Chocolate Cake with chocolate frosting is my ultimate guilty pleasure. But you shouldn’t feel too guilty because this 6-inch mini chocolate cake is just the perfect size to satisfy your sweet tooth without being overly indulgent.
I’m currently in the cake season of my baking life. There was a time when I was all about shortbread cookies, and of course cupcakes. That’s not to say I’m no longer into those things, I’m just slightly more obsessed with this Mini Chocolate Cake right now, and rightfully so!
This cute little 6-inch chocolate cake recipe yields exceptionally moist crumbs. Obviously, the chocolate frosting helps make it doubly extra chocolaty. You won’t be able to stop at one bite, that I promise!
How to make Mini Chocolate Cake from scratch
The easy chocolate cake batter
Making the chocolate cake batter is as simple as 1 – 2 – 3 – 4. The batter is baked in two 6” cake pans, and assembled into a small two-layer cake.
Making chocolate cake batter (Photos 1 – 4)
- Add all the liquid ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat to combine.
- Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the liquid mixture.
- Mix until a smooth batter forms.
- Divide batter into two 6” cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
Don’t remove the cake right away while it is still hot. Allow the cake to cool in the pan until you can easily handle the pans. Then flip the pan over to remove the cake.
How to make chocolate cake moist?
Using oil can enhance the moistness of your cake. This chocolate cake is made with both butter and oil for both the amazing buttery taste from the butter and moist crumbs from the oil.
What type of cocoa powder to use for the best chocolate cake?
I’ve made this cake with natural cocoa powder, dutch-processed, and a mixture of both. They all worked and were all tasty. Personally I prefer dutch-processed cocoa powder, because it tends to give a deeper chocolate flavor, but use whatever you have in your pantry.
The chocolate frosting
This cake is covered in a creamy silky Swiss Meringue Chocolate Buttercream. Swiss buttercream is a little more involved since it requires you to make a meringue base for the frosting. But I assure you it is not difficult.
This frosting can be made with raw egg whites or pasteurized liquid egg whites. I’ve made it with both and both worked fine even though there is a warning on the liquid egg white carton that it may not work for meringue.
Recently I’ve also been trying out the double boiler method, heating the egg whites and sugar mixture over a steaming pot of water until it reaches around 160°F. This is to ensure the egg whites reach a safe temperature. I actually prefer this method even though it takes an extra step because the buttercream comes together much faster once you add the butter.
If you don’t want to deal with eggs, and the double boiler, you could make an American Style Chocolate Buttercream Frosting instead. If you’re worried about the buttercream being too sweet, don’t worry, my American buttercream is made to be exponentially less sweet than the typical frosting.
Baker’s tips
How to divide cake batter evenly
Use a kitchen scale to divide the cake batter if you want to be exact. This has an added benefit to help the cakes bake evenly. This mini chocolate cake recipe will give you approximately 390 grams of batter for each 6” cake pan.
How to make sure your cake doesn’t stick to the pan
There are two things I always do to ensure an easy and clean release of the baked cakes. I prefer using melted butter and a pastry brush for greasing over a spray.
- Grease the cake pan whether or not it is non-stick.
- Then, line the bottom of the pan with a piece of round parchment paper and also grease the parchment paper.
How to cut parchment paper to fit your cake pan
You can buy pre-cut round parchment paper. But cutting the parchment paper to fit your cake pans is super easy and will save you a lot of cash.
Just place a cake pan on top of a piece of parchment paper and trace it with a pen, then cut along the tracing to get a round piece of parchment paper that will fit inside your cake pan.
Storing chocolate cake
After adding frosting to the cake, you should refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes before cutting to allow the frosting to set.
Leftover cake should be refrigerated. If you’ve cut out a few wedges, be sure to cover any exposed cake with plastic wrap to avoid drying out. If you only have a few slices left, store them in an airtight container.
Need more mini cakes? Try these!
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, send me a photo, rate it and don’t forget to tag me @wildwildwhisk on Instagram. I’d love to see what’s cooking up in your kitchen. Cheers!
Mini Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- 6" Cake Pans
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (130 g)
- ½ cup cocoa powder (dutch-processed or natural, 46 g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (195 g)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk (235 g)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (melted, 2 oz, 57 g)
- ⅓ cup oil (vegetable or canola, 67 g)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Melted butter for cake pan
Frosting
- 3 oz egg white (white only from about 3 large eggs, 85 g)
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (104 g)
- ½ teaspoon vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 8 oz unsalted butter (226 g, room temperature, cubed)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 3 oz dark chocolate (85 g)
- 1 tablespoon dutch-processed cocoa powder
Instructions
Make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Brush melted butter on two 6” round cake pans. Line the bottom of the cake pan with a piece of round parchment paper and brush the parchment paper with butter as well. Set aside.
- Add buttermilk, oil, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract to a large bowl. Beat with a whisk until combined.
- Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder into a medium mixing bowl. Add sugar and salt to the flour mixture, and mix thoroughly with a whisk. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture, and whisk until a smooth batter forms.
- Divide batter evenly among the two prepared cake pans and bake for 30 - 32 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached. Use a kitchen scale to divide the cake batter if you want to be precise, approximately 390 g of batter per pan. This will also help the cake bake evenly.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 - 15 minutes. When you can touch the cake pans, use a butter knife to loosen the sides, flip the pan over to remove the cake from the pan. Peel off the parchment paper, and allow the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack before adding frosting.
Prepare the frosting
- Melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water just until most is melted. Continue to stir as you take it off the heat until all the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool.
- Add egg white and sugar to another heat proof bowl and set it over the pot of simmering water, stirring constantly until all the sugar dissolves, the egg white is frothy and the mixture reaches around 160°F. This will take around 7 - 10 minutes.
- Transfer the warm egg mixture to a stand mixer bowl and beat with the balloon whisk attachment on medium low speed until stiff peak forms, stream in the vinegar or lemon juice while beating.
- Once the meringue peak is stiff, shiny and smooth, start adding the room temperature cubed butter while stirring, one cube at a time and allow it to incorporate into the meringue.
- After all the butter is added, stream in the vanilla extract, increase the mixer to high speed and beat until the buttercream comes together and smooth. This will not take very long, only a few minutes.
- Stop the mixer and add the completely cooled melted chocolate and cocoa powder, stir to incorporate, and then beat on high speed until the buttercream is fluffy.
Assemble and frost
- When the cakes are completely cool, place 1 layer on a cake stand or plate. Put a few pieces of parchment paper underneath the cake to cover the cake stand or plate. This is to keep the frosting from smearing everywhere.
- Add about ½ cup of frosting on top of the first layer and even it out with an offset spatula. Add the second layer of cake on top.
- Frost the side and top with the rest of the frosting or just enough to your liking. If there is any leftover frosting, add piping decoration, or simply add sprinkles. Carefully pull out the pieces of parchment paper underneath the cake.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve.
Notes
- This recipe will serve 6 generous portions and can easily serve 8.
- Both dutch-processed cocoa powder and natural cocoa powder, or a combination both will work for this recipe.
- Any flavorless oil like vegetable oil or canola oil will work.
Nutrition
This little cake is so amazing. It is better than any bakery cake I’ve every tried. It may take a few minutes more than other cakes but it is so worth the extra time. Since I found this recipe a couple years ago it is the only chocolate cake I make and I get rave reviews. I’ve made cupcakes with this recipe and increased the recipe to make larger cakes and it always comes out perfectly. I have not tried making the frosting though and just make a chocolate buttercream recipe.
Thank you so much Vicki! Appreciate the review and 5 star rating 🙂
Hi
Thank u so much for sharing this AMAZING recipe I am yet to find anything better :). My clients only want my chocolate cake because of this recipe. Lately though,I find that that the cakes are sinking a lot in the middle do u have any advise on how to avoid that from happening
Hi Miranda, thank you for your review, I’m glad to hear you enjoy it! I wonder if you’re adding a bit too much liquid to the cake causing the sinking or check the baking soda and baking powder to make sure they are not expired or too old.
I also didn’t notice the stars! Update… 5 Stars from me.
Thank you so much!!!
Just made this cake! Absolutely perfect and delicious! And chocolatey too!! (someone else said it wasn’t). Thank you 🙂
I added an extra egg yoke to make it a little more dense because I always have trouble frosting cakes. It worked well. I did have to bake an extra 2-3 minutes. Thanks – great recipe.
This cake turned out AMAZING. It was a bit crumbly and difficult to frost, but once I had the crumb coat on, it was fine. I made my own frosting (Salted Caramel buttercream) and it was better than a store bought cake.
Salted Caramel buttercream sounds amazing! Thanks for the review Akemi!
Hi Trang! I absolutely love the white round sprinkles that you used to decorate this chocolate cake.
What are they exactly? They make for a very elegant cake.
Hi Susana, they’re just sugar pearl. I got them from Michaels.
Thank you for your prompt response Trang! I’ll be making the chocolate cake for my husband’s 50th birthday this Wednesday and your recipe for red velvet cake for my daughter’s 16th birthday on Friday.
Oh wow, happy birthday to your husband and daughter! I hope they both enjoy their birthday cake 🙂
Thank you for your kind wishes!
I noticed that in Step 3 of the cake instructions, it says eggs, could that be changed to egg since it only calls for one and so there’s no confusion?
Thanks for catching that, I’ll change it.
A-M-Z-I-N-G
This cake was too good ! incredibly moist, perfect sweetness and so easy to make!
this was just my 2time to bake a cake ever , and even without videos I was able to make one!
So happy to hear! Thank you for making this recipe 🙂
This cake turned out amazing! I was able to make 3 layers with a 6in springform pan. I used my own frosting recipe but this will be my go to chocolate cake recipe. Thank you so much!
Can you use something other that buttermilk?
I have a list of buttermilk substitutes in this post.
Hi, I’m in lockdown in Australia right now and I’ve been trying new recipes every week and this is by far my favourite. I’m 13 so i haven’t had as much experience compared to others but this recipe was easy to do, I made it for my family and they all enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
Thanks for trying the recipe Ella! I’m glad you found it easy. Hope everything goes well there and you’ll be out of the lockdown soon. Take care.
Have used this recipe a few times now – always prefect and delicious. I call it my “secret cake recipe” so thank you!!!
Thanks Erica! So happy to hear 🙂
Hi This recipe is the best! ☺️ I’ve been baking for almost one year and all my customers are very satisfied. 🥰 But i have noticed that the cake is easily break especially when i sliced it. Moist but crumbly. Uhm what could be the problem? 😢 Any suggestion how to fix it? ☺️ Thank you so much ♥️
Hi Jan, I’m glad to hear you and your customers enjoy this cake. I don’t remember it being very crumbly. I’m not sure if I can be of much help here. Maybe you can try using 2 eggs for more binding property but reduce the buttermilk by 1/4 cup.
This recipe makes a very delicious cake, and I have been baking for 50 years. I have some miniature cake pans that belonged to my great-grandmother (she was born in 1902). I found this wonderful recipe today and used her cake pans to make a miniature tiered birthday cake for my neighbor. The pans are small…the largest one is 5 inches round but only about 1 inch deep. The cake is light, moist, and very delicious. I made cupcakes with the left over batter, and they turned out perfectly. I frosted them with an easy strawberry cream cheese frosting made from 1 tub (7.5 oz) of whipped strawberry cream cheese, 1/4 cup of butter, and 2.5 cups of confectioners sugar. I plan to garnish it with fresh strawberries.
The frosting sounds delicious, Debbie. How fun it was to use your great-grandmother’s antique cake pans!! Thank you for the review.
Hi! I’m about to make this for my nephew’s birthday but I only have one 6″ cake pan. I just want to know what’s the best way to store the remaining cake batter while I’m still waiting for my first batch to bake? It’s pretty hot here right now so I’m worried the batter will melt.
Hi Jessica, apology for the late reply. You could keep the remaining batter in the fridge if it’s too hot out. Though I suggest getting an extra pan to bake them together because the batter has baking soda which will activate as soon as it is mixed.
Hi Trang
My pans are 6″ x 4″ so they are deep, do you think I can still make this cake? Any helpful tips would be appreciated.
Thank you
Hi Ruth, it shouldn’t be a problem if your pans a deeper. It might just be a bit harder to gage how much batter to put into each pan if you don’t have a scale. But there should be no different at all if you’re baking the cake in 2 pans. If you’re baking the whole thing in 1 pan and then cutting it in half, then there will be a difference in baking time since the cake would be much thicker.
Thank you so much 💓
This made an incredibly delicious chocolate cake!!! I used cake flour 1 cup + 2 Tbsp. But everything else the same.
Hello Trang! I am a chocoholic. My mother is a chocoholic ~ I believe it is part of our plasma! I needed something special to bring to my Mom ~ she is 88 and living in a retirement community. This is by far the most decadent chocolate cake with the BEST crumb that I have ever made!! I also bravely made my first batch of Italian buttercream frosting. Thank you so very much for this recipe and for your excellent instructions. I made oversized cupcakes and the recipe made 6 cupcakes with clouds of frosting! Thank you again Trang for sharing your amazing talent!
Thank you so much!! Your comment made my day, and I hope your mother enjoyed the cake too. 🙂
I baked this one week ago it was delicious 😋
I recommend this recipe <3
So glad to hear Sakura!
Hi, I use this recipe all the time and love it! Thank you so much. Just wondering, if I want to make this in a half sheet cake pan, would I need to double it?
Thanks Yaslin! I’m so happy to hear you love this recipe. I think for half sheet, you might need to 4x the recipe.
Hi,
Can I use self raiding flour instead of plain flour?
Thank you xx
Hi Louise, you can, but you may need to skip the baking powder and salt called for in the recipe. Self raising flour typically includes baking powder and sometimes salt too I believe, see if you can tell what ingredients is in your self raising flour and adjust accordingly. Let me know if you have other questions.
The best chocolate cake I have ever made, perfect.
Will be making all the 6in recipes, thank you.
Hello! I dont have oil at the moment, so can I use just 1/2 cup of melted butter instead? Thanks alot!
Hi Katie, you can sub with melted butter, but 1/2 cup is too much to replace 1/3 cup of oil, use 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp to replace the oil. You’ll still need the other original 1/4 cup of butter called for in the recipe. Oil is 100% fat and butter is usually 80% so you’ll want to use a bit more butter when subbing for oil to try and keep the fat content the same.
Hello can I use avocado oil instead of vegetable or canola oil?
Yes, it should be fine.
I love the cake it the so good
Gorgeous cake! So moist and very chocolatey 😃. I used caster sugar instead of granulated and added a tsp of espresso and it came out perfect. I frosted mine with your peanut butter frosting…., yum. Hoping I can now find a bigger version in your recipes for a chocolate birthday cake I need to make next week.
Thanks Helen! The addition of espresso is genius! You can check out this PB chocolate cake or this Mocha cake for a bigger version if you’d like.
Love this Chocolate Cake recipe! It’s been a hit each time I make it! I’m curious if I can substitute flour for gluten free flour at a 1:1 ratio?
Hi Nicole, King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill has an all-purpose gluten free flour that you can sub 1:1 ratio. However, I’ve never made this cake using gluten free flour so I don’t know how it would turn out. I suspect it will be a bit denser.
Was perfect for us!! Will be making again today 😀
Thank you!!!
This was the by far the best thing I have made. Thank you for such a perfect recipe!
So silly question, does this icing recipe work for any flavor, and if so, how would you go about doing so? Sorry if that’s a stupid question.
Hey Ray, yes, you can certainly modify it for other flavor. I wrote more about it on this Swiss Meringue buttercream post, hopefully it will give you some tips and ideas.
Hi there, do you think this recipe would work for 2 6×3 sphere cakes?
Oh boy, I have no idea, I’ve never made sphere cake before. These cake layers are about 1″, maybe a tad taller… if you want to estimate the cake volume of your sphere cake and see if you need to increase the batter recipe.
Ugh I struggle so much writing this review because I don’t want to blame the recipe. This cake had an amazing texture but the taste was super faint. It tasted like a chocolate cake made from hot chocolate powder. It was just not present. I tried it two different times to make sure with two different brands and it’s just a no for me.
Hi Lizzy, I’m sorry this cake didn’t live up to your expectation, substituting half the buttermilk with coffee can help enhance the chocolate flavor, or adding instant coffee or expresso powder. Thank you for giving it a try!
Hi Trang!
I am planning on making this cake next week. I do not have a stand mixer, can I make the frosting with a handmixer? thank 🙂
Varsha
Yes, handmixer will work fine!
Hi I tried your recipe and the sponge came out really nice! So moist and soft! Also I’ve read some comments regarding 6inch deep pan, I made my cake in a 6×4 cake pan, however as I was pouring the batter in I found that I was over filling it (I have had a bad experience from before) so I kept a little aside, after baking I realised I could’ve used the whole batter so next time will sure to use whole batter! I baked for 1hr 5mins at 350. Hope this helps.
Great to know Aki! Thanks for leaving a review and letting us know about your modifications.
Great recipe! We followed the recipe exactly with the exception of one substitute (milk with 1 tbsp of vinegar for buttermilk, where we let the milk and vinegar sit for a few minutes before mixing into the wet ingredients).
This will be a go-to recipe for our family! Thank you 🙂
Thank you Elsa! Happy to hear you enjoyed this cake 🙂
HI there
I only have 7 inch cake pans, if I did this just as is, would the layers be too thin? or would it make much of a difference?
You can use 7″ pan, the layers will be thinner and make bake faster but it should be fine.
Hi Trang!
Can the recipe be baked in one 7inch pan? I plan to bake two of the 7inch but will bake it twice separately
Can it be frosted with ganache and covered with fondant?
Thanks in advance
Yes, you can bake in 7″ pan, just watch for the bake time cuz the thinner layer will bake faster. You can pretty much use any frosting you want, with ganache, make sure it is firm enough to be used as a frosting. I’m sure there should be no problem with using fondant, but I do not have a lot of experience with using fondant so I can’t give a whole lot of input here.
Thanks for the prompt response!
Will give it a try❤️
You’re so welcome!
Hi Dear,
Can I halve the amount to make one cake? I mean one 6 inch pan
Thanks 🙏🏻
Hi Behnaz, you’ll need to cut all the ingredients in half. The egg would be the trickiest one, I would just beat the egg and divide in half. The easiest way to half the recipe is to weight all the major ingredients that might not be straight foward to divide.
Hi Trang! Just wondering if it would be possible to make this cake in 1 deep 6 inch pan, and would I have to adjust timings, I am having serious equipment issues cake pan wise!
Thanks
Yes, you would definitely need to adjust timing, longer bake time for sure, I don’t have an idea how much longer but I would go 40-50 mins and just check as you go to make sure you don’t over bake. I’m also afraid that the cake might turn out a bit dry due to having to bake much longer to cook the thicker layer, so it is crucial to pull it out just when the center is about done. Let me know how it turn out.
I made this cake with gluten free flour and it turned out delicious! Only took about 15 minutes to put together plus the baking time. Forgot to grease my pan, but the cake came out solid yet moist which made flipping the cake out extremely easy. Will definitely be using this recipe in the future.
Would it be possible to make this in four inch cake pans? How full do you fill the 6 inch pans (so I know how high to fill the smaller pans). Thanks!
Hi Vi, I don’t remember how high I fill the pan, but half full to 2/3 full is a safe bet.
Very moist cake and super easy to make.
Omg this cake was perfect… I made it with your peanut butter frosting which was amazing and turned it into a pinata cake for my nephews 4th bday. Definitely saving this recipe!! Thank you: )
Thank you Mel! Pinata cake is so fun!! Hope you nephew had an awesome birthday 🙂
Hi!
How much does the frosting yeild in cups?
Thanks!
About 2 cups.
I GOT ABOUT AS BIG AS A THE TABLE
Perfect chocolate cake! Thanks for making it easy to do and so delicious!
Perfect chocolate. I only made one layer but this cake came out super moist. Store bought cakes are usually dry so I lean towards cupcakes more but this recipe was absolutely delicious. Loved it when I was pregnant and have made it since having and baby and it’s been a hit with all ages.
Thank you so much! Congrats on the baby too! Hope all is well with the whole family 🙂
Hi Trang!
Can you tell me if the dark chocolate is sweetened or unsweetened for the frosting. Making it today!
Yes it is sweetened, the one I linked to in the recipe ingredients is 63% cocoa.
Hi Trang!
Could this be baked into 3x 4inch pans?
You may need 4x 4inch pans or they may turn out to be really thick layers. Try it but keep it reasonable when you fill the batter, you could just bake leftover into cupcakes. Smaller layers will be faster so make sure to keep an eye on them so they don’t overbake, I want to say check around 20 – 25 minutes and let them bake longer as needed.
This little cake is shockingly delicious. I made it for my husband’s birthday and his best comment was “It tastes like we’re at a high end restaurant.” Rich, dense but not heavy, and oh so chocolatey–I seriously think this is the best cake I’ve ever made. My only substitution was coconut oil in place of canola oil, and I added 1 TBS espresso powder. Thanks so much for including weights along with measurements, and for the fab suggestion of buttering the parchment paper. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Thank you so much Annie! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed the cake and happy belated birthday to your husband!
Very good and easy to make, definitely going to bake this again. Thanks
Great moist chocolatey cake…I’ll definitely be making it again… everyone loved it. Thank you!
I tried it and shared it with my colleagues. They all loved it! Moist and yummy
Hi there
I plan to double this cake and use it in a 12 slice bundt pan, hope it will be the right amount! I am new to baking, can I substitute the canola/vegetable oil with coconut oil?
I think double will fit in a bundt pan, but I don’t know how it will turn out exactly since you’ll have to bake longer and it may dry the cake out. Also if you’re not making a frosting for it, you won’t get the same intended texture and flavor. You can use the same amount of coconut oil.
Hi,
How tall will this cake get? I am wondering if I should do a single or double batch. (2 or 4 cakes) My idea is to make and m&m cake with m&ms spilling out its mouth but I want the cake to be at least 6 in tall.
Thank you!
Hi Vanessa, each layer is about 1 – 1.5″, the frosting adds a little bit of height but not much. If you want to do the filled cake, I would make at least 3 layers so you can cut out the center of 2 bottom layers. If you do double batch, it will make 4 cakes and definitely taller than 6″ for sure.
OMG this cake was soooo good! I doubled it and made three 6 inch layers and a few cupcakes. It was moist and tasty and delicious. It was a gift and the recipient LOVED it.
hey!! i just love this recipe. i am very young to be baking , and i could never find the proper recipe for a six inch pan ! and when i saw your recipe it was like puzzle pieces put together !! amazing. I am going to try making this tomorrow.
can you please tell me what the consistency of the wet ingredients should me , i m scared if i will under mix it or over beat it ?? that is the thing i am scared of ….
and can I use plain milk instead of butter milk plus what should i change if i want to add chocolate (melted )?
😀 thanks in advance
Hi Dharani, it’s never too early to start baking 🙂 You can check out the consistency of the batter from the process photos within the post. If you use plain milk, add a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to activate the baking soda. I can’t tell you exactly what to change to add melted chocolate since the recipe was not written with melted chocolate and I have not tested it that way. It is not as simple as switching out the cocoa powder for the chocolate since cocoa powder is a dry ingredient whereas chocolate contains cocoa butter and other things. I recommend sticking with the recipe as written if it is the first time you try the recipe for higher chance of success.
Hi there, I’m planning on halving your mini chocolate and mini vanilla cake recipes to make a layered cake :). Would halving the recipe for each change the baking time in any way? I’m guessing I will have to bake them separately since they’re baked at different temperatures.
If you half the recipe and bake 1 pan at a time, it will probably get done a couple of minutes earlier than baking 2 pan at a time, but not by a whole lot, so check your doneness about 2-3 minutes before and see.
My 3-year-old twins ordered chocolate cake with chocolate icing for their birthday, so I doubled your recipe to make two cakes, one for each. Came out amazing! I did a chocolate cream cheese frosting with it.
Happy birthday to your twins, Aviva! Chocolate cream cheese frosting sounds amazing!
Hey! So I know I am sort of young but I wanted to try this recipe out since I am starting baking and I wanted to ask if I could make a one layer cake with an 8 inch pan would that work?
You can but make 1 modification to the recipe and use 1/4 cup of oil instead of 1/3 cup. The bake time will need to lengthen to 37 minutes. And it’s never too young to bake!
Thank you Trang, it made 3 x 7inch round cakes. Just what I needed!
I Trang, I made this yesterday and it was the most delish cake I’ve eaten! Thank you for sharing 🙂 My question is, can I double this recipe to make a 7 inch or 8 inch cakes? I wanting to make a 3 layer 7 inch cake on the weekend for a party I’m hosting!
Many thanks
Kylie x
Glad you enjoyed the cake Kylie. You can double the ingredients except the oil, instead of doubling to 2/3 c, use 1/2 c instead. This should make 2 or 3 layers of 8″ cake. Double the frosting also.
Oh and I forgot to rate your recipe, sorry! It deserves all the stars, thanks again!
Hi Anna, I’m so happy everyone loved it! Thank you so much for taking the time to review this recipe 🙂
Can I use water instead of buttermilk
You can, but I recommend using buttermilk for more richness or use regular milk. If you don’t use buttermilk in this recipe, you must use natural cocoa powder because baking soda needs something acidic. If you only have dutch-process cocoa powder and using water, you need to substitute the baking soda for baking powder.
I made this cake for my sibling’s birthday two weeks ago and the whole family loved it, even those who aren’t really “chocolate people”. This is definitely something I’ll come back to if I ever need to make a smallish cake for future gatherings. Thanks a lot for the recipe, it was easier than I thought it would be!
Looks delicious! Can I add sour cream ? What difference will it make to the cake ?
Hi Lina, what do you mean by “add sour cream”? Are you trying to substitute an ingredient with sour cream? You can substitute the buttermilk with sour cream, 1:1 ratio, if you don’t have buttermilk on hand. But I do not recommend altering the ingredients list by adding extra ingredients.
Hi, what was the height of each layer before you put together with filling ?.
Hi Anna, to be honest I don’t remember, but maybe 1.5″-2″ give or take.
The cake turned out so well and moist. I used 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of preferred sugar instead of the sugar mentioned. As my oven tends to become hotter compared to others in the market I had to bake at 170° C for 26 mins. Thank you so much for the yummiest recipe
Hi Soumya, thank you for leaving a review and your modifications. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it 🙂
Hi Trang! My daughter’s birthday is coming up and I have in mind to make a chequerboard cake. I wanted a one egg recipe and I liked your chocolate recipe very much. Do you have a mini vanilla cake recipe? Or can I halve the vanilla cake recipe on your blog? Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes.
Hi Mary, my mini vanilla cake is linked within the post but it is a 2 egg recipe. You can certainly half it, but it will only make 1 layer of 6″ cake if that’s what you’re looking for. A chequerboard cake sounds like fun!! Happy birthday to your daughter, I hope she’ll love the cake 🙂
Hi, can I replace buttermilk with yogurt? If yes, does it have to be Greek yogurt or any kind of plain yogurt?
I have a convection oven, can you tell me if your baking time and temperature is with or without fan?
Hi Lana, yes you can replace with yogurt, any kind of plain yogurt or even sour cream will work. I do not have a convection oven, my temperature and time are for a conventional oven without fan.
I made this today and it’s SO GOOD!! A perfect recipe for a 6″ chocolate cake. Will definitely make this again!!
Thank you Wendy! I’m so glad you enjoy this cake, one of my favorites for sure 🙂
Can the sugar melt with the mixture since the wet ingredients are not hot? Cause the recipe only call for them to be mixed together.
There are certain cakes that call for hot milk but it is not to melt the sugar. Hot milk cake partially cook the cake and create a denser crumb. It is a different style of cake. You don’t have to worry about melting the sugar, when you mix the ingredient, the sugar will get incorporated in the mixture.
Hi,
I make this cake all of the time and absolutely love it 🙂
I’ve been asked to make a 4 layer, 8 inch chocolate cake…could you advise the measurements for 2, 8inch cake pans?
Thank you x
Hi Louise, one recipe of the 2 layer 6″ cake will make 1 layer of 8″ cake. If you need 4 layers, I would 4x the recipe.