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Simple Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe

Name: Simple Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 24 servings
Ingredients: 300 grams Sugar; 220 grams All-purpose flour; 1 tsp Baking soda; 1/2 tsp Baking powder; 85 grams Cocoa powder; 1 pinch Salt; 158 ml Vegetable oil; 180 ml Boiling water; 2 tsp Instant coffee; 180 ml Milk; 60 ml Yogurt; 2 Eggs (large); 2 tsp Vanilla extract; 4 cups Velvet American Buttercream (recipe here )

Published -Mar 6, 2013 Update -Mar 7, 2020 Veena AzmanovWords - 1713 words. About 9 minutes to read this article. This post may contain affiliate links to Amazon and other sides. This blog generates income via ads.

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Table of Contents

Simple Moist Chocolate Cake – Simple, Quick and Easy

A versatile chocolate cake recipe is a must-have on hand recipe. This simple, easy and effortless recipe makes an irresistible simple moist chocolate cake. All you need are two bowls and a whisk. The light and airy texture of this cake mean you can be served with whipped cream for a light dessert or with chocolate frosting for a more indulgent affair.

Homemade Chocolate Cake simple and moist recipe — Moist Homemade Chocolate Cake Recipe,

I love spending time baking so all my cakes are perfectly moist and incredible. And yet, sometimes, I love those quickies. Just throw something together and voila! you have a cake. Well, not literally like that but you know…… I think you get the idea.

I love baking from scratch and in an attempt to encourage everyone to bake from scratch I have come up with a few recipes that are easier then you can ever imagine. Some of these use one bowl or in this case; this cake use two bowls but with the same concept. Simple, easy, quick and effortlessly baking a cake from scratch. And I’m happy you all are enjoying these recipes.

About this moist chocolate cake (Save/Pin )

This is probably the simplest cake to make. All you need is two bowls, no mixers. One bowl for wet, one bowl for dry, combine the two. Pour the batter in your baking pans and you’re done. A chocolate cake doesn’t get easier than this. Does it? Wait till you see how moist this cake is.

This is a very versatile cake. Here are a few suggestions on how to customize this cake to your own needs.

If you need a cake to decorate with fresh cream? this is it. Why? Because it’s light and airy it works perfectly for a light frosting like whipped cream
Want a chocolate cake with strawberries – this is perfect again. Layer whipped cream and strawberries for a light summer dessert of strawberry chocolate cake.
Need a cake to make Black Forest Cake – try this
Want a chocoholics chocolate cake? use chocolate ganache to frost this cake. Delish!
Here I’ve used my velvet American Buttercream to make a quick birthday cake.

A Pinterest optimized image for this Moist Chocolate Cake recipe, featuring a cut slice of the cake, displaying beautiful perfect dark chocolate layers with white velvet American buttercream — Simple Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe, Best Chocolate Cake, Moist chocolate cake,

Useful Tips and Tools

If you bake often, it would be a good idea to invest in a cake mixer. Because often we try to mix by hand and then we are too tired to give it enough creaming or mixing. So, if you are making this cake go ahead and remove that K-Mix or Kitchen Aid from your kitchen cabinet. You don’t have to buy an expensive stand mixer, a simple hand mixer works great too.
Personally, I believe in measuring ingredients by weight, which makes my kitchen scale one of the most valuable items when baking.
And the same goes for my measuring cups and measuring spoons. It’s always a good idea to have these handy and use them when baking rather than trying to guess measurements.
Also, I think one set of baking pans is a must for anyone a home baker. I often use three 6-inch round cakes, which I often split into 4 layers for a tall display. Some times, I use three 8-inch round pans or three 7-inch cakes.
Once baked, always invert your cakes on a cooling rack. This enables air circulation and prevents the steam from pooling at the bottom of the pan.
Lastly, every oven works differently. So the baking times are just guidelines. In the case of cakes, a skewer inserted in the center is a great indication. If the cake bakes too fast or too slow compared to the time given, it might be a good idea to check if your oven needs calibration. An oven thermometer is a great little gadget to help keep the oven temperature in check. All you need to do then is adjust the temperature accordingly.

Ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)

All-purpose flour – yes, regular plain flour (maida) is all you need for this cake. Do not use any self-raising as those contain more leavening.
Oil – regular cooking oil that unflavored works best. Do not use olive or avocado unless you do not mind the taste and flavor in your cake.
Sugar – I prefer to use white sugar so it won’t alter the color of my cupcakes but feel free to use the same amount of light brown sugar. I would not recommend dark brown sugar.
Yogurt – gives the cake a soft crumb. If you don’t have yogurt you can use sour cream or buttermilk.
Eggs – Always use large size eggs when baking unless specified. The size of eggs varies significantly these days so as a guide on large eggs weighs between 50 to 60 grams
Vanilla – A good quality vanilla will make a huge difference in anything you make. Premium vanilla can be expensive which is why I make my own homemade vanilla extract, bean paste or sugar.

How to Make a Simple Moist Chocolate Cake (Save/Pin)

Preheat the oven to 160 C / 320 F.
Prepare two 8″ round pans for baking – grease and line them.

For the wet ingredients

Start with the hot water and coffee, then add in the yogurt, milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla.
Use a whisk to make sure the eggs are well incorporated.

For the dry ingredients

Use a bowl large enough for the final batter.
Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Mix them well together with a whisk.

Combine wet and dry

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
Use a whisk to combine the two slowly so you have a smooth, not lumpy batter.
This is a very pouring cake batter.
Pour the batter into your baking pans.
Bake in a preheated oven at 160 C / 320 F for about 25 to 30 mins.

Prepare Frosting

Prepare buttercream or ganache frosting as directed in the links above.
Tort the cake into two or four layers as desired.
Layer with frosting, smooth using a spatula or bench scraper.
Pipe any remaining frosting as desired.

Storage

The cake will stay fresh for up to four days at cool room temperature, longer if kept in the fridge.
It can be frozen for a month or more.

Frequently asked questions

How long with this moist chocolate cake last?

If properly stored, this simple moist chocolate cake will last for 2 to 3 days at room temperature. It can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 or 6 days.

Can I freeze this simple Chocolate Cake

Yes. Freeze it on a tray for a few hours then wrap well in cling/plastic wrap, followed by a parchment paper and then aluminum foil. Thaw wrapped in the fridge for 24 hours so the condensation will stay on the papers, not the cake.

Can I use this cake to carve a novelty cake?

No, please do not use this cake to carve or for a novelty cake. It’s a nightmare! Way too soft and falls apart. So while it’s perfect for your dessert type cakes not so perfect for those carving adventures. Though, I do have a chocolate cake perfect for carving, vanilla cake for carving.

Can I cover this cake with fondant?

Yes, you can even cover it with fondant

Can I make this a moist eggless chocolate cake?

No, but you can use my Eggless Chocolate Cake and bake it in two 8 inch cake pans

Can I use brown sugar instead of white in this moist chocolate cake?

Yes, you can but brown sugar is more coarse so it won’t dissolve properly in the batter with the minimum mixing. I highly recommend my tried and test moist chocolate fudge cake or Devil’s food chocolate cake. Both of these cakes use brown sugar and butter.

Can I use coconut flour or almond flour instead of all-purpose flour for this moist chocolate cake?

I have not tried this recipe with either almond or coconut flour, but I do have a gluten-free chocolate cake recipe that is very popular.

What other pans can I use this moist chocolate cake recipe for?

If you don’t want to make a layer cake like this,
You can make this into a sheet cake – a ‘Moist Chocolate Sheet Cake’.
You can also pour the batter into a well-greased and dusted bundt pan for a ‘Simple Moist Chocolate Bundt Cake’.
This recipe can also be baked into 24 beautiful simple moist chocolate cupcakes

What other frostings can I use for this simple moist chocolate cake?

There are so many other choices for frosting. Such as:
Swiss or Italian Meringue Buttercream
French or German Buttercream Frosting
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
I have over 30 plus frosting recipes on this blog. And I highly recommend checking them out.

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Simple Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe

Author: Veena Azmanov

4.89 from 27 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 40 mins

Calories: 366kcal

$10

Adjust Servings Here: 24 servings

Description

A versatile chocolate cake recipe is a must have on hand recipe. This simple, easy and effortless recipe makes an irresistible simple moist chocolate cake. All you need are two bowls and a whisk. The light and airy texture of this cake mean you it can be served with whipped cream for a light dessert or with chocolate frosting for a more indulgent affair.

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

300 grams (1.5 cups) Sugar
220 grams (1.76 cups) All-purpose flour
1 tsp (2 tsp) Baking soda
1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp ) Baking powder
85 grams (0.99 cups) Cocoa powder
1 pinch (1 pinch) Salt

Wet Ingredients

158 ml (0.72 cups) Vegetable oil
180 ml (0.72 cups) Boiling water
2 tsp (2 tsp) Instant coffee
180 ml (0.74 cups) Milk
60 ml (0.24 cups) Yogurt
2 (2 ) Eggs large
2 tsp (2 tsp) Vanilla extract

Frosting of your Choice

4 cups (4 cups) Velvet American Buttercream recipe here

ADJUST SERVINGS HERE – 24 servings