Easy Rich Chocolate Cake Recipe
Print Pin VideoIf you're looking for a rich chocolate cake recipe that comes together using only cocoa powder (no melted chocolate), then this recipe is it! This moist chocolate cake is packed with chocolate flavour, and is topped with an incredibly delicious chocolate cream cheese frosting - YUM!
IMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1¾ cups (210 g) flour - regular all purpose (see note 1 if you want to use cake flour)
- ¼ cup (25 g) cornflour - also known as cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
- 2 tsp instant coffee powder
- 1 cup (100 g) cocoa powder - unsweetened, Dutch processed preferred
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- ¾ cup (158 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola
- 1⅔ cups (332 g) white granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla essence/extract
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1½ cups (337 g) buttermilk - room temperature, see note 6 if using a homemade buttermilk substitute
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- 4½ cups (570 g) icing sugar - also known as confectioners/powdered sugar
- 1½ cups (335 g) cream cheese - cold, firm type
- 1½ tsps vanilla
- ¾ cup (75 g) cocoa powder - unsweetened
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 5 if you don't have a fan function) and grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release).
- In a bowl, sift together your flour, cornflour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, instant coffee powder and cocoa powder. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
- In another bowl, add in your butter, vegetable oil and sugar. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer are both fine - see note 2), cream together for 2 minutes until light and creamy.
- Add in eggs one by one, mixing well in between each addition (about 10-15 seconds between eggs).
- Add in your vanilla, vinegar and half a cup of the buttermilk, and mix until well combined. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
- Finish off by adding in half of your premixed dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and gently fold it in with a spatula until just combined. Then add in the remaining 1 cup of buttermilk, and fold it in until just combined. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold it into the mixture until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 3).
- Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins, and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once baked, allow the cake layers to cool in the cake tins for about 15-20 minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool before frosting with the chocolate cream cheese buttercream recipe below, or another frosting of your choice.
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream your butter for a few minutes until it's light and fluffy. Either use a hand mixer or stand mixer on a medium high speed. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.
- Add in the icing sugar in 3 batches while mixing on low. Ensure that each batch of icing sugar is mixed into the butter well before adding in the next batch.
- Next add in your cold cream cheese and vanilla. Mix just until the frosting is smooth. Avoid over-mixing (see note 4).
- Lastly add in your cocoa powder and mix until well combined and smooth. Avoid over-mixing.
Video
Notes
Note 1. You can use cake flour in replacement of the all purpose flour and cornstarch in this recipe (235g total required).
Note 2. If using a stand mixer, then use the paddle attachment for the initial mixing, but continue to do the last step by hand as stated in the recipe.
Note 3. By gently folding in the ingredients, it prevents too much gluten from forming, thus giving us a softer cake. Only mix until the strands of flour have disappeared and the batter is uniform.
Note 4. Only mix the frosting until it's smooth. Once it's smooth stop mixing as over-mixing can result in a less stable frosting. This is because of the liquid in the cream cheese breaking down the icing sugar.
Note 5. In this recipe I use an oven with the fan function turned on. The fan forced function cooks cakes faster, so if your oven doesn't have a fan option, then you will need to increase the baking temperature to 175°C (347°F) so that the cake bakes at the same rate as mine.
Note 6. I use store bought buttermilk which is thicker than a homemade substitute. For this recipe, because it uses a lot of buttermilk, I am not 100% sure if a homemade substitute will give you the same results as I haven't tried it myself.
Nutrition
Calories: 641kcal | Carbohydrates: 108g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 118mg | Sodium: 448mg | Potassium: 381mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 885IU | Calcium: 196mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
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