The Greatest Chocolate Cake you’ll ever eat – rich, moist chocolate cake with a decadent dark chocolate frosting!
Don’t Mind If I Do
Like all “normal” people do, when it’s my birthday, I bake myself a cake. I mean, birthdays are all about cake, so you can’t blame a girl for wanting hers to be great! And this is definitely The Greatest Chocolate Cake I’ve ever eaten. Rich, moist cake full of chocolate. Even richer frosting with the most decadent dark chocolate flavor. Cake perfection!
A Bucket List Cake
Developing a great chocolate cake recipe has been on my baking bucket list for years, so it’s only appropriate that I checked this off my list on my birthday. It continues to exceed my expectations and amaze me with every scrumptious bite!
I’m all about cakes that are easy and taste amazing! So let me show you how you can bake this simple yet special cake from scratch for your next celebration. This cake is a stunner and everyone loves it!
What Do I Need to Make The Greatest Chocolate Cake?
- All-purpose flour
- Chocolate instant pudding mix
- Unsweetened cocoa
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Canola oil
- Buttermilk
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Hot coffee
- Dark chocolate morsels
- Powdered sugar
- Dark cocoa
- Unsalted butter
- Whole milk
- Chocolate sprinkles
- 3 (8-inch) round cake pans
How to Make The Greatest Chocolate Cake
- Preheat over to 350°F. Spray three (8-inch) round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and line the bottom of each pan with a circle of parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, pudding mix, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, buttermilk, egg and vanilla.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until thick and just combined. Stir in the hot coffee until smooth and well combined.
- Divide batter among prepared pans, filling each pan about 1/4 full.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool on wire racks for 15 minutes before inverting them onto the wire racks to cool completely.
How to Make the Chocolate Frosting
- While the cakes are cooling, prepare the frosting. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the dark chocolate morsels until just melted, about 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds. Set aside to slightly cool.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter until smooth.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and cocoa. Whisk the powdered sugar mixture into the butter, one cup at a time, until frosting is thick and chunky. Add the melted chocolate and whisk until just combined.
- Add the milk, one tablespoon at a time, until frosting is of spreading consistency. Beat frosting on high speed for 2 minutes until thick and creamy.
- Place one cake layer, topside down, on a cake stand or platter. Spread just the top of the cake with a thick layer of frosting.
- Place another cake layer, topside down, on top of the frosted layer. Spread with a thick layer of frosting.
- Place the final cake layer, topside up, on top of the second frosted layer.
- Spread with the remaining frosting and sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles.
If you make The Greatest Chocolate Cake, be sure to snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see! 😍 I just love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the recipes I share. Enjoy!
xoxo,
The Greatest Chocolate Cake
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 14
- Category: Dessert
Description
The greatest chocolate cake you’ll ever eat – rich, moist chocolate cake with a decadent dark chocolate frosting!
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2–1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 (3.9 ounce) package chocolate instant pudding mix
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup hot coffee
Frosting:
- 1 cup dark chocolate morsels, melted and slightly cooled
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup dark cocoa
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3–4 tablespoons whole milk
- chocolate sprinkles, for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat over to 350°F. Spray three (8-inch) round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and line the bottom of each pan with a circle of parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, pudding mix, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, buttermilk, egg and vanilla.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until thick and just combined. Stir in the hot coffee until smooth and well combined.
- Divide batter among prepared pans, filling each pan about 1/4 full.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool on wire racks for 15 minutes before inverting them onto the wire racks to cool completely.
- While the cakes are cooling, prepare the frosting. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the dark chocolate morsels until just melted, about 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds. Set aside to slightly cool.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter until smooth. In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and cocoa. Whisk the powdered sugar mixture into the butter, one cup at a time, until frosting is thick and chunky. Add the melted chocolate and whisk until just combined. Add the milk, one tablespoon at a time, until frosting is of spreading consistency. Beat frosting on high speed for 2 minutes until thick and creamy.
- Place one cake layer, topside down, on a cake stand or platter. Spread just the top of the cake with a thick layer of frosting. Place another cake layer, topside down, on top of the frosted layer. Spread with a thick layer of frosting. Place the remaining cake layer, topside up, on top of the second frosted layer. Spread with the remaining frosting and sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles.
This REALLY is the BEST chocolate cake ever. Made this for Labor Day and my family went crazy. Even people who don’t like chocolate cake loved it! My dad and grandmother told me numerous times throughout the evening how good it was. As I left the picnic, my father told me again how much he liked it. I’m making another one tomorrow.:)
Hi, Allison! YAY! I love that! I’m so happy that y’all enjoyed it so much.
ABSOLUTELY BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE EVER!
Always a HIT 😋😋😍😊
I have loved all of your recipes so much, so when my son requested chocolate cake for his birthday I came here first! I’d like to make this as a bundt, could you suggest how long to bake? Was thinking about 50-60 min? Will test with toothpick of course. Thanks!
Hi Kristin! What a great birthday cake to bake! I think it would take 60-70 minutes to bake in a bundt pan. Just start checking it with a cake tester around 50 minutes and tint with foil if the top looks done before the middle of the cake is baked all the way through. Enjoy and happy birthday to your son!
Thank you so much! I’m getting ready to make it shortly!
would hot chocolate work instead of the coffee was just wondering
Hi Doris! Yes, that would be amazing. Or just hot water if you don’t have or want to add hot coffee. Enjoy!
Hi. Love this amazing cake. Can I do it without the coffee ???
Hi Lori! Yes, you can replace the coffee with water. Enjoy!
What can I replace instant chocolate pudding mix with?
Hi Maria! You can make your own pudding mix by combining 3/4 cup of dry milk powder, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of corn starch and 1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa in a mixing bowl. Stir the ingredients until they are completely combined. Measure out 3.9 ounces. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
In a word- EPIC. I’ve never been into chocolate, but my hubby is. So been online a lot searching for REAL chocolate recipes. Not from the whiny “it’s too sweet” people either. If I eat sweets, I WANT them SWEET! So I admit, while still not a “chocolate fan” per-se, when that craving time hits, I’m makin this! Can/How would you cupcake this recipe? Time/temp etc… Thanks!
Hi Tee! Yay, I love hearing that! It really is the greatest! You can definitely bake the recipe into cupcakes. Keep the oven temp at 350 and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Enjoy! 🙂
This looks amazing! What size rectangular cake would this make and how would the cooking times vary?
Hi Shae! I’ve baked it in a 12×17 rimmed sheet pan and it fits perfectly. I baked it for about 25 minutes at 350 or until a toothpick inserted in the center came out clean. Enjoy! 🙂
Looks decadent….