This Chocolate Cake recipe is super easy to put together, moist and delicious! It’s almost as easy as a box mix cake, but tastier!
Easy Moist Chocolate Cake
If there’s one thing I love about this blog, it’s getting to play around with new recipes and share them with you. It can be so hard to find just the right cake and it’s always my goal to give you that. For me, that often begins with having the right base cakes – meaning a wonderful vanilla and chocolate cake (or cupcake, cheesecake, etc). One of my goals over the next few weeks is to provide you with the best of the best as far as basics are concerned. Today we are starting with chocolate cake!
You may or may not have already tried my Best Chocolate Cake. I still get major heart eyes for that cake. Love it! But I’m not one to be satisfied with just one version of a classic. I like options. Plus, not everyone has the same idea of the “perfect” cake, so variety is good.
And when you bake as much as I do, every so often I decide it’s time for something new. Problem is, when you already have an amazing chocolate cake, how do you make the best even better?
An Easy, Classic Chocolate Sheet Cake
Well since the other version is a slow bake cake that bakes at 300 degrees and that can sometimes throw people off, not to mention it takes longer to bake, I decided to make a version that bakes at the usual 350. I wanted to be sure it was just as tasty though! Surprisingly, that wasn’t as easy of a task as I’d expected.
There was a fair amount of experimenting, but the big thing was decreasing some of the liquid so allow for a quicker baking cake. I played around with decreasing the milk, oil and water. They all have similar effects on the cake, but produce slightly different results. I primarily went back and forth on the oil and milk. I ended up with a little more milk than oil. Oil adds great moisture to the cake, but too much makes it a bit of a firmer cake. Reducing it a touch and leaving more milk makes it a little lighter and softer. The final result is perfect and so delicious!
The Best Chocolate Frosting for Chocolate Cake
The frosting on top is also to die for! It’s my usual chocolate frosting, but this time I beat it for a few minutes to incorporate more air and have more of a whipped frosting. It lightens in color and gets fluffier. It’s just as chocolatey, but the whipped, light texture goes perfectly with the moist cake.
I really am in love with this cake! It’s a nice change from the slow-bake version if you’re looking for something easy and quick to throw together. The other one will always remain the MOISTEST cake ever (like seriously, it’s nutty), but this cake truly is moist and tender and SO good! And the 9×13 cake size is classic and easy to transport so you can have chocolate cake all day, err-y day. 🙂 You’re welcome.
Read transcript
You might also like these chocolate cake recipes:
German Chocolate Cake
Nutella Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Poke Cake
Best Chocolate Cake
Death By Chocolate Icebox Cake
Mint Chocolate Chip Layer Cake
Easy Moist Chocolate Cake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 32 minutes
- Total Time: 52 minutes
- Yield: 12-15 Servings
- Category: Cake
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This chocolate cake recipe is super easy to put together, moist and delicious! It’s almost as easy as a box mix, but even tastier.
Ingredients
CHOCOLATE CAKE
- 1 3/4 cups (228g) all purpose flour
- 2 cups (414g) sugar
- 3/4 cup (85g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240ml) milk
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (240ml) hot water
CHOCOLATE FROSTING
- 1/2 cup (112g) butter
- 1/2 cup (95g) shortening
- 3 cups (345g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup (57g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 4–5 tbsp (60-75ml) water or milk
- Sprinkles, optional
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a 9×13 inch cake pan with non-stick baking spray.
2. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt to a large mixer bowl and combine. Set aside.
3. Add the milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and eggs to a medium sized bowl and combine.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
5. Slowly add the hot water to the batter and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 29-32 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
7. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool.
8. To make the frosting, combine the butter and shortening in a large mixer bowl and mix until smooth.
9. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
10. Add the vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons of water or milk and mix until smooth.
11. Add remaining powdered sugar and cocoa and mix until smooth.
12. Add remaining water or milk as needed and mix until smooth, keeping an eye on the consistency of the frosting so it doesn’t get too thin.
13. Beat frosting on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until it has lightened in color and gotten fluffy.
14. Spread frosting evenly onto the cake. Top with sprinkles, if desired.
Keywords: easy chocolate cake recipe, best chocolate cake recipe, chocolate sheet cake, birthday cake recipe, chocolate frosting
Enjoy!
This post may contain affiliate sales links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Im gonna make this for my moms birthday and cant wait for her reaction!!!
I’ve made this cake so many times, my whole family loves it! My mamma taught me how to make this icing that is super easy to make, and it’s not two sweet either, but sweet enough that kids like me still love it. It goes perfectly with the cake! Thank you so much for making this amazing recipe!
★★★★★
This is a great recipe to try as a first timer. I changed a couple of ingredients since I prefer others as substitute.
For frosting I used half butter and half unrefined coconut oil.
And for cake mix I used French flour, avocado oil, and only 1.5 cups raw sugar. It’s delicious. Thank you for sharing your recipe Linsay.
★★★★★
I would like to make this in a 12×18 sheet cake pan. Should I double the recipe? Or would it be too much? Thanks!
Can this be cooked in different sized tins i.e. 8inch square or a 9inch circular one and if so how does this affect the cooking time please?
Thank you.
Ann
I would recommend 8 inch pans, like in this cake. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/peanut-butter-chocolate-layer-cake/
This was excellent. Followed the recipe exactly as written. I added 4 extra minutes to the cooking time (until toothpick came out with moist crumbs and the middle set a little). My go-to chocolate cake recipe moving forward! I also like that this isn’t needing to be placed in two pans. It’s a straightforward, one cake pan and easy recipe. Thank you!
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed it!
This is Hershey’s perfectly perfect chocolate cake recipe with 2 little tweaks It’s on the Hershey can of cocoa
Hi I would like to bake in two 9 inch round pans..how long would it take? Thank you
I’m not sure since I haven’t done it with this cake. I’m gonna guess somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes.
Hi,
I tried your recipe being a choclate addict and your recipe was super easy to try & looked so yummy 😋. But unfortunately it didn’t came out well.it was tasting bitter & seems like center part sunked little after an initial rise .I did followed the exact measurements and baked for 30 mnts with a clean tooth pick while testing.
Could you please help with where might have been the issue ….
It’s hard to say without being there to see it. It could be that something wasn’t measured quite right, or maybe your baking soda or powder is a little old or even that maybe the oven was opened too soon.
Thank you for your reply.Baking soda, Powder & cocoa powder just bought 1 month before(365 brand from whole foods),still it was too bitter that I had to throw it.
May be have to give it a try again or ask a frnd to try🤞
Hi I’ just made this it’s baking now it was runny is that normal
Yes, that’s normal.
I have to say that this was simply the best chocolate cake I think I have ever had. I bake a lot and I rely on Martha Stewart a lot. I had given up hope on recipes that I found online but this recipe here has forever changed that way of thinking. I can’t even describe how incredible this cake turned out. I followed the recipe to a T and I used Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa because that’s the brand I had. The cake was dark chocolate, it rolls completely to the top of the pan and it was incredibly moist. I did not make the icing because I had my own recipe but I will be making this again and definitely using this recipe for frosting as well. You cannot go wrong with this. Simply incredible
★★★★★
I soooo love your recipes! Keen to try this one as well. But i am wanting to make 2 of 8×8 square pans. Can you guide me how much should i increase the ingredients by to make 2 pans? And also how the bake time will change. Thank you
This should work as is for 2 pans. I haven’t made that size though, so I’m guessing, but you’ll just want to bake them for maybe 25 minutes – give or take.
Hi! My friend requested I make a rectangle cake for her sons birthday. But I have no experience in that. Would this cake be thick enough for me to torte in half? Or would you recommend doubling it and making two sheet cakes?
Thank you!
Yes, you could torte this one.
I soooo love your recipes! Keen to try this one as well. But i am wanting to make 2 of 8×8 square pans. Can you guide me how much should i increase the ingredients by to make 2 pans? And also how the bake time will change. Thank you
Hi I made the cake and the batter was very runny not like normal batter
Yes, it’s a very thin batter.
Lindsay I just used your recipe again. My family loves how this cake tastes! Nothing like this cake with a glass of milk or a bowl of vanilla ice cream! Once again thanks!
★★★★★
Could I substitute the cocoa powder with hot chocolate mix and reduce the sugar quantity? Totally ran out of cocoa powder and promised a yummy chocolate cake to my kiddos!
I’m not sure. I’m sorry.