Very Simple Chocolate Cake
This must be the easiest cake I have ever made and thus the name Very Simple Chocolate Cake. It takes less than 10 minutes to mix the batter and place the cakes in the oven. It does not require a stand mixer or any fancy ingredient. All you need are two mixing bowls and a wooden spoon, spatula or whisk. If you have never baked a cake before, this is a good recipe to start with. This cake is rich and remains very moist even when refrigerated due to the high liquid volume and the use of oil in place of butter. This is an original recipe by Stephanie Jaworski which she calls simple chocolate cake with my own instructions. Let me show you exactly how easy it is to make this cake below.
INGREDIENTS:
Makes 2 sponges for a sandwich cake. Recipe can be halved to make a single cake.
(1) 400 Grams Granulated White Sugar (2 Cups)
(2) 245 Grams All Purpose Flour (1-3/4 Cups)
(3) 75 Grams Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (3/4 Cup)
(4) 1-1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
(5) 1-1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
(6) 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
(7) 2 Large Eggs
(8) 1 Cup Warm Water (Warm Tap Water is fine)
(9) 1 Cup Milk
(10) 1/2 Cup Oil (E.g. Corn, Vegetable, Sunflower, Canola)
(11) 1-1/2 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
NOTE:
This cake is very very moist. This could be both good and bad depending on what you want. If you want a cake that would remain moist even when kept in the fridge and stay that way for several days, then you would love this recipe. It is however a bit difficult to work with when leveling and frosting. I will highly suggest chilling this cake before frosting.
PROCEDURE:
(1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
(2) Grease two 8 or 9 inch baking pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
(3) Weigh out all the dry ingredients (first 6 ingredients) and place them in a bowl. Mix them together with a whisk.
TIP: If using a scale, simply weigh them in the same bowl by resetting the scale after each ingredient. It takes less than a minute to do this plus no bowls to clean afterwards.
(4) In another bowl, whisk the eggs and add the other wet ingredients (number 8 – 11). Whisk them all together to combine.
(5) Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Do not over mix the batter. 1 minute of mixing is more than enough mixing time.
The batter will be very thin.
(6) Divide the batter evenly between both cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
(7) Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 15 minutes before removing them from the pans. Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting. It cannot be any easier I tell you. Do give it a go.
May I suggest frosting them with my yummy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. Recipe here.
BONUS RECIPES:
(1) Chocolate Butter Cake (Recipe here)
(2) German Chocolate Cake (Recipe here)
(3) Champagne Chocolate Cake (Recipe here)
(4) Mocha Rum Loaf. (Recipe here)
(5) Chocolate Sponge Cake (Log Cake) (Recipe here)
Terry Adido is passionate about showing people how easy it is to recreate restaurant quality meals in the comfort of their kitchens. With a style of cooking he refers to as Afro-European Fusion, his meals are influenced greatly by French and Italian Cuisine with a West African twist. If you love good food, you are in for the ride of your life.
thanks soo much Terry…
You are welcome Ego.
Thanks again & again ! You’v really kept ur words.
Thanks Ruky. Do give it a go.
can I bake it without d cocoa powder. Am not really into chocolate cakes
I am not sure how that will come out Bukky. You might need to change the recipe.
Thanks terry but can the cocoa be omitted or is thr any other replacement for cocoa?
You are welcome. No it cannot be omitted and no there is no substitute.
Thanks Terry God will bless d work of your hands
Thanks Bola.
Thank you so much for so many nice recipes.
You are welcome Aisha.
Oh oh…. You found the wonderful recipe, chocolate velvet according to my brothers. You all should try this its always a hit. Well done Terry.
It is a lovely velvety chocolate cake. Thanks.
I’ll be trying this today. Just to clarify. Ingredient no 4 and 5 do you mean 1 to 1 1/2?
No. I mean one and half.
thanks Terry. I actually used 1 but it was still nice.
Tried it out… It was truly moist but cake was burnt. My electric cooker is up to 300degrees not 350 to start it. When I checked 30 minutes later it was a bit runny in the middle so I kept it for further 10 to 15 minutes and then it got burnt. I nearly cried but will give it a go again.. Not giving up lol.
Sorry, to read that. Oven temp. setting is critical when baking cakes.
I’m getting there with baking. Eventually got my acts together and it was lovely. Perseverance Pay. Thanks again Terry!!!
You are welcome. I’m glad it turned out great. Anytime.
So I tried this today. I only modified the amount of sugar that I put in it gosh he. Very moist, rich and just perfect. My next challenge is the chocolate frosting. Terry you are the best man. Thank you thank you!
Awesome Omar. I’m glad you loved it. The frosting should be equally easy.
dearTerry, can this recipe be used for chocolate cup cakes too
Yes it can.
I tried dis today! Very nice. But,can all be put in a single pan? Thank u.
If the pan is large enough.
i made this cake,truly this cake is very moist, can i not use all milk instead of water?.the funny thing is it took 50 mins to bake the cake even in two 8 inch tin.another question terry is it ideal to bake this moist cake in a bigger tins?
Hi. Yes you can. That would lead to a richer cake. Some times, the pan size and oven temperature affects the baking time. An 8 inch pan would take longer to bake than a 9 inch pan as the the batter in a 9 inch pan would be shallower than that in an 8 inch pan.
but please terry this recipe u gave is actually for how many inche pan?
Depends. I could use it for two 6, 7, 8 or 9 inch pans. If you want higher tiers, you might need to multiply the recipe for 8 and 9 inches.
Everyone that had this cake,just loved it.My search for chocolate cake ends here the best cake ever all the thanks to you
Awesome! That’s such a great feedback. I’m glad you all loved it.
I tried out this recipe. Was nice but a little bitter. Don’t know if I did anything wrong
It might be the brand of cocoa powder you used. It is not supposed to be bitter.
Ok. I will try it again with a different cocoa powder
That is a lot of sugar. Can I cut it down. Also, my oven has no temperature gauge. Any advice?
It is not a lot of sugar. The sweetness balances the taste of the cocoa. Yes, it can be reduced according to your preference. I would however advice you try it first with the sugar quantity suggested and then make a decision whether or not you wanna reduce it in future cakes. As for the oven, a google search on ovens of similar nature should help.
Thanks. Can I omit the vanilla extract? All I have is vanilla flavouring.
What is vanilla flavoring? Is that the same thing as artificial vanilla extract? Though that would also work, it can be omitted as it isnt the same as the real deal.
Hello, please how do I prepare the pan for this cake?
It is clearly stated in No (2) of Procedure.
Ohh sorry, I just saw that. Thanks. Then by how much do I need to multiply this recipe I I want to make it in a 12 inch round pan? Thanks in advance
I would say double or triple it depending on how high you want your tier to be.
So terry I tried this wonderful recipe yesterday and forgot to add sugar, I finished pour it in d pan b4 I remembered lol, I turned it back to my mixer then added the sugar, mixed again then bake, I kept my fingers crossed, when d cake came out I was afraid to taste it, when it entered my mouth I just started singing “where have you been, all my life” lol. Terry this is d best choc cake i’v ever baked, thanks a lot bro
Nice. Yes, I have had a similar experience in the past. Makes me question the need for all the cake making steps we follow. You are welcome.
Thanks for all you do on this blog.I sincerely appreciate it.Pls what is the equilvalent of I cup of water,oil,milk in grams or litre.I want to know the exact quantiy
Thanks. 1 US Cup = 236.59 ml. Just use a measuring cup to measure liquids. You don’t need to concern urself about the weight of liquids; they differ.
Tried d’s recipe, came out really really good but it stuck to my pan and refused to come out easily though I greased the pan and sprayed with flour….cud that have bn the cause. But the cake was really nice,thank u
I guess the pan was not well prepared then. Always line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. That way, even if it sticks, You can run a knife around the sides and still flip out the cake.
This recipe totally rocks!!! I’ve made it twice with wonderful results both times. And it’s a very forgiving recipe, too. The second time I mate it I had already started when I found I was out of baking soda. I doubled the baking powder and it still came out delcious and moist and wow! Thank you for such a great recipe!
Thanks for the feedback Anissa.
Terry, thanks for your “Very Simple Chocolate” recipe which is really moist & yummy.
Please do you have a Simple recipe like this, that is MOIST for Vanilla Cake — “Very Simple VANILLA Cake” –which uses OIL instead of Butter?
Thanks and God bless.
You are welcome Teetee. No I have none for vanilla yet.
Thank you so much Mr Terry, you have made me to be a confident baker. Please do you have a recipe for Eggless chocolate cake? I want to bake a cake for my friend’s daughter who is allergy to egg. Thank you
Thanks Jeraldine. No I have none.
Ok. Thank you Terry
Hello Terry ,thanks a lot for sharing your wonderful receipes.Pls can I make a two tiered simple chocolate cake,I actually scared because I don’t know if it would crumble due to the moist nature of the cake .Thanks a lot,awaiting your prompt response.God bless you
Hi. Yes you can. Chill cakes before filling and frosting. Dowel properly.
Thanks a lot Terry,I’m grateful.Tried the receipe yest, it came out perfect.God bless you.
You are welcome Ivy. Thanks for the feedback.
God bless u Terry for this recipe. Pls i am doing a mix of chocolate cake below and red velvet cake on top in the same pan, hence i do not want the chocolate cake to be too moist. What do i do, do i reduce or omit any of the wet ingredients, if yes which? Thanks!
Hi, sorry I cannot advice on this as I have never tried it before. I will suggest baking both cakes differently and frosting them together to form a tier.
thanks so much for all these wonderful tips you gave, its really helpful to me. thanks a lot.
You are welcome Dupe.
This is great and wonderful thanks a lot. Please Can I add nut to d batter and d butter frosty ? Thanks
If you want to.
Thanks Terry,please what preservative can I add to the simple chocolate cake.
Thanks
Hi. I know nothing about preservatives.
Thanks a lot Terry. I just recently started making cakes and I’ve been inspired by your posts. Just tried out this recipe and it came out perfect. I appreciate your skill and expertise, your willingness to share and your patience in responding to inquires. God bless you.
Thanks NmaB.
Hi Terry, thank you so much for this recipe, especially the TIP about scale. I found that very useful.
You are welcome.
Thank you again Terry
Please do you have simple oil-based red velvet cake like this. Would appreciate the link. Thanks
Hi. I have none.