It has a full chocolate flavor and a light orange aroma. Eat it as is, or top it with our easy chocolate ganache for a family-friendly sweet treat. Check out our Best Easy Desserts
Ingredients
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
Variations
More easy cakes
Tips
Storage
Eat it as is, or top it with our easy, glossy chocolate ganache. Alternatively, you can cut the cake in half and stuff it with jam or with one of our easy custards, such as classic egg-free vanilla custard, chocolate custard, coffee custard, and pistachio custard.
Milk
Any milk works, including soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, and any other plant milk. We use soy milk.
Sugar
You can use white sugar or brown sugar.
Oil
Pick an oil with light color and neutral flavor. Good ones for baking are canola, sunflower, avocado, and light olive oil. We don’t use butter in our easy chocolate cake to keep the recipe light and suitable for all. For an oil-free cake, substitute apple sauce or water for the oil.
Cacao powder
Unsweetened cacao powder (best if dutch processed) gives a rich chocolate flavor. Bloom the cacao powder with hot water before adding it to the batter to maximize its flavor. You can also use unsweetened cocoa powder.
Chocolate chips
Dark chocolate chips make the cake even more decadent and more chocolatey.
Baking powder
Baking powder makes the cake light and fluffy. Make sure your baking powder is fresh and hasn’t been sitting in your pantry for too long. Old baking powder might not work. There’s no need for baking soda in this chocolate cake.
Orange
This is an optional ingredient. However, we love mixing in the grated zest of one orange to add freshness and aroma. Chocolate and orange are a perfect match, and if you haven’t tried them yet, you are in for a treat.
Chocolate ganache
We make a super quick and easy ganache with dark chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate), water, and vanilla extract. Note: we don’t add espresso powder to our chocolate cake because we don’t keep it in our pantry. There’s also no need for buttercream, lemon juice, or vinegar, as we don’t use baking soda in this easy chocolate cake recipe. To a small mixing bowl, add cacao powder and hot, almost boiling water. Whisk until the cacao powder melts. Set aside. To a large mixing bowl, add orange zest, milk, sugar, oil, salt, and the melted cacao powder and whisk the wet ingredients until well combined. Sift in the flour and the baking powder and whisk for a few seconds until the wet and dry ingredients are just combined, then mix in the chocolate chips. Tip: don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing develops the gluten, making the cake heavy and gummy. Some lumps are ok. Pour the chocolate cake batter into the cake pan. Bake in the oven at 340°F or 170°C for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Transfer the cake to a wire rack a let it cool down. Note: the cake will dome and crack a little, and that’s ok. We are not going for perfect looks here.
Chocolate Ganache
Add dark chocolate chips, vanilla extract, and hot water (not boiling). Stir with a spatula until the chocolate melts. Note: ganache is a simple chocolate glazing made from melted chocolate and a liquid. Let the ganache cool down for 15 minutes, then pour it on the chocolate cake. Spread it with the back of a spoon, let it set, and serve. You can also fill it with a hazelnut spread or a simple custard for festive occasions.
Chocolate pound cake
Use the chocolate cake batter to make a perfectly moist chocolate pound cake. It’s a delicious and week-friendly cake with 9 easy-to-find ingredients. Check out our chocolate pound cake recipe. You can eat it as is or fill it with lemon curd or custard for an indulgent and party-friendly cake. Check out our lemon cake recipe.
Orange cake
Make this fruity and light orange cake with freshly squeezed orange juice and easy-to-find ingredients. You can make a quick orange curd as a filling or eat the cake as is. Check out our orange cake recipe.
Apple cake
You’ll love this apple cake because it’s soft, moist, light, airy, and easy to make with a few simple ingredients and lots of apples. This cake is perfect for any occasion and is a sure crowd-pleaser. Check out our apple cake recipe.
Questions
Fridge: If it’s very hot where you live, keep it in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic.Freezer: you can freeze this chocolate cake, but it would be best to do it before you add ganache or the filling. Let it cool down completely, transfer it into a freezer-friendly bag, and freeze it for up to 3 months.When you take it out of the freezer, let it thaw in the refrigerator first, then add the ganache or the filling.
Similar Recipes
Get new inspiration from these deliciously moist and fun cake recipes, all of them made with 8 ingredients or less:
Blueberry lemon cake Easy chocolate brownie cake 8-ingredient pear cake 5-minute prep lemon pound cake
For many more easy dessert ideas, check out our desserts category page.
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