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Home || Recipes || Dessert || The Best Chocolate Cake

The Best Chocolate Cake

Apr 28, 2018 · 10 Comments

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The Best Chocolate Cake is perfect base for layering, frosting and decorating! This cake has a great chocolate flavor, is soft but stable and is easily frosted! This Chocolate Cake recipe will be your new favorite!

The Best Chocolate Cake recipe is the perfect chocolate cake to handle all of your creations!Honestly, the BEST Chocolate Cake Recipe

You know what is the worst? Trying to frost a crumbly cake.. Trying to cut a crumbly cake. or even trying to SERVE a crumbly cake.

Throw those crumbly fears out the nearest window because you have just found the PERFECT chocolate base cake for your next creation.

This cake is easy to whip together, easy to frost,easy to layer, and easy to eat! ? This cake recipe has NO special ingredients, you’ll have everything you need in your pantry and fridge.

I have memories (and you probably do too!) of trying to frost a boxed mix cake. I actually stuck mine in the freezer at one point in an attempt to get the cake to stick together enough for me to frost it without ripping the cake.

I know, boxed cake mix makes super soft (and crumbly!) cake. This cake is soft too, and by some miracle, sticks together also.

In the pictures for this post, I cut the cake in half to create two thinner layers. Yes, proof that there isn’t a crumb!!

Crumb-less chocolate cake is perfect for layering and decorating.

How To Make The Best Chocolate Cake Ever

Question: Do I need cake flour? Answer: NO! Isn’t that the best answer ever? I never have cake flour on hand and I assume most people don’t either. So here we go, Best Chocolate Cake ever..using regular ol’ all-purpose flour.

First melted butter and sugar are beat together either using a hand mixer with beaters or using a stand mixer and the whisk attachment. I’ve tried using the paddle attachment in my stand mixer and it doesn’t work. Beat until light and fluffy.

The eggs and vanilla are then added to the mixture. Two eggs plus one egg yolk to make is extra soft and moist.

Milk and a few spoonfuls of sour cream are mixed together and then added to the batter. The milk and sour cream help with the richness of the cake, giving it a little extra oomph.

Now the dry ingredients are mixed in; flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Once the dry ingredients are mixed in thoroughly, the batter is poured into the cake pan and baked at 350° for 25-30 minutes.

This recipe for chocolate cake will be your new favorite recipe!

Tips for the Perfect Cake

The cake pans I always use are super non-stick. You can find them on Amazon.

I tend to make 6 inch cakes, I just find that 8 or 9 inch cakes end up being way too much cake. This recipe is perfect for two 6 inch cakes or one 9 inch cake.

When I make this cake using my 6 inch cake pans, I make two 6 inch cakes and the cut each cake in half to create 4 layers (like pictured above).

If your pan isn’t non-stick, here is the best way I have found to make sure that the cake doesn’t stick. Coat the pan with butter and then ‘flour’ the pan with cocoa powder.

Make sure to wait until the cake is completely cool before removing from the pan.

Use an extremely sharp knife if you plan on cutting the cake in half to create layers. This is the knife I have and LOVE.

The perfect recipe for a chocolate layer cake.

The Best Chocolate Cake

The Best Chocolate Cake is perfect base for layering, frosting and decorating! This cake has a great chocolate flavor, is soft but stable and is easily frosted! This Chocolate Cake recipe will be your new favorite!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare two 6 inch pans or one 9 inch pan by lightly coating with butter and then ‘flouring’ the pan with a little cocoa powder. Set aside.
  2. Using the whisk attachment on a stand mixer, beat together the melted butter and sugar. Beat for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
  3. Add in the eggs, egg yolk and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and sour cream until smooth. Add to the batter (butter/sugar/egg mixture). Mix until well combined.
  5. Add in the flour, cocoa ,baking powder and salt. Slowly mix until smooth.
  6. Pour the batter into prepared pan(s).
  7. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  8. Cool completely before removing from pan or cutting.

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The Best Chocolate Cake is perfect base for layering, frosting and decorating! This cake has a great chocolate flavor, is soft but stable and is easily frosted! This Chocolate Cake recipe will be your new favorite! |Cooking with Karli #cake #chocolate #fromscratch #homemade #layercake #layers #dessert #birthday #easy

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I LOVE connecting with my Readers.. That’s YOU!! Come on over and find me on INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK!

The perfect recipe for a chocolate layer cake.

The Best Chocolate Cake

The Best Chocolate Cake is perfect base for layering, frosting and decorating! This cake has a great chocolate flavor, is soft but stable and is easily frosted! This Chocolate Cake recipe will be your new favorite!
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Course: Dessert
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 2 6 inch cakes
Author: Karli Bitner

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare two 6 inch pans or one 9 inch pan by lightly coating with butter and then 'flouring' the pan with a little cocoa powder. Set aside.
  • Using the whisk attachment on a stand mixer, beat together the melted butter and sugar. Beat for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
  • Add in the eggs, egg yolk and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and sour cream until smooth. Add to the batter (butter/sugar/egg mixture). Mix until well combined.
  • Add in the flour, cocoa ,baking powder and salt. Slowly mix until smooth. 
  • Pour the batter into prepared pan(s). 
  • Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool completely before removing from pan or cutting.
Tried this recipe?Mention @cookingwithkarli or tag #cookingwithkarli!
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ABOUT KARLI

This blog is a little glimpse into my kitchen, family & life. I hope you’ll giggle the days away with me and enjoy the craziness that goes on at my house. There isn’t ever a shortage of crazy. I can promise you that! Buckle up, keep your hand and legs inside at all times and enjoy the ride! Read more...

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Comments

  1. Pickles says

    July 12, 2018 at 3:49 pm

    Can this recipe be used in cupcakes?

  2. karlibitner says

    July 12, 2018 at 4:19 pm

    It definitely can be!

  3. Tara says

    July 24, 2018 at 6:13 pm

    What kind of butter? Salted or unsalted? Tub butter? I’m new to baking

  4. karlibitner says

    July 24, 2018 at 6:22 pm

    I used salted butter. The kind that comes in sticks! ?

  5. Alexa says

    January 18, 2019 at 11:20 am

    Did you mean to say softened butter, or are you really using melted butter? It just seems odd for a cake to have melted butter so I wanted to make sure.

  6. karlibitner says

    January 19, 2019 at 11:24 am

    I am using melted butter. 😊

  7. Tasha says

    February 14, 2019 at 6:25 am

    If I am using 2 8 inch cake pans, would I change any of the measurements? I worry that this won’t be enough.

  8. karlibitner says

    February 18, 2019 at 10:44 pm

    Hi Tasha- I would probably double the recipe. Hope this helps!

  9. Katie says

    April 19, 2019 at 7:46 am

    Is this unsweetened cocoa powder?

  10. karlibitner says

    April 22, 2019 at 9:23 pm

    Yes!

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