This Hershey’s chocolate cake needs no introduction, as it’s been around for almost a century. It’s one of the great chocolate cakes of all time. If you’ve never made it, you’re in for an old-fashioned treat. And if you’ve never made it with my wee spin on it, you’re in for an even greater treat.
All I’ve done is toss in some instant espresso powder to the batter and the frosting. It amps up the flavor. And because I wanted a frosting that was more buttery and less cloyingly sweet, I use a greater proportion of butter to sugar, which makes the frosting soooo light–nothing at all like the cloying, gritty American buttercreams out there. That’s it. I don’t like to mess (too much) with perfection.
☞ READ MY ARTICLE: Forever and Completely, in which I explain that few things in life are truly forever and completely, save for my adoration for this rich chocolate cake and my love, The One, of 30 years.
Contents
Why Our Testers Loved This
It’s no surprise that the testers are calling this “a cake that screams perfection.” Not only did they adore the rich chocolate flavor of the cake and frosting, but they were delighted that this could be whipped up in just 20 minutes with only a bowl, spoon, and hand mixer.
What You’ll Need to Make This
- Hershey’s Cocoa—Since this is a Hershey’s chocolate cake, you simply gotta use Hershey brand natural cocoa. I sometimes use their extra-dark cocoa for a seriously deep flavor. If you need to substitute another cocoa powder, be sure to use natural unsweetened cocoa, not Dutch-process cocoa.
- Instant espresso powder–The addition of espresso powder enhances the chocolate flavor of the cake, and I highly recommend it. If you don’t have instant espresso powder, you can replace the espresso and hot water with 1 cup of very hot coffee.
- Vegetable oil–Any neutral-flavored oil will work, such as vegetable oil, canola, or sunflower. Don’t use strongly flavored oils as they’ll alter the flavor of the cake.
- Vanilla extract–Only the real stuff, please! (You know how I feel about the fake stuff.)
How to Make Hershey’s Classic Chocolate Cake
- Crank the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment.
- Stir the sugar, flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center.
- Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla into the well.
- Beat the ingredients with an electric hand mixer for 2 minutes.
- Beat in the boiling water. The batter will be wicked thin. Fear not, that’s as it should be.
- Divide the batter between the two cake pans. Bake until a tester inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto wire racks spritzed with cooking spray to cool completely.
- Place the first layer on a cake stand and spread frosting over the top. Add the second layer and frost all over.
Common Questions
Yes. I suggest freezing the cake unfrosted. Wrap the cooled cake layers individually in plastic and freeze for up to 3 months. Unwrap the layer and thaw at room temperature before assembling and frosting.
Yes. The cake batter can be divided among 12 jumbo cupcake wells and baked for about 20 minutes.
Helpful Tips
- Mix your ingredients in a deep bowl so that everything stays contained when you start beating it.
- To make sure your cake layers are identical in height, weigh the batter. I use a digital kitchen scale.
Storage
Store the cake under a cake dome or loosely tented with plastic at room temperature for up to 3 days.
More Great Chocolate Cake Recipes
Write a Review
If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
I made this cake last week, and, my goodness, it’s the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had! I love the espresso in the batter and the frosting. The cake is very “more-ish” and moist, and the frosting is smooth.
I froze some slices, and it froze beautifully, too. Thank you for the recipe, I will definitely be making this for a long time to come!
Melanie M.
Hershey’s Chocolate Cake Redux
Ingredients
- Butter or baking spray, for the pans and wire rack
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pans
- ¾ cup Hershey’s Cocoa
- 2 tablespoons instant espresso
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup mild vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 batch Hershey's chocolate frosting recipe
Instructions
Make the Hershey’s chocolate cake
- Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and position a rack in the middle of the oven. Generously butter and flour (or spray with baking spray) two 9-inch round baking pans, tapping out any excess flour. Line each pan with parchment paper rounds. Butter or spray a large wire rack. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with a wooden spoon (surely you have one of those, yes?) or spatula, stir together the 2 cups granulated sugar, 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour ¾ cup Hershey’s Cocoa, 2 tablespoons instant espresso, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center.
- Plop the 2 large eggs into the well and pour in the 1 cup whole milk, ½ cup mild vegetable oil, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
- Using a handheld electric mixer (c'mon, surely you still have one of those, too?!), beat the ingredients on medium-high speed for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the 1 cup boiling water. The batter will appear alarmingly thin but fear not, that's the way it should be.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans, dividing it evenly, about 1 pound, 8 ounces (680g) in each pan.
- Cool the cakes in the pans on the buttered wire rack for 10 minutes. Then invert the cakes onto the rack, remove the pans, turn the cakes right side up, and let them cool completely.
Frost and serve the Hershey’s chocolate cake
- Place a single cake layer on a platter or cake stand and spread a goodly amount of frosting on top. Place the second cake layer on the first and frost the sides and top, creating as few or as many lavish swoops and swirls with the frosting as desired.
- Cut the frosted cake into gargantuan wedges—none of those diminutive slivers for us, thank you very much—and serve.
Notes
- Use a deep bowl–Mix your ingredients in a deep bowl so that everything stays contained when you start beating it.
- Use a scale–To make sure your cake layers are identical in height, weigh the batter. I use a digital kitchen scale.
- Storage–Store the cake covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. Unfrosted cake layers can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap them in plastic before freezing.
An LC Original
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Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This really is the best chocolate cake! I’ve made lots of cakes, and this chocolate cake is absolutely the best.
I prefer using butter in baking; however, I make an exception with this cake, which calls for oil. Yes, the batter is thin, but that’s okay. And the frosting comes together beautifully, complements the cake, spreads easily, and isn’t overpowering.
The first time I made this cake, I brought it to a small dinner gathering. After everyone had their cake, the room went silent, given that everyone was blissfully sated.
If I’d been wearing pearls, it would’ve been a Donna Reed moment, maybe June Cleaver. Imagine mixing all of the ingredients with a hand mixer before dinner, whipping up some frosting after dinner, and serving up the most delicious chocolate layer cake shortly thereafter…nothing complicated, nothing fancy, just a cake that screams perfection.
Wooden spoons and hand mixers are perfect here. Just make sure your bowls are deep enough so that the flour doesn’t go flying; the same goes for the confectioners’ sugar in the frosting. Too bad there are only two of us, and one of us watches our weight!
It’s a perfect cake for a celebration or just because you love chocolate. The espresso powder adds a nice undertone and cuts the chocolate just a bit.
This moist chocolate cake recipe is delicious and very simple to make. The cake has a rich chocolate flavor. Indeed, the addition of espresso powder enhances and enriches the chocolate flavor. I do this whenever I make a chocolate dessert, and it never fails to pay off.
I suggest using cocoa powder instead of flour to dust the baking pans. This will eliminate the white powdery “crust” that will appear on a chocolate cake after it’s baked. The frosting is an excellent everyday type of frosting with a rich chocolate flavor resulting from the addition of espresso powder. For a more special occasion, I’d make a nice Swiss meringue buttercream, a whipped ganache, or even a whipped cream frosting. I loved using my electric hand mixer rather than dragging out the big 7-quart mixer!
“Pure bliss,” “perfection,” and “supreme” are a few words that come to mind after a bite of this cake. If a food could bring about international peace, then this must be the one.
It was supremely easy to put together. The addition of espresso powder deepened the chocolate flavor, and the icing recipe was easy to work with and wasn’t overpowering. I would skip all three meals and just have cake for a day. With a nice glass of Prosecco, it’s sublime.
This is a decadent chocolate cake. The ingredients are probably in your pantry and easy to whip up for some chocolate love. The batter is thin when done mixing but cooks up to a lovely, moist cake. Espresso powder deepens the perfect rich chocolate flavor of the cake. We felt the frosting was a little overwhelming and would tone it down in the future.
David, help! I absolutely love this cake and frosting and today I made it for the 3rd time. Somehow this time after frosting the cake, the frosting got white streaks, as if the butter was separating. Has this happened to you before and could it have something to do with the temp of the butter and milk? I feel like I didn’t cool the melted butter when I initially made it but don’t remember if my milk was room temp or on the colder side. What do you think? Many many thanks!
NRS, wow, I’m at a loss. That has never happened to me before. Does anyone have an idea or suggestion of what might be happening? NRS, do you happen to have a picture of it?
I took the picture before the streaking started, so looks like yours! Hopefully, someone has an idea. But in any event, do you suggest letting the melted butter come to room temp or using it hot. And should i make sure milk is at room temp? What do you do?
NRS, I’ve done it all sorts of ways. Cold milk, hot butter. Warm milk and butter. But baking basics always say to have ingredients at room temperature. So start with that and see if it makes a difference.
Thanks David. I’m wondering if overbeating was an issue? I used high speed on the handheld rather than medium like I have in the past and i think i kept beating even after it reached a good consistency. Will make a note next time to try with all ingredients room temp, sifting coca (i only sifed the sugar), melting butter on low, and beating on a lower speed and just until spreadable consistency.
NRS, personally, I think it was just a fluke. So, your baking mojo was off for a day. (Sometimes my baking muse is out to lunch for weeks.) I’m sure the next time you make the cake, it will be perfect.
David, the separation issue with the frosting was driving me crazy. So today i made the frosting again, this time without overbeating (went back to beating on med or med low rather than high), also milk was room temp (not sure that made a difference), but the frosting came out perfectly!!! Yay!
Hey David: I love this cake so much I made it with my niece Frida for her third birthday. We made a sheet cake with pink icing and sprinkles (three-year-olds MUST have everything pink!). While no one was looking, Dunga, a dalmation who only speaks Portuguese, climbed up on the counter and licked off half the frosting. Cake surgery was performed and the birthday girl was perfectly content. It was delicious–surprisingly light even though we beat the batter with only a wooden spoon. Dunga may still be in the doghouse….
Suzanne, Frieda, is adorable! Was this before or after cake surgery?
That is the before. Frida’s mom added an Angelina Ballerina cutout to distract from the surgery.
Ah! Clever mom.
I have to agree that this is the cake of all cakes. Thanks for sharing your story, David. Have you tried the Hershey Special Dark cocoa with this cake? If you love dark chocolate… 🙂
Does a leopard have spots? (Or is it stripes?) Whichever, I have indeed-y, and it’s even more The One-ier. He is a chocolate addict.
Scrolling thru for just this question! Since there is baking powder and soda, and if using buttermilk, what about acid balance. I would love to try the 100% cacao special dark cocoa for the deep chocolate. Any thoughts on this or just keep it simple!
Tennessee, I’d say go for it and use the Special Dark, but I’d keep it simple. At least on your first try.