Moist Chocolate Cake

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4.83 from 35 votes

Moist Chocolate Cake

This Moist Chocolate Cake is the best from-scratch chocolate cake recipe ever. Rich and deeply chocolatey.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Best Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Cake Recipe, Moist Chocolate Cake

Servings:

Author: Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated white sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk or substitute by putting 1 tbsp white vinegar in a cup then filling the rest up with milk; let stand 5 minutes until thickened
½ cup butter melted
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee or 2 tsp instant coffee in 1 cup boiling water

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour (using cocoa powder ideally - see note) two 9-inch baking pans and line them with parchment circles.
In the large bowl of a standing mixer, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt on low speed for one minute.
Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until batter forms, about 30 seconds. Pause to scrape down sides and bottom of mixer bowl as well as the paddle. Beat 15 seconds more, until mixture is mostly smooth.
Remove bowl from mixer and stir in hot coffee with a rubber spatula. Batter will be very runny.
Pour batter evenly between the two pans and bake on middle rack of oven for 25-35 minutes, until thermometer inserted in the middle reaches 190ºF.
Allow to cool 15 minutes in pans, then run a butter knife around the edges of each cake. Line two cooling racks with parchment paper. (See note)
Place a cooling rack over top of each pan. Wearing oven mitts, use both hands to hold the racks in place while flipping the cakes over onto the racks. Set the racks down and gently thump on the bottom of the pans until the cakes release. Cool completely before handling or frosting.

Video

Notes

For FROSTING the cake: here's a link to the fluffy whipped chocolate frosting pictured, you don't want to miss this incredible, airy chocolate buttercream. It's so easy. This fluffy vanilla frosting is another tested-till-perfect gorgeous frosting option.

Use cocoa powder to dust your pans instead of flour. Flour can leave a gummy white residue on the finished cakes.
Line your cooling racks with parchment paper before flipping the pans over onto them. This prevents the cake layers from sticking to the wire racks.
Can you taste the coffee? Absolutely, 100% no, you can't taste it at ALL. You won't know it's there, it just deepens the flavour of the chocolate.
I use decaf instant coffee so I don't have to worry about caffeine but feel free to use plain boiling water instead. Still an absolutely delicious (and very moist) chocolate cake.
To bake in a 9x13" pan, bake at 325ºF for 35-45 minutes (start checking at 35 minutes).
To make cupcakes, line muffin tins with paper liners and spray the pan (it's a moist cake, which can stick). Fill the cups only halfway full. Bake at 375ºF for 18-22 minutes. It makes 24 cupcakes or 48 mini cupcakes.
Don't have buttermilk? In a pinch you use one of these buttermilk substitutes.

Nutrition