The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe (Ever)

🥘 Ingredients

• baking powder (8 g)
  2 teaspoons
• cake**
• vanilla extract (9.4 g)
  2 teaspoons

For the chocolate cake

• baking soda (9 g)
  1 1/2 teaspoons
• boiling water (227. g)
  1 cup
• eggs (large, 100 g)
  2
• espresso powder (2.3 g, homemade or store-bought)
  1 teaspoon
• flour (all-purpose, 240 g, spoon + level)
  2 cups
• milk (227 g, or buttermilk, almond, or coconut milk)
  1 cup
• powder (unsweetened cocoa, 63 g)
  3/4 cup
• salt (kosher, 2.8 g)
  1 teaspoon
• sugar (396 g)
  2 cups
• vegetable oil (99 g, or canola oil, or melted coconut oil)
  1/2 cup

🍳 Cookware

• pan
• bowl
• stand mixer

1. 1

   Gather vanilla extract , baking powder , cake** .

   vanilla extract: 2 teaspoons (9.4 g), baking powder: 2 teaspoons (8 g), cake**
2. 2

   Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray, buttering and lightly flouring, or brushing them with homemade chocolate pan release.

For the chocolate cake

1. 1

   Add flour , sugar , cocoa, baking powder , baking soda , salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer . Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.

   flour: 2 cups (all-purpose, 240 g, spoon + level), sugar: 2 cups (396 g), powder: 3/4 cup (unsweetened cocoa, 63 g), baking soda: 1 1/2 teaspoons (9 g), salt: 1 teaspoon (kosher, 2.8 g), espresso powder: 1 teaspoon (2.3 g, homemade or store-bought)
2. 2

   Add milk , vegetable oil , eggs , and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter until well combined.

   milk: 1 cup (227 g, or buttermilk, almond, or coconut milk), vegetable oil: 1/2 cup (99 g, or canola oil, or melted coconut oil), eggs: 2 (large, 100 g), boiling water: 1 cup (227. g)
3. 3

   Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for ⏱️ 30-35 minutes , until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the chocolate cake comes out clean.
4. 4

   Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about ⏱️ 10 minutes , remove from the pan and cool completely.
5. 5

   Frost the cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
6. 📝

   **2026-03-09**

7. 📝

   I made this for my birthday. The cake was really good and tender Didn't love the frosting.

8. 📝

   **Recipe Notes**

9. 📝

   The cake batter will be very thin after adding the boiling water. This is correct and results in the most delicious and moist chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted!

10. 📝

    Freezer Friendly: Let the baked cake layers cool completely. Wrap them well with plastic wrap and then with foil. Put each layer into a freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. To serve, thaw in the refrigerator overnight with wrapping intact. The next day, the layers are ready to fill and frost.

11. 📝

    High Altitude: If you live at a high altitude, adjust the recipe based on the altitude of your area.

12. 📝

    Metric Conversion: (11/2023) The recipe has been updated to include grams for ingredient measurements. See the ingredient notes below for information on key ingredients.

13. 📝

    Ingredient Notes:

14. 📝

    1. Kosher salt – I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If you substitute with Morton’s Kosher salt, fine sea salt, or table salt, you will only need half the amount of the salt called for in the recipe.

15. 📝

    2. Milk – The grams in the recipe are for whole milk and buttermilk.