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Photo of a round chocolate cake with chocolate frosting by Owl Creek Farm

Practically Perfect Chocolate Cake

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This is the ultimate Chocolate Cake recipe! Moist, rich, and easy to bake, this dessert is perfect for birthdays, holidays, or anytime indulgence.
Photo of a round chocolate cake with chocolate frosting by Owl Creek Farm

Chocolate Cake Recipe PinThere’s something undeniably comforting about baking a chocolate cake. Maybe it’s the way the warm, chocolatey scent fills the kitchen, or how each bite somehow feels both nostalgic and luxurious. Whatever the reason, whenever I pull out my mixing bowls, crack open a bag of cocoa powder, and measure out the sugar and flour, I feel a calm satisfaction. Chocolate cake is a dessert I can rely on, a small indulgence that instantly brightens a quiet weekend or a casual gathering of friends.

Long before chocolate found its way into decadent cakes, brownies, and frostings, it was a prized substance enjoyed by ancient Mesoamerican civilizations. The Mayans and Aztecs were known to grind cocoa beans into a paste and mix it with water and spices to create a bitter beverage believed to have energizing and even mystical properties. Later, European explorers introduced these beans to Europe, where sugar and milk were added, gradually transforming chocolate into the sweet delight we recognize today.

An image of a tray containing baking ingredients like cocoa powder, sugar, milk, etc by Owl Creek Farm Made in DALL-EIt’s incredible to think that the luscious chocolate flavor we adore in modern desserts all begins with cocoa beans that grow in pods on the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. The beans are fermented, dried, and roasted to develop that characteristic chocolate aroma. Pressing the roasted beans separates cocoa butter from cocoa solids, and it’s the careful blending of these components that allows chocolate to take on its many forms, from velvety bars to easy-to-use cocoa powders.

Chocolate cake itself entered culinary history in the mid-19th century when advancements in chocolate processing allowed for chocolate to be mixed directly into batters and doughs, rather than just being consumed as a beverage. The first chocolate cakes were somewhat less sweet and more robust than the airy treats we know today. Over time, recipes evolved, with butter, sugar, eggs, and other ingredients combined into delightfully rich and moist cakes that highlight chocolate’s natural complexity.

When I bake a chocolate cake now, I love to think about how centuries of cultivation, experimentation, and discovery led me to this simple act. It’s a connection to people who treasured these flavors long before chocolate was widely accessible. And while I’m grateful for the convenience of modern appliances and easy-to-find ingredients, there’s a certain magic that remains. Every time I taste that first bite, I can taste the journey of chocolate—its origins, innovations, and the love poured into every cocoa-sweetened creation.

Photo of a round chocolate cake with chocolate frosting by Owl Creek Farm

Practically Perfect Chocolate Cake

Amy @ owlcreek.ca
This is the ultimate Chocolate Cake recipe! Moist, rich, and easy to bake, this dessert is perfect for birthdays, holidays, or anytime indulgence.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 10
Calories 615 kcal

Ingredients
  

Cake

  • 2 cup granulated sugar
  • cup all purpose flour
  • ¾ cup cocoa powder
  • tsp baking powder
  • tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

Frosting

  • ½ cup butter melted
  • cup cocoa powder
  • 3 cup icing sugar powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • cup milk

Instructions
 

Prepare and Bake the Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350℉, Grease and flour bottom and sides of two 9 inch round metal baking pans (see notes for other pan sizes)
  • In a large bowl, combine together 2 cup granulated sugar with 1¾ cup all purpose flour, ¾ cup cocoa powder, 1½ tsp baking powder, 1½ tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp salt.
  • In a small bowl, mix together 2 eggs, 1 cup milk, ½ cup vegetable oil, and 2 tsp vanilla extract, then pour the mixture into the dry ingredients.
  • Beat dry and wet ingredients together with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.
  • Add 1 cup boiling water to batter and mix well. Batter will be thin.
  • Evenly pour batter into the prepared baking pans.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Prepare frosting while cake bakes, below.
  • Remove from oven and cool in pans for 10 minutes.
  • Carefully remove the cakes from their pans onto wire racks and cool completely before frosting.

Prepare Frosting

  • In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer, mix ½ cup butter (melted) with ⅔ cup cocoa powder until well combined.
  • A little at a time, alternate adding 3 cup icing sugar and ⅓ cup milk to the cocoa mixture, then add in 1 tsp vanilla extract.
  • Beat with hand mixer until a spreadable consistency is achieved. In needed, add milk, a tablespoon at a time and beating well after each addition, until the desired consistency.
  • Frost cake between layers, on the sides, and top.

Notes

9x13 inch pan: Oven 350℉, grease and flour top and sides of metal baking pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Do not remove from pan, cool completely and frost.
3 layer cake: Follow the same instructions and times as the basic 2 layer cake.
Bundt cake: Oven 350℉, grease and flour a 12 cup metal Bundt pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes, then remove cake to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Cupcakes: Oven 350℉, line 30 muffin cups with paper liners. Fill each liner 2/3 of the way up, full of batter. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes before moving to wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Nutrition values are for 1/10th of the recipe. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1pieceCalories: 615kcalCarbohydrates: 101gProtein: 7gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 562mgPotassium: 276mgFiber: 5gSugar: 77gVitamin A: 384IUCalcium: 103mgIron: 3mg
Keyword birthday cake, cake, celebration, chocolate, chocolate cake, dessert

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We guarantee that all of our recipes are authentic recipes; they're developed, cooked or prepared, and enjoyed in our home. We are not professional, or even mediocre, photographers, and occasionally create AI images when photos don't turn out. None of the recipes on this website are created or modified using AI, and they never will be.

Amy
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