All-purpose flour: No need for specialty cake flour to make a fantastic chocolate cake. Just be sure to measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour is the most common mistake and leads to a tough and dry cake. The most accurate way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one, fluff your flour with a spoon, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with a knife. This batter is meant to be quite runny, so avoid adding more flour to thicken it.
Granulated sugar: Simple white sugar keeps this cake sweet and moist.
Brown sugar: A bit of brown sugar adds a hint of molasses flavor, enhancing the richness of the chocolate.
Pure vanilla extract: Vanilla is essential to enhance the chocolate flavor. Do not leave it out!
Cocoa powder: While you can get by with cheap flour, sour cream, milk, and oil, you should invest in good quality cocoa powder! It’s the main flavor component, so use the best you can find. I love using Dutch-process cocoa powder for this recipe. Ensure you use unsweetened cocoa powder, not cocoa mix.
More about the ingredients
Eggs: Two whole eggs help set the structure of this cake and emulsify the batter.
Sour cream: One of the secrets to the best moist chocolate cake is sour cream! It adds dairy undertones, rich flavor, and body (thanks to its high protein and fat content) that oil-based cakes often lack. Full-fat sour cream adds richness and dairy notes to this cake in the absence of butter.
Oil: This is an oil-based cake. Although I LOVE BUTTER, oil makes cakes ultra moist since it remains liquid at room temperature. With the intense chocolate flavor and sour cream, you won’t miss the butter.
Hot coffee: This recipe uniquely uses hot coffee in the batter. The hot liquid dissolves the sugar and activates the leavening agents, so the cake begins to rise and set instantly. It’s also the reason why this cake is so moist.
Dark chocolate: You’ll need pure dark chocolate for the frosting. Anything between 50% and 70% cocoa solids will work, but I highly recommend dark chocolate with 60% cocoa solids. You can blend semisweet chocolate with your favorite bittersweet chocolate callets for convenience.
HOW TO MAKE BEST MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE: STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
This recipe is incredibly easy, and you can make it all with just a bowl and a whisk—no mixer needed!
Step 1: Combine dry ingredients – Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda into a large bowl. Add both sugars and salt, then whisk to blend well, pressing out any lumps of brown sugar.
Step 2: Combine wet ingredients – In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, sour cream, and vanilla until well blended.
Step 3: Mix wet and dry ingredients – Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk or an electric hand mixer on medium-low until blended. The mixture will be thick and somewhat dry.
Step 4: Mix in hot coffee – Gradually add the hot coffee in two stages to minimize clumps, beating until evenly combined and the batter is smooth.
Step 5: Bake – Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 30-33 minutes, until the cakes spring back when pressed gently and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let them cool for 15 minutes before inverting the cakes onto the rack to cool completely.
EXPERT BAKING TIPS FOR THE BEST MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE
Use a neutral-tasting oil – like pure sunflower oil to allow the chocolate flavor to shine.
Do not reduce the sugar – The correct amount of sugar keeps the cake moist by binding water, preventing excessive evaporation during baking.
Keep an eye on the baking time – Set a timer for the shortest time stated in the recipe and check with a skewer—it should come out clean.
Make cupcakes too! – You can use this recipe to make about 18 cupcakes, which will take 15-20 minutes to bake.
