The most amazing chocolate cake! A soft, moist, and delicious chocolate cake full of creamy chocolate ganache. The ultimate chocolate cake recipe, perfect for birthday parties or any other occasion!
Active time: 40mins | Cook time: 20mins | Yield: 10-12
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
- 3/4 cup (180g) Milk at room temperature
- 1 Tbsp (15g) White Vinegar or Lemon Juice
- 1 3/4 cups (210g) All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup (200g) Granulated Sugar
- 1/3 cup (30g) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 2 tsp (8g) Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp (3g) Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp (1g) Salt
- 2 Large Eggs at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (75g) Vegetable Oil (any flavorless vegetable oil like canola, corn, sunflower)
- 1 tsp (5g) Vanilla Extract
- 2/3 cup (160g) Lukewarm Water
For the Chocolate Ganache Frosting:
- 1 pound (450g or about 3 cups) Semi-Sweet Chocolate (40-50% cacao) *see notes for milk chocolate
- 2 cups (480g) Heavy Cream (bring it to room temperature)
- 1/3 cup (75g) Unsalted butter, softened
Video:
Directions:
For the Cake:
- Line three 8-inch (20cm) round pans with parchment paper. Set them aside. You can use just one 8-in pan, but keep in mind that the pan has to be taller (about 3-in deep), and the cake will take longer to bake (about 35 minutes).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) for about 5 minutes before baking the cake.
- In a small bowl, combine the milk and vinegar. I prefer to use apple cider vinegar. Stir for a few seconds and set it aside. The milk will curdle, and that’s normal. Note: Instead of this mixture, you can use 3/4 cup of store-bought buttermilk or plain yogurt.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine the dry ingredients.
- Create a well in the dry ingredients. Place the eggs, oil, milk mixture, vanilla, and water into the well.
- Stir gently with a wire whisk, as little as you can, until just combined and smooth. Do not overmix the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let them cool completely at room temperature.
- Unmold the cakes and cut a thin layer of the top to level them.
For the Chocolate Ganache Frosting:
- In a medium bowl, place the chocolate and heavy cream at room temperature. Melt using a double boiler or microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each until smooth.
- Add the butter and stir until just combined. The butter will melt with the heat of the chocolate.
- Let the ganache set at room temperature for about 2 hours or refrigerate for 30-40 minutes. Stir the ganache occasionally to make sure the mixture will firm up evenly.
- *Note: If you want to use milk chocolate instead of semi-sweet:
- 1 pound (450g) Milk Chocolate
- 1 1/3 cups (320g) Heavy Cream (bring to room temp)
- 1/2 cup (113g) Butter, softened
Assemble the cake (3 layers of cake and 2 layers of frosting).
Keep the cake refrigerated and remove it from the fridge about 1 hour before serving.
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