Featured in our Spring 2021 Food + Entertaining article, Spring Has Sprung, our cake was created by the talented Sam Allen of Wentworth & Fenn. If you choose to make your own instead, this recipe is aptly named and an absolute favorite for a perfectly moist and luscious chocolate cake.
The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe Ever
Course: Dessert24
Ingredients
- For the cake batter:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon espresso powder, store-bought or homemade
1 cup milk or buttermilk, almond, or coconut milk
½ cup vegetable oil or canola oil, or melted coconut oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
- For the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
1½ cups butter (3 sticks), softened
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
5 cups confectioner’s sugar
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon espresso powder
Directions
- To prepare the cake batter: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.
- Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well. Add milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter until well combined.
- Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the chocolate cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely.
- To prepare the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting: Add cocoa to a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer. Whisk through to remove any lumps. Add butter and cream together until well combined. Add sugar and milk to cocoa mixture by adding 1 cup of sugar followed by about a tablespoon of milk. After each addition has been combined, turn mixer onto high speed for about a minute. Repeat until all sugar and milk have been added. Add vanilla extract and espresso powder and combine well.
Notes
- Recipe from Robin Stone, Add A Pinch
- The cake batter will be very thin after adding the boiling water. To make ahead, let the baked cake layers cool completely. Wrap them well with plastic wrap and then with foil. Put each layer into a freezer bag and freeze up to 2 months. To serve, thaw in the refrigerator overnight with wrapping intact. The next day, the layers will be ready to fill and frost.
- If frosting appears too dry, add more milk (a tablespoon at a time) until it reaches the right consistency. If it appears too wet and does not hold its form, add more confectioner’s sugar (a tablespoon at a time) until it reaches the right consistency.
