15 Perfect Chocolate Cake Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to a perfect cake? ›

Oil vs.

This chocolate cake recipe calls for vegetable oil instead of melted butter. Oil creates an ultra-moist texture and open, slightly spongy crumb. Cakes made with oil feel more “moist” because the fat is a liquid at room temperature so it coats the tongue. Be sure to use fresh vegetable oil.

Most cakes will call for a leavening agent like baking powder or baking soda. These create the bubbles you need for the cake to rise.

Baking tip #2: adding milk to your box cake mix in place of water adds a dense texture to your dessert leaving it moist and flavorful like a homemade cake. Or, if you prefer, you can add buttermilk, giving your cake a tangy flavor to balance out the sweetness.

Use milk instead of water

Most box cake recipes will tell you to add water to the mix. Instead, try adding milk using the same proportions. This will make the cake richer and creamier because it ups the fat content. You can even use buttermilk here for a pleasant tang.

In baking a cake, eggs are primarily used for two purposes—emulsification and structure. Egg yolks contain proteins called emulsifiers that mix with both fats and liquids, so egg yolks play an important role in ensuring your batter is smooth and well-mixed.

The Sachertorte is a traditional chocolate cake. While staying true to the basic, good old-fashioned recipe, passion fruit is added to apricot jam to produce a lovely aroma and tartness for a pleasant, modern flavor.

The "Sachertorte" is a famous Viennese cake and probably the most famous chocolate cake in the world since 1832. The delicious treat consists of 3 layers of chocolate sponge cake with thickly spread apricot jam in between and on the top. The whole cake is covered in chocolate icing.

In this case, the bitterness of coffee balances the sweetness of chocolate, keeping it from becoming cloying. At the same time, coffee adds another layer to the chocolate flavor, making it more complex and intense.

How do bakeries get their cakes so moist? ›

This Simple Syrup Recipe is a baker's secret weapon that can be used on cakes, cupcakes, cookies (on rare occasions), and even in my co*cktails! The recipe for simple syrup is easy and can be modified in many ways. And, all you need is water and sugar to make this sweetener.

Let me introduce you to the cake soak.

When you do this, the cake integrates moisture and flavor, and the sweetened liquid helps preserve the cake's freshness, so a slice can taste just as delicious a couple days after baking.

Tips and tricks to get a lighter, fluffier cake

Moisture helps prevent your cake from becoming dense and dry, which is why the wet ingredients are so important in your cake. If your batter is looking a little dry, try adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of sour cream or swapping out some of the butter in the recipe for some oil.

To make a box cake mix rise higher, try using a smaller pan, adding an extra egg, using milk instead of water, adding baking powder, mixing for longer, using room temperature ingredients, baking at a higher temperature, or using cake strips.

In order to bake cake evenly, you have to insulate its edges. Preventing the temperature of batter at the edge from increasing quickly allows the cake to rise longer before it sets. A cake whose edges rise at nearly the same rate as its center will remain flat across the top — no dome, perfect for stacking and icing.