Description
This Best Moist Chocolate Cake recipe offers a rich, tender chocolate cake topped with a creamy cocoa buttercream frosting. Perfectly balanced with a deep chocolate flavor and a soft, moist crumb, this classic cake is easy to prepare and bakes up beautifully for any celebration or dessert craving.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
Frosting
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (more as needed for texture)
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Pans: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans to ensure your cakes don’t stick.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Add the eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes to incorporate and aerate the batter.
- Incorporate Boiling Water: Gently stir in the boiling water. The batter will be thin, but this is essential for a moist cake.
- Pour Batter and Bake: Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool Cakes: Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely before frosting.
- Make Frosting: Beat the softened butter until creamy and smooth. Gradually sift in powdered sugar and cocoa powder, then add salt, vanilla extract, and heavy cream.
- Whip Frosting: Beat the frosting until fluffy. Add more heavy cream if needed to achieve your preferred consistency.
- Assemble Cake: Place one cake layer on a serving plate and frost the top. Stack the second cake layer on top and frost the top and sides evenly.
- Serve: Slice and serve the cake. Enjoy your moist, delicious chocolate cake!
Notes
- Ensure boiling water is added slowly and mixed gently to maintain the batter’s thin consistency.
- Using room temperature eggs allows them to blend better into the batter.
- Check cake doneness with a toothpick to prevent overbaking and drying out.
- Adjust heavy cream in frosting gradually for your preferred texture—more cream means a lighter frosting.
- For a more intense chocolate flavor, use high-quality cocoa powder.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
