There are so many chocolate cake recipes out there, many falling short of my expectations. After years of recipe testing (and tasting) I am finally ready to share my go to Chocolate Cake Recipe!
This cake is amazingly balanced in flavor, which is perfect for any palate. The texture is moist and fluffy, but holds its shape beautifully for decorating.
Pair it with a smooth and creamy chocolate Italian meringue buttercream, and you most definitely have a match made in heaven!
In the summer months, try it with a fresh raspberry/strawberry filling for a divine flavor combo.
(Cake pictured is frosted with chocolate ganache, and filled with chocolate Italian meringue buttercream)
Moist and Fluffy Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 2 tsp baking soda (slightly heaped)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (high quality)
- 1 TBSP pure vanilla extract
- 6 large egg whites
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (300 g)
- 1/3 cup water (80ml)
- 3 cups unsalted butter (678 g)
- 1 cup chocolate chips (150g)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Sift dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl, set aside.
- Place eggs, sour cream, oil, and vanilla into a separate mixing bowl. Beat with a hand mixer until well incorporated.
- Place water into a small saucepan, and heat until just before boiling point. While water is heating, place the chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted completely.
- Add the bowl of wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, along with the hot water and melted chocolate.
- Beat on low until well incorporated, increase speed to medium-high and mix until smooth, 3-4 minutes.
- Coat 4, 6 inch cake pans with vegetable oil spray. Use a generous and even amount on all pans.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool for at least 25 minutes before removing cake from pans. Place cake layers on wire racks until completely cool.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and preferably chill overnight before decorating (this will prevent excess crumbs in your frosting).
- Place egg whites in a grease free bowl with a whisk blade attached. Place the sugar and water into a medium sized saucepan, and place over a medium heat.
- Keep a very close eye on the syrup, as it can boil over easily. Use a candy thermometer to check the temperature.
- Once it reaches 110 degrees C, begin whipping the egg whites on a low to medium speed.
- The egg whites will need to be foamy and frothy by the time syrup reaches 118 C. If the egg whites reach this stage before the syrup has reached 118 C, turn the mixer down to the lowest setting until it has reached the this temperature.
- Once syrup has reached 118 C, and egg whites are frothy- slowly pour the syrup into the mixing bowl in a steady stream while mixer is beating on medium/high. Allow meringue to beat on high until stiff glossy peaks have formed, and meringue has cooled significantly.
- Turn mixer down to a medium speed, and begin adding softened butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Once all the butter has been added, whip on high for 2-5 minutes to fully incorporate.
- The buttercream may look slightly curdled at this point, but do not worry! Continue whipping on high speed until is has become creamy. If the buttercream looks soupy it is most likely because the butter is too warm. Place the bowl into the fridge for about 10-15 minutes and rewhip.
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat chocolate chips until completely melted. Heat for 30 second bursts, stirring in between intervals.
- Allow to cool to room temperature.
- Return bowl to mixer and beat at a low to medium speed.
- Slowly pour the chocolate into the buttercream while mixer is running. Beat for an additional 1-2 minutes on medium, or until buttercream has returned to creamy and thick consistency.
NOTES
-To create a richer, more fudgy chocolate cake-
Replace the sour cream with mayonnaise, and omit half the salt.
-Be sure buttercream has cooled completely before adding the chocolate
-If buttercream becomes soupy after adding chocolate, place mixing bowl in the refrigerator for 10 minutes and rewhip until it fluffy.
-beat the buttercream by hand with a rubber spatula, to release any air bubbles before using. This will prevent any excess bubble when decorating.
Does this really use 6 sticks of butter for the frosting?
Yes it does! Italian meringue buttercream uses more butter than most other types of buttercream, this also makes quite a large batch.
OMG this chocolate cake recipe is the best!! My husbands not a huge cake fan and he was all over this one.
Hello. Can you please in future convert cups to grams, F to C etc. in your recipes? Greetings from Serbia!
Hello, can we replace the sour cream with anything else?, 10x a lot
Hi , Hello, I wanted to ask you how much is 1 cup of flour, sugar … could you tell me in grams?
Hi there, I have made this cake and the taste and texture is lovely with the exception that my melted chocolate sinks to the bottom of the cake when it is baked! What am I doing wrong? Thank you!
Could I make this recipe for cupcakes?
Hi! If you beat the wet and dry ingredients in the cake mix for 3-4 mins doesn’t the cake become dense? From what I have experimented previously – after adding the flour – you just beat it enough to incorporate it into the mixture.