Chocolate Cake from Scratch
This amazing Chocolate Cake from Scratch is ultra moist and so rich and decadent!
We always get rave reviews from this chocolate cake recipe. It is one of our go-to chocolate cakes for all sorts of fillings and frostings (from Almond Joy Cake and Mint Chocolate Chip Cake to Chocolate Oreo Cake and more.)
Table of Contents
What is the Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing?
This is a popular method for creating a slightly denser, more melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Cakes using the Reverse Creaming Method often have a finer crumb and you'll notice while preparing the recipe that the ingredients are added in a different order than what you may be used to.
(For instance, with this method, the butter is added to the flour mixture/dry ingredients to create a crumbly moist sand-like mixture rather than creaming it with the sugar, and the combined wet ingredients are slowly added to the batter rather than alternating between wet and dry ingredients.)
Some recipes that use this method are our Orange Dreamsicle Cake, Scratch Strawberry Cake, Yellow Cake, and Pink Lemonade Cake.
If you are new to this method, you may be interested in watching our free video here: The Reverse Creaming Method of Mixing.
If you would rather not go the Reverse Creaming Method route, don't worry! We've also put this Classic Chocolate Cake scratch recipe into the standard Conventional Creaming Method of Mixing as well.
This also makes for a perfect chocolate cake! It's the same decadent chocolate taste but with a fluffier texture. When making chocolate cupcakes, this conventional version is the recipe that we use! Here is the link:Classic Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
How to make a chocolate cake from scratch
*You can find the full, printable recipe for this rich chocolate layer cake further down in this post, but here is a quick rundown of how we made the cake!
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour three 8 inch cake pans (We often line our pans with parchment paper as well)
- In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: sugar, all purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk these dry ingredients for 1 minute to blend.
- Add softened butter a few pieces at a time while the mixer is on low speed. Mix until the dry ingredients look like coarse sand and the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, milk , oil and vanilla until blended.
- With the mixer on low speed, SLOWLY add about half of the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 1 ½ minutes at medium speed. Scrape the bottom and sides of bowl. Add the remaining egg mixture in 2 pourings, beating for 20 seconds after each pour. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl.
- Next, slowly add the cup of hot coffee (prepared instant coffee or brewed) and mix another 30 seconds until blended. The chocolate cake batter will be very runny. Don't worry!
- Pour into 3 prepared 8" pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back to the touch or a small wooden pick comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached.The cake layers will pull away ever so slightly from the sides of the pan.
- Cool the cakes 10 minutes on a wire rack and then turn out of the pans.
- *Yields approximately 9 cups of batter, plenty for three 8 inch cake pans and a nice, tall cake!
Why is coffee added to the chocolate cake?
Coffee is a common ingredient in scratch chocolate cakes like this one. The purpose of the coffee is that it enhances the chocolate flavor in the cake.
It is unlikely that you will be able to detect any of the coffee or espresso flavor in the recipe, but it does seem to add a richness to the chocolate that we think you'll really enjoy.
It is fine to use a decaffeinated coffee, or if you need to skip the coffee altogether, you can substitute with water instead.
Traditional Mixing Method Option
As we mentioned earlier in our post, you can make this same scratch Classic Chocolate Cake recipe but using the conventional method of mixing instead of the reverse creaming method.
This is the mixing method that I use when making chocolate cupcakes also as it is a bit fluffier.
You can find the traditional mixing version of this recipe here: Classic Chocolate Cupcakes (Although it is listed as a chocolate cupcake recipe, it works great for fluffy chocolate cake layers as well!)
More Chocolate Cakes
While this homemade Chocolate Cake is DIVINE, you can never have too many chocolate cakes in your recipe file!
Over the years, we have created many more chocolate layer cake recipes that we absolutely love.
Make sure to scroll through these other favorites! You can find the full roundup of favorite chocolate cakes in our Roundup of the Best Chocolate Cake Recipes.
Some of our most popular are: Marble Cake, Chocolate Velvet Cake, German Chocolate Cake, and Black Forest Cake.
Classic Chocolate Cake~Scratch Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 2 ¾ cup (322g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (82g) unsweetened cocoa (lightly spoon into cup then sift)
- 2 teaspoons (10g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (2g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (2g) salt
- 1 cup 2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, softened (do not soften in microwave)
- ¼ cup (54g) vegetable oil (we use Canola oil)
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup (220g) milk
- 1 teaspoon (4g) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (220g) hot coffee, it can be instant or brewed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Grease and flour THREE 8 inch cake pans
- In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk for 1 minute to blend.
- Add softened butter a few pieces at a time while the mixer is on low speed. Mix until the dry ingredients look like coarse sand and the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, milk , oil and vanilla until blended.
- Method is important when using the Reverse Creaming Method. With the mixer on low speed, SLOWLY add approximately ½ of the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 1 ½ minutes at medium speed. Don't mix above medium speed. Scrape the bottom and sides of bowl. Add the remaining egg mixture in 2 pourings, beating for 20 seconds after each pour. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl.
- Slowly add the cup of hot coffee and mix another 30 seconds until blended. The batter will be very runny. Don't worry!
- Pour into 3 prepared 8" pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes 10 minutes on a rack and then turn out of the pans.
- *Yields approx 9 cups of batter.
- Making cupcakes? Check out our Classic Chocolate Cupcake Recipe (conventional method of mixing for fluffier cupcakes) Holds up well to fondant
Notes
- These cake layers can be wrapped individually in plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil, and frozen for up to three months.
- Thaw at room temperature, removing the wrapping after 30-45 minutes.
Hi Grisselle, Yes, the amount of flour would change. If you are using cake flour -- you will add 2 Tablespoons cake flour for each cup of all purpose flour in a recipe. This recipes calls for 2 3/4 cups all purpose, so you will use 2 3/4 cups cake flour + 5 1/2 Tablespoons additional cake flour. I hope you will enjoy the recipe.
Hi Melissa,
I have made this cake successfully in the past. This time however, I couldn’t get the batter to the right consistency. It was fluffy and not runny like it should be. It resulted in an fudgy center in the cake. I remade it 3 times, and I had the same issue each time. I couldn’t figure out where I was messing up. Could you shed some light, please?
On the bright side, even undercooked, this cake is amazing and my family is eating the 3 cakes . I have frozen them so, we take out a layer every 3-4 days????
Hi! Will this recipe work ok in 9” round pans?
Hi Gina, Yes, you can bake in two 9 inch pans. The recipe makes approximately 9 cups of batter. A 9 inch round pan can hold 5 1/2 cups batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. It will be done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. I hope you will enjoy the cake.
Hi I would like to make this receipe in two 10 inch pan can I double the receipe?
By how much would I need to cut down this recipe to make a three layer, six inch diameter cake? If I made 3/4 of the recipe, would that be enough?
test
Is this cake sturdy enough to be stacked? for example in a 3 tier cake?
Thank you!
Yes, this cake is sturdy enough to be stacked. Enjoy the cake!
Made this for my husband's birthday with the white chocolate frosting. Followed suggestions for the cocoa and coffee. It was sooo delicious! thank you!
Thanks so much for your feedback, Ellen! So glad that you all enjoyed it. This is the chocolate cake that I make most often! :0)