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Home Recipes by Type Desserts Cakes & Cupcakes
DF Dairy-Free

Best Chocolate Cake Recipe

4.84
/5
38 mins
36 Comments
Jump to Recipe Video
By: Rachel GurkPosted: 06/04/2021Updated: 07/12/2021

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Slice of cake, text overlay reads, "easy chocolate cake."
Slice of cake, text overlay reads, "easiest chocolate cake."
Slice of cake, text overlay reads, "easiest chocolate cake."
Slice of cake, text overlay reads, "easiest ever chocolate cake."

This is truly the best chocolate cake recipe you’ll ever make. Never dry, super easy to make, and so delicious!

Recipe Overview

Why you’ll love it: Because it’s the easiest cake you’ll ever make from scratch.

How long it takes: less than 40 minutes!
Equipment you’ll need: cake pan(s), whisk, mixing bowl, cooling rack
Servings: 12

Slice of chocolate layer cake on a round white plate, with a bite removed.
Table of Contents
open
  • 1 Recipe Overview
  • 2 About this easy chocolate cake
  • 3 Fun Fact
  • 4 What you need
  • 5 How to make it
  • 6 FAQs
  • 7 How to make this easy chocolate cake recipe your own
  • 8 Make Ahead Ideas
  • 9 Storage Suggestions
  • 10 Leftover Love
  • 11 More easy dessert recipes
  • 12 Get the Recipe: Best Chocolate Cake Recipe

Made from scratch, with simple ingredients you likely have in your pantry, this easy chocolate cake is amazingly good with rich chocolate flavor. It boasts a perfect spongey texture and it’s always super moist.

Whether frosted with chocolate buttercream frosting, cream cheese frosting, or simply topped with a generous spoonful of whipped cream or ice cream, chocolate cake is always a hit. In just ten minutes, this chocolate cake can be baking in your oven, filling your home with the delectable aroma of warm chocolate.

Shouldn’t you make a cake today? I think you should!

About this easy chocolate cake

This really is an amazing homemade cake. Most cakes use lots of butter and eggs and you have to use an electric mixer to really cream together the butter, sugar, and eggs. Thorough beating is essential to a light, fluffy cake.

Except for this cake! I’m always a little amazed at how easy it is make this chocolate cake and how great it turns out every time! Some people call it a “wacky cake” or a “crazy cake.” It is a little crazy!

No mixer, no eggs, no butter! GASP! It has white vinegar in it! Plain ol’ white vinegar, in your cake! Weird, huh?

All you need is a big bowl, a whisk, and about 10 minutes. If your pantry is fairly well stocked, I bet you could make this cake right now! You won’t even have to open your refrigerator.

Fun Fact

Because this cake is egg-free and dairy-free, it’s a vegan cake. The recipe may have been created during World War II when eggs and butter were severely rationed (Wikipedia). Cooks got creative and produced this lovely fudge cake recipe. Wasn’t that clever of them?

Some recipes don’t even use a bowl. The cake is stirred together right in the baking pan! Even weirder and more magical.

As always, keep reading for the complete printable recipe.

I’ll give you a quick run through so you can see just how seriously easy this chocolate cake is. I’m pretty serious about easy, aren’t you?

Chocolate layer cake on a cake stand.

What you need

  • Flour: Use all-purpose flour for this cake. There’s no need to buy special flour to make this cake. We usually buy unbleached flour because fewer chemicals are used in its production (Healthline).
  • Sugar: Regular granulated white sugar is all you need.
  • Cocoa Powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder is made from ground cocoa beans and has a surprising amount of nutrients and minerals.
  • Baking Soda and Distilled White Vinegar: When these two ingredients are combined, a chemical reaction takes place. This reaction is what causes all the tiny air pockets in your cake. In other words, it makes the cake rise. Use plain white vinegar, none of the fancy kinds needed here. In fact, you don’t want to use a fancy kind because it will add a flavor to your cake that you’re not looking for.
  • Vegetable Oil: This cake is made with oil instead of butter. We usually use canola oil but other kinds work fine, too.
  • Hot Water: The water helps make the cake moist. Why hot? It helps the cocoa dissolve.
  • Pure Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the chocolate. You can also add espresso powder to the cake, if you like a mocha flavor. Keep reading for more ideas.
Overhead view of ingredients in small bowls.

How to make it

Get your oven preheated. It’s important to have your oven ready and waiting, nice and hot. Once the cake batter is mixed, you’re going to want to get it in the oven ASAP. Time is of the essence here. I’ll explain why in a minute.

Measure out your ingredients.

Tip: Always lightly spoon the flour into your measuring cup. If you scoop flour directly out of the bag or canister, the flour is compacted and you’ll get more flour than you need. Your cake may turn out dry. It’s okay to scoop granulated sugar though.

Spray your pans with nonstick cooking spray. There will be enough batter to make a 9×13-inch pan or two round layer cakes. If you plan on removing the layer cakes from the pan, it’s helpful to cut a round of parchment paper to lay on the bottom of the pan.

Using a whisk, mix the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, sugar, and espresso powder, if using) in a big mixing bowl.

Dry ingredients in a glass mixing bowl.

For the hot water, regular tap water is fine so start running the water so it heats up. (For some reason, it takes forever for the hot water to get to my faucet!) You can heat water up in a kettle otherwise.

In a different bowl, combine vinegar, oil, vanilla, and hot water. It doesn’t really have to be thoroughly blended, just kind of mixed.

Wet ingredients in a large measuring cup.

Is your oven preheated? Is your pan ready? Good, because here we go.

Dump the wet ingredients, all at once, into the dry ingredients. Stir lightly with the whisk, making sure all the dry ingredients are getting moistened.

Chocolate cake batter in a glass mixing bowl on a marble surface.

Do you see any action taking place in the bowl? Is the batter bubbling? It should be! Once the vinegar hits the baking soda, it’s volcano time. Well, not really, nothing is going to spew out of the bowl, but the bubbles are what give the cake its sponge-like texture.

Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pans. Immediately put the cake into the oven. Set the timer.

Unbaked cake in two round metal cake pans.

Wasn’t that so easy? Hope you didn’t get stressed out by the lightning quick speed of your cake making experience. Wait ’til you taste it! It truly is the best chocolate cake, ever!

FAQs

What makes a cake moist and fluffy?

In this recipe, the chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar makes the cake fluffy. You’ll notice the batter bubbling almost immediately after adding the vinegar. Those bubbles are what makes this cake fluffy.
Adding the correct amount of liquid makes a cake moist. In this recipe, the liquid is hot water.

What does adding coffee to chocolate cake do?

Adding coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate cake. Coffee plus chocolate equals mocha, a perfect sum. You can substitute hot coffee for the hot water, or add espresso powder to the flour mixture.

What flavors go with chocolate cake?

Ha! This question should be what flavors don’t go with chocolate cake! Here’s a few ideas: mint, raspberry, orange, cherry, maple, bourbon, rum, vanilla, coconut, caramel …

How to make this easy chocolate cake recipe your own

See the question above for inspiration. Frosting can add a whole new dimension to your cake. I love Irish Cream Latte Buttercream Frosting on homemade chocolate cake.

  • Replace the vanilla extract with mint extract or maple extract.
  • Add finely grated orange zest to the batter.
  • Instead of frosting, sprinkle the cake batter with chocolate chips and chopped nuts. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of sugar over the whole cake, and bake as directed. No need to frost it!
  • Serve the cake unfrosted with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or cookies and cream ice cream and a drizzle of Bourbon Caramel Sauce or Hot Fudge Sauce. Tell me that doesn’t sound good!
  • Top the cake with whipped cream and raspberries, or homemade strawberry sauce.

Make Ahead Ideas

If you’re looking to get a head start on this cake, mix the dry ingredients in a big mixing bowl, cover, and set it aside until you’re ready to bake.

Storage Suggestions

If your kitchen is fairly cool, or if you have a different cool spot (like a garage or unheated room), the cake doesn’t have to be refrigerated. Make sure you cover it tightly, out of reach of your pets, and it will keep for a few days. I’ve noticed that if the weather’s really warm, the cake begins to deflate a bit and gets sticky.

If you frosted your cake with cream cheese frosting, it should be refrigerated.

Chocolate layer cake, sliced, frosted with chocolate frosting.

Leftover Love

Hmmmm, what to do with leftover cake? EAT IT! Who has leftover cake, anyways?!! Is that a trick question? But if you wanted to switch things up a little, you could crumble it in small parfait bowls and layer with pudding or whipped cream for a fun and easy trifle!

Cake on a white plate with bites removed.

More easy dessert recipes

This chocolate cake isn’t the only easy dessert recipe I have up my sleeve. Try:

  • Easiest Double Chocolate Pecan Cake
  • Texas Sheet Cake – another chocolate cake and frosting that’s easy to make!
  • Black Forest Dump Cake Recipe
  • Fruit Salad Parfaits with Shortbread Cookie Crumble
  • No Bake Lemon Berry Cheesecakes
  • Triple Chocolate Cocoa Puffs Crispy Treats
  • Banana and Chocolate Pudding Dessert Bites
  • Homemade Pudding Pops

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Slice of chocolate layer cake on a round white plate, with a bite removed.
Recipe

Get the Recipe: Best Chocolate Cake Recipe

4.84 from 37 votes
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 28 mins
Total Time: 38 mins
12 servings
Print Rate Recipe
Prevent your screen from going dark
This is truly the best chocolate cake recipe you'll ever make. Never dry, super easy to make, and so delicious!

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups hot water
  • ¾ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon espresso powder, optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (see note). For round pans, spray pans with nonstick cooking spray, then line bottoms with parchment paper. Spray 9 x 13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
  • Combine water, oil, vinegar, vanilla, and espresso powder (if using) in a large measuring cup.
  • Add to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined — a few lumps are okay.
  • Divide batter between prepared round pans, or pour batter into 9 x13 pan.
  • Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 28 minutes for round pans, or 32-35 minutes for 9 x 13 pan.
  • Cool on wire rack. When completely cooled, frost.
  • For layer cake: Cool cakes on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then invert onto the rack, removing pans. Leave cakes upside down (this flattens domed cakes) to cool completely.

Notes

  • It’s really important to get the cake into a preheated oven as quickly as possible once the dry ingredients are mixed with the wet ingredients. You’ll see the batter begin to bubble immediately as the vinegar and baking soda react. This is what leavens the cake.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1piece, Calories: 381kcal, Carbohydrates: 59g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g, Sodium: 389mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 33g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Author: Rachel Gurk
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  1. doris says

    January 21, 2023 at 8:29 am

    the cake looks good and glad you don’t have to add the coffee to it cuz I not a coffee drinker

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      January 23, 2023 at 9:11 am

      Yes – that is completely optional!

      Reply
  2. Pat Alves says

    January 15, 2023 at 7:54 pm

    5 stars
    Childddd, ty for the recipe. It’s the cat meow.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      January 17, 2023 at 3:04 pm

      You’re so welcome!

      Reply
  3. Don says

    December 19, 2022 at 6:18 am

    5 stars
    Hey Rachel, I did it again!!! Had to comment again on this incredible recipe. All who would like to try it, just go for it!!!! You can’t lose. I did a 9×13 layered cake this time with chopped dark chocolate bits mixed into the batter….OHHHH MAN!!!!. and the frosting was also healthy-ish because I left out the dairy and butter and used vegan margarine and almond/coconut milk. You couldn’t tell the difference! Yum!!! And decorated with shaved dark chocolate and cake crumbs. Was the BOMB yet again!!! And well received by the friends I made it for. Thanks again Rachel for this awesome recipe❤️❤️❤️ I’ll leave a pic.

    Reply
    • Don says

      December 19, 2022 at 6:26 am

      5 stars
      Forgot to mention that because i wanted to do a larger cake, I increased the ingredient amounts by an additional half of everything and baked the 2 layers for 28minutes in my oven….AND it still didn’t fail me!!!

      Reply
      • Rachel Gurk says

        December 19, 2022 at 7:57 am

        I’m so glad to hear it!

        Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      December 19, 2022 at 7:57 am

      It’s beautiful!

      Reply
  4. Helen Awala-Ale says

    November 14, 2022 at 3:34 pm

    Will try it.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      November 22, 2022 at 10:35 am

      I hope you love it!

      Reply
  5. Mandy says

    November 1, 2022 at 1:06 pm

    5 stars
    This cake turned out perfectly moist and delicious, and it raised to an impressive height. I used two cups of hot coffee instead of 2 cups of water with espresso powder. The batter looked too wet, but it baked fine. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      November 1, 2022 at 1:07 pm

      Isn’t it magical??? Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, it means so much!

      Reply
  6. Pam says

    October 1, 2022 at 8:41 pm

    5 stars
    I just made this with my 4 year old granddaughter. Best cake ever, and so easy to make. This is my new go to dessert when I have to bring something to someone’s home.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      October 2, 2022 at 9:08 pm

      I love how easy it is to make – I’m more of a cook than a baker so I need all the help I can get. ;)

      Reply
  7. Tisha says

    September 18, 2022 at 12:26 pm

    5 stars
    So easy and delicious. My family wants me to make it every weekend!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      September 23, 2022 at 11:56 am

      I’m so glad to hear it! I love how easy this one is too.

      Reply
  8. LW says

    July 15, 2022 at 7:11 pm

    This is actually a tweaked version of wacky cake. I love the addition of espresso powder. Looking forward to adding that. Excellent idea

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      July 18, 2022 at 2:40 pm

      It adds great depth to the flavor! Hope you love it!

      Reply
  9. Don says

    July 4, 2022 at 8:23 pm

    I can’t believe this cake!!! 100% fool proof. I totally ignored the pan size and dumped all the batter into 1 large round pan and baked for longer than recommended to ensure the centre was cooked and this recipe still came out the BOMB!!! Still moist and fudged!! A lover of caramel/chocolate combo (and with all my frosting ingredients depleted), I decided to top with a quick and easy microwave dulce de Leche. I left the knife beside the cake because I couldn’t stop eating it. My sis and mum are in love. My new go-to (without the caramel, this cake boasts reduced cholesterol from the eggs and dairy….bonus!!!!) Sorry for rambling, can’t stop raving about this Fudgey goodness.

    Reply
    • Don says

      July 4, 2022 at 8:34 pm

      5 stars
      Forgot to rate it…yall have more stars than 5? Lol

      Reply
      • Rachel Gurk says

        July 4, 2022 at 9:42 pm

        Thank you so much!!!

        Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      July 4, 2022 at 9:42 pm

      Oh I’m so glad to hear it! Your comment brought a smile to my face tonight. My 11 year old daughter made this cake this weekend too. We love it! Thanks for sharing a picture!

      Reply
  10. Emma Lee says

    July 2, 2022 at 11:22 am

    I love this recipe so much thank you so much!!!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      July 3, 2022 at 11:17 am

      So glad you like it! Thanks for leaving a comment!

      Reply
  11. Lindsey says

    February 25, 2022 at 10:26 pm

    Can I half this recipe? My baby is allergic to eggs and his 1st birthday is this weekend.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      February 28, 2022 at 8:13 am

      That should work fine!

      Reply
  12. Mrs. Jalal says

    February 19, 2022 at 11:14 pm

    5 stars
    It’s looking yummy. I’ll try my best.

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      February 21, 2022 at 8:10 am

      I hope you love it!

      Reply
  13. Jackye says

    February 6, 2022 at 10:47 pm

    Is there a hint for getting same amount of batter in two pans, I never seem to do that! Measuring?

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      February 7, 2022 at 9:35 am

      I always just eyeball, but you could definitely measure it or weigh it if you have kitchen scales!

      Reply
      • Joyce says

        November 18, 2022 at 7:52 pm

        Does this chocolate cake not use eggs?

        Reply
        • Rachel Gurk says

          November 22, 2022 at 10:28 am

          That is correct!

          Reply
  14. Kathy says

    December 27, 2021 at 3:25 pm

    5 stars
    Made for the holidays. Frosted it with chocolate buttercream frosting and got RAVE reviews from all. So easy; highly recommend!

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      December 28, 2021 at 7:33 am

      So glad to hear it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, it means a lot to me!

      Reply
  15. Shannan says

    December 20, 2021 at 3:13 pm

    OMG! This Chocolate Cake was off the charts excellent. I know it didn’t need any embellishment, but I managed to crank up the notches when I paired it with your Vanilla Buttercream Frosting and Chocolate Buttercream frosting! I literally swirled the whole thing. Just amazing. I’m not so familiar with temps and techniques, so I just pretend by copycatting the constant flow of cat decorating videos in my Facebook newsfeed all the time! Thank you so much for this. My holiday was extra good with this recipe and now it is in my go-to stash forever! (PS my leftovers went into a bowl, icing and all, and I mashed it all together and made cake-balls! Dipped in a chocolate coating, as if there wasn’t enough already. Not a single bite of this cake will be wasted. Trust me!)

    Reply
    • Rachel Gurk says

      December 21, 2021 at 3:34 pm

      What a beautiful cake! You did an amazing job!

      Reply

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