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.
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 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.
Joy says
Hi Liz, quick question. The recipe says 2-8 inch cakes but in the video you say 3-8 inch cake pans. Which is correct? I’m hoping it’s actually 3 pans 🤗
Sugar Geek Show says
You can use either! Depends on how thick you want the layers to be. If you use 3, just bake for less time.
Christine H says
I truly am impressed 🤩 I made the WASC 2 wks ago & it was so good that I decided that would be the only thing I'd let people order 🤷♀️ Then I made this tonight, IT'S JUST AS GOOD 🤯 I had to bake for 45-50 mins, but was perfect when it came out. I'm so happy! Thanks for sharing all of this knowledge & deliciousness with us 💜
Nabiha Khan says
Hi Liz! I noticed your White WASC cake was baked at 350 F for 2 8" round cakes but the chocolate WASC cake is baked at 335 F. I baked the chocolate cake for 35 mins and its still jiggly in the middle. Didn't have this problem with the white cake though. Do you think I should bake them at 350 F next time? I love your recipes by the way!
Elizabeth Marek says
If the cake is still jiggly just bake for longer. Every oven is different 🙂 Or you can bake at a higher temperature if you choose. These are just the times and temperatures that work best for me.
Terry Pinneo says
How can I use this recipe to make a German Chocolate Cake?
Sugar Geek Show says
Check out my German chocolate cake recipe! You can use this chocolate WASC recipe instead of the German cake if you want a more chocolate-y cake https://sugargeekshow.com/german-chocolate-cake/
Michele says
I LOVE your WASC cake so I can't wait to try this one. I have a question about the frosting - my frosting will not get to a thick enough consistency to spread. Any ideas?
Sugar Geek Show says
Thank you! Check out my chocolate ganache recipe and video, you'll have to leave the ganache overnight to get it to a spreadable consistency.
Dee Burnett says
I made cupcakes following the Chocolate WASC recipe with a box of Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake mix. For the 1 1/2 cups of coffee, I used 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk. I was nervous it would be too sour (since the recipe also called for 3/4 cups of sour cream), but the cupcakes were delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Jo Ann Wilga says
This cake was so so good. I made it for a birthday at work, everyone raves about it. My husband loved it too. Will definitely make again
CindeeZee says
I bought my Duncan Hines chocolate fudge
at Walmart 🙂
Annette says
Liz I noticed one picture shows a Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge cake mix and another Shows Dark Chocolate Fudge. Which do you use? Would they taste the same? I’m having trouble finding Chocolate Fudge.
Elizabeth Marek says
I prefer the duncan hines but also have problems finding it sometimes. Both taste good but I think the duncan hines is slightly better
Moriah says
Should the sour cream and eggs be room temperature or cold?
Elizabeth Marek says
Room temp is best but its not super important with box mix cakes
Laura says
LOVE this recipe. I did forget to add the additional sugar in a batch that I made. The cake still baked beautiful and honestly tasted okay just not sweet. I ended up throwing it out because I needed the cake to be right but I should have crumbled the cake up, mixed in some ganache and some other tasty ingredients and make cake pops but I thought of it too late.
Aimee says
Made this today for the first time and it was hit! I had multiple compliments and requests to make again. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipes with us. I can’t wait to try more!
catherine r truitt says
Hello!
Just to follow up, mix 1 minute on low and 2 minute on medium... exactly what I did. I just want this recipe as the cake tastes amazing!
Thank you!
catherine r truitt says
I made cake this twice yesterday. First go I used a scale and was super careful about weighing the ingredients. I know my oven cooks cooler so I ended up cooking it quite a bit longer than the recipe stated. Removed from oven, cooled for 20 minutes in the pans. Gently removed the first cake and it crumbled in my hands. Removed the second cake and it followed suit.
Back to the drawing board, round 2 I did not weigh anything, mix was put into cake pans and again, baked 30 extra minutes. Took out of pans to finish cooling after 30 minutes. I could tell the cakes were super delicate. Put back in pans, wrapped in cling wrap, put in fridge, will ice after work today.
Took broken cake and threw ice cream over it and ate it. Was absolutely delicious. Hoping the one in the fridge turns out.
Elizabeth Marek says
Sounds like you are not mixing for long enough. The cake should not be crumbly at all.
Laura says
Tried this for the first time today - FANTASTIC!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. True treasure!