Best Chocolate Cakes

A collection of the best chocolate cake recipes! Chocolate has always been my favorite sweet and even more so when it is in a cake! We are sharing 15 of our favorite chocolate cake recipes we have layered, doctored, bundt, and dump cakes. Whichever you choose to try you will not be disappointed!

moist chocolate cake slice next to full cake

Best Chocolate Cake Recipe

This moist chocolate cake recipe is deliciously soft and moist. Simple ingredients and step-by-step photos help you make the Best Chocolate Cake Recipe!

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Chocolate Bundt Cake

This easy chocolate bundt cake recipe has step by step photos to teach you how to make this ultra, chocolatey, decadent cake. Made with key ingredients to ensure you have an intense chocolate flavor but a super moist, rich cake crumb!

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cut open chocolate cake with vanilla frosting on a white plate on top of a pink linen on a white marble surface

Doctored Chocolate Cake Mix

Learn how to doctor up a chocolate cake mix! Add some homemade frosting and no one will ever know this yummy cake started with a cake mix! Lots of tips and step-by-step photos teach you how to bake this doctored chocolate cake mix recipe!

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guinness chocolate cake frosted with baileys frosting on a cake stand

Chocolate Guinness Cake

Soft and moist chocolate cake is baked with Guinness for an irresistible flavor!! Frosted with a Baileys Swiss Meringue Buttercream and filled with a chocolate ganache this cake is perfect all year long but especially for St. Patrick's Day!

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Chocolate Pound Cake

Chocolate pound cake is a dense, moist dessert topped with chocolate ganache. Step-by-step photos teach you how to make a delicious easy chocolate pound cake recipe.

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Flourless Chocolate Cake

This Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe creates a rich, mousse, and fudge-like texture. Naturally gluten-free, this dense chocolate cake is quite easy to make and is always a crowd favorite. Step-by-step photos help you bake this rich chocolate cake.

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slice of red wine soaked chocolate bundt cake on a plate with a fork on a marble surface with a pink linen

Chocolate Crack Cake

This easy chocolate crack cake recipe will surely be a winner for you and your loved ones. Starting with a chocolate cake mix that is doctored up and then soaked in sweet red wine syrup, this cake never disappoints!

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salted caramel chocolate cake served on a white marble cake stand with a copper stand

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake Recipe

Moist Chocolate Cake filled with homemade salted caramel, mini chocolate chips, fresh whipped cream and chocolate ganache. This cake is easy to put together and you can make some of it the day before! This Salted Caramel Chocolate cake is the perfect birthday or party cake!

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Strawberries and Cream Chocolate Cake

Rich & moist chocolate cake is filled with juicy strawberries, fresh whipped cream, and loads of chocolate ganache you will love this Strawberries and Cream Chocolate Cake! Perfect for a special birthday cake or party! Make this cake even easier and use a chocolate cake mix.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Incredibly rich and moist chocolate cake layers are filled with the best creamy peanut butter buttercream frosting for an unreal layer cake! Step-by-step photos teach you how to bake this chocolate peanut butter cake recipe!

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peppermint chocolate bundt cake served next to a carafe of milk and candy canes on a white marble surface with a red, white, and green linen

Chocolate Peppermint Cake

This incredibly delicious chocolate peppermint cake is topped with a chocolate ganache and crushed candy canes! Step-by-step photos teach you how to make this rich and moist peppermint chocolate bundt cake!

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Chocolate Dump Cake

Calling all chocoholics, only five ingredients are needed to make this delicious chocolate dump cake recipe. This scrumptious cake is full of rich, chocolate flavor. Step-by-step photos teach you how to make this simple cake!

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Chocolate Pudding Cake

This chocolate pudding cake recipe is a delicious, quick dessert that is a crowd-pleaser. Soft, moist chocolate cake has a rich chocolate fudgy saucy on the bottom.

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Chocolate Tres Leches Cake

This easy chocolate tres leches cake recipe is chocolatey, soft, and a great dessert to serve at parties. Step by step photos teach you how to bake this chocolate lover's cake!

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Chocolate Biscuit Cake

Let's make Queen Elizabeth's favorite cake, chocolate biscuit cake. This easy no-bake cake is made of broken biscuits and a rich, chocolate sauce holding them all together. All you need are a few hours in the fridge for this beauty to set up. Step-by-step photos teach you how to make this chocolate biscuit cake recipe.

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Frostings

If you love chocolate on chocolate then you gotta try this chocolate frosting recipe on your chocolate cake.

These are some of my favorite frostings:

Check out all of the frosting recipes.

Chocolate Cake Ingredients

Here are some common ingredients you will find in chocolate cake recipes:

Sugar. I normally just use granulated sugar, aka white sugar. But some recipes will call for light brown sugar or dark brown sugar.
All-Purpose Flour. Also known as plain flour. I cannot stress enough how critical it is that you measure your flour properly, too much or too little flour can drastically affect the cake.
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. I much prefer to use Dutch Process Cocoa Powder instead of natural cocoa powder. The Dutch process has had the acidity removed and creates a smoother, richer, chocolate flavor. You must be careful not to use natural cocoa powder as the acidity that has been removed from the dutch process cocoa powder affects the rest of the ingredients, i.e. the leavening agents. I use Bensdorp Dutch Cocoa Powder or Rodelle Dutch Cocoa Powder.
Chemical Leavening Agents. Baking soda and baking powder are often both used to create a cake with the perfect rise. The baking soda will need to be activated by the acidity in another ingredient, often sour cream or buttermilk.
Salt. Salt enhances all of the other ingredients' flavor profiles, don't skip it!
Large Eggs. Your eggs should be at room temperature so they can evenly incorporate with the rest of the ingredients. You can do this quickly by placing the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes before using them.
Pure Vanilla Extract. Vanilla pairs beautifully with chocolate.
Vegetable Oil. While in a butter or vanilla cake, you might want to use butter for the flavor, in a chocolate cake you wouldn't taste the butter anyway so oil creates an incredibly moist and tender cake.
Sour Cream. Sour cream tenderizes and adds intense moisture to the cake. Make sure it's at room temperature so it incorporates properly!
Whole Milk. I like to use full-fat milk to add moist richness to the cake. Sometimes I use buttermilk.
Hot Coffee. You may be worried that the cake will taste like coffee, but trust me it won't! The hot coffee enhances the chocolate flavor as well as blooms the cocoa for a richer, more intense chocolate flavor.

Tips and Tricks

Greasing the pan is crucial for the cake to release from the pan. I like to use Baker's Joy or Pam Baking, both have flour in the mixture to grease the pan and help it release easier. You can also use a paper towel with softened butter on it to grease the pan all over then lightly dust the pan with cocoa powder. When using a bundt cake pan make sure to get in all of the nooks and crannies or you risk your cake sticking to the pan.
You can also line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper cut out to really help ensure the cake does not stick to the pan. You will want to grease the pan as normal though.
I highly suggest sifting the dry ingredients through a fine mesh sieve as the cocoa powder is often quite lumpy.
As with any baking, I highly suggest you invest in an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is actually getting to the temperature you set it at. Some ovens run hot while some run cool so you can set the temperature accordingly to help get a better-baked cake.

🍽Making cake ahead of time

Most layer cakes can be frozen with or without the frosting, my preference is without the frosting. But American-style buttercream frosting does freeze well.

Let the cake layers cool completely. Once cooled wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap the cake in a second layer. Two layers of plastic wrap help prevent any freezer burn.

Store the cakes on a flat surface for the first few hours of freezing, this initial time ensures the cakes freeze in the proper shape. After frozen feel free to store the cakes on top of each other or on their side.

Because of the style and texture of the tres leches cake, chocolate biscuit cake, chocolate pudding cake, and chocolate dump cake I would not suggest freezing them.

♨️ Thawing frozen cake layers

Take the cake layers out of the freezer and place them on the counter at room temperature for a couple of hours. The cake will thaw a lot quicker than you think. Frozen cake layers are also easier to frost.