Name: Easy Chocolate Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 4 tbsp unsalted butter (57 g, melted); 2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil (30 ml); ¾ cup granulated sugar; ¾ cup buttermilk (180 ml); 1 egg; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 cup all-purpose flour; ½ tsp baking soda; 4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder; ¼ tsp salt; 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder; 6 tbsp Brown Sugar (or White Sugar); ½ cup Full Fat Milk (or ½ cup milk + 1 tbsp butter) (or ½ cup fresh cream); ½ tsp Vanilla Extract

Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe – The easiest and BEST chocolate cake recipe, using simple classic baking ingredients.

Cooking is an art and baking is a science. Always cooking or baking involves lot of Mathematics and Science, though it is unnoticed. First do your math (knowing the right proportion of ingredients used in the recipe, cooking time, cooking temperature etc…) and then follows the science (chemistry of reactions of ingredients). Here are some interesting findings.

BAKING SCIENCE IN EASY CHOCOLATE CAKE

BUTTER & OIL : Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe uses both butter and oil because it gives the best taste with soft and fluffy texture. Oil cakes tend to bake up loftier with a more even crumb and stay moist and tender far longer than cakes made with butter. Oil is a guaranteed moist-maker in cakes and cupcakes.

Cakes made with butter often taste better with good, rich flavour. Using melted butter instead of oil does make the cake texture slightly different, it is still delicious and worth trying if you would prefer to use butter in place of oils in the chocolate cake.

COCOA FOR DARK AND CHOCOLATEY CAKE : Natural unsweetened cocoa powder is recommended for this cake. It is rich in cocoa butter and dissolves perfectly into the batter to create a nice, smooth texture, dark colour and strong chocolate flavour. Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa powder is recommended if you wish.

There are two types of cocoa. Naturally unsweetened and Dutch processed. When using a recipe with baking soda only or baking powder only, the type of cocoa matters. Dutch processed cocoa is more alkaline than natural cocoa, and will not react with baking soda to rise. Generally, Dutch processed cocoa requires baking powder to rise. So make sure to use natural cocoa powder.

SALTED OR UNSALTED BUTTER : Unsalted butter is traditionally recommended for baking, as we can easily control the quantity of salt in the baked goods. It also has a light, fresh and smooth flavour to make the cake. Incase, if you use salted butter, adjust the salt in your recipe accordingly. Rule of thumb to follow is that, most butter brands add about ¼ teaspoon salt per ½ cup butter.

BAKING SODA & ACIDIC COMPONENT : In baking, the usual acidic components include: buttermilk, brown sugar, molasses, vinegar, yogurt, lemon juice (or other citrus juice), natural cocoa powder (dutch processed cocoa powder is not acidic), and chocolate.

Baking soda is ideal to be used instead of baking powder if there is an acidic component because it is about two to four times more effective than baking powder. When paired with the acidic ingredients (cocoa & buttermilk) in this chocolate cake recipe, baking soda adds lift to the cake with better leavening.

BUTTERMILK : Tangy buttermilk brings beautiful flavour and tenderness to sweet and savoury recipes. The acidity of the buttermilk reacts with the baking soda, leaving a delicious and delightfully light texture. Buttermilk can be used in biscuits, cakes, pancakes, quick breads, and countless other delicious recipes. The acidity in buttermilk pairs well with the richness of the chocolate cake. So don’t omit buttermilk from this recipe.

SALT, FOR ENHANCING THE FLAVOUR : Never skip the salt in a chocolate cake recipe. While the 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a recipe might seem small and negligible, this salt does wonders for all cakes, especially chocolate ones. As a flavour enhancer, it packs a big punch, making the cocoa more prominent while balancing out the sweetness.

EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE (MAKE THE EGGLESS RECIPE)

Replace Egg with milk, baking powder and oil in this recipe to make eggless chocolate cake. Baking soda in the recipe is a leavening agent that gives cake the structure and strength. Small quantity of baking powder is added and maintained the balance of baking soda and powder to get desired softness. Note that substitutions always do not give exactly the same results. Substitute egg with

4 Tbsp of milk + 1 tsp oil + ¼ tsp baking powder.

There are many substitutes for fresh eggs, but they do alter the recipe. As per the nutrition facts, egg provides approximately 5gm fat (Egg white 0.05g + Egg yolk 4.5g) and 6 gm protein (Egg white 3.6g + Egg yolk 2.7g). Here, in this substitution, 4 tbsp milk provides approx. 2g protein + 2g fat and 1 tsp oil provides 4.5g fat.

Usually yoghurt is used as egg substitute. But here, instead of yoghurt, milk is used to balance the sweet sour flavour of the cake and to avoid an overriding sour taste by using yoghurt.

Eggs are the backbone of many baked goods and contribute to its structure – it binds, leavens and moistens. Eggs also provide steam for leavening or moisture for starch. Egg yolks add moisturizing fat and give the baked good a smooth and creamy texture. The egg whites act as strengthens.

MAKE A SUPER MOIST CAKE (HOW??)

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature before beginning. Avoid overbeating, while mixing dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Just fold the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Fold until it is mixed well and the batter is smooth with ribbon consistency.

OVEN AND COOKING TIME

Baking time varies with oven. It is recommended to bake until a skewer inserted comes out clean. But, avoid opening oven doors in between baking. As soon as you open the door to look, heat escapes, altering the temperature of the oven and leading to uneven baking. Make sure not to open the oven door in the first 20 minutes of baking to give the batter a chance to properly set. After that, open only to check for doneness toward the end, rather than opening multiple times during baking.

Baking Science References : Epicurious , Taste of Home Baking Guide , Chocolate Guide , Butter Guide , Sallys Baking Addiction , Baker Bettie , Mashed

EASY CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Easy and simple chocolate sauce frosting recipe is made with Cocoa Powder, Milk, Sugar and Vanilla Extract. It is a quick recipe that is ready in minutes with easily available ingredients.

INGREDIENTS TO MAKE THE EASY CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients to make the easy chocolate cake are butter, oil, sugar, buttermilk, egg, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt.

STEPS TO MAKE THE EASY CHOCOLATE CAKE

Easy chocolate Cake making involves classic cake making steps:

Prepare the oven and pan
Make the batter
Bake the cake

Check the below recipe card for ingredient’s measurements and detailed instructions.

★ We love your Feedback !! Have you tried this Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe? Please click on the stars in the recipe card below to rate. You can also follow GuttansFood on Facebook, Instagram to see what’s latest Guttans Kitchen.

PRINT PIN IT