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A person holding a plate with a slice of basic chocolate cake on it.
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4.80 / 5 votes

Basic Chocolate Cake

You can have your molten lava cake; you can have your chocolate soufflé; just give me a classic, really, really delicious, moist, loaded-with-frosting chocolate layer cake, and that's all I need.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 408

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup natural cocoa powder, plus more for the pans
  • 3/4 cup cold water
  • 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped or broken into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 sticks (6 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pans
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
US - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Butter the bottoms and sides of two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans and coat them evenly with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess.
  • In a small bowl, stir together the cocoa powder and water to make a paste.
  • Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over but not touching a saucepan of simmering water. (Go ahead and use a double boiler if you have one.) Warm the chocolate, stirring and scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula, until the chocolate is smooth and melted. Let cool to room temperature.
  • Hold a sifter or a fine strainer over a large bowl or piece of parchment paper and sift the flour and baking soda together. (If using a strainer, simply dump both ingredients in the strainer and gently tap your hand against the edge.) Add the salt on top.
  • Using a stand mixer or a handheld mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth.
  • Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and then mix in the eggs, 1 at a time, just until combined.
  • Reduce the speed to low and add the cocoa paste and mix just until combined followed by the melted chocolate and continue to mix until thoroughly combined.
  • With the mixer still on low speed, add half the sifted flour mixture, mixing thoroughly. Then add half the milk. Repeat with the remaining flour and then the remaining milk, mixing well after each addition. Divide the batter between the pans and, using the spatula, spread it evenly.
  • Bake the cakes on the middle rack of the oven until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

    ☞ TESTER TIP: If you need to put the cake pans on 2 different racks in the oven, switch the pans halfway through baking to ensure they bake evenly.

  • Let the cakes cool in their pans on a wire rack.
  • Unmold the cakes by running a sharp knife around the inside edge of each pan and then placing a plate on top of it and invert both the cake and the plate. Remove the pans. Cool the cakes completely before serving or frosting. (The wrapped cake layers will keep at room temperature for a few days or in the freezer for up to a couple of months.)

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 408kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 205mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 35g