Super easy, moist and best triple chocolate cake recipe from scratch, homemade with simple ingredients! Loaded with cocoa powder and coffee. This is the ultimate one bowl cake and pairs perfectly with chocolate frosting.
If you have been looking for the perfect cake for your next party, I assure you that your search has come to an end! I have tried many recipes and always find myself coming back to my true and tested family recipe. The texture is perfectly soft and moist but not so soft that it falls apart. The chocolate flavor is very balanced. It's not too bitter and not too sweet and pairs well with many of these Frosting and Filling Recipes.
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This Ultimate Triple Chocolate Cake is the BEST!
- Simple ingredients
- Fluffy
- Moist
- Intense chocolate flavor
- Soft but stable texture
How To Make Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe From Scratch?
- Mix wet ingredients- This includes eggs, oil, milk, vanilla extract.
- Mix in dry ingredients- This includes flour, cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda
- Stir in coffee- Until batter is smooth and creamy.
- Fill cake pans- Lined with parchment paper and greased sides.
- Bake- Until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool cakes- Fully.
- Assemble- Place one cake on serving dish and spread icing on top. Place the other cake on top of the icing. Then, ice whole cake.
- Decorate top- With mini chocolate chips and sprinkles.
Variations for Moist Chocolate Cake
Birthday cake- Use the decorations from this Best Birthday Cake {Easy and Fun}, but the recipe below.
Use dark chocolate- The end result will be super rich but not as sweet.
Glazed cake- Top with a smooth glaze for an elegant finish. This Chocolate Ganache would be perfect.
Ganache cake- Use this Chocolate ganache frosting {2 ingredients} to ice the cake.
Chocolate cake decoration/design- Try any of the ideas from the following: Birthday Cake Ideas, Easy Cake Decorating Ideas, Russian Piping Tips Tutorial
Kit Kat cake- Use the recipe below and then, decorate it according to this Kit Kat Cake with Strawberries recipe.
Try other extracts- Such as coconut, caramel, cherry, almond for a unique flavor profile.
Try a different frostings- Such as Coconut Pecan Frosting or this Easy Mint Frosting.
Tips And Techniques for Best Homemade Chocolate Cake
What makes the cake moist and fluffy? Creaming the butter and sugar together creates air pockets. These expand while the cake is baking creating a fluffy cake. The moist cake is produced by the correct ratio of liquid to dry ingredients.
Why do you add boiling water to cake? Some recipes use boiling water or coffee to help develop and deepen the flavor of the cocoa powder.
Why is my cake dry and crumbly? This may be due to too much flour being added to the cake. Make sure to measure accurately in order to ensure a cake that is not dry and crumbly. It can also be that the cake was over baked, or baked at too high of a temperature. Over-baking the cake also evaporates a lot of moisture, resulting in a dry cake.
Why is my cake dense? This may be due to either too much sugar or other liquids being added. It is also possible that the cake was over-mixed which can make the cake dense, chewy and gummy.
Why did my cake deflate and sink in the middle? Too much baking powder and baking soda can cause a build-up of gas. This causes the center of the cake to rise too quickly before the rest of the cake finishes baking, then the center deflates and sinks. This can also happen if the oven was opened halfway during baking. It causes heat to escape, causing a dramatic drop in oven temperature and this can result in deflation.
Why add coffee in cake? It brings out the flavor of chocolate and makes it more intense!
How to keep chocolate from sticking to pan? Make sure to line the cake pans with parchment paper along the bottom and then grease the sides.
Can you add cocoa to cake mix? Yes, you can add unsweetened cocoa powder. Check out this post to learn all the ways to improve a boxed cake mix: How to Make Box Cake Better (Taste Homemade).
Storage
Refrigerate- In a sealed container for up to 3 days.
Freeze- The cake and frosting can be stored in sealed containers separately for up to 1 month. Thaw to room temperature and then assemble, as per instructions below.
More Easy Chocolate Desserts
- Chocolate Trifle
- Black Forest Cake (With Cake Mix)
- Depression Cake (Wacky Cake)
- Pretzel Cake
- Chocolate Crackers (Sweet and Salty)
Recipe
Chocolate Cake
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Ingredients
- 2 Eggs Large
- ½ cup Oil
- 1 cup Milk Whole or 2%
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- ¾ cup Cocoa powder
- 2 cups Granulated sugar Granulated
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon powder Optional
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1.5 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1.5 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 cup Strongly brewed coffee Or water, Hot
- 4-5 cups Chocolate buttercream icing
- 1 cup Chocolate chips Mini size, For decorating
- 1 tablespoon Sprinkles For decorating
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add eggs, oil, milk, vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
- Add flour, cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda and mix until partially combined.
- Stir in hot brewed coffee until batter is smooth and creamy. Batter will be very thin and that's normal.
- Pour batter in two round cake pans (Dimensions: 9x2) that are lined with parchment paper and greased along the sides.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool down fully.
- While they are cooling, prepare chocolate icing.
- Remove parchment paper from bottom of each cake.
- Place one cake on a cake stand and spread icing on top.
- Then, place the other cake on top of the icing and press gently to secure it together.
- Ice the whole cake.
- Use the back of a spoon or spatula to create a rustic design.
- Toss mini chocolate chips and sprinkles on top.
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- This recipe will either make 24 cupcakes or a two 9 inch round cakes.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Stephanie Taveras
This was great! Thank you so much. I made these for my co-workers and used pink for Valentine's day and there was not one left!
Abeer
That's great Stephanie! I am so happy to hear everyone loved these cupcakes. Please feel free to share pics of your cupcakes if you took any
Nadine Osborne
I do believe that if there were rehab for chocaholics, no one would be out & about on their own. This cake/cupcakes looks moist & delicious. I have a similar recipe that uses coffee instead of water. Have you ever tried using coffee? I've bookmarked your recipe, I'll make it soon. Thank you for sharing.
Abeer
@ Nadine... Hahah. Very true! I haven't tried this with coffee yet but I am eager to give that a shot now... i think it will make the chocolate flavor stronger....mmmmmm!
Britney
Can you substitute the water with milk? Just to make it a bit creamier.
Abeer
@Britney...I haven't tried that but it might make the cake denser. If you try it, please feel free to let me know how it goes.
Linda
Abeer, I think I love you!!!! hee hee just kidding. but I do love your post. ALL OF THEM! I can't wait to try some of your great ideas and recipes.
Cakewhiz
@Linda... Lol. You are too sweet. Let me know how the recipes turn out
somaya
hi abeer... these chocolate cupcakes look sooo delicious... i have a couple of questions if u dont mind... should the oil be olive oil or can i use any veg oil.. and can this recipe be halved or doubled easily.. as some recipes don't support this option hehehe if i may say that... and have u tried to add a teaspoon of instant coffee to boost up the choc flavor.
cheers from a fellow chocoholic.
Abeer Rizvi
Hi Somaya,
You can easily replace olive oil with vegetable oil or canola oil. I don't like doubling or halving this recipe... it doesn't really work out that well. And yes, adding instant coffee really enhances the chocolate flavor...i have tried it a couple of times! I hope you give this recipe a shot and enjoy these cupcakes as much as me!
aruni fernando
hi Abeer, great tute. cake lovely and the cupcakes too. will try this tonight. i have been liking yours since late. came across while looking for how to do sprinkles. thanks once again. Aruni. Dubai.
Abeer Rizvi
Thanks Aruni It always makes me so happy to hear that my tutorials and recipes are helping people. I hope you like these cupcakes!
Lydia
I tried these and they turned out lovely! Very chocolatey
Abeer Rizvi
I am so happy to hear that! I have tried so many cupcake recipes but this one has stolen my heart and I always end up making these for parties and picnics
lea Mesina
Hi im lea want ask if ever i didn't find any skim milk what would be the best substitute?Thanks.
Abeer Rizvi
You can easily use whole milk without any issues. Happy baking!
Alia A
Thanks for your chocolate cup cake recipe .
I just made 1/2 the ingredients and they made 12 cup cakes . I skipped putting into microwave and reduced temperature to 325 degrees , baked for 26 minutes .
Abeer Rizvi
I am so glad you liked it and happy to hear that making half the recipe worked out so well!
Mary
Love it !! I made 24cupcakes it was so easy to make and moist and delicious.
Abeer Rizvi
That's so good to hear!
Shyanne
These cupcakes turned out amazingly! My only problem has been that they are sticky. Could it be the oil or maybe not baked long enough?
Abeer Rizvi
Happy to hear they turned out well. I am not sure why they were sticky for you. What cupcake liners do you use? I use Wilton's liners and never have issues with sticking.
Chef Marla
These were really fun to make. Everybody goes into the pool, mix, pour, bake, and eat. Great for a kids project. Easy!
Abeer Rizvi
That's great!