Best Chocolate Cake Recipe
If you’re looking for the best, albeit simple moist chocolate cake recipe on the planet, then you’re in the right place. The recipe that we are going to share with you makes use of a very unique ingredient that we can guarantee will elevate your chocolate cake eating experience to whole new heights.
While you may question the addition of espresso powder in this recipe, it does complement the natural wonders of vanilla extract in elevating the flavors of the delicacy. It gives you that oomph that you may be looking for in a rich and velvety chocolate cake. Personally, the addition of this ingredient both in the cake itself and on the chocolate frosting has given the recipe a new meaning.
Additionally, you will find making this cake to be ridiculously simple as it doesn’t require any fancy kitchen gadget like a stand mixer or any of that sort. As long as you have a large bowl in which you can mix the ingredients in, then you should do just fine. It would be making a cake just like grandma did at a time when such expensive kitchen appliances were mere figments of imagination. Of course, if you do have such a gadget, feel free to use it.
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Here is the list of ingredients that you’ll need for the best homemade chocolate cake recipe you will ever make.
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup of cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1 cup of milk or buttermilk or almond milk or coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 2 cups of white sugar
- 1 and ½ teaspoons of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 2 large-sized eggs
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- ½ cup of canola oil or coconut oil
- 1 cup of boiling water
As for the buttercream frosting that you will be coating on this moist chocolate cake, you will need to prepare the following ingredients.
- 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa
- 1 and ½ cups of softened butter
- 5 cups of confectioner’s sugar
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- ½ cup of milk
- ½ teaspoon of espresso powder
To make one of the best moist chocolate cake recipes you’ll ever have, we strongly recommend preparing the chocolate buttercream frosting first. Here’s what you will be doing.
- Get a large bowl and pour the unsweetened cocoa into it. Make sure to whisk it thoroughly so you can guarantee a lump-free frosting. Now, if you have a stand mixer, then you can pour it in its bowl.
- Add the softened butter into the cocoa powder and make sure that they are well-combined.
- In the same bowl, add 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar. Add a tablespoon of milk. Whisk the mixture as fast as you possibly can. If you have a handheld mixer or the stand mixer, then run it at high speed for one full minute. Add another cup of sugar and a tablespoon of milk. Mix it again for another minute. Keep on adding sugar and milk until both ingredients have been used up. Make sure to mix everything after each addition. If the frosting looks a bit dry, then you can add a tablespoon of milk then give it a good mix. Continue adding a tablespoon of milk until you get the right consistency. The same is true if the frosting is too wet or runny. You will need to add a tablespoon of sugar at a time until you get the correct consistency.
- Add the espresso powder and vanilla extract and mix thoroughly.
- Put in your refrigerator to maintain its consistency.
Now that we’re done with the chocolate buttercream frosting, it’s time to deal with the moist chocolate cake.
- Crank up your oven to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit while you’re getting ready with the chocolate cake. Additionally, butter and lightly flour a pair of 9-inch cake pans.
- Get a large bowl and dump in the all-purpose flour, white sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt. Whisk thoroughly, making sure that all the different ingredients are well-combined. Alternatively, you can put this in the bowl of your stand mixer, if you have any.
- Add the buttermilk, canola oil, vanilla extract, and eggs and mix thoroughly. If you have a stand mixer, set it on medium speed. If you don’t have any, then get whisking at high speed.
- Once the cake mixture has been thoroughly combined, slowly reduce the speed of the mixer and carefully pour in the boiling water. Make sure that everything is combined so you get a nice consistency of the cake batter. You don’t want it too thick or too runny.
- Pour the chocolate cake batter into the two 9-inch pans. Make sure that you pour equal amounts.
- Place the cake pans into the now-hot and ready oven and start baking for about half an hour to 35 minutes. You can also insert a toothpick into the center of the cake to make sure that it is clean when you pull it out. You can also use a cake tester if you have one.
- Once done, take the pans out of the oven and let them cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the cake pans so that you can cool them thoroughly.
- Bring out your prepared chocolate buttercream frosting and get ready to coat your rich, decadent chocolate cake.
Ideally, you can wrap the baked chocolate cakes in plastic and aluminum foil. You can then place them in your fridge so that they will really be cool when you start frosting them. These can also be stored in your freezer for up to 2 months so you can easily prepare several cakes in advance and stuff your freezer with a delectable treat. When you’re ready to surprise your family with this homemade chocolate cake recipe, all you need is to thaw the cakes overnight inside your refrigerator and have them ready for frosting the following day.
Delighting your family with a rich and velvety moist chocolate cake is now made easy with this recipe. This will surely make their day.
Sources:
- The Best Chocolate Cake Recipes You’ll Ever Make – HuffPost Life
- Deep South Chocolate Cake – HowStuffWorks