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chocolate cake recipe
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Chocolate Cake Recipe

This is my signature chocolate cake recipe that I have been using for a little over 6 years. It was the first chocolate cake that I ever made from scratch that tasted like what I think in my mind chocolate cake should taste like! A little bit fudgy, full of chocolate flavor and melt in your mouth delicious!
7 cups of batter makes about two 8" round cakes.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 7 cups
Calories 2269kcal

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

  • 2.25 oz Dutch cocoa powder
  • 8 oz water
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 oz Mayonaise
  • 14 oz Unbleached cake flour
  • 15 oz granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 6 oz unsalted butter at room temperature

Chocolate Buttercream

  • 1 cup pasteurized egg whites room temperature
  • 2 lbs powdered sugar
  • 2 lbs unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 oz cocoa powder

Instructions

Cake Instructions

  • Bring the water to a boil. Add in cocoa powder.
    Whisk until smooth then place bowl into freezer to chill to room temperature.
    Stir cocoa powder and boiling water until cocoa is dissolved chocolate cake
  • Weigh out all dry ingredients and place into a stand mixer bowl and attach the paddle attachment.
    put all your dry ingredients in a stand bowl mixer
  • Turn mixer on low (setting 1 on Kitchen Aid mixers). Add in your room temperature butter in small chunks. Combine on low until you achieve a sandy mixture.
  • Once your chocolate mixture is cooled, combine it with your liquid ingredients and your mayonnaise and give it a little whisk to break up the eggs and combine things together.
  • Add ⅓ of your liquid ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix on medium for 1 minute. If you do not do this step, your recipe will not turn out.
  • Turn your mixer back down to low and add in the rest of your liquids slowly. Stop once or twice to scrape the bowl as needed.
    Once they are all combined, turn back up to medium-high for another 30 seconds.
    slowly add the rest of liquid ingredients to chocolate cake batter
  • Lightly grease two 8" round cake pans prepared with your choice of pan release. I prefer cake goop. 
  • Bake for 35-45 minutes at 335ºF/168ºC depending on how big your pans are. The bigger the pan, the longer it will take for them to bake. 
    When a toothpick comes out of the center with a few sticky crumbs on it, the cake is done.
    After cakes have cooled for 10 minutes flip them out and place on cooling rack
  • If the cakes are domed up, place a clean tea towel on top and using an oven mitt, lightly press down until flat. This does not harm the cakes at all and cuts down on waste.
    If chocolate cake is domed up place tea towel on top and gently push down with oven mitt
  • After the cakes have cooled for about 10 minutes, or the pans have cooled to the point they can be touched, flip the cakes over and remove from the pans onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.
  • Once the cakes are chilled in the refrigerator (about an hour for this size, longer for larger cakes), tort, fill and crumb coat all at once. If you do not plan on crumb coating the same day, you can leave the wrapped cakes on the countertop. Chilling can dry out your cakes before they are iced, so avoid keeping them in the refrigerator longer than necessary. Cakes can be frozen in freezer bags for later use as well.

Chocolate Buttercream Instructions

  • Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder to remove any clumps.
    Place egg whites, powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a stand mixer bowl.
    Attach the whisk and combine ingredients on low and then whip on high for 5 minutes.
    Once the meringue is light, white, fluffy and shiny, add in your butter in chunks. Add in vanilla and salt.
    Remove the whisk and place the paddle attachment onto the mixer. Let your buttercream mix on low until the mixture is smooth and creamy and there are no bubbles left. This can take up to 20 minutes

Notes

This recipe works great for carving sculpted cakes! I use the same recipe for wedding and sculpted. I always bake them, de-pan them, wrap them in plastic wrap and then chill in the fridge or freezer (depending on how much of a rush I’m in) and then carve. Chilled cakes make carving or stacking SO much easier!

Nutrition

Calories: 2269kcal | Carbohydrates: 247g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 143g | Saturated Fat: 83g | Cholesterol: 407mg | Sodium: 886mg | Potassium: 649mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 188g | Vitamin A: 4240IU | Calcium: 150mg | Iron: 5.1mg