Best 8-inch Chocolate Cake Recipe

This classic chocolate cake is soft, rich, and perfectly sized for three 8-inch round cake layers. Made with Greek yogurt and simple pantry ingredients, it delivers a moist crumb with deep chocolate flavor — without needing melted chocolate or complicated steps. Frosted with silky chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream, this is the kind of chocolate cake you’ll bake again and again.

In the U.S., 9-inch cakes are often the standard, but in Israel, 8-inch cakes are just as popular. When I ran my cake business, I baked both sizes regularly depending on what customers needed. That’s why you’ll find dedicated 8-inch and 9-inch cake recipes on my blog — each written specifically for that pan size.

This 8-inch chocolate cake was one of my most requested layer cakes. It’s reliable, moist, and perfectly balanced — the kind of classic chocolate cake that works for birthdays, celebrations, or simply when you want a proper homemade dessert without scaling a larger recipe.

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Step-by-step: Best Chocolate Cake (8-inch Round with Greek Yogurt)

Classic Chocolate Cake Batter

• Preheat the oven to 325°F / 165°C. Grease and line three 8-inch round cake pans or 2 x 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.

• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, vanilla extract, Greek yogurt, and milk until smooth and fully combined.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to remove any lumps.

• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
• Slowly add the hot water and whisk until the batter is smooth and slightly thin. This step enhances the chocolate flavor and creates a tender crumb.

• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 28–32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.

• Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream

• See the video – how I make Swiss meringue buttercream.
• Chocolate – Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl or double boiler.
• Temper – In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the egg whites and sugar and place it over a pot of simmering water. Using the whisk whip until all the sugar has dissolved and the egg whites are barely warm (about 160 F)
• Whip – Take the bowl off the heat and place it on the stand mixer. Whip the egg whites until you have a thick meringue with stiff peaks. Let the mixer continue to whip on low until the mixer bowl feels cool to the touch.
• Butter – Gradually add the butter one cube at a time with the mixer on medium speed. Once all the butter has been added turn the mixer up to medium-high and whip for 2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract.
• Chocolate – Fold in the melted cooled chocolate until you have a smooth uniform color.

Assemble (stack the layers)

• Level – Using a bread knife or cake leveler cut the domes off the cake layers. Brush each layer with the cooled simple syrup
• Stack – Place a cake layer on the cake board or cake stand. Top with a big dollop of buttercream – spread evenly using a straight-edge spatula. Place the next layer followed by more buttercream, then the final layer. Chill the cake for 15 minutes.
  Pro tip – Chilling the cake at this point will ensure the layers don’t move when you frost the outside.

• Frost – Spread the remaining buttercream around and on the top of the cake.
• Texture – I’ve used an icing comb to create a pattern on the outside but you can choose to create a smooth effect with a bench scraper or a rustic finish with a spatula.
• Pipe – Place any remaining frosting in a piping bag and with a round tip and pipe small kisses as I have done.

Storage

• The baked cake layers will stay fresh for up to two days at cool room temperature, longer if kept in the fridge. It can be frozen for a month or more.
• Once frosted the cake needs to be kept in the fridge because Swiss meringue contains egg whites which is a perishable ingredient. 

How is This Cake Different from My Other Chocolate Cakes

This classic chocolate cake is lighter than my chocolate mud cake and simpler than my Death by Chocolate cake. It uses cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate and Greek yogurt instead of buttermilk, making it perfect for everyday baking while still delivering rich chocolate flavor.

What is the best frosting for this cake?

I frosted it with chocolate buttercream, but try vanilla, mocha, or ganache. There are so many other frosting options. Such as:
Swiss or Italian Meringue Buttercream, French or German Buttercream Frosting, Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
See all 30 plus frosting recipes here on the blog.

Tips for the Best Chocolate Cake

• Use full-fat Greek yogurt for the best texture. Low-fat versions can make the cake slightly drier.
• The batter will be thinner after adding hot water — this is normal and gives the cake a soft crumb.
• Do not overmix once the flour is added. Mix just until smooth to keep the cake light.
• Weigh your cake pans if possible so all three 8-inch layers bake evenly.
• Let the layers cool completely before frosting with Swiss meringue buttercream.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Possible Cause	Solution
Cake is dense	Overmixed after adding flour	Mix just until combined
Cake sinks in the center	Oven opened too early or underbaked	Bake fully and avoid opening oven first 20 minutes
Cake is dry	Overbaked or used low-fat yogurt	Use full-fat yogurt and check at minimum bake time
Layers are sticky on top	Very moist crumb from yogurt	Chill layers before frosting
Cake domed too much	Oven too hot	Use oven thermometer and bake at correct temperature
Frosting sliding	Cake not fully cooled	Chill layers before applying buttercream

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