Chocolate Cake

Article by Emily Saladino

Look no further for your go-to chocolate cake recipe. The recipe developers at Food Network perfected a tender, light, moist, super chocolatey cake that’s easy to make and comes out perfectly every time. The chocolate cake calls for just 10 pantry ingredients, including one secret weapon: sour cream.

How to Make Chocolate Cake Like a Pro

Here, chocolate cake-making wisdom from the creators of this recipe.

Use unsweetened cocoa powder. Unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder creates deep chocolatey flavor. Sift it before whisking into the boiling water for silky results.

Full-fat dairy is key. Full-fat sour cream gives this moist chocolate cake recipe its lush texture and satisfying tang. In a pinch, you can substitute full-fat Greek yogurt.

Bake with room-temperature eggs. When you combine room-temperature eggs with fats and liquids like butter and cooking oil, they emulsify and trap air inside. The batter expands while baking, creating the perfectly soft crumb in this recipe for chocolate cake. Cold eggs can make the butter stiffen, so the results won’t be as fluffy.

Combine the ingredients slowly. Gradually combining the cake components helps to create a tender texture. Our recipe developers slowly pour the hot water-cocoa mixture into the batter while using an electric mixer on low speed, then stir it together by hand until just combined.

Cool to create perfectly even chocolate cake layers. Let the baked chocolate cake layers cool on wire racks for 10 minutes before removing them from their pans. Place them upside down on wire racks to cool completely if the tops look uneven and you plan to frost them or use a serrated knife to trim the domed tops.

Customize your cake. Use an offset spatula or butter knife to cover the tops and sides of the cake with vanilla or chocolate frosting. Don’t feel like icing? Sprinkle each chocolate cake layer with powdered sugar and serve with berries or sliced bananas, or top with a scoop of ice cream.

How to Store Homemade Chocolate Cake

Tightly wrap unfrosted cake layers in plastic and keep them on the countertop for 24 hours. Store frosted chocolate cake at room temperature under a dome or large bowl unless the icing requires refrigeration (such as cream cheese frosting) for up to 3 days. If the cake is cut, cover the exposed surface with a piece of plastic wrap beneath the dome or bowl.

For longer-term storage, you can freeze cake by tightly wrapping the unfrosted layers in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. Store it in an airtight plastic bag in the freezer for up to 6 months. Freeze frosted cakes unwrapped on a sheet pan for 4 to 6 hours, then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Other Chocolate Cake Recipes to Try

Hungry for options? Consider our German chocolate cake recipe, a make-ahead marvel that tastes better the day after it’s baked. Or bake a dinner-party-worthy flourless chocolate cake, chile pepper-spiked Texas sheet cake or a 10-minute, nearly instant chocolate mug cake.