This is the best chocolate cake recipe ever! It is rich, chocolatey and moist with a perfect crumb! Topped with chocolate buttercream frosting it's the ultimate chocolate birthday cake. Check out the step-by-step photos and watch the video to learn how to make this easy chocolate cake recipe and ditch boxed cake mixes once and for all!
Line two 6” round cake pans with parchment paper and grease well. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt and espresso powder. Set aside
In a large bowl, whisk together canola oil, eggs, sour cream, milk and vanilla until the mixture is smooth.
Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
Add mini chocolate chips and stir until evenly distributed.
Divide the batter evenly into the two prepared cake pans.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
Place cake pans on a wire cooling rack to cool to room temperature (takes about 30 minutes).
Once cool, lift cakes out of the pans and remove parchment paper. Let cool completely on the wire cooling rack.
Once cool, with chocolate frosting and serve.
Video
Notes
Doubling the recipe:
To make two, 9” round cake layers double the recipe and bake in two 9” round cake pans.
Ingredient Substitutions:
All-purpose flour. Cake flour or bread flour can be used in place of all-purpose flour.
Granulated sugar. I suggest regular white sugar or organic cane sugar for the best results.
Unsweetened cocoa powder. For an extra-dark cake use dark cocoa powder.
Espresso powder. It's totally worth purchasing if you love baking. You can substitute instant coffee if you must.
Canola oil. You can substitute equal amounts of melted butter or another neutral oil if desired, however canola oil will yield the best results.
Sour cream. Full-fat, plain Greek yogurt can be used in place of sour cream. I recommend using full-fat ingredients for the richest, most moist chocolate cake.
Whole milk. Again, I am an advocate for using full-fat whole milk in this chocolate cake recipe. You could substitute 2% milk but nothing with a lower fat content.
Vanilla extract. You can switch up the extract and use almond, peppermint, orange, etc. if you prefer a flavored chocolate cake.
Mini chocolate chips. These are an absolute must. Regular-sized chocolate chips sink to the bottom of the cake while baking. Be sure to use mini chips for the best results.
Nutrition information calculated for only the chocolate cake (without frosting), for 1 serving assuming the recipe makes 16 servings.