home favor for a baby shower. I’m going to use your dulce la leche frosting on them. Apparently this is what the baby is asking for… Do you know about how many regular size cupcakes this batter will make? I need about 50. The mother has asked for “chocolate coma cupcakes”, and this will definitely fit the request. Thank you for your help, and here’s to many more years of your wonderful baking and stories.

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      It should make about 24 cupcakes. You might be able to get about 25, so that you can double it for 50.

  471. Nell

    Hi Lindsay
    I really want to make this cake but I only have cake flour.
    Can I use 2 cups of cake flour instead of all purpose flour or should I use 2 cups of cake flour plus 2 Tbsp of cake flour?
    And would I have to sift the cake flour.
    Thanks for your help

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      You can actually do an even swap with the cake flour. Just use 2 cups. I’ve used it before and it works great! I don’t usually sift it, I just give it a quick whisk.

  472. Debora

    HELP!!! What am I doing wrong??? 300 degrees for the specified time, the cake was not nearly done. It had to cook for about an hour and the cake turned out gummy. What might I have done??? Been cooking for 60 years, so it is not like I am a beginner at trying new recipes. Any suggestions??

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Hmm, it’s really hard for me to say. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out. I’ve made it more times that I can count without a problem. Maybe some of the ingredients were off?

    2. Sakshi

      I made the sponge, it came out so moist but was crumbly. So while layering the cake it was breaking so pls help

  473. Nicole

    Hi Lindsay!!
    I’m make my daughter’s birthday cake next week and I need to know if I should double you chocolate cake recipe. I’m using a half sheet pan. I’ve only made your recipe as cupcakes. Thanks! Nicole

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Yes, but if you use three 9 inch pans, you’ll probably need to reduce the baking time a bit. Probably around 25 minutes.

  474. Jenn Small

    Made this cake for Super Bowl! This is my new chocolate cake recipe! I might double it next time because I like my cakes a little thicker. I used 3 8 in cake pans and they were done in 25 minute!

  475. Megan

    I made this for a birthday cake for my Uncle on Friday and it came out sooo good that Im going to be making it today again for the Super Bowl for my party! Thank you for sharing!!

  476. Maryann

    Hi!

    I don’t have dark chocolate cocoa powder. Will regular unsweetened cocoa powder work?

    Thank you so much! Can’t wait to try this out!

  477. Nicole

    Hi Lindsay! I was wondering, could you use your chocolate cake recipe and and make a vanilla cake out of it by omitting the cocoa. I love your chocolate cake recipe and no other vanilla cake recipe comes even close to being that good!!! Thanks in advance!!

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I’m so glad you like the cake Nicole! I’ve had the same thought before, but unfortunately it isn’t very good without the cocoa. The oil really comes through and ends up not tasting so great. Have you tried my vanilla cupcake recipe? If you double it, it makes a very good cake. Though it is denser than this one. I’m actually in the process of testing more vanilla recipes to *hopefully* get a vanilla cake that’s just as good as this one. Hopefully I get it soon! 🙂

  478. angelica juleş

    Would you please make a nutella version of this cake I would love to make it for
    My sixteenth birthday!

  479. Andrew Gerstmayr

    I’m asking for my wife who pinned this article because she wanted to use the recipe, but she told me this morning that the recipe is no longer in the article. I’m noticing the same thing now myself? Can some one help us out here and post the recipe for this chocolate cake as a reply?

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Hi Andrew! I’m not sure why you’re having trouble seeing it, but I’ll go ahead and email it to you. Thanks!

  480. Susan

    I can’t find the actual recipe on this post. It looks delicious & I would love to have the recipe. Thanks.

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Hi Susan! I’m not sure why you’re unable to see the recipe – I can see it fine. I will email it to the email address associated with the comment you left though. Just let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks!

  481. Scylla

    I saw the Picture and just HAD to bake ist and oh god it was sooooo delicious. my husband almost died, he ate all of it haha 😀
    and I bake it twice(cus i made a double layer for my hubbys fathers birthday) and allthough the dark chocolate tastet sooo good (and my god i landed in heaven) i had to use normal cocoa powder that I use for my daughter it STILL tasted great!

    So my question, I`d like to share this in german, and i would of course set in your webpage and there wouldn´t be a question that this is your creation. Would you mind terrebly?

    sincerest Adoration
    ScyRy

  482. Nicole

    Lindsey, I liked your chocolate cake recipe so well was wondering if you have yellow cake or white cake recipe also? If they are as good as this chocolate recipe then I would love to have both please. Thanks in advance!

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I have a vanilla cupcake and yellow cupcake – both can be made as a cake as well, you’ll just probably want to double the recipe. 🙂

  483. Sophia

    this looks delicious! I was wondering if instead of making a cake I could do cupcakes with this recipe? How long should they be in for? I’m making them for a wedding shower.

  484. Nicole

    Lindsay, I just want to say that I used this recipe to make cupcakes tonight and they turned out FABULOUS!!!!! They are so moist and really don’t even need frosting!!! This is definitely my permanent chocolate cake recipe from now on!!!! I am trying to start my own cake making business out of my home and this recipe just boosted my confidence…….this coming from a girl who never made a cake from scratch, but not anymore!!!!!My mom used to have her cake business and I can’t wait until she tastes your recipe!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Thanks Nicole! That’s great! I really love this recipe! Good luck with your business – how fun!

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Yes, you’d probably want to cut the recipe for the butter and shortening in half then. The powdered sugar is what gives the icing it’s volume, so if you only use 4 cups, you probably won’t have enough icing to fully ice the cake, unless it’s a very, very thin layer.

      1. Nicole

        I just made this recipe but made cupcakes…..they are so pretty..lol. Making a cake tomorrow, but was curious if you have a whipped chocolate icing recipe that would taste good. I have some family who don’t like the taste of shortening in butter cream and prefer a light, but chocolaty icing.

  485. Amanda

    Yesss!! I have been looking for a recipe as close to my bf’s old family recipe for hot water cake. We have never used boiling water, simply hot water from the spicket, but I will boil it, don’t wanna mess up. I am so mad can not find where I scribbled the family recipe. Only thing, I am going to use olive oil, don’t have vegtable oil. Should be alright, I often do that.

  486. Marjie

    I learned from a well known NY baker that after you take your cakes out of the oven, immediately use a clean towel, place it over the cake pan and gently press down the raised dome on the cake until it is even. Works every time and no cutting is required. Thought I would share this.

  487. Jennifer Stewart

    I have been looking for a good chocolate cake recipe. All the ones I make turn out so light, not dark and rich looking like this one. Can’t wait to make it and devour it with my bare hands!!!!

    Thanks for a great recipe!

    1. Lauren

      Hi. Is it brown sugar you use in the recipe or caster sugar please? If it is brown, can you specify which brown sugar. I’m trying to sort my shopping list to try the cake 💞

      Thank you

  488. Alex

    I made this cake for my birthday and it has to be my favorite homemade cake ever! The frosting is just delicious!!

  489. Diane

    I make this same cake but use regular milk and hot coffee instead of hot water, well I guess it is not the same but everything else is exact, great cake

    1. Asia

      Im not a baker , but iVe made this recipe multiple times now ( I just add a little more sugar and about 1-2 ounces more of vegetable oil,  I like make cakes very sweet & a little more on the moist side) And girl! This is a winner!! I always make it with peanut butter frosting and it is to die for!!! It melts in your mouth!  Thank you for sharing this!!

  490. Sherrie D.

    Made this cake a couple of days ago and the husband and I have almost completely finished it! This will definitely be my go-to recipe for chocolate from now on! We love it!

  491. Debra Turner

    I don’t eat cake too often because I’d be as big as a house. But when I do, I love a simple homemade recipe using fine ingredients. So I must try this!

    Great blog, Lindsay. If I could eat sweets and still look like you I’d make them a staple and not just a treat!

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Thanks so much Debra! I definitely have to get my butt to the gym regularly, or I’d be the size of a house! 🙂

  492. Elain

    Hi! Congrats on the anniversary. I was wondering why the shortening in the frosting versus butter? Is it taste, texture or ability to store cake at room temperature longer. Also, how do you store it? Have you ever made this the day before the event? Thanks!

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I personally prefer the taste. I think all butter tastes too buttery. But I also like the shortening because at warmer temperatures, it won’t melt as quickly and holds up better. Before icing a cake, I usually store it in the fridge, but once on a cake or cupcakes, I leave it out since I don’t like to refrigerate my cakes. And yes, this cake is very moist, so it can be made a day or two ahead of time and still be moist and fresh.

      1. Elaine

        Hi! Just made it. Made cupcakes and it yields appx. 30 cupcakes filled 3/4 way. The batter was very runny and cake didn’t rise really. Baked at 300 for 20 min. But, the cake was so yummy that my two kids killed 6 of them before they cooled or had frosting on it. The frosting was abundant for cupcakes, I would half it. Everyone said the frosting was way too sweet. I only used 8 cups too. How can you make it less sweet? Thank you!

  493. Patty

    Hi! I would like to ask you some questions! May I know what flour to use, all purpose flour or cake flour? Can I replace shortening with butter instead? How long do I have to bake if I am using only 2 cake pans? I really like your recipe, can’t wait to make this heavenly cake! 🙂

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Hi Patty! You can actually use all purpose or cake flour. I’ve used both and they both work great. You don’t have to change anything. The version in the photos is all purpose flour though. You can replace the shortening in the icing with butter, if you prefer. If only using 2 cake pans, I believe you’ll bake them for 45-50 minutes, but it could be a touch longer.

  494. Karen A

    I just came across your blog and saw this amazing cake. I will be making it ASAP! How, oh how, do you get your icing so smooth and the edge so sharp?!?

  495. Amna

    Hey! I absolutely love your site and I just made the cake and the flavours are great but the cake just fell apart when I was frosting it. I don’t know what happened. One second everything is fine as I am frosting and the next second, boom, it’s falling apart. If you could please help me figure out what I did wrong?
    P.S. If I haven’t mentioned how much I love your website, I have to say I absolutely adore it.

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Thank you Amna! I’m glad you enjoy the site. I’m so sorry you had trouble with the cake. It’s definitely a moist one. When you say it fell apart, what do you mean? Did the cake split? If so, did you cut the domes off of the layers?

    2. Jenny

      Hi-I did a lot of research on this matter and I think that maybe a few of the readers who had trouble with the cake rising properly may have used a purely Dutch Processed cocoa. Hershey’s has (had) a “Dutch Processed: Special Dark Cocoa” (with a metallic label on the top) as well as their current/updated “Special Dark Cocoa” which is “a blend of natural & Dutched cocoa.”  Dutch processed cocoa is more alkaline than natural cocoa, and will not react with baking soda to rise. (Generally, dutch processed cocoa requires baking powder to rise.) Because buttermilk is one of the ingredients…if someone used purely dutch cocoa, perhaps there was enough of a reaction to cause an initial lift but it wasn’t stable enough of a reaction to remain risen. When using a recipe with baking soda only or baking powder only, the type of cocoa matters! Hershey’s Special Dark blend may be somewhat forgiving since it contains both but anyone who deviated and used a purely dutch cocoa powder in addition to submitting the buttermilk may have run into some major problems i.e. a sad, droopy, tastes-like-soap-cake. 

      Learned this from this website: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2015/08/26/baking-basics-dutch-process-natural-cocoa-powder/

  496. Lisa

    Hi, I’m from Australia and wanted to clarify if it was 300 degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit? The cake looks great!

    Thanks!

      1. Astha

        Hi, I loved your recipe for chocolate cupcakes and they were the best cupcakes I have ever baked. My son’s second birthday is coming up in few weeks and I thought of giving this recipe a go as it looks yumm 🙂 and it is using similar ingredients. I am planning to do a number 2 cake , and I have bought a mould that says capacity 2.2l. Do I need to amend the measurements of the ingredients or it would be fine as is?

      2. Lindsay

        Glad you enjoyed the cupcakes! This cake is pretty much the same recipe, but in cake form. I’m not sure about the mold though, I’d sorry.

      1. Camellia

        Wow. That was sarcasm when I replied “CELSIUS” and “Are you serious.? I’m not an idiot. Someone else asked previously if the temperature you listed was Celsius or Fahrenheit, trying to make you feel bad for omitting the “F,” when it could not possibly have been Celsius. If it was Celsius it would have been 572 degrees F. So you missed the entire reason for my reply. :o(

      2. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

        Sorry I missed your joke Camellia. I do sometimes get questions that I’m not sure if they are joking or not and I certainly don’t want to insult anyone.

  497. Stacey

    So, I’ve got this co-worker that makes the most amazing baked goods – so amazing that when she bought a new house, the only fitting house-warming gift we thought appropriate was a new Kitchen-aid Mixer. Why am I telling you this? Because she always makes obnoxiously amazing baked goodies for each of our birthdays. When it came to her birthday, I knew I had to make something amazing for her. It was getting close, and I was at a loss. The other day, I found this cake in my FB feed, I knew I had to make it! This weekend, I made the cake and brought it in this morning. To say people loved it is an understatement. Most of the words used were 4 letters words and not PG-13 (but in a totally good way! ) Here are a couple I can repeat: “Sweet Jesus!! Your cake is awesome!” and “I will have dreams of that cake .. . . just perfect.”. I already have about a dozen “orders” for upcoming birthdays. So, thank you for helping me make a cake that is amazing enough to show my friend how amazing she is.

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      What a great review Stacey! 🙂 I’m so glad everyone loved it and you were able to share it with your friend!

  498. A I

    I made this cake without the icing and it was amazing! It was very rich and moist. It was a hit with everyone.

  499. Ahlam

    Hi i am surprized it doesnt have any baking powder .unless u use the cake flour and i dont think i read that.!!can u plz specify what us youe leavining agent to raise rhe cake??

  500. Aileen atinaja

    Happy blogiversary Lindsay…Thanks for sharing your recipes to your readers…They all look heavenly delicious and doable… Makes me want to try and bake them all!

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      You can actually use either without changing anything else. I’ve used both, but I used all purpose flour for the one in the photos.

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I’d recommend at least using two pans. I’m not sure how it’d bake all in one 8 inch pan. You could do it as one layer in a larger pan – maybe a 12 inch?

  501. Monika

    I like to make this cake on the weekend
    If i baking in a 8×12 pan
    Can you let me know how long i should bake???
    Thank you!!!

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I have never made it in an 8×12 pan, so I’m not sure. I’m sorry Monika. I’d try at least 20 minutes, then watch it.

  502. Monika

    This cake looks wonderful!!!!
    My question is if i use tihis chocolate icing can i cover with fondant?
    I have to make a chocolate cake with a chocolate icing i like to try your recipe!!
    Thank You

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Yes, you can cover this icing with fondant. I have done it before. If you want really sharp edges though, I think ganache works best under fondant.

    2. Shabeen

      Hi
      Thanks for sharing the recipe. I’m looking forward to trying it soon.  Just wanted to know if freezing the cake for later use would change the taste or texture? 
      Thanks in advance. 

      1. Lindsay

        I generally think freezing does change things, even if it’s just a little bit. That said, this is a super moist cake and does do pretty well with freezing.

  503. Toni

    This is almost exactly the recipe my mom had and I’ve been making for 35 yrs starting with my first failed attempt at 10 or 11. Back then she used shortening but I use only butter. It is the best chocolate cake recipe ever!

  504. Bree

    This cake looks incredible! I am wondering what the baking time would be for cupcakes. I usually bake them at 325 for about 18 minutes.

  505. Roseclar

    This cake is yummy!! It’s the recipe I use too. I read once that this is a very old Hershey’s recipe. Very popular.

      1. marcus

        One question I dont know if anyone asked already but how u get ur frosting so smooth like fondant

  506. Janara

    This looks amazing! Think I will try it for hubby who LOVES chocolate cake! (He could probably eat the whole cake and he would still be “turn him sideways and mark him absent” thin. So jealous!, I just need to look at it and I’ve put weight on). One question though, can I substitute shortening for butter? If so is it still the 1 1/4 cup? To be honest, I don’t even know what shortening is, we don’t tend to have it in recipes in New Zealand.

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      My husband is the same way – never gains a pound! Not fair. 🙂 You can definitely use all butter in the icing. You’ll use 2 1/2 cups total of butter.

  507. Katia

    YUM-MERS!!! can’t wait to try it. Can you only use this recipe for 3 8inch pans? or could you use it in a bigger cake pan and cut levels with a knife? I’m trying to make a tiered cake for my niece’s Sweet Fifteenth and I am so not a professional baker. I have a square cake pan for the bottom, round for 2nd tier and a heart for the top… I thought I’d make them and cut them into 3 levels each and use a strawberry mousse frosting in between. Am I crazy? Can I do this? I thought I’d give it a try with your delicious looking and easy recipe here. Any tips would be appreciated!

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Yes, you use other size cake pans, you just might need to adjust the amount of batter. I’ve used it in layered cakes before though – it holds up well.

  508. Susan

    This is in my oven right now! Will let you know after dinner how everyone liked it. The house sure smells delicious.

  509. Melissa

    I’m curious about the 9 cups of sugar…isn’t that a tad bit too much? I feel like everytime I work with powdered sugar it comes out overwhelmingly sweet.

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      The standard amount of powdered sugar for buttercream is 4 cups per 1 cup of butter/shortening. You can use less, but it will decrease the volume of icing. I believe I used most of the icing for this cake.

  510. Manali @ CookWithManali

    Oh my god! This looks A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I’m definitely going to try this, thanks for sharing! Pinned!

  511. Sharon | What The Fork Food Blog

    Happy 2nd blogiversary! AND this cake looks ah-mazing! I’m just starting out and can only hope to have a blog as beautiful as yours one day 🙂
    I’d love to pick your brain sometime and maybe get some advice?

  512. Loveyourblog

    I love you Recipes and pics I tired One Recipe with my mum it was sooo yummy and delicious.
    I can’t speak english soo good that Is why I can’t Write everything what I want to to say but happ Blog Birthday and happy Anniversary!
    P.s. I’m from Germany 😉

  513. Kim

    Although I could really use that gift card, I really can’t wait to try a vegan version of these delicious looking cakes. Simply devine

  514. Elsie

    I am so glad I stumbled upon your website. I have been on the look out for a great chocolate cake. I have tried many homemade chocolate cakes but they don’t seem to do the trick for me. I can’t wait to try it because it may be “the one”. Thank you for being so generous and sharing your recipes. Happy Blogiversary!!!

  515. Gail

    Have you ever replaced the hot water with hot coffee? My current favorite recipe does that and it has a very nice rich flavor.

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I don’t think I have done that in this recipe, but I’ve done it in others. You certainly could in this one too, however it is quite rich already. 🙂

  516. Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes)

    Girl this cake will be haunting my dreams!!!! And I can’t believe you have only been haunting this blog space for 2 years. You are a true star, professional and amazing baker who I am so glad to know and call my friend! I am so excited for all of your success and I know it will only get better!

  517. Nitsan

    Hi!!
    What can I put instead of Hershey’s powder and buttermilk? Because I don’t have them in my country….

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Any kind of cocoa powder you have access to should work, and you can replace the buttermilk with regular milk. Enjoy!

      1. Jacci

        I too don’t have herseys special dark cocoa powder. I have read a lot about the difference between the Dutch process and regular cocoa powder and the acidity that cocoa powder has compared to the Dutch process. Can you actually use them interchangeably in this recipe? If I was to use the Dutch process in the measurements you’ve provided would the taste be the same? Your cake looks amazing and I’d love to try it! 

      2. Lindsay

        The dark cocoa I use is actually a blend of natural cocoa and Dutch process. I’m not sure how using a full Dutch process coca would affect it.

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      I believe it’s the Ateco 845 closed star tip. This is the kit of icing tips I use for icing cupcakes.

  518. Jaren (Diary of a Recipe Collector)

    That looks insanely delicious!! I have a really bad habit of eating all the cake domes I cut off or cube up for a trifle!! Pinned!

    1. Tegan Dare

      Lindsay your cakes are AMAZING!!! I’ve made your buttercream plenty of times and always works out beautifully! I’m from Australia so it gets a bit warm over here and the shortening is a hidden little gem lol
      Just wondering, would this cake hold up if I was to decorate it 2 days in advanced?
      Thanks xx

      1. Lindsay

        I’m glad to hear you enjoy everything! Yes, this cake would definitely hold up well for two days. It’s a very moist cake.

      2. Jothsna

        Hi Tegan, where do you get the shortening? I’m in Australia too and haven’t ever been able to find any?

    1. Basak Yilmaz

      I made this cake yesterday and it is really amazingly moist no need to use any kind of sweetened liguid or anything. To my horror, the water was very soupy and I thought I’m making a mistake but after adding the hot water it turns to silky creamy (still loose) texture which is more assuring. I baked mine in a 9×13 and a loaf pan side by side and loaf was done 10 min before the other pan. Both raised well and no sinking observed. It’s very sweet which the sugar amount somewhat necessary for the moisture in cake but next time I’m gonna try to reduce the sugar amount and also I think the baking soda should be activated with some lemon juice to get rid of  it’s unique taste. But, overall, even if you don’t change anything, it is really straightforward, easy, tasty and very soft moisturized cake you can whip in no time. Thanks for sharing






    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Thanks Nivedita! I should have brought you guys some – I made it a while ago. Next time I will! I know there will be a next time for this cake. 🙂

      1. Jorydreher4@gmail.com

        Thank you for your reply! May I ask about using your chocolate Mousse with this recipe? Would the mousse stay firm in the fridge for 3-4 days or would it harden Like the buttercream? 






      1. Lindsay

        I’ve made it in a 9×13 without issue, so I imagine that would be fine as long as the pan is large enough. You’ll just need to increase the baking time.

      2. Mira

        Thanks for sharing your recipe with us. I am hoping to make this for by Husband’s big bday that’s coming up .Do you know how long should I bake if I make it a single layer cake in 9 by 13 ? Also, Will I still need the same amount of frosting if I change it to single layer 9 by 13 ?

      3. Jory

        Amazing work! Could the cake be stored in the fridge (fully frosted) inside of a cake box for 2-3 days without the frosting hardening? 






      4. Lindsay

        The frosting will always harden, since it’s butter-based. The butter is soft at room temperature and firm when cold.

  519. Ashley @ Kitchen Meets Girl

    This really DOES look like the best chocolate cake! And my husband is the same – he can totally turn down cake/sweets while I’m sitting there stuffing my face. So not fair. Thanks for letting me in on the giveaway! xo

  520. Sandra Klary

    Happy Blogiversary!! 🙂 That cake looks amazing!!! Definitely going on my must-do-list! 🙂
    And the giveaway sounds amazing, too, of course! Would love to win!!

  521. Ipad Giveaway

    […] closer. One because she is super fun to hang out with and two because she makes things like this chocolate cake. Please join me and a few of our friends for this awesome […]

  522. Michelle @My California Kitchen

    Happy 2 years! I am also usually a vanilla cake person but, usually when I am craving chocolate, I want SO. MUCH. CHOCOLATE. and this cake looks perfectly chocolately! Love it!

    1. Kirstin

      This recipe sounds amazing! I have to make a 3-tiered Chocolate semi naked cake for a wedding in a couple of weeks. I’m wondering if you think this recipe would have enough structure to stack tiers or if it’s too soft or a cake to do that. Thank you so much for your help! 






      1. Lindsay

        I don’t really do many tiered cakes, but I have used this before along with dowels for supporting the cakes and it was fine. Might be something you want to test out though.

      2. MiKayla

        Just out of curiosity? I LOVE this chocolate cake recipe. Did you use it when tiering a cake with support? Did it hold up okay?

  523. iPad Mini or $300 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

    […] you enter to win, don’t forget to go say hi to Lindsay! She’s sharing a the Best Chocolate Cake today, and hello, I would love a slice of […]

  524. Julianne @ Beyond Frosting

    Holy Shiz this cake is down right amazing. I am making this for Dell for our anniversary in September!

  525. Jaida (Sweet Beginnings)

    Hi Lindsay! I just discovered your blog today and WOW! I kinda love/hate you for all the yummy temptations!! I just wanted to say that this cake, and the frosting job, look freaking amazing. Kudos to you and keep up the good work!! 🙂

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Thanks so much Jaida! I have a love/hate relationship with the temptations I bake too. 😉

  526. Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking

    Get outta here1!! If you tell me that you have some of this cake in the fridge at work, then I will be in my car in the next 10 minutes. This looks AMAZING!!! Pinned. I’ve never slow baked a cake before, so that needs to happen in my kitchen asap. One bite?!?! Inhuman is right.

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Thanks Lindsey! I actually made this cake a while ago and held onto it for this occasion. 🙂 New things the fridge constantly!

      1. Brenda Milcetic

        Hi Lindsay,
        Am wanting to make this cake for Valentine’s Day. Can I use 9″ cake pans? If so, how many would I use, two or three? And at what temperature and for how long? Thank you,
        Blessings,
        Brenda

      2. Lindsay

        I would use the same temperature. If you are using three cake pan still, you would need to reduce the baking time a little. If you’re using two pans, you may still need to adjust but it will be similar.

      3. Camilla

        Cake tastes so delicious! Probably the best recipe I’ve tried. However, I’m finding it difficult to spread my icing as it does not stick to the cake like normal buttercream frosting and also when spreading it there are small holes that come up. I’ve followed all measurements so not sure what I did wrong. Any idea on what I did wrong?  Thank you in advance

        -novice baker ☺️

      4. Lindsay

        It sounds like the frosting is too dry. Try adding additional cream or milk and it should stick better. As for the holes, I assume they are air bubbles. Very common. The best way to avoid them is to mix your frosting together on a lower speed. But they still happen, just not as much.

  527. Heather @ Shards of Lavender

    Oh my, that cake is just screaming chocolately deliciousness! I love all of your tall layer cakes and your pictures are just amazing!

      1. Lindsay

        I don’t really use 6 inch pans, so I’m not entirely sure. You could try cutting it in half.

  528. iPad Mini or $300 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway! - Mom On Timeout

    […] sure to stop by and say Happy Blogiversary to Lindsay today and check out this ridiculously amazing Best Chocolate Cake recipe she’s sharing today – holy […]

  529. Marinka

    Hi Lindsay, Happy Blogiversary. This looks like heaven on earth… I am going to try this the weekend. I just want to check with you on the oven temperature and baking time. You mention in the recipe that you bake at 300 degrees for 30-33 minutes. Then you mention bake for 45-50 minutes. Do I understand correctly that the 45-50 minutes is at a different temperature ?(after the 30 minutes @ 300 degrees) At what degree do you bake it for this period? Also, in case I use regular coco powder (not the dark chocolate) – is there a change in the quantity or do you use the same amount?

    1. lifeloveandsugar@gmail.com

      Hi Marinka! Thank you for pointing that out – it’s baked at 300 degrees for 30-33 minutes. The 45-50 minutes was a carryover from something else and I missed it. It’s gone now. 🙂 Enjoy the cake!

      1. Angela

        Hi, I’m not much of a baker, but I really want to make this chocolate cake. I know this is gonna be a stupid question, but is the flour self rising or not?

      2. Lindsay

        It would be really hard for me to say without being there. If you opened the oven too soon before it was set, it would definitely sink. Also, maybe check the date on your baking soda to see if it’s still good.

      3. Martha

        Hello,

        I just made the cake. I struggled with the frosting. It seemed thick and I had a difficult time spreading it, so I scraped it off the first layer, put it back in the bowl and added more liquid to make it more spreadable. I followed the recipe exact and checked off each ingredient to make sure nothing was left out. Is it normal for the frosting to be so thick?. I ended up having to scrape off the first layer. Put the frosting back in the bowl and added more liquid. It took a lot more than than the 4 to 5 tbls. milk it called for, is that normal? My cake looks like it turned out okay, but nowhere as pretty as yours. My Genache was a little thick so I added a little more heavy whipping cream. plan to serve it for my older son’s birthday in three days. I am storing it at room temperature will that be okay.

    2. Cheryl

      Hi Lindsay…does leaving the cake batter to stand for a length of time in room temp has a detrimental effect on finished cake? This recipe calls for three 8″ pan and I can only bake one pan at a time. Any advice please.

    3. Dana

      This looks delicious and I’m SO GLAD to see weights for the measurements! Thank you! How many cups of batter does the recipe make? 

  530. iPad Mini or $300 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

    […]  And then go visit Lindsay and say Happy Blog Birthday…today she has a pretty sweet looking Dark Chocolate Cake that I wish I had a slice of to celebrate with […]

  531. Beth @ The First Year

    Lindsay, Happy Blogiversary! I will definitely keep this recipe handy, but I don’t think mine would turn out as pretty as yours. Seriously friend, you are talented!

  532. Mir

    This chocolate cake is beyond amazing. No wonder you got offered a job!
    How do men eat one bite of cake and walk away? How?!

  533. Janet

    WOWZA!!! This cake looks so yummy!! I am glad I do not have this cake here right now because I think I would eat a slice for breakfast. Have a beautiful day!! Thanks for the great giveaways and congrats on the blog anniversary!!

      1. Susie

        I made this as a cake before and it was delicious! I was going to try to make cupcakes out of this recipe instead, would you happen to have any suggestions on how to change the baking time/temp for this?

      2. Sandra anello

        How do i do this chocolate cake into a 10 inc round and 2 layers? How much ingredients 2x or 3x?
        Thank you

      3. Ira GL

        It was so goooood! This is now my new go-to chocolate cake recipe!

        Anyway, is there any chance I could replace the buttermilk with sour cream? If so, what would be the ratio? 

        Thank you!






      4. Lindsay

        So glad you enjoyed it! I haven’t ever tried sour cream. I’ve used regular milk, which turns out great. I assume sour cream would be fine, just a little more dense. I’d use the same amount.

      5. Janeth

        This is my first time make a cake from scratch It’s for my kids birthday! Can I leave this in the fridge for 3 days before decorating it or is best to do everything! I work a lot and trying to work around my schedule!

      6. Janeth

        I have another question the chocolate icing you make my kids want to have a green/ pink cake and would good coloring be fine? Sorry so many questions!

    1. Kat

      I started making chocolate cakes from a box at age 10..56 years ago..progressed to scratch cakes and this is by far the best chocolate cake ever!  My store only carries 2% Buttermilk so I used 3/4 Buttermilk and 1/4 heavy cream for the full far experience.  Awesome!






      1. Sara D Huddleston

        I followed the recipe, baked it twice, and it more than tripled in size, was always liquid in the middle, tried to cook it for longer but it kept increasing and spilling. So sad as I was trying to make it for a birthday and after so many hours I just had to find a different recipe 🙁

    2. Shalika

      Hi,
      I made this cake over and over many times for my small cake business.
      Everyone who bought said it’s an amazingly soft and a moist chocolate cake.
      I personally don’t like chocolate cake. But this recipe changed the way I was thinking about chocolate cake.
      Thank you very much for sharing this recipe.






      1. Lindsay

        I don’t really work with fondant, so I’m not the best judge of that. It is a very tender cake though, so if you’re looking for something more dense, this might not be it.

    3. Shraddha Kumbhani

      Madam I am keen to bake the cake but we are hindu jain and dont eat eggs what can I use to substitute eggs. Kindly reply and thanks in advance.

      1. Lindsay

        I’m sorry but I don’t really know much about egg replacements. I’ve seen some at the grocery store, but I’ve never tried them.

      2. R

        If you check in the natural foods aisle, you can get a egg replacement for those who are vegan. I’ve used it for my cakes and have gotten lots of compliments 😊

      3. Jen Lee

        Hello! A good substitute is the water/brine from tinned beans. Use one tablespoon per egg. I have only recently discovered myself and I used it in this recipe – worked really well! Enjoy 🙂

        Lindsay, thank you for this recipe. It is absolutely DIVINE!!

      4. Carolyn W

        This cake was awesome. Didn’t change a thing and it was amazingly perfect.. I would like to bake this cake as two layers in 10×2 inch pans. How much do I increase the ingredients for this size cake?






      5. Olivia

        I would say you can use chia eggs. Haven’t tried it in this recipe (although I’ve used it in quite a few others; I’m allergic to eggs) but it usually replaces 1-3 eggs well. You mix 1tbsp ground chia seeds (or flaxseeds but I find they give a bit of a taste and chia doesn’t) with 3tbsp of water per ‘egg’ and mix and let it gel for a bit. You can’t really use it to replace egg whites (or yolks I don’t think) but for whole eggs it works fine. It only reallt works well with onr or 2, 3 at a push. Definitely not more than 3

    4. Carolyn Peppernick

      This is an extremely moist cake! I have1 question though. Above it states that there is 941 calories. Is that for 1 slice or the whole cake?
      Thank you.






      1. Lindsay

        It’s for one slice. Most of that is the frosting, since it’s a fairly large amount of powdered sugar/frosting.

      2. Carolyn

        Thank you. I don’t use that icing recipe and I use almond milk and make my buttermilk with that. So..I’ll adjust the calorie intake down. My husband doesn’t care for chocolate but the first time I made this cake…he almost ate the whole thing himself. Thank you for a great recipe.

    5. Alicia

      Can I make this cake with Vanilla butter cream frosting? I’ve looked all over your site and the only one I can find that is a chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream uses challenge butter and I don’t have that. 

      1. Lindsay

        Yes, you can use vanilla buttercream. And challenge butter is simply the brand I use, but you can use any butter.

      2. Cheryl

        Hi.. Can i use dutch-processed cocoa powder for this recipe? If so, what’s the measurement? Thanks!

      1. Lindsay

        I don’t do much fondant work so I’m probably not best to ask. But I will say that it’s a very tender cake.

      2. Eliza

        Hi ! I cover thus with fondant all the time

        Only choclate cake I use.my page is baked boutique and co

    6. John Wylie

      Hi, i am in the us and can’t find shortening anywhere. Can you tell me any substitutions or is Stork Baking Block the same, thanks 

Lindsay
About Lindsay

I'm a wife and a mom to twin boys and a baby girl! And I've got a serious sweets addiction! Bring on the treats!

Scripture I’m Loving

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29