Chocolate WASC is the chocolate version of our popular WASC recipe that with an addition of a few ingredients, your box cake will taste almost like scratch. The texture is light and fluffy but is still sturdy enough to carve a cake or stack into for a wedding cake. Chocolate WASC is a great option if you're not quite ready to take the plunge into baking a chocolate cake recipe from scratch.
Chocolate Sour Cream Cake
One of the ingredients that makes this cake so dang good is the sour cream. It adds a nice tang to the flavor and an extra level of moistness. Sour cream is a popular ingredient used in a lot of chocolate cake recipes giving it a similar flavor that you might get from using buttermilk or mayonnaise. Ready to bake from scratch? Try my from-scratch chocolate mayonnaise cake.
Chocolate Cake With Coffee
I like to use coffee as my liquid instead of water because the coffee brings out the chocolate flavor. Your batter will smell like strong coffee but don't worry, it won't taste like coffee. You don't have to use coffee, you can use water or even milk if you want.
How To Make Chocolate WASC
Chocolate WASC starts with a nice chocolate-y box mix. I usually use Duncan Hines chocolate fudge cake but devils food cake will also do nicely. Just pour the contents of the mix into a bowl and add in your extra ingredients. Just ignore the instructions on the back of the box and use the recipe below instead.
Mix all your ingredients together until combined and then mix vigorously for two minutes. I used a stand mixer with a paddle attachment but you can also just use a bowl and a spoon.
I tweaked this recipe to contain melted butter so that when you chill it the cake is a bit firmer and easier to handle.
Why not just make it from scratch?
I get this question a lot. A LOT. I get it. If you're going to go through all this trouble of adding so many ingredients to a box mix, why not just make it from scratch? I used to think the same thing. But over the years of teaching countless bakers of all skill levels, I have learned that a lot of people are super intimidated to bake from scratch. They have little to no knowledge of how to measure, how to mix or even what a good scratch cake should taste like.
The thing about box mix is it isn't just the same ingredients as a cake from scratch. A box contains emulsifiers that basically make the cake bake up perfectly no matter what you do to it. The problem? Those emulsifiers make the cake taste a bit fake. Like eating strawberry flavored candy. It's good but doesn't exactly taste like a real strawberry right?
So adding in these extra ingredients gives you the best of both worlds. A recipe that makes the baker do more than just opening a box but the emulsifiers still ensure that the cake bakes up successfully and the added ingredients make the cake taste more like homemade. Thus giving the baker much-needed confidence and a bit of a taste of what a homemade cake tastes like so if they choose to take a leap two baking from scratch, it's not so scary.
Chocolate WASC Cake For Cupcakes
This recipe works great for cupcakes and rise up perfectly. I get about 36 cupcakes from one box.
I like using my chocolate buttercream for this recipe. The yummy flavor pairs perfectly with the chocolate cake without it being too heavy. If you're looking for other yummy chocolate cake recipes, check out my guinness beer cake which is the epitome of decadent.
Other doctored box mix recipes you might want to try!
WASC (white almond sour cream cake)
Strawberry cake mix recipe
Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator
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Cups of Batter Needed
8 cups
Cups of Frosting Needed
5 cups
Note: measurements are estimated based off the vanilla cake recipe using standard US cake pans and sizes. Measurements used are for 2" tall cake pans only. Your results may vary. Do not overfill cake pans above manufacturer's recommended guidelines.
Recipe
Ingredients
Chocolate WASC Recipe
- 1 box Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
- 5 oz Ap flour 1 cup
- 2 oz cocoa powder ½ cup
- 12 oz cold coffee 1 ½ cups
- 2 oz vegetable oil ¼ cup
- 4 oz melted butter ½ cup
- 3 large eggs
- 6 oz sour cream ¾ cup
- 7 oz sugar 1 cup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Frosting
- 16 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate
- 16 ounces heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Chocolate WASC Instructions
- Preheat oven to 335℉. Prepare two 8" round cake pans. I prefer to use cake goop.
- Add all dry ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Add in the rest of your ingredients and mix on low for 1 minute.
- Stop and scrape the bowl and then mix on medium for two minutes.
- Pour batter into your cake pans and bake for 30- 35 minutes until a toothpick comes out of the center with just a few sticky crumbs clinging to the toothpick.
- Let cool a few minutes in the pan before turning out onto a cooling rack. Let cool fully and frost.
Chocolate Frosting
- Place the heavy whipping cream into a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Whisk occasionally to prevent burning. Do not walk away!
- Heat cream until steam is rising from the surface but it isn't boiling.
- Pour hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes
- Add in salt and whisk until smooth. If you have any un-melted lumps, you can use an immersion blender to get them out.
- Pour chocolate into a shallow dish and cover with plastic wrap let cool at room temperature until a peanut butter consistency. If chocolate is too firm, you can microwave for 10 seconds and then stir with a spatula or whip with a hand mixer.
- Frost cake as desired.
Rose says
Do you have a recipe for a doctored German chocolate box cake?
Liz Marek says
I don't have a separate one, but you can use this same recipe with a German chocolate cake mix. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Shelli Overacker says
I have made this cake so many times and it always gets rave reviews. i always make the 2 8 inch round or 3 six inch rounds. I usually just weigh the batter and divide it evenly between the 6 or 8 inch pans. But now I have a question.
I need to make 2 10 inch and 2 6 inch round cakes. Can you give me some guidance on how much batter I need in each pan (or batches of this recipe) that I need?
Liz Marek says
Thank you! Roughly, use about 1 cup of batter for every inch of a 2" tall round pan, minus 4. So a 6" pan takes about 2 cups and a 10" pan about 6 cups. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Sezelle says
I'd challenge you to a side by side taste test with completely home made. And so easy! Totally loved it, as did my family.
Liz Marek says
Ha! So glad your family loved it.
Laurie Lehman says
How long do you bake in a 13 x 9 pan?
Liz Marek says
Start checking at about 35 minutes and bake until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Jackie says
Can it be made in a Bundt pan. For how long.
Liz Marek says
Yes! Grease the bundt well and bake until a toothpick comes out of the center with just a few moist crumbs. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Becca K says
This has become the only chocolate cake I make. It's SO moist, dense, and a deep chocolate flavor. It doesn't need frosting to be amazing, but adding the chocolate buttercream recipe she has here is literally "the icing on the cake!!"
Liz Marek says
Thank you so much!
Laura says
This recipe turned out good, however, the amount of flour shown is 5 oz, then shows 1 cup! Is it 5 oz or 1 full cup (8oz)?? i used about 7 oz to be safe
Liz Marek says
Thanks for trying it! It's 5 ounces by weight, which is about 1 cup of flour. A cup of flour weighs much less than 8 ounces. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Natalie says
This is my go to cake and cupcake recipe now. It sets up perfectly is very moist and delicious. I make the white chocolate and a lemon version.
Theresa says
What a fabulous recipe! I have used it for candle cakes for Halloween, and now for graduation cupcakes. So well received! Thanks for such a great recipe!
Pauletta says
Could you put some chocolate chips in this recipe? Also what is AP flour?
Liz Marek says
AP is all-purpose flour. And yes, you can add chocolate chips! If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Courtney Hall says
I am a home cake decorator and this does a BEAUTIFUL cake that can stand up to being layered and iced. With still being moist and lovely. Please love this cake when I do it for weddings and parties.
My only complaint was that I would prefer the recipe to have been in Grams weight instead of cups and ounces. I find there can be a margin of error for the home baker with the flour especially if not weighted. If anyone wants the recipe in grams for a scale let me know I have converted it.
Liz Marek says
You can use the metric option on the recipe card to change the measurements to grams 🙂
Ana says
Hi
Yes please! I too prefer baking in grams appreciate it very much! I want to bake it in a Bundt pan
Liz Marek says
Yes, you can bake it in a bundt pan. Just bake until a toothpick comes out of the center with a few moist crumbs. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks
Gina says
The best chocolate cake I have ever made, or eaten! Everyone raved about it.
Gloria S. says
Thank you Liz!
Ann Marie says
Hi I love this recipe but now I’m going to make it as cupcakes. How long would you suggest I bake them and at what temp? Thank you!
Liz Marek says
Same temperature, and bake for about 18 minutes. If you have more questions, come ask me in the Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks