Favorite Chocolate Cake Recipe

Favorite Chocolate Cake Recipe

My favorite chocolate cake recipe with a moist and delicate crumb with a big chocolate flavor thanks to dutched cocoa powder and my secret ingredient, mayonnaise!

7 cups of batter makes about two 8" round cakes.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings cups

Calories 2269kcal

Author Elizabeth Marek

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 salt
6 oz unsalted butter at room temperature

Chocolate Buttercream

8 oz pasteurized egg whites room temperature
32 oz powdered sugar
36 oz unsalted butter room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
4 oz cocoa powder

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cake Instructions

Bring the water to a boil. Add in cocoa powder.
Whisk until smooth then add in cold mayonnaise, vanilla and eggs. Whisk to break up the eggs.
Weigh out all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt) and place into a stand mixer bowl and attach the paddle attachment.
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.
Add ½ of your liquid ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix on medium for 2 minutes. If you do not do this step, your cake could collapse.
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 for another 30 seconds.
Lightly grease two 8" round cake pans prepared with your choice of pan release. I prefer cake goop.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350ºF 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 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. I cover mine in plastic wrap to keep them from drying out why they cool.
Once the cakes are completely cool you can trim them and frost them.

Chocolate Buttercream Instructions

Place egg whites, powdered sugar in a stand mixer bowl.
Attach the whisk and combine ingredients on low and then whip on high for 5 minutes.
Reserve 8 oz of your butter and melt in microwave until JUST melted, don't over heat.
Combine melted butter with cocoa powder and mix until smooth
Add in butter in small chunks and continue whipping until the mixture is light and white and creamy. Give it a taste, if it still tastes buttery then keep whipping.
Add in chocolate mixture, vanilla and salt and continue whipping until mixture is combined. Scrape bowl if needed.
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