Hershey’s “perfectly chocolate” Chocolate Cake with 5 ingredient chocolate frosting is our favorite homemade chocolate cake recipe! Extra moist, with a perfect rich chocolate flavor and tender, smooth crumb.
Chocolate Cake
This quick and easy chocolate cake recipe has become my all-time favorite over the years, and it’s the base recipe for many of my other favorite chocolate cake recipes.
It’s also one of the very FIRST recipes I ever shared here, way back in 2010! I think I’ve made hundreds of cakes since then, and this is still my favorite recipe. Thank you Hershey’s!
I can confidently say that it’s everything you’d hope for from a homemade chocolate cake, including incredibly moist and tender, with a fantastic homemade chocolate frosting.
And, did I mention how easy it is to make? Let’s me show you:
How to make chocolate cake:
Start by mixing the dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls.
Add the wet/buttermilk mixture to the dry flour mixture and mix the batter until well combined. Pour boiling water into the batter and stir until smooth. The batter will be very thin!
Pour the batter into your cake pans and bake the cakes on the middle rack of the oven.
How to make ahead and store the cake and frosting:
The cakes and the chocolate frosting can both be made ahead of time. Allow the cakes to cool completely, and then wrap them really well in plastic wrap and stick each layer in a ziplock freezer bag. Freeze for up to one month. I like to frost the cakes when they are frozen because they’re easier to frost.
The homemade chocolate frosting will keep well in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to two weeks, or in the freezer for up to three months. Remove the frosting from the fridge about an hour before you’re ready to frost your cake to allow it to come to room temperature.
Tips for perfect chocolate cake:
Use room temperature ingredients, particularly eggs.
Eggs at room temperature (as opposed to cold from the fridge) are fluffier and will emulsify in the batter better, which will also help the cake rise properly. A trick for bringing eggs to room temperature quickly is to run hot water over them for one minute, or let them sit in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
Use buttermilk (or easily make your own):
The original Hershey’s recipe does not use buttermilk, but buttermilk is a great ingredient to make cakes like this extra moist. If you don’t have buttermilk, use a simple trick of mixing 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar into 1 cup of milk. Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes and you’ll notice it curdle slightly, to form buttermilk.
Line the bottom of your cake pan, before adding the batter.
I learned early on to never skip the step of lining the bottom of my cake pans with parchment or wax paper. Then you never have to stress about the cake sticking to the bottom of the pan. I also spray the bottom of the paper and the sides of the pan lightly with cooking spray.
Consider trying these popular desserts:
- German Chocolate Cake
- Mississippi Mud Brownies
- Snickerdoodles Bars
- Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Tres Leches Cake
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Hershey's "perfectly chocolate" chocolate cake with 5 ingredient chocolate frosting is our favorite homemade chocolate cake recipe.
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup oil (vegetable or canola oil)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup butter (*see note)
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes.
Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes
Grease 9x13'' pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.
Combine butter and cocoa powder.
Add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract.
You might also love my German Chocolate Cake!
Recipe Video
*For a richer flavored chocolate frosting, try melting the butter before stirring in the cocoa powder
*Read my tips for making perfect chocolate cake, above in the post.
*I originally shared this recipe June 2010. Updated April 2018.
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
Recipe adapted from Hershey’s.
Amy Lynn says
I previously worked for a bakery in my neighboring town and my boss would use this recipe for her chocolate cakes & cupcakes. They turned out incredibly delicious!
I was pleasantly surprised when I figured this out because I loved her chocolate cake and was bummed that I wasn’t able to memorize her recipe before my employment ended.
I made this for my son’s birthday and everyone loved it. Even my oh so picky mother-in-law had some, minus the frosting(which made it like an extra fabulous chocolate muffin)!
Jane says
I do not have a mixer and will just use a whisk or spatula for frosting. Will it change the texture?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Jane, that will work–I would suggest melting the butter and then stirring the cocoa powder in. Then add the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix it was well as you can 🙂
Marilee S. says
To those whose cakes fell even after following the recipe exactly: I had this problem with my mother’s applesauce cake, twice. I realized some time later that I had accidentally picked up self rising flour instead of all purpose. This made for too much leavening(baking powder/soda). Make sure your flour isn’t self rising, and try again.
Lauren Allen says
Thanks for the tip Marilee!
Rosie says
Can you use Cake flour? Will it change the texture?
Lauren Allen says
Cake flour would work fine!
Diane Holden says
Do you let it c cool completely in the pan before taking it out of pan? Some cakes are taken out of pan after only cooling 10 min. Also, how long to bake in a bundt pan?
Lauren Allen says
You can leave it in the pan for 5-10 minutes before inverting. A bundt cake will cook for 50-55 minutes, and let it rest in the pan for 15 minutes before removing.
Sharon Bates says
This is the best cake I’ve ever made. My family ate the entire cake in one day.
Ann says
Hi i tried making the cake but it turned out flat, tastes funny (i think because of the milk with vinegar?), Compact and very stiff. I followed all the steps and used electric mixer as well. May i know why it turned out like that?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Ann, I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out well for you–it’s really hard for me to say what went wrong since I don’t know where you’re located (altitude humidity etc), and I wasn’t in the kitchen with you. Here is a great resource that could help you narrow down what went wrong: https://www.chatelaine.com/food/kitchen-tips/rules-for-baking-the-perfect-cake/
fulya says
hi,
i m trying the recipe right now. should i put 2 pans in the oven at the same time??
Lauren Allen says
Yes 🙂 Enjoy!
PAYTON says
With all the stuff you listed does it only make a one layer cake or does it make a two later cake
Lauren Allen says
It makes a two layer cake using 9inch round cake pans, or a one layer 9x13in cake.
Maria says
Hi Lauren, I’m making this cake for tomorrow but baked it today and tomorrow I will frost it. The bread itself already looks nice I will let you know how it taste after tomorrow.
Gee says
I only have one 9 inch round pan. Will the recipe work well if I simply cut it in half?
Lauren Allen says
Sure 🙂
Jean Dufek says
Wonderful!
Maria says
Hi Lauren, well the cake came out delicious, very moist and the frosting was exactly the amount for cake size, and I used self rising flour besides the baking powder an soda and it came out nice,, thank you for the recipie
Shashank Mhasawade says
Hello,
I’m Shashank from Mumba,i India.
My wife, daughter and I decided to bake together for the first time yesterday. After some searching for recipes online, we came across this simple recipe and instantly opted for it. We gathered the ingredients and started putting it together. Boy, it was truly easy. We followed the recipe to the T. Since we didn’t have two moulds of the same size, we made two separate cakes and didn’t layer them together. The frosting turned out to be awesome too. We were worried reading the quantities, before mixing the ingredients, that the frosting might become too thick/hard. But the quantities were just right, there was no issue whatsoever! The first self-baked cake of our lives was absolutely delicious, soft, moist and yummy. The only change we made was garnishing the cake with grated (bitter) dark chocolate. We are all so happy!!! Thanks for helping us learn, bake our first cake and adding joy to the family bonding. We will follow more of your recipes over the next several weekends.
God bless you.
Lauren Allen says
Hello, all the way in Mumbai! I absolutely loved reading your comment, thank you for sharing your experience! I hope you enjoy trying more recipes from my website 🙂
Natasha says
So I made this for my son’s birthday and it was a huge hit. I made my own vanilla frosting and filled the middle with chocolate ganache. I replaced the water with coffee. It was perfect! It’s so hard to find a good recipe and I’m a huge Baker so this was wonderful. Thank you so much!
Ynah Tabancura says
Hi, ive tried baking for the 1st time using ur recipe and it is crazy good. I plan on doing it again but in an 8×4 and 6×4 pan. Do i need to reduce the recipe? Thank u
Lauren Allen says
No, I would not reduce recipe. Fill your pans and if there is extra batter you could make a couple cupcakes.
The 4″ is going to take extra batter and also possible extra cooking time.
Pancheta says
This is a Great Recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Ann says
Frosting is way too sweeeetttttt! Cakes are very good!
Jenny says
I made this cake tonight for our son’s birthday tomorrow.
Does this need refrigeration due to the butter in the frosting?
Lauren Allen says
It doesn’t have to be stored in the fridge, but can be! Cover it really well 🙂
Laverne Jones says
Can I use 3 8 inch pan’s?
Simran kaur says
it is cool and mouth watering..
Debi Hagan says
Hey I made this last night i cook for 6 ,it turned out so good they making me make another tonight! Thank you for sharing
Renee says
Will it make a difference if I use a 10 inch square cake pan?
Lauren Allen says
The volume of this cake is not meant for a 10″ pan. It will be very thin.
Janet Allard says
can this recipe be doubled
Maggie says
The milk made the frosting far too wet. My top layer kept sliding and even after refrigeration the frosting was slowly dripping off of the cake. I would either omit the milk or replace with heavy cream in the future.
Cynthia Sasaki says
Baked for today’s neighborhood block party, this chocolate cake was easy to prepare and it was the first of the desserts to empty its plate. My frosting is simple – just equal parts of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and chopped chocolate of choice, melted and beaten together to spread on each layer like ganache.
Miranda says
This is the best cake I’ve made! Simple and easy! I made it with almond milk and it turned out great! Will be making again! Thanks!
Patricia Lackey says
This is the best cake recipe that I have ever used. I tried it once this summer and it made an absolutely HUGE cake in a bundt pan. I am trying it again today for my husband’s birthday. I didn’t realize I was out of oil, so I had to substitute melted butter, so we will see! Hopefully, it will be as delicious as it was the last time!
Yvette says
I’ve tried so many recipes for chocolate cake and have come to the conclusion that THIS is the best one yet. The cake itself is so moist and the frosting is just perfect. And it’s really easy to make. I use a 9×13 pan. The real test is when I feed it to family. They always love it!!
F Good says
Love this recipe! We subbed 3 ounces of applesauce for the 1/2 cup oil. Always turns out perfect! Thank you so much for sharing!
Mary Ellen says
I never made a scratch chocolate cake until today. I have made scratch white cake, but none as light as this one. I made it for my friends Birthday, she requested chocolate cake & chocolate icing. The icing recipe is the same as the one I make for the white cake. I csn’t believe the volume on the rise. So anxious for her to try it, I may have to ask her to save me a slice! Such an easy recipe to follow! Thank you for all the great tips! Will definitely make again!
Kate says
Lauren,
I am about to make the cake, but my son would like white icing instead. I drink only skim milk.
Can I use that in the recipe or should I switch to 2% or whole milk? I know that skim will be thinner, but not sure if it will affect the consistency. In any flavored icing, they use milk. Should it always be a certain kind? Can’t wait to make this. I will let you know how it turns out!!
Lauren Allen says
Hi Kate, you can use any type of milk in frosting, but the fattier the milk, the creamier the frosting will be. I usually use evaporated milk in frosting. Enjoy!
Nichole Stevens says
My Dad wanted a “basic” chocolate cake for his birthday. I didn’t want to make something out of a box, but had never made a cake from scratch. I googled “chocolate cake recipe”, this was the the second from the top of the results and the one that’s seemed just right.
It was easy to make and I followed all the tips and tricks. The cake turned out so good and moist, and the frosting light and tasty. It was a huge hit at the family party and just what my dad wanted. I’m not even a big cake lover but Im now in love with this recipe!
Lauren Allen says
Thank you so much Nichole! I’m so happy this was your first “from scratch” cake, and especially happy that your dad enjoyed it for his birthday, XOX