We come back to this classic Chocolate Cake recipe again and again, as our favorite EASY, moist, and delicious chocolate cake. Paired with the decadent 5 ingredient chocolate frosting and you’ve got our favorite homemade chocolate cake recipe!

A great chocolate cake recipe is something everyone needs in their recipe collection (along with a Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting of course!). We use this one as the base for fancy variations, like our our popular German Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake.

A slice of a two layer chocolate cake on a white plate, dusted with cocoa powder.

This moist chocolate cake recipe has become my all-time favorite over the years, and it’s also one of the very first recipes I ever shared here on TBFS, 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!

It’s everything you’d hope for from a homemade chocolate cake; 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:

Mix Dry Ingredients: Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. 

A glass mixing bowl with sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt for a homemade chocolate cake.

Add Wet Ingredients: Eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and mix until well combined.

A two image collage showing eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla being mixed into dry ingredients, then a picture of thick chocolate cake batter.

Add Boiling Water: Stir to combine (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

A two image collage showing thin chocolate cake batter in a mixing bowl, and then after it's poured into a cake pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in the pan for a few minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.

A baked chocolate cake round cooled and removed from the pan, ready to frost.

Make Frosting: Combine butter and cocoa powder. Add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix for several minutes until smooth and fluffy.

Assemble and Frost: Place one cake layer on serving tray. Spread a generous amount of frosting on top. Add second cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Enjoy the best chocolate cake for birthdays, parties, or anytime!

Four images showing how to frost, assemble, and serve the best chocolate cake recipe.

Pro Tips:

  • Use room temperature ingredients, particularly eggs. Eggs at room temperature will emulsify in the batter better, which will also help the cake rise properly. To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, place them in a cup of hot water for a few minutes.
  • Use buttermilk (or easily make your own): The original Hershey’s recipe does not use buttermilk, but the buttermilk makes the cake extra moist. Make your own buttermilk by mixing 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar into 1 scant cup of milk.
  • Line the bottom of the cake pans with parchment paper, then spray lightly with cooking spray. You’ll never have to worry about the cake sticking to the pan!

Recipe Variations:

  • One Layer Cake: Grease 9×13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
  • Cupcakes: Line a standard cupcake pan with paper liners and fill 2/3 full with batter. Bake cupcakes for 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely completely before frosting. Makes 24-30 cupcakes
  • Bundt Cake: Properly grease and flour the pan and cook the chocolate cake in a 12-cup bundt pan for about 50-55 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan before inverting onto a wire cooling rack.
  • Gluten-Free: substitute Bob’s Redmill Gluten-Free flour at a 1:1 ratio.
  • Dairy-Free: substitute Almond milk in both the cake and frosting recipes at a 1:1 ratio.
A slice of a two layer cake sitting upright on a white plate.

Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:

To Make Ahead: The chocolate cake and chocolate frosting can be made ahead of time. Store the homemade chocolate frosting 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 frosting the cake to allow it to come to room temperature.

To Freeze: Allow the cakes to cool completely then wrap each layer in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to three months. I like to frost the cake while it’s still frozen, and let it come to room temperature before serving.

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Recipe

A slice of homemade Chocolate Cake laying on it's side on a white plate dusted with cocoa powder.
Prep 10 minutes
Cook 30 minutes
Total 40 minutes
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Ingredients
 
 

Chocolate Cake:

Chocolate Frosting:

Instructions
 

  • Heat oven to 350°F. Line two 8 inch round baking pans with parchment paper and then spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
  • Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. 
  • Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and mix until well combined.
  • Stir in boiling water (or hot coffee). Batter will be thin. Pour batter into prepared pans.
  • Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Chocolate Frosting:

  • Combine butter and cocoa powder. Add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix for several minutes until smooth and fluffy.

Assemble:

  • Place one cake layer on serving tray. Spread a generous amount of frosting on top. Add second cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Cut and serve.

Notes

    • One Layer Cake: Grease 9×13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
    • Cupcakes: Line a standard cupcake pan with paper liners and fill 2/3 full with batter. Bake cupcakes for 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely completely before frosting. Makes 24-30 cupcakes
    • Bundt Cake: Properly grease and flour the pan and cook the chocolate cake in a 12-cup bundt pan for about 50-55 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan before inverting onto a wire cooling rack.
Make Ahead Instructions: The cakes and the chocolate frosting can both be made ahead of time. 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 frost your cake to allow it to come to room temperature.
Freezing Instructions: Allow the cakes to cool completely then wrap each layer in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to three months. Cakes can be frosted while frozen.
Recipe adapted from Hershey’s

Nutrition

Calories: 438kcalCarbohydrates: 74gProtein: 6gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 364mgPotassium: 186mgFiber: 4gSugar: 48gVitamin A: 245IUCalcium: 66mgIron: 3mg

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*I originally shared this recipe June 2010. Updated June 2019, April 2021 and April 2023.

The material in this blog post references the trademarked brand “Hershey’s.” The use of this trademark is for informational and editorial purposes only and does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Hershey Company.

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Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Hi! I’m really excited to make this recipe. Is the butter called for supposed to be salted or unsalted butter? Thanks.

    1. 5 stars
      I make this perfectly chocolate cake all the time. Everyone asks for this cake for their birthdays or any other occasion. I use salted butter in the icing recipe. Also, I use the original recipe that’s located on the back of the Hershey’s cocoa box. this recipe is slightly different in that it uses buttermilk and adds a little extra flour, you won’t be disappointed with this recipe!

  2. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious!! I have no need to
    continue my search for the best chocolate cake recipe ,cause this is it! I did add some cake flour in place of some of the flour required and that may have made it a little too moist. But still phenomenal.

  3. 5 stars
    Absolutely the best! I’m not a chocolate lover, but I ate 2 pieces of this perfect cake…the crumb, the moistness, the amount of chocolate was right on the mark..will definitely make again…

  4. LOVE this recipe! It’s always my go-to! QUESTION: am thinking of adding a dash of peppermint extract to the batter and topping with crushed candy cans…..anyone ever try this?

  5. Lauren, I’m getting ready to make this cake today. My first time baking a cake from scratch in honor of my mother who passed away last year (she was an amazing baker/cook). Can I use Hershey’s Special Dark Cacao instead (love dark chocolate)? Have you ever used it? Thank you!!!

  6. Hi, I am unclear on how many 9X13 pans this makes since you reference cake layers…. If the setting is at 1X do I get 2 pans so I can assemble a 2 tier cake ?

    1. This recipe will make a two layer round cake, using 8 or 9 inch baking pans, OR one 9x13in single layer cake.

  7. I am trying this recipe today and as of now my cake is in oven, lets hope it comes out like its said in the recipe..

  8. 1 star
    This was terrible! Followed the directions and got pudding. No where near cake….filled two pans to 3/4 and when it was done they were less than 1/2 inch liquid.

  9. I have made the Hershey Cocoa chocolate cake several times and have baked it in a 9 x13 pan. It seems that the center of the cake sinks and outer edges seem to get done before that center. Can you suggest any modifications? The cake is still very tasty, and the center pieces just get more icing!

    1. Your oven temp may be off, that’s common. Invest in an oven thermometer and check the temp against the temp you set it at.

  10. herseys chocolate cake is this best cake yet and I have a chocolate loving family. They know the difference from herseys and others I have baked. One thing I tryed was because I was told a bold flavored hot cup of coffee instead of hot water will intensify the flavor. WOW, it did!!! I used a cup of folgers Noir instant coffee, extra strong, instead of water and BOOM!!! everyone loved it. A good deep chocolate flavor

  11. 5 stars
    Recipe is a bomb. Everyone loves it every time I bake it. I cover it in handmade chocolate fudge instead of frosting and results just decadent.
    Only problem is that it ALWAYS falls in the middle … what am I missing?

    1. Hi Brenda, this could be due to your altitude (if you’re at higher altitude try reducing the sugar a bit, remove 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder or soda, and add 1-2 tablespoons flour). Could also be due to over-mixing the cake batter, expired leavening agents, opening the oven during baking, or underbaking the cake. Hope that helps!

  12. 5 stars
    I’ve been making this cake for many years for my grandkids’ birthdays. Even before it became “Hershey’s”. But lately, I’ve had trouble with it “falling”. Then it gets nasty inside.
    Just noticed the comment on eggs. I don’t think I’ve ever used room temp eggs, so I’ll try that, and I just noticed the 2 extra tablespoons flour, which I’ve never done.

    Any other suggestions/comments on the falling issue?

    **If you haven’t, try Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa in both cake and icing. Even better.

  13. 5 stars
    I had two separate friends (both in their 60’s and 70’s) tell me that this was the best cake they’d ever had! The big difference is the cup of boiling water added at the end. It makes it super moist and incredibly good!

  14. 5 stars
    Perfect recipe! I was searching for a delicious chocolate recipe and this popped up, and it was absolutely delicious! It disappeared quickly in our house. Loved it, thank you!

  15. 5 stars
    Great recipe! I don’t normally have fresh buttermilk on hand so I bought powdered buttermilk. It works fine reconstituted for this recipe. The cup of coffee really adds to the flavor. I’m terrible at baking and cake is definitely a weakness. This is the first recipe, which I’ve used twice now, that has ever turned out for me. I highly recommend it.

  16. 5 stars
    We loved the cake but the icing was pretty sweet. Is there anything I can do to tone it down?

  17. 5 stars
    Absolutely amazing!! I made this to bring to a friend’s birthday party and it was a hit! Everyone enjoyed it. The cake was moist and flavorful yet not overly sweet at the same which was perfect. For the ingredients, I used coffee instead of boiling water. Also, I did have to bake mine for more than 30-35 minutes. It actually took closer to an hour. Otherwise, this cake was delicious and I will definitely be making it again!

  18. I’ve made the cake! If. I want to assemble it in a couple days. Should I wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator?

  19. Awesome recipe! I used the exact measurements on the frosting and it came out perfect! I got a little scared when I dumped all the powdered sugar into the butter and coco mix.. when I used my mixer it all came together beautifully!

  20. It really is that good!! I used Hersheys dark cocoa powder for both cake and frosting-divine!!!!

  21. 5 stars
    Love this recipe! Thank you Lauren! This is the first chocolate scratch cake recipe I have made, and I love it with the buttermilk. I made it before with your frosting recipe and it was wonderful. This time though I’m making a frosting that I have made before that I call Shattered Chocolate Whipped Cream. I melt about a cup of semi-chocolate chips, and cool them slightly, then I whip the whipping cream until fluffy and add a teaspoon of vanilla, and then gently whip in the melted and slightly cooled chocolate chips, and the chocolate shatters and makes it like a chocolate chip whipping cream. I don’t add any sugar because the chocolate chips make it plenty sweet, and then instead of a two layer I bake it in three 8″ cake pans for about 21 minutes and then put chocolate pudding between each later. I also do as you suggest and put parchment paper on the bottom of my cake pans. Of course, now this cake requires refrigeration. Today is my 44th wedding anniversary and this is for my husband. He is the chocolate king:) He said he can smell the cake baking and can’t wait to have some. Thank you again!

  22. The cake is good. I’ve made it before. I lost the original recipe and this is what I found like it. The only problem I have with it is that I put it in a Bundt pan. I should have known it was too much batter for the pan. It overflowed the pan into my oven. I even put it on a baking sheet. Please put a reminder on your site to make sure of pan size to batter ratio. Hopefully no one else will have to clean their oven. JRB

  23. 5 stars
    i made this cake once before.
    it came out moist and easy to decorate.
    i will always use this recipe.
    thank you for sharing.
    I am hooked.

  24. Made this cake for my wife who suffers from MS (Multiple Sclerosis). We follow a strict diet and I was able to very easily adapt the recipe to buckwheat, Physillium husk, butter from cashews, heavy coconut cream, an using smaller amounts of sugar. Turned out absolutely amazing

  25. 5 stars
    Made this cake for my son’s Birthday. Very moist a keeper for sure. Son requested I make it again.

  26. 5 stars
    Made this as a bundt cake, took the coffee option and as it’s a super delicate crumb and was afraid a thick frosting would pull it up, frosted using this recipe but only added 3/4 to 1 cup powdered sugar and was loose enough to pour/spread over cake. Absolutely delicious! Definitely a keeper.

  27. 5 stars
    My grandmother had always made this recipe & it is the best in the world. One of my kids has an egg allergy so I use a plant based egg called Just Eggs. It really is great for baking. My banana bread is delicious & there is no taste difference. My cakes with this recipe are always super moist. What can I do. My cupcakes fall in the middle.

  28. Hi, has any of you made this cake without cocoa powder? If so did you just skip this ingredient or replace it with something? I have made this cake before accordingly to the recepie and its deliciuos and more moist that regular sponge cake that is usually used as a base of birthday cakes. Unfortunately my kid is allergic to cocoa 🙁

    1. The Hershey Company posted this about turning this cake into a yellow/vanilla cake:
      That is an intriguing idea, but wouldn’t be as simple as taking out the cocoa. You would first need to decrease the sugar since you don’t need to sweeten the cocoa which also means you need to change other ingredients with a lot of trial and error. . . . We also suggest that you visit Southern Living web site for a good vanilla cake recipe. They have some iconic vanilla cakes that we’re sure are wonderful.

  29. This cake is decadent, bursting with chocolate flavour, and so moist. I doubled the frosting amount because I wanted to pipe some flowers on top of the cake – I am practicing my piping skills. The cake presents beautifully!

  30. 5 stars
    This is a delicious recipe and my go to whenever I make a chocolate cake. I make it in a 9×13” pan only because it’s easier. It will not disappoint you.

  31. 5 stars
    I have made this recipe for a very long time. My daughters always wanted this cake for their birthdays 30+ years ago. Moist, full of flavor never failed

  32. 5 stars
    I’ve made this recipe many times. Everyone loves it at dinners, potlucks. Only my sister and her daughter didn’t like it. They said it was to “chocolaty” and sweet. No one else ever said that. Today at a dinner one husband ate all my baked goods and this cake, he thought I got the cake from bakery, he said it was the best cake he ever had and he is 70.

    1. It should work just fine. Simply, omit the baking powder and salt from the recipe – it’s already in your self-rising flour!

  33. 1 star
    I have tried making this cake with buttermilk twice and it literally flopped and spilled over onto the floor of my oven! Which I then had to clean before making a box cake for the birthday!

    1. As a cake, this may be fine. But this absolutely does not work for cupcakes. I had to redo them because the first time the flattened out so badly, they wouldn’t come off of the pan. The second time was even worse. Tried different ingredients today and it went somewhat better but there is no rise at all.

      1. Thanks for posting Kelly! I had the same experience today. I followed the recipe exactly. The cupcakes took about 10-15 more minutes in the oven to bake (32-40 minutes total). Once cooled, they collapsed. I just sampled one and it’s borderline cake texture…more like bread pudding texture. Disappointing.

      2. I’ve made this many times. Good staple recipe. The cupcakes texture is fine but some bottoms stuck to the pan. I would highly recommend cupcake liners. Otherwise mine were fine.

  34. 2 stars
    Big nope from me and my family. I followed this recipe to the letter and everyone was disappointed. It had a good consistency but the flavor was boring. Not nearly sweet enough. I bloomed the cocoa in coffee even and the bitterness was still there. I guess the search continues for the best chocolate cake as this definitely isn’t it!

  35. Actually, Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake Recipe and Ina’s Beatty’s Chocolate Cake recipe put side by side are almost identical. The only differences being the amounts of baking soda and baking powder and the option of buttermilk or milk and hot coffee or hot water.

  36. 4 stars
    I saw this recipe yesterday so when I got home last night I made it. Such a delicious cake!! I did add a little extra powdered sugar to the frosting because it was bitter and a little thin. My cake also fell in the oven so that was a bit upsetting,(I had decided to go with the 13 x 9 pan instead of doing a layer cake) but it was still such a great tasting cake!!! Thank you for the recipe!

  37. 5 stars
    This is an amazingly good and moist chocolate cake. Usually cakes from scratch are heavy, dense and a little dry…Not this one! It was better than a mix and everyone loved it! I baked it in a 13×9 pan for about 25 minutes and made a rocky road frosting! It is now our favorite cake!

  38. hi Lauren if I wanted to make this as a 2 layer 7″ cake can you pls help me to adjust the cake ingredients accordingly
    thanks

    1. I would make it as written, and use the small amount of remaining batter to make a few cupcakes.

  39. 5 stars
    I was nervous as I made this for my sons birthday and didn’t try it before serving to guests —it was an absolute hit. I’m so grateful for this delicious recipe. Will be making every year now. I followed the recipe exactly.

  40. 1st time making this cake and frosting. Very chocolatey and a very moist cake – a definite keeper. Thank you! No need to look further! All 5 of us were satisfied.

  41. 5 stars
    Loved this cake! Best chocolate cake I have ever done. I filled mine with coconut custard and it was really good. I also did the recipe with 1 cup less sugar and it was good too

  42. I had made the haershey’s chocolate cake for my niece’s wedding cake and it came out perfect- GREAT- that was 3 years ago.. today I wanted to use the recipe to make mini chocolate cupcakes… a huge disaster… should I not have used cake flour- I do know I filled them too full- my bad- but they didn’t really rise and wasn’t sure of the baking time for mini sized cupcakes- what went wrong- they were a horrible mess and just threw them away- so besides my error of filling them too much – why didn’t they seem to bake in the center??? Please help- I need these by Sat!
    I may just resort to to buying and making boxed ones..

    1. Hi Beth, for mini cupcakes, don’t fill them more than 1/2 full. Baking time will be only 10-14 minutes.

  43. I am not an experienced baker. Will it ruin the cake if I use only 1 1/2 cups of sugar? I like my cakes and cookies a little less sweet.

  44. I have tried this cake and others. In my opinion, Ina Gartens chocolate cake is superior to all of them.

    1. The recipes are almost identical and sooo delicious. Just a few minor tweaks with the amts. And Ina uses coffee but says you can also just use boiling water. I have also used melted butter instead of oil a few times. Still turns out perfectly.
      I know everyone says one can’t taste the coffee, but my friends and family noticed and always ask what’s that taste no matter how little espresso powder I use. It is a moist yummy and easy recipe to follow. It even worked out when I left it in the oven after my electricity went out in the last 10 minutes of baking time. Was still perfect. Just follow the measurements and method accurately. I’ve always read that cooking is an art but baking is a science!

  45. 5 stars
    Hi, I have a question. I’ve made this cake before and it’s absolutely delicious, but this time I want to put the batter into 2, 4inch cake pans. How long would you say for bake time? Thanks so much!

  46. Instead of using boiling water. Use hot black coffee. It gives the Cake that little something extra.

  47. 5 stars
    I love the chocolate cake. Your recipe seems very good. I always have no creams myself. When I was making different chocolate cakes, I came to the conclusion that it was good to combine two recipes for different cakes. Here I described it (it is in Polish) https://totemat.pl/jak-zrobic-ciasto-czekoladowe-murzynek- Szybki-i-smaczny-przepis/ that is combining zebra recipe and chocolate cake into one. Your cake looks so much nicer.

  48. 2 stars
    This was the first recipe I came to on Google so I used it. It made a mess in my oven because it overflowed the 9×13 pan. Also, it didn’t really cook through despite leaving it in for the required amount of time. Frosting was good though.

  49. 5 stars
    I love this recipe! It always comes out perfect and moist. The only thing is it’s a bit tricky to frost because of the stickiness and moistness of it. I usually chill it and do a crumb coat and that really helps if you come across the same issue!

  50. 5 stars
    Hello. I really want to try this recipe but I do not know the oven temperature and time for 2 9inch round pans. Please help! Thanks 🙂

  51. I have made this recipe since my kids were little.
    I’m not a chocolate eater but, this cake is amazing. I love it and I have never had it turn out but good. Making one today to take to Church tonight for our dinner and movie night.

  52. 5 stars
    I am Gluten Free, and was wondering if gluten free flour would work with this recipe? I use King Arthur 1:1 Measure flour.

  53. Make sure that your 8 inch cake pans are deep, my cakes overflowed the pans and made a mess in my oven. If you do not have deep pans I would suggest 9 inch layers.

  54. 5 stars
    This my favorite recipe. 5 stars because it’s tasty and I appreciate the radial button calculator to double the recipe. 🙂

  55. 3 stars
    I doubt that I’ll make this recipe again. I made mine as cupcakes, and was leery of how they’d turn out with such thin batter. I was suspicious there’d be “craters” in the centers, and that is exactly what happened. My ingredients are fine. I had baked other things this morning. The oven temperature is true. The outcome is not because of anything I did. It’s the recipe. They smell good, and I’ll be able to hide the flaw with frosting, but I will keep looking for a cake with a real “batter” rather than a thin mixture.

    1. try making the cake in 9 by 13 pan to see how it turns out. my mom have a recipe thats thin batter and turns out all the time. I made this cake and its good but never tried cupcakes or round cake just 9 by 13 cake

  56. 5 stars
    My kids did the recipe seeing the video. They reduced the amount of sugar to 2 cups in frosting. Too good and came perfectly. Thanks so much. Was scared if they would get it right.

  57. 5 stars
    Definitely one of the best Chocolate Cakes I’ve tried, the flavor is spectacular, my husband loves it, especially with a white chocolate mousse filling and chocolate ganache, will be making it for a long time to come.

  58. 5 stars
    My family and I love this cake. I’ve made it 4x now and get tons of great feedback. However, the last 2x, the cake has come out crumbly and I can’t figure out why. Any suggestions?

  59. This is the best chocolate cake, very moist and easy to make. I always make an ice cream cake with is, just slice one layer in half add ice cream and frost with cool whip, put in the freezer for a few hours and enjoy.

  60. Hello! I am planning to make this for my moms 60th! (it looks amazing and easy!) just one question – does the recipe make enough for two layers? or i do mix all those ingredients twice to make the stacked cake?? Thanks!

    1. Dear Paige.
      Mom always made The Hershey Chocolate Cake. She passed away in 1993. I still want my chocolate birthday cake. I have the very pans that she used. The way she made it is like this…

      After the cake has cooled torte the layers (cut them in half). Make a double amount of frosting that is on the Hershey can. Do this while the cake is baking. Frost the layers with frosting then add fresh made whipped cream. Use the reminder of the whipped cream on the side of the cake. Then put it in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours to let it setup. I can send you pictures of the cake if you wish.

      One tip I discovered on my last cake is this. Sift the flour then spoon it into your measuring cup. Also use hot black coffee instead of hot water. It give it an extra flavor. Enjoy your cake and eat it too.

      1. 4 stars
        I made this today for my daughters birthday. Haven’t cut it yet. Added strawberries around and on top. Where do you suggest storing it? Counter? Fridge? Thank you!

      2. Hot coffee instead of hot water sounds intriguing !! I’m curious if you can actually taste the coffee once cooked? Like a chocolate-coffee combo?

    1. If it were me, I’d use this recipe, fill the inch pans, and use the little bit of extra batter to make cupcakes.

  61. 5 stars
    This has to be the least time consuming and easiest cake and frosting I have ever made. My family loves frosting so I doubled it. It turned out beautifully and moist and delicious!!

  62. 5 stars
    This is my GO TO chocolate cake and it is perfect every time. I bake at 325 for a flatter top. Today I made GF cupcakes and the batter was super thick….did I do something wrong? Or is it supposed to be thick with GF flour?

  63. 5 stars
    This is my favorite chocolate cake recipe! This is my go to recipe for birthdays because it’s always a huge hit with kids and adults alike. My kids love when I make this as cupcakes. I’ve made this as a 2 tier cake, cupcakes and as a Bundt cake. I’m a horrible baker but every time I’ve made this recipe it turns out perfect! I’ll never make a boxed chocolate cake again 🙂

  64. 5 stars
    I have made this cake several times since I found this recipe and it never let me down. It’s a huge hit at my house. I am not a fan of cakes that come out dense & I have tasted a more than my share in family gathering. I was so happy when I found this recipe. Just what I was looking for. I have even changed out the flavor for strawberry. My family loved it. Thanks

  65. 5 stars
    I made this cake for my husband’s birthday. The recipe was so easy. The cake was so moist, he ate 2 pieces as soon as I finished preparing it.

    This recipe is a keeper!

  66. Best chocolate cake ever and so easy to make. My son makes it all the time. After sharing with all the family it isn’t muck left for mom. Very good!!! Delicious!!!

  67. 5 stars
    This is the BEST CAKE EVER I was also suspicious with the water but it turned out PERFECT AND DELICOUS last time I used an organic chocolate coconut canned frosting this time I’m using the original. Question: will the frosting work with half the amount of sugar and instead of powders granulated sugar?

  68. 5 stars
    So I make this cake all the time and it’s great. But I noticed how thick it is before water is added and it looks like brownie batter. If I were to bake without adding the water would brownies come out or would it be some yucky thing?

  69. This is almost identical to the recipe on the can of cocoa. I made it 40 years ago when I was a teenage. Made it for my mothers birthday back in the early seventies. There is nothing wrong with the recipe.The person who said they threw it away must have made a mistake.

  70. 5 stars
    Oh my goodness… this cake was soooo good. I made it for my mom’s birthday and turned it into an ice cream cake. It was absolutely delicious, probably my favorite cake ever.

  71. What a recipe.This cake is so unstable it’s almost impossible to frost.I think the cup of coffee in the batter is a bad idea.Threw mine out!

    1. 5 stars
      Did you follow all instructions?
      Mine was perfect. Easy to make. Easy to frost. Just easy. And tasty too!

  72. This was such an easy cake! My husband and I are gluten free and only organic dairy, so I used GF flour and all organic dairy and homemade buttermilk and it still turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!

  73. 5 stars
    This is one of the easiest cakes that I have ever made. I was a little leery about putting one cup of boiling water into the cake batter. You were right, the batter was very runny and I was concerned the cake would not bake properly. Well to my surprise, the cake came out perfectly from the oven. The icing was so easy to make and it was jut the right amount to put on the cake. The dessert was the hit of the party. It was so moist, light, and chocolatey tasting. One of the grand kids asked, ” And this cake was not made from a box?” Go figure. Making a cake from scratch is so much healthier than a cake mix (no additives and words you cannot pronounce). From now on, this will be my go to chocolate cake recipe – excellent.

  74. 5 stars
    Absolutely Delicious,a recipe to make again and again.I made a 9×13 today and it came out perfect.I used dark Hershey’s cocoa and loved it.I will try milk chocolate next and I did use one cup of coffee.

  75. I worked side by side with my mom to make this cake as a child (I am 80 years old). It is still the best chocolate cake I ever made. I agree with one other comment, you never did publish the recipe. It sounds close enough to my recipe to call it a match – been looking for the exact measurements for years!

    1. 5 stars
      Merna, this is the recipe on the back of the Hersheys cocoa can with this difference: the can calls for milk, this recipe uses buttermilk. (I personally make it with sour cream instead of milk.)1

  76. 5 stars
    Really delicious and so easy to make! Recipe is so forgiving, and the cake was perfect! I followed your instructions.
    Did not even need a mixer for the batter. But I did use a hand blender for the icing. I did use hot coffee in the batter and I think it really made a big difference in the taste. Thanks for the recipe – THIS IS A KEEPER!

  77. 5 stars
    I made the 2-layer cake yesterday and it is absolutely fab. I really like the changes you made to the Hershey’s recipe. The only thing is that my cake has a dome shape and I’d like it to look flat like yours. I did stack the 2 flat bottoms together as you suggested. Will adjusting the oven temperature a bit lower help? Any tips? I’d like to avoid cutting the cake top off if possible. Just wondering how you achieved the flat layers.

  78. I live at a high altitude. I have no idea how to make adjustments to the recipe or if any are necessary. Can you help?

  79. I didn’t have buttermilk but had some sour cream to get rid of. I used 1/2 milk and 1/2 sour cream. It turned out wonderfully rich.

  80. 5 stars
    Fabulous! I just made 6 cakes for a Puppy Cake for the granddaughter’s birthday. I taste tested this on 12 neighbors in advance-ratings went through the roof! My favorite comment was that it tasted like a brownie from heaven (comment from a 12 y o boy!). I can’t wait for the birthday party on Saturday! Thanks a LOT!

    1. 5 stars
      I agree my family is Christian and we hate coffee and every 32 other recipes have coffee.
      So I love this recipe and it is soooooooooooooo good!

  81. 5 stars
    BEST. CAKE. EVER!! This will forever be the chocolate cake recipe I use. It’s perfectly moist, and frosting is amazing, and it turns out perfectly every time. A total winner!

  82. 5 stars
    I made cupcakes for a birthday treat for my kennel club using this recipe and it turned out so delicious! My frosting was a little thick so I added more milk. Question…..I’m really not much of a baker…..it seemed like the cupcake liners were sticking to the cupcakes more than they should. Is there a specific reason for this?
    Thanks for a great recipe!

  83. 5 stars
    I have been married 49 years and have been making this recipe almost as long, but haven’t made it in some time! It is delicious. I do suggest adding the coffee instead of the water, or at least making a half water, half coffee mix for the liquid in this cake. Somehow the coffee, which you do not taste, makes the chocolate flavor stronger and richer. Thanks for posting this and jarring my memory. Now I will make it again.

  84. 5 stars
    The tastiest chocolate cake definitely . I melted the butter for the frosting and its dark in colour . Very moist and delicious .Thank you for sharing the recipe😀👍

  85. FYI, your recipe for “buttermilk” actually makes sourced milk. An ok substitute, but this is not buttermilk!

    I made this cake last night. It is sticky. Yum
    Frosted this morning for the family.

  86. Hands down one of the best and easiest cakes. Tastes delicious and its super moist. I substituted the hot water for coffee and it turned out great! Definitely a household favorite

  87. 5 stars
    Easy recipe and cake turned out well! I used hot coffee instead of hot water for extra flavor (doesn’t make it taste like coffee). I might add less sugar next time. Also didn’t use this chocolate frosting recipe

  88. Cake baked so easily. Smells wonderful. My granddaughter asked for chocolate cake for her birthday. She is three today! Thanks for sharing your tips and recipes

  89. Ive been making this cake for, probably, 30 years! That is a testament to how delish it is! But the original recipe which, I just pulled from my recipe box, is the original label off the Hershey’s cocoa container and it originally called for regular milk. Interesting! And the original frosting recipe, allows you to adapt the depth of chocolate flavor by adding either 1/4, 1/3, or 1/2 cup cocoa. It could even be 1/3, 1/2 or 3/4 cup. I love that you can adapt this recipe! I’ve always made it with regular milk but I’ll definitely be making it work buttermilk, next time! It really is the best cake and I was so excited to see that you posted it!

    1. 5 stars
      I have made it with cake flour and it is the best by far chocolate homemade cake I have ever. Made or eaten

    1. My mother has made this cake recipe forever. All my siblings make it now..It is the best chocolate cake recipe ever. Use a good vegetable oil preferably crisco oil.
      C Waldman, MA

  90. 3 stars
    I found it too liquidity and cake pan over flowed. Needed instructions on size of round pans to be 9″ and timing 40 minutes. Not as chocolatey as I had hoped.

  91. 5 stars
    Love, love, LOVE this cake! Always my goto if I have to make a cake for a friend who “Likes all types of cake”.

  92. This cake is pure-WOW!!!
    It’s made for birthday’so, or a Tuesday, Wednesday,
    Thursday lol. In other words- YUMMY!!

  93. 5 stars
    I have made this cake about 15 times. I have also used this recipe to make a 13×9 version and also cupcakes. The only time it fell apart was because “I” took it out of my pan tooooo early and it broke apart. Best tasting chocolate cake I have ever made!!!!!!!!!!

  94. Hi! I would like to make this cake 1 layer and use a 10 inch cake pan. Do I need to modify ingredients and baking time? I am using fondant on top and dont feel comfortable doing 2 layers. Thank you!

  95. 5 stars
    The directions were clear, and when followed to a T, resulted in a very moist, flavorful, and not overpoweringly sweet cake. Thanks

  96. 3 stars
    It tastes good but the cake completely fell apart! I let it cool completely like normal and everything but it still happened… I’m a baker and honestly I haven’t experienced a cake just falling apart before 🙁

    1. 5 stars
      Marie, your obviously not a baker ! You can’t follow a simple recipe. My cake came out Amazing in all respects ! If this fell apart on you, I can’t imagine the the rest of your Cooking: Baking !

    2. Marie,
      Ignore miserable comments like his!!
      Clearly, his issue is right there in the first 3 letters of his name •LES! I’m betting right now he’s realizing he’s LESS superior than a woman! 😂

  97. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! I will never make a boxed chocolate cake again. The cake was moist and dense. The frosting was rich and creamy. I made it exactly as written. We all loved it!

  98. 5 stars
    My daughter wanted a homemade cake for her birthday, so I decided to try a few chocolate cake recipes. This was the first recipe I tried and let me tell you, she cried tears of delishiness on her first bite.

  99. 5 stars
    I’ve never made a cake and frosting from scratch before. This was ridiculously simple, and was delicious – moist and flavorful!

  100. 5 stars
    I made the cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday last December. She loved it so much that she’s asked me to make it again this year. My question is, do you have a good classic white icing recipe? She doesn’t want chocolate this time. Thank you!

  101. 5 stars
    This is one of the best cakes i have ever had. I am waiting to taste more Harshey’s Recipes. I have made this cake twice, Well what are you waiting for try this mouth watering cake, Hear from you soon, BYE.

  102. 5 stars
    Hey, Bruce. Metric weights for liquids were spot on for me (checked site on 11/29/2020). Liquid VOLUME would be ml as you mention, but in WEIGHT, the metric measurents in grams added up to a great cake.

  103. Just wanted to let you know your metric conversions are very wrong in regards to the liquids. Liquids generally measured in ml. I am glad I checked this before baking. The dry ingredients convert well but not the liquids.

  104. Great receipe. Loved the frosting which was rich and creamy. I did melt the butter beforehand as suggested. Will use this icing for other recipes

  105. My family loved it It is very moist and light tasting . My sons ate almost the entire cake in 3 days . So it was a hit !!

  106. A very chocolate chocolate, moist cake. Perfect for chocolate loving friends. I used the frosting recipe but sprinkled Ghirardelli chips on top. No complaints from the seven people indulging, only moans!

    1. I use a toothpick–if it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs it is most likely done. Also “look” at it and make sure the top doesn’t look shiny or dough and touch it lightly on top to see if it feels springy.

  107. Hiya, I’ve made this cake a numerous amount of times and it is delicious, but what I would like to know is “Is it a good cake to stack? I want to make it as a topsy turvy cake.
    Anyone every tried this?

  108. 5 stars
    I have a desire to make this cake at my home. It looks delightful and yummy. Thanks a lot for sharing such an amazing recipe.

  109. 5 stars
    Very yummy. I used cacao powder because that is what I had on hand. Very moist. I also made 1/2 frosting recipe because I only had that much powdered sugar and I figured that was plenty. It was totally enough for my 9 x 13 pan.

    I had some old cake mixes around that I decided to throw away because I didn’t want to risk a flat bday cake and after making a cake from scratch again I don’t know why anybody really buys cake mixes. Lol

  110. 5 stars
    I just made this for my mother’s Birthday cake. I topped mine with a coconut pecan topping and it was a hit! I should have baked 2 cakes! I will use this recipe again and again!
    Coconut Pecan Topping
    Cook and stir for 12 minutes until thick (I doubled this recipe to accommodate a 9×13 pan)
    3egg yolks
    1cup granulated sugar or packed brown sugar
    1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
    1 cup evaporated milk (from 12-oz can)
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
    1 cup chopped pecans

  111. This cake was perfect. My first truly from scratch cake. The frosting tastes great but I am looking for a recipe for frosting that hardens alittle. It tastes like candy. Any suggestions?

  112. Big thanks for the wonderful recipe. Today I made this cake for third time. First two times, it came out so perfect. Today I followed the video and skipped the oil, Just like the video does. Guess what happened? The outcome was a chewy thin cake. I just wanted to mention it so that nobody make the mistake I made.
    Thanks again

  113. 5 stars
    Excellent recipe. Made this for my husband’s birthday. Substituted coffee for hot water. Will make this again. Really rich moist cake…

  114. 5 stars
    Hi I’ve made this cake twice now and both times I received so many compliments my guests were surprised it was homemade!

    1. 5 stars
      Second time making this recipie and got so many compliments one said it was the bomb. So will probably be my go to cake.

  115. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious!!! Oh my family love this cake. When there is a chocolate craving in the house, this is my go to. Thanks so much for the recipe.

  116. 5 stars
    Hello Lauren, I know this is a Hershey’s recipe and we do have Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder always in our pantry, but I did this recipe using another unsweetened powder – is that okay? It was really good – thank you!

  117. 5 stars
    This is by far the best Cake i have made. My Husband gave me a 10 star on it and if could give you a 10 i would.I did use coffee instead of water for extra flavor.It was a delicious and moist cake.

  118. 5 stars
    I’ve made this with many times with 1 cup of hot coffee instead of the boiling water. Coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor without giving it a mocha taste. The buttermilk is the secret ingredient for a nice moist cake. This is a keeper for sure!

    1. I will definitely use hot coffee for the hot water next time (in addition to my coffee extract for the vanilla). Also, I just finished the last cupcake, stored in fridge with just a bit of wax paper over it — still fresh and moist four days later, to my surprise!

  119. 5 stars
    Sorry, forgot to give rating. Five stars for sure! So simple yet so delicious. Also, I use a baking scale and went by a cup of flour weighing 4.2 oz., a cup of sugar about 6.7 oz, cocoa about 2 1/4 oz.

  120. I just made them as cupcakes for a friend’s birthday instead of my normal recipe as I needed to use up some buttermilk. Turned out very moist, fluffy, and delicious! I used coffee extract instead of vanilla. Yum! Thank you.

  121. 5 stars
    I’ve never made cake with boiling water before but it turned out perfect. The texture is different then traditional cake but i loved it! Taste like the moistest brownie cake ever!

    1. I forgot to add I wanted to know how you could alter the recipe to use for 10 inch pans to make a layer cake for a larger group of people

    2. 5 stars
      I loved the pure taste of chocolate goodness, truly immaculate… it made me senses tingle gloriously :D. I heartily recommend- 20/10 for all you tingle-lovers.

  122. 5 stars
    LOVE, love, love this recipe! I have made it several times and it is always perfect! Only thing I change is using hot coffee for the boiling water! Thank you for making homemade so easy!!!

  123. Hi! I LOVE this cake and just made your yellow cake which I like but is slightly more dense (delicious)! But just not as spongy as this. Is it possible to make this cake and omit the chocolate to add more vanilla and make it a vanilla Cale? Truly so impressed with this recipe!

  124. 5 stars
    This is the absolute best chocolate cake I have ever had. It is moist, very chocolatey, and easy to make. Thank you for this recipe.

  125. 5 stars
    This is the second time I’ve followed this recipe and both times, they were the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever made! Thank you for great recipe and all the tips! Things like bringing my eggs to room temperature and sifting certain ingredients have really polished my cakes. Today I used a bundt pan, and it came out perfect at 50 minutes. My only modification for the cake is I used a cup of boiling hazelnut coffee instead of boiling water. And for the frosting, I subbed the more coffee and 1/2 & 1/2 for the milk plus I added 3 oz of cream cheese and a dash of pure almond extract- superb!

  126. 5 stars
    This is a keeper! Absolutely delicious, just the right amount of chocolate taste and super easy recipe! Made it for my sister’s birthday and everyone said it was the best chocolate cake they have ever tasted!! WOW!!

  127. 5 stars
    I love this cake! Do you have a white frosting for this cake that’s just as good as the chocolate frosting?

  128. Fantastic recipe!
    Super simple and fool proof. Made it for my daughter’s birthday and it was loved by all:)!
    Definitely saving this for the future .!:)

  129. 5 stars
    As I don’t have an oven in this home, I used a microwave to bake this. I chose to use half the amounts mentioned in the recipe. After mixing the batter I poured into a round pyrex dish (microwave proof) and baked it on high heat for 4.30 minutes.
    I checked the centre with a toothpick and also observed that the cake had pulled away slightly from the sides of the dish. It was just done. If you use a smaller dish, it needs less time in the microwave.
    It’s soft and spongy. I iced it with a ganache topping made from fresh cream + chocolate pieces, cooked gently in a double boiler.

    1. I made this sometime in the beginning of the year and it was so delicious, Fiancé ate the most of it used a 13×9 cake dish And made it a double layer the putting on top didn’t go soo well but stilll turned out great but will be making this again this weekend for Father’s Day Soo excited I can’t wait 😊

  130. 5 stars
    The cake came out perfectly!!! So moist, the right amount of chocolate and sweetness. It melted in every family members mouth!! The best chocolate cake I have ever made!

  131. 5 stars
    Magnificent and Delicious – so easy to make and bake. I did substitute 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt and 1/4 cup buttermilk. Additionally I used coffee instead of boiling water.

  132. 5 stars
    I don’t bake. Well, I do, but it’s very limited. This recipe was easy and delicious! I look to the internet for recipes frequently and many disappoint, but you have restored my confidence in my baking skills. It had all the best qualities of a chocolate cake: moist, chocolatey, and yummy! The tips before the recipe are helpful. I will definitely use this again. Thank you!

  133. 5 stars
    Absolutely amazing!!! I did it with gluten free flour, and it was the best cake I’ve had since going gluten free in 2009!!!

  134. 5 stars
    Quick n’ easy as well as fantastically delicious! I followed both cake and frosting recipes exactly and wouldn’t change a thing. I had plenty of frosting to frost the entire 2- layer 9″ round cake (and I like lots of frosting). Will keep this recipe in my bookmarks too make again!

  135. Hello. I am going to be making two 10×10 cakes for my sons birthday cake. Should I double the recipe?
    Thank you so much

  136. Great flavour in the cake. Made it for my daughter’s bday. The problem I had both the times that I made it is that the cake remains uncooked at the bottom of the pan. I also find a layer of sugar there as well.

  137. Lauren I’d like to use this recipe for a 12 x 18 1 layer cake for my sons birthday. How can I modify the amount of ingredients?

  138. 5 stars
    Sorry couldn’t find answers for my previous queries hence posting it again…

    Do I need to refrigerate frosting and cake before I apply it on cake…or can I apply it directly..after cooling down..
    what if I make the cake once day before and frosting the next day..do I need to keep the cake in fridge..or outside would be good.thanks…

    1. The frostings an be applied after they are made (and the coconut one has cooled completely. The fridge would help it cool faster). The cake, before frosted, can be stored covered at room temperature or in the fridge.

  139. 5 stars
    This is a GREAT chocolate cake – been making it since 2012 for my grandkids. Found it as “Extreme Chocolate Cake” on allrecipes.com. The kids insist on it every year. In fact, I make this for ALL family birthdays (even my own), albeit with a different icing.

  140. I made this cake tonight and it turned out great. But, I had an issue with the frosting, it was just thin. I’m not sure what I did wrong, any suggestions for a fluffy frosting?

  141. It came out great!
    I used home made yogurt 3/4 cup for the cake. Reduced the sugar For both cake and frosting. Made a rectangular cake. Had to keep it in the oven for 10 extra mins. My oven is old so I set it at 330.

  142. 5 stars
    Wow! My husband was craving chocolate cake during our COVID-19 stay at home. We’re healthy, just doing our part by staying home. Anyway, we both agreed it’s one of the best chocolate cakes we’ve ever had. It was easy to make. Thanks for including baking directions for 13×9 pan. The only change I made was just personal preference. We prefer our frosting that isn’t too sweet. I used 2 cups instead of 3 of powdered sugar. I will definitely make it again. Thank you!

  143. 5 stars
    Tried baking this cake for the first time for my husband’s birthday and it was the best!!! Thank you so much for such an amazing recipe!

  144. 5 stars
    Hi there! First time I made it in a vessel by putting salt at bottom n it turned out perfectly. It was awesome. Kids loved it.

    Only the side of the cake was little dry. Top and bottom was all good.Can you please tell me what should I do to keep the sides of the cake more moist ?
    Thank you once again.

    1. This resource might help-https://home.howstuffworks.com/calculating-convection-oven-cooking-times1.htm

  145. 5 stars
    Absolutely amazing recipe…I have made this several time..and it’s a hit…can you please let me know vanilla cake recipe or butter cake with white cream ..thanks..my kids love it..

  146. 5 stars
    I made this chocolate cake yesterday for my birthday cake…. I needed a chocolate cake mix in order to make my ice cream cake….It turned out great….it was delicious and ever so moist…Thank you so much for sharing your recipe..I will not buy a store bought chocolate cake mix again : )))))

  147. Mine was a fail,,I thought I followed the directions but I must have done something wrong,, it came out real thin like a cookie pan thin and was like a brownie with frosting,, I’m gonna try again and see if I get better results, if u have any suggestions I’ll take them,, thank you

    1. 5 stars
      This was AMAZING. I used half the recommended sugar in the icing to make it a little less sweet, amd that seemed like plenty to me. I also made berry compote for between the layers and thay added a lovely touch. Such a delicious and easy cake. So fluffy and moist, and honestly better than some of the chocolate cakes I’ve had at fancy bakeries. Thank you!

  148. 5 stars
    I have always been really bad at baking cakes but thought I would try this recipe for fun. It was absolutely delicious!! The 2 cups of sugar seemed a little too much for me so I used only 1 cup and it was PERFECT. I will definitely use this recipe again!

  149. 5 stars
    First time I made this it was a bit dry, than the second time I made it I added some simple syrup between the layers and it came out so moist and perfect. My most favorite cake recipe ever!

  150. I tried your recipe last nite to make a birthday cake for myself and it was a hit in my family. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe along with tips. It was really moist, fluffy and decadent. I thought I would not have a birthday cake due to these quarantine times.

  151. I made cupcakes with this recipe and it was a mess. The cake is good, but I wouldn’t do cupcakes with it again.

  152. 5 stars
    My whole family kept saying “mmm” and “omg” with each bite! I personally found the frosting a little too rich/dense… Also there was just barely enough to cover the cake. BUT that’s really a minor complaint in an otherwise amazing cake.

    Maybe it was the “homemade” buttermilk (I used the vinegar mixture) or the addition of the boiling water that kept it so incredibly moist and fluffy… This tasted like I bought it from a bakery! Kids are already asking if I’ll make it again. Thank you!

  153. 5 stars
    Super delicious! My daughter and I baked this for her birthday. She is a chocoholic. It was so moist and amazing. This will be her go to cake from now on. Everyone loved it ❤️ Next time I would like to try boiling coffee in place of the boiling water. We are under quarantine now and I didn’t want use anything extra lol 😆 Thank you, so nice to have a decadent chocolate cake from scratch while “sheltering in place” indefinitely! I also appreciate all the different recipe modifications that you have listed! xo

  154. 5 stars
    my grandson asked to spend the night and wanted to help make a chocolate cake, oh boy! this was delicious! Happy Grandson – Happy Nana!

  155. 5 stars
    Best chocolate cake ever! Made it today for my husband’s birthday. He said it’s the best chocolate cake he’s ever had. Quite a treat today as we are doing our part and on self quarantine due to coronavirus. Truly a birthday & cake to remember!

  156. 5 stars
    So good and so easy! I used this as a math and science lesson for my 8 year old daughter today. She had so much fun making it and it turned out so good!

  157. 5 stars
    I made this yesterday for my son’s girlfriend, my first time baking a homemade chocolate cake! It was a quick and easy recipe. The birthday girl said it tasted better than a cake from a store bakery! 🙂 I will definitely use this recipe any time I need a chocolate cake.

  158. 5 stars
    I kept seeing this recipe on the back of Hershey’s unsweetened bakers chocolate powder and always wanted to try it. Well, being stuck at home during this COVID-19 virus with almost all business shut down I decided to make it for my hubby’s birthday. Wow! It’s super easy and absolutely delicious. He went nuts over it!

  159. 5 stars
    I love chocolate cake our whole family does it allways made my sons cake since he was a small boy but in April 5 is my
    Auntie birthday she wants chocolate cake so I’m trying your resipe out thank you for your respect it sounded so good
    As one Baker to another bonapte I only had one child but I felt like I had more my son had his freinds over all the time
    And I had his cousins every other weekend so I had to make something good for them ty again

  160. I wanted to bake a chocolate/chocolate cake for my granddaughter for her 8th birthday since this is what she requested. I should have known from the ridiculous amounts of cocoa in both the cake and the icing that it wouldn’t taste good. I’m a cake baker. This is by FAR the worst cake I’ve ever baked. I even questioned the amount in the icing; doubled the batch and used HALF the cocoa when doubled and it was still to choclatey rich. I don’t know how to not search and use this recipe again. The cake fell apart when I cut it. Please, don’t waste your ingredients.

  161. Gd evening, this cake is perfect with Coffee instead of the boiling water. Very moist and a delicious cake.

  162. I am not a regular baker and therefore very skeptical about baking cakes but this was a fool proof recipe which came out super moist and amazing, the best cake I ever baked 😊 I want to know if I can make a smaller cake by just halving the ingredients?

  163. Hi.

    I would like to make this cake for my daughters birthday. I wanted to know if this recipe fills two 8 inch cake pans or do I need to double the recipe? Thanks!

  164. 5 stars
    After trying many recipes, this one is the absolute best chocolate cake recipe EVER. I add half a bag of dark chocolate chips in the batter and instead of plain boiling water, I add one teaspoon of instant coffee. Amazing cake!

  165. My mother made this cake when I first got married and it was a hit ever since that Christmas day and it is still a wonderful chocolate cake for our Christmas eve gathering and now I have craft night and everyone goes its over this cake. My mom use to freeze it overnight and take it out the next morning and it would be nice and it would be ready for after supper. Hershey thanks for this recipe it is delicious.

  166. I have made this cake in past. It is very moist and the flavor is truly wonderful. My family loved it.

    Thank you
    Sylvia Rowe
    Wells, Maine

  167. I tried this perfectly chocolate chocolate cake and it was awesome! I made it for my kids yesterday for Valentine’s dinner. I did a little variation. I ,not only grease and floured the pans, but I also lined them . This made it easier to remove from the pan. I also cut the amount of sugar . I also substituted some of the granulated sugar for some brown sugar. The result was fantastic! The cake was so moist and rich . Very chocolatey!. My kids enjoyed it immensely! I will continue to use this recipe in the future. I also sandwiched the cakes with chocolate frosting and covered with a cream cheese frosting. Yummy!!!

  168. 5 stars
    I baked this cake for my Valentine and we both agreed it was AMAZING. I too used a cup of coffee vs. just water. Two thumbs up!

  169. 5 stars
    I live in Colorado. Adjust the following:
    Decrease baking soda and baking powder by 1/2 teaspoon
    Add 4 tbsps extra of water.
    Add 1 more egg (3)
    Add 1 tbsp more of flour
    It took 5 minutes less baking time to be done.

  170. 5 stars
    I Love ❤️ this recipe. I tweeked it a bit because of the sugar, I used 3/4 c of sugar and 1 cup of cocoa and also 1/2 teaspoon of salt. That was great with the frosting or with out it, it was good. Thank you so much❤️

  171. 5 stars
    This is the best Chocolate cake I have ever baked. I made cupcakes and they were so soft and moist. The recipe is super simple.
    Following this page for more cake recipes 🙂 Love it.!!!!

  172. 4 stars
    Hello I made this the other day pretty much to recipe except I dropped espresso morsels in…the cake came out pretty good…my question is if I were to use cake flour instead of regular flour what would the measurements be? Thank you for responding.

  173. 5 stars
    OMGOSH!! This is the most delicious cake I have ever made!! My husband raved over it and asked me to make it again!! He rarely tells me how good something is and he talked about this cake until the last piece was gone then went to the store and bought a can of Hersheys
    cocoa because I ran out

  174. 5 stars
    Wonderful cake & frosting! It’s my go to chocolate cake. I also like to drop some frozen raspberries in the batter before baking and put a layer of raspberry jam between the layers on top of frosting. I have more requests for this cake from family and friends than anything else.

  175. 5 stars
    I made this for my daughters birthday and everyone raved about it. My husband said it was the best he ever had! From my husband, that’s saying a lot! I used cream cheese frosting instead of chocolate, my daughters preference! It was awesome!

  176. 5 stars
    This recipe is really good, the prep time is short and easy to bake.

    For mine it doesnt look very good before frosting and i would have thought that its a fail again for me… im glad that it worked pretty well! The cake without the frosting taste superb as well!!!!

  177. Loved this! – super easy and came out deliciously! I added a teaspoon of cinnamon because I just love the extra kick that gives to a chocolate cake. I didn’t have buttermilk so used plain yogurt and it was fine. Will do this one again!

  178. 5 stars
    Great recipe! At the beginning I was a little worried because the batter was so thin but it bakes so beautiful and super most. I had a problem with the frosting but that was my own fault. I added cold milk and it turned out to be a clumpy and grainy mess. Once I chucked that bad batch it came out absolutely amazing!

  179. How moist is the cake? If I tried to make a layer cake would I need to refrigerate it before frosting or would it crumble apart?

  180. Hello. I made this cake, followed the video, and did everything it said, but the flavor tasted a bit strange. Not like chocolate but like wood and rubber.

  181. How do you store this frosted cake? Does it need to be refrigerated or can it be left out in a covered cake dish?

  182. My batter came out super thin. Is this normal? Batter was thinner than the video showed. Wonder if it will still turn out???

  183. 5 stars
    I made this delicious cake for a resident who is celebrating her birthday early 🎉
    The staff and her family said it was so delicious 😋
    Thanks for a great recipe😁

  184. I made chocolate cake as per your instruction it came out very well.Every body like it very much including my husband , grand son and daughter daughter
    Thank you for excellent recipe Lauren Allen

    1. Yes, you can also add 1 teaspoon of either lemon juice or vinegar to your milk to make it more like the buttermilk.

  185. 5 stars
    Making this again, but doubled the recipe as I found the mixture too small for the cake I envisioned using two round baking pans. Otherwise a great recipe

  186. Love this recipe! I have never made a chocolate cake until I tried this recipe. I love it! My daughter doesn’t like chocola of any kind, but she likes this cake.

  187. 5 stars
    This is an excellent recipe, though I do tweak it a little. I dust the pans with cocoa powder instead of flour and I sub sour cream for the buttermilk.

  188. 5 stars
    found this recipe a couple years ago, used it ever since! love how moist the cake/cupcakes stay……i mainly use dark chocolate tho…..

  189. 5 stars
    I’ve been using this recipe from Hershey’s for years. Nothing can beat it. The recipe from Hershey’s website says milk, not buttermilk, for the batter though. But still, a fantastic recipe.

  190. 4 stars
    I made this cake today in a bunt pan and baked it the time you suggested 50-55 minutes. It came out wonderful. I even made the frosting. Thank you!

    1. I’ve never made novelty cakes before so it’s hard for me to say–I’d test the recipe first to see for yourself. It’s not a very dense cake–it’s pretty light and soft.

    1. Ok. I also wanted to know what the boiling water does to the batter and what would happen if I put to much in there.

  191. If you use three 8 inch pans – do you put them all in the oven (on same rack) at the same time – then check them at 18-20 min? Thank you!

  192. 5 stars
    I have been using the recipe on the Hershey’s cocoa can for years and it was always good. I tried this recipe and used Ghirardelli cocoa. This was the best ever. Texture was perfect. Very moist. Incredible taste. This will be my new chocolate cake go to. The whole family commented on how perfect it was.

  193. I didn’t quite get the adding of boiling water bit. Does it mean that the water should be added hot or should it be left to cool first?

  194. 5 stars
    This cake came out moist and delicious with the perfect texture! I used special dark cocoa powder and made my own buttermilk with milk and vinegar. I loved that it was a little bit more dense but still fluffy, my family loved it!

  195. 5 stars
    This, too, is my favorite chocolate cake. The only change I make to the recipe is the substitution of strong brewed coffee in place of the water. Truly, a perfect chocolate cake !!!

  196. I love your cake recipe and I usually use buttermilk or make my own for the extra moist cake. I made one for a benifit auction and it went for $40.00 dollars..(yesss!) but this is my go to chocolate cake usually. I find it similar to the coco can one. If you ever saw that one. 👍🥰

  197. 5 stars
    I have this in the oven as I type this, but I’ve made plenty of cakes to know this will turn out perfectly! The icing is fantastic too! Thanks for the recipe, il return to it often im sure.

  198. 5 stars
    Best chocolate cake ever! I had to make my buttermilk and you couldn’t tell the difference! It’s a super moist cake that’s deep and rich flavored. I’m going to make it again today. Num!!

  199. 5 stars
    I made this as a 12 year old all on my own today and it was the first time I made a cake from scratch my family loved it we put whipped cream on top because my mom doesn’t like icing and I couldn’t convince her to let me make it, but I loved it it was the best birthday cake my mo Ever had at least that’s what she said

  200. 5 stars
    It’s a good recipe. It’s also on the back of Hersheys cocoa container. I’ve made it 4 times, 2 times came out perfect. The other 2 half the cake stuck in bottom of the pan. I make bundt cakes and cook longer. What am I doing wrong lately? Maybe needs to cool longer than I am? Any advice, thanks.

  201. 5 stars
    This was the first time I made a chocolate cake. The cake is moist and delicious, the kids really really love it! Thanks for the amazing recipe!

  202. 5 stars
    I have tried making many chocolate cake recipes, this is by far the best! Thanks so much for sharing your tips. The buttermilk made all the difference.

  203. 5 stars
    This is the only chocolate cake recipe I use. It’s the same one on the back of can of Hershey’s cocoa powder. I never add or substitute anything. It really is the perfect chocolate cake recipe. Now that the weather is cooler, it’s time to make one for the hubby.

  204. 5 stars
    This has been a family favorite recipe for more than 20 years and is still my go to. Of course the recipe is on the Hershey’s chocolate container along with the icing, which is the only one that deserves to be on top of this cake. I have tried many others and nothing else has gotten the rave reviews that this one does. I always add chopped or halved pecans on the top or sides as a way to decorate and because I love pecans. Sometimes I just put pecans on half for those who prefer their piece without. I have made stuffed cupcakes with the recipes also. You can not go wrong with this recipe, just make it your own.

  205. 5 stars
    This was the best chocolate cake recipe I have ever made. It was so incredibly moist and tasty. I made a different frosting to fill the cake, choosing to go with a mocha espresso buttercream and vanilla buttercream on the outside. I also baked it in one 12inch cake pan. I had to make three batches for a three layered cake. Again, it was phenomenal!

  206. 5 stars
    I’ve made this cake a few times absolutely loved it My hubby said it was the best chocolate cake he ever ate.It stayed moist for at least 5 days which is rare.

  207. 5 stars
    This is the easiest and the BEST chocolate cake recipe I’ve ever made. The cake reminds me of Tasty Cake’s chocolate cupcakes. Perfect and delicious. Our family’s favorite and most often requested cake for birthdays.

  208. 5 stars
    Brilliant recipe!! I left this on my kitchen bench for 5 days and had not wrapped it properly. The cake was still moist and tasty. I have also frozen a quantity for my son’s birthday (in advance) and it came out perfectly! No one knew😊 I can’t believe how fool-proof this is. Thankyou

  209. Hi Lauren
    I will be trying out the recipe soon.
    I just have a question..
    can I replace the oil in the cake batter with butter and if so then what should the measurement be?
    Thank you

  210. 5 stars
    My family loved this chocolate cake. Easy to make and I did had all ingredients on hand. I will definitely be making this one again. Thanks for sharing.

  211. Hi, I’ve tried the original version of this recipe as well as the change to buttermilk from milk. I also added 2 more ounces of vegetable oil. It gave it a richer texture.

  212. 5 stars
    Made this cake tonight and just loved it. Thank you for the delicious recipe, including the super helpful tip about the buttercream.

  213. For more than 30 years this has been my “secret’ family receipt for chocolate Birthday cake! I have 8 children so this recipe saved me more times then I can count! Thank you for making my little ones happy, and a busy Mom the best cake maker on the block!

  214. 5 stars
    I’ve made this recipe twice and both times it’s perfection! So moist and delicious! Never any left at family events!

  215. A big Thank You for the wonderful recipe! I made the cake yesterday, for my daughter’s birthday, by exactly following your given instructions. And to my surprise, it came out so good! That was my first chocolate cake attempt. My kids and I enjoyed the cake so much. Thank you once again for sharing the recipe online!

  216. 5 stars
    I’ve made this every year for my 38 year old daughter’s birthday. The frosting is good with a little coffee to make it mocha.
    My mom made it for me when I was growing up too. Never found a better recipe!

  217. Can hot brewed fresh coffee be substituted for the hot water! I understand that coffee brings out the chocolate flavor

  218. Would it be possible to change the ingredients to metric please. I’m in the uk and would love it if you could resend with the uk measurements. I really want to make this cake!

    1. Hi Elizabeth,
      Thanks for reaching out. I added the conversion information. Underneath the ingredients you’ll see a button that lets you switch to metric. I plan start including this features with recipes going forward 🙂

  219. 5 stars
    Here’s a tip for the frosting. Sift your powdered sugar before mixing. That way it won’t have any lumps.

  220. 5 stars
    I love this cake. It turns out so moist and chocolaty. Why would you ever buy a box mix again? Thank you for sharing.

  221. I like this cake. It’s very moist. The cake itself has a weaker chocolate flavor and I wonder if it is because of the water. It is good but needs to be just a bit richer flavored. Still, I would make it again.

  222. Have you tried this recipe with canola/vegetable oil substitute? Like apple sauce, sour cream, coconut or avocado oil? Based on your experience what may provide the better results?

  223. If you don’t have buttermilk, would mayonnaise be ok? I know several friends of mine swear by mayo in a homemade chocolate cake.

  224. 4 stars
    The recipe was very well written and almost clear to understand except the part where you are supposed to ad buttermilk in the cake batter, but it only said milk. That confused me because you are supposed to ad cow milk for the frosting, so I ended up putting cow milk in the cake instead of buttermilk. Sadly my cake did not turn out that well because I also put way to much vanilla in the cake since my mother was not clear enough of vanilla not being the same thing as vanilla extract. But since I made these mistakes the first time I know what to do better next time. 😉 Still thanks for posting this great recipe!

  225. 5 stars
    Hi this is the recipe…absolutely fantastic…one question…the frosting is creamy but I can still feel the grittiness of the powdered sugar no matter how long I beat it…any suggestions? Thank you!

    1. That’s strange–it should really smooth out after you beat if for at least 5 minutes. Next time you could sift it into the mixture first.

    2. Maybe get new powdered sugar. As it get’s old, it tends to be less soft and more dry and clumpy.

  226. Will it make a big difference if I didn’t mix the wet and dry ingredients seperately before adding them together? I skipped right down to the recipe made the cake, then read your blog.

  227. This cake is the richest, moistest and most delicious we have ever tasted! I can’t believe I actually made it myself! My husband ate it warm with icing and kept saying, omg, omg, sooo good!

  228. 5 stars
    Hi, I am going camping and want to make this cake for someone’s birthday. Can this cake/ cupcakes be kept room temperature? Thank you.

    1. Yes, definitely. I have made a 3 layer cake using 8inch rounds and a two layer cake with 9 inch rounds.

  229. 5 stars
    This is the perfect chocolate cake recipe! Definitely use the buttermilk! Very moist. I made this a week ago and the last slice was just as moist as the first!

  230. Hello,

    Can this recipe be used to make a giant cupcake? I’ll be using silicone moulds. I think I might have to double the recipe but not sure about baking time.
    Thanks.

    1. I’ve never tried it but I don’t see why not! I’m not sure what your pan looks like–if it’s really deep you may want to lower the cook time and it may take 45min-1 hour.

  231. 5 stars
    My favorite go to cake recipe!! I use applesauce in place of the oil and I think it makes it so moist!

  232. I know that in some chocolate cake recipe people use coffee to bring bring out the chocolate flavor more, would this recipe still work if I substituted the water with coffee instead?

  233. 5 stars
    Wonderful recipe – I have made this several times and my family and friends LOVE it. I was wondering if I could use this recipe for a 12×18″ cake pan. I see in one of the comments, you said this recipe makes 12 cups of batter. For the 12×18″, the pan instructions say I’ll need 16 cups. Not sure if it’s better to triple the recipe for two 12×18″ pans and have a little leftover, or to make the batter as the recipe is and see how it fills the pan? (I’m assuming I would have to make it at least twice). It’s for my son’s birthday so I have some time to experiment; just hoping you could save a potential cake disaster from happening! Thanks for sharing the recipe, it really is great!!!

    1. Hi Donna, I would suggest making 1.5 of the recipe and if you have extra batter, use it to make cupcakes! Hope it turns out great!

  234. 5 stars
    This is my 3rd time of making this cake, everyone loves this! First attempt at making the frosting, see how it works!

  235. 5 stars
    This is, hands down, the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made or eaten! I used the dark Hershey’s cocoa versus the regular as I’m a fan of darker chocolate. It is truly amazing. I’m one of those people who bought boxed mixes not only for convenience but because the cakes were moister than the from-scratch cakes I’d eaten and made. I am really trying to make “real” food (and avoid sugar and carbs but it was for my birthday, so…) so I searched for great chocolate cake recipes and decided on this one. The cake came out just this side of a brownie – not as dense but rich and really moist. And the flavor is divine! The dark cocoa gave it that slight bitterness and extra chocolate flavor that I enjoy. FYI, this was the same recipe on the dark cocoa container, except that it uses buttermilk instead of regular milk. Use the buttermilk – this cake is perfect! Thank you!!!

    1. This recipe makes about 12 cups of batter, so you’d need to know the volume of batter your 12” pan holds and then you’ll be able to calculate that. Hope that helps 🙂

  236. Is there anything I can substitute for the buttermilk? Would regular milk work? It’s not about not having it on hand..it’s a food sensitivity issue. Thanks!

  237. Hello,
    So I’ve made the German Chocolate cake a ton of time! It’s a favorite! We all love it so so much! So my question is this. When I make the chocolate frosting I always have lol chocolate chunks in it. I use a standing kitchen aid mixer and mix it well. But when I add the chocolate to the melted butter it has little chunks. What am I doing wrong?

  238. 5 stars
    Im gluten free so could not enjoy it, but I used this exact recipe to make a cake for my son’s birthday and everyone said it was so delicious. Incredibly easy to make! I agreed I wasnt sure about the boiling water, but I followed the directions and it came out perfectly. I did (2) 9″ rounds for 35 minutes at the prescribed temp and let it cool. I would not change one thing

  239. 5 stars
    I have made this cake for years–it’s a family favorite and is always in the oven for birthdays and special occasions. It is so moist and delicious. I did notice that you add one cup of boiling water to the batter–my recipe calls for one cup of strong black coffee. I’m not sure that it makes a difference-I’ve never made it with water. Can’t improve on perfection–will continue to use coffee. We call this “Black Magic Cake”.

  240. 5 stars
    The name says it all. It is perfect. I’ve made cupcakes, and now a layer cake for our granddaughter’s graduation. Her request.
    No more searching for me!

      1. It will be more batter than you need for one ten inch pan, but you could use the extra batter for cupcakes. Yes, it would work for an ice cream cake!

  241. 5 stars
    My favourite chocolate cake recipe so far. So moist and tastes nice. I didn’t use the frosting because I prefer less sweet creams. Will use this as my base for sure.

    1. Were you using electric mixers, or just stirring by hand? Mixers should help smooth out any lumps from the powdered sugar.

  242. I’ve had great results with this cake! I just have 1 question:
    Is the 1 cup of boiling water necessary? Right before I add it, the batter looks regular, and then the cup of water makes it really watery. Would excluding it do anything?

  243. 5 stars
    Have you made this cake in cupcake form? if so, how did it go and how many did it yield?

    1. 5 stars
      For me it made 24 regular cupcakes and 24 mini—from one recipe. So I’m guessing if you want all regular-sized, it would make 30…
      They’re great!?

  244. 5 stars
    This is the BEST chocolate cake I’ve ever tried! My mother-in-law made it once and I also did myself. All I can say is wow! I want to make it again, but as the first time, I found myself a little confused by the cake directions. Do I beat the wet ingredients first and then add them to the dry ingredients and mix together by hand? Or do I beat with a mixer, both the wet and dry? And if so, do the wet ingredients also have to be beat beforehand? Thanks for the help!!

  245. 5 stars
    Love this cake and frosting!! Could I use another oil for the cake? I prefer not to use vegetable or canola oil if I can…

      1. I read your response and would like to ask you what any oil? Can I use Mayo? And is the measure the same as the vegetable oil?
        Thank you.

        Thank you
        Bing

        1. I’ve never experimented with mayo in this recipe so I can’t say for sure. I do think a mild flavored oil, like canola or vegetable is definitely best.

  246. Just made this for Easter lunch dessert. Cannot wait to share with family. The cake top was delicious so I know they will love it. My only question is should I refrigerate it until I’m ready to take it to lunch ? The milk in the icing has me thinking yes. Wonderful recipe. Thank you

    1. You don’t have to refrigerate it if you live in a dry climate–otherwise I would suggest refrigerating it, covered with plastic wrap.

  247. 5 stars
    Made this today for my husband’s birthday and he is such a chocoholic! It came out so perfect, very rich and fudgy. Everyone loved it! Thank you for sharing the recipe.

  248. 5 stars
    Awesome cake recipe. Very moist and rich great crumb. I put it in for 30 minutes vice 35 and it turned out great. Highly recommend this recipe for even beginner bakers.

  249. 5 stars
    I make this gluten free and no one ever knows it is gluten free. It is my most requested cake! I just substitute the flour with Bob’s Redmill Gluten Free 1 to 1 flour.

  250. 5 stars
    This is my youngest son’s favorite chocolate cake! He is going to be 28 this year, so about 20 yrs. now this is my go to chocolate cake recipe and my oldest son loves it with the German style frosting for his birthday! Better than any out of a box!

  251. Just took it out of the oven! Smells amazing! Going up for a bake sale tomorrow! Fundraising for a non profit. 🙂

  252. 5 stars
    Using an 3 eggs instead of two for the cake recipe will make the cake rise more.

    I substitute Splenda measurable artificial sweetener instead of granulated sugar and add ten eggs instead of two to get the cake to rise.

    I use Splenda measurable artificial sweetener instead of powdered sugar and “I can’t believe it’s not Butter” instead of butter for the frosting.

  253. Any ideas for a frosting I can make green for a dinosaur cake? But still taste good and from scratch!
    Thank you! Grandma ?

  254. I made this cake in a 9 x 12 pan and the cake cracked some in the middle. It didn’t do this the first time I made it. Any ideas what went wrong? I’m sure it will be fine when frosted.

  255. I used this recipe and it turned out beautifully moist and delicious thank you for sharing but my frosting turned out thin but it was still good I just called it a ganache lol

  256. The cake turned out fabulously, but the icing — I ended up putting in a cup of milk to get the right consistency. Did anyone else have this problem?

    1. Do you mean to ask if you can use a bundt cake pan? Yes. Be sure to properly grease and flour the pan and cook for about 50-55 minutes.

  257. I always go with the Hershey Chocolate Recipe. Have personally visited Hershey Park and Hotel and had a Beautiful Thanksgiving there with lots of Hershey Chocolate. I came across the Buttermilk replacement here. Also I use Strong Coffee for the water. Just finished sharing and eating some an hour ago. Already half gone. ❤️ Love This Cake. Now I am Going to kick it up a notch with something radical. Any suggestions ? Open to new ideas , except the Sauerkraut ?. ? Thanks Judi from Orlando

  258. Substitute a cup of coffee for the one cup of water – it really brings out the flavor and makes it incredibly moist.

  259. Hi! This looks fantastic! This might be terrible, but how would I convert this recipe to a non-chocolate version?

  260. Can you use dark cocoa powder or does it need to be the standard kind? If so, would I need to adjust the amount used or just keep everything the same. Thanks in advance!

  261. 5 stars
    I am totally blown away! This is th best cake I have ever made. You deserve your high google rating with this recipe. I had a few doubts with the thin consistency but was totally pleased with the final texture
    I made a few adjustments, as I don’t have buttermilk in my fridge but I added 1/4t spoon of apple cider vinegar. Which I have used on many successful occasions with other recipes. I used 1/2 cup of apple sauce instead of oil. For all other ingredients I followed to the T. Which I must admit I’m not good at that. I loved the feeling of adding my own love to this recipe without having to work overly hard. You made me look like an amazing cook.
    I have never tasted an icing so melt in your mouth delicious. I am spoiled, I’ll never be able to cook a box cake again.

  262. 5 stars
    OMG. Fantastic recipe.i can’t stop eating it!!!!!! A keeper and so easy to put together. I added a touch of espresso powder to the hot water as I always add it to chocolate cake. A bit of heavy cream in the frosting and a touch of corn syrup to give it a gloss.
    Bravo. That’s the end of that diet for today! I’ve cold milk a must!!

  263. I made 2 cakes and they both fell…don’t know why? They are delicious but wow, these were for an order in my baking business. Any ideas. I rarely have cakes fall.
    Denise

  264. I love this recipe but I don’t like using canola or soybean oil. Would you recommend another oil that is non gmo?

  265. 5 stars
    This cake recipe was a roller coaster from start to finish!
    I have an event today and needed a chocolate cake recipe- stat. A quick Google search and this puppy was first in line. “Perfectly Chocolate” and by Hersheys. Done. Sorry Margaret, this girl’s gonna win the church bake-off this year. I start mixing the ingredients and didn’t see the request for buttermilk before starting… that’s okay. We got milk and lemon juice. We’re still on track. So we combine the ingredients and the batter looks so good and smells delicious. It was at this point I realize I’ve forgotten the oil. After adding the oil, the batter is looking really watery- but I trust you, Hersheys. The next step comes along BAM- time to add more liquid. Whaaaattt??? Ok boiling water, in ya go! Aren’t the eggs gonna curdle?? (Nail-biting moment- no they didn’t curdle) Now, in my bowl is the runniest batter I have ever seen- it’s more like watered down cocoa powder. So I pour the liquid in my mini muffin tin, taking care to say all the prayers. This is my year for victory. And you wouldn’t believe, 8 minutes later the fluffiest, tastiest, little chocolate cupcakes popped out of my muffin tin (and the first two straight to my belly!!). So, I’m here to say- Hersheys, I’ll never doubt you again. You had my back even when my faith in you was on shaky ground. Note: added german chocolate frosting to these angel puffs- pure. magic.

    1. Thanks so much for sharing your experience (and making me laugh out loud!) I’m so glad you liked them, and I sure hope the you conquered the church bake-off–especially with german chocolate frosting!

  266. This chocolate cake is delicious. I was scared to make the 2nd by scratch cake in my life and I’m in my 60’s and have made more cakes than I can count. I made sure my eggs were at room temperature, and melted the butter before mixing the cocoa powder. This cake was just as easy as a cake mix. I don’t think I will ever buy a chocolate cake mix again and I can’t wait to try your other recipes. Thank you.

  267. 5 stars
    The absolute. Best. Cake. Ever!

    I don’t have a family to help eat the whole recipe, so I cut the ingredients in half, reduced the sugar by 1/2 again what the receipe called for, and used hot, left-over coffee from breakfast instead of water. I used a glass 8x 5 1/2 glass casserole dish so it is extra deep. I then cut the icing recipe by 2/3 for just top icing.

    It is the moistest and lightest cake I have eaten – ever.

  268. 5 stars
    Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! It was my first attempt and the cake turned out delicious. I used sweetened cocoa, butter and milk for the frosting… it came out thin…was it because the milk was extra?

  269. 5 stars
    My family was blown away with this recipe. It is by far the best chocolate cake we have ever had! I used lemon juice to sour my 2% milk as I did not have buttermilk on hand. I also added about 8oz of melted dark chocolate to the frosting. The results were amazing!

  270. 5 stars
    First note: do not attempt with a springform pan unless you’re willing to Macgyver your way to victory. The batter is way too thin for anything but a solid pan.

    Other than that, great recipe. Perfect amount of chocolate, definitely going in the recipe box. Family favorite!

    1. Can butter be substituted for the oil? Do you recommend for this recipe? Plan to make tomorrow. When I was a young girl, some 65 years ago, on the back of the Hershey container was the perfect chocolate cake recipe. Is this the same? Now my great-grandchildren want me to make it with chocolate mousse between layers.

  271. 5 stars
    Thank you for this recipe! OM Goodness!! I made chocolate pudding last night, and we had the hot cake with pudding after our brunch! Yum!!!! Tonight, I am making the rest of the cake with the Caramel sauce, whipped cream and crushed Score bars, and sharing it with friends. Thank you for all the amazing recipes! We are so grateful 🙂

    1. You could bake it in three 8in pans for a three layer cake. Or you can torte the two layers in half for a thin, 4 layer cake 🙂

  272. 5 stars
    Went to the cupboard to pull out the box of cake mix only to find it was brownie mix. Googled chocolate cake and found this. What a hit with the family. I took cake decorating classes years ago and learned that if you grease and flour the bottom and sides of the cake pan well the cake won’t stick while trying to remove it. I was disappointed to find that this cake was very difficult to remove from the pan and some of the cake stuck to the bottom. Also, I used a 10 inch round pan but the pan was no more than 3/4 full with batter so I don’t think that was an issue.

  273. can i bake it to 7inch pans to make a 4layer cake?like bake 2 pans and then the other two or it will be flatter as batter will sit 30min or so,,?or should i use half recipe for 2 7inch pans?

    1. Hi Dimitra,
      That should work. The layers would be thinner. Be sure the batter is evenly divided in the pans and smoothed evenly. Also don’t cook it as long!
      As an alternative, you could cook it regularly in the 8inch rounds, freeze it, and then tort it (cut each round in half). Best of luck!

  274. 4 stars
    My cake came out a bit dry. I let it cook for 35 mins. I followed the recipe as instructed, including having the ingredients at room temperature. What can I do to help it be more moist? P.S. the flavor is amazing, taste very chocolatey. Thanks f9r the information 🙂

    1. Hi Diana, the most common reason for this would be too much flour. When you measure the flour be sure to gently spoon the flour into the cup and then level it off with a knife. You want to make sure there isn’t too much flour packed into the measuring cup. Too little of liquids could also cause dryness, so make sure you’re measuring liquids using a liquid measuring cup. Hope those tips help for next time!

    1. If you scroll through the post or click “jump to recipe” at the beginning of the post you should find the recipe card.

  275. 5 stars
    My go to recipe. Instead of the eggs I substituted it for onions.. yes onions. Joking. I made it as described-no substitution or alteration needed. Thank you.

    1. I would recommend to make the recipe as is and only fill the pans about 3/4 full. You will have a little leftover that you can toss or use for cupcakes!

  276. So, I used regular milk instead of buttermilk because I didn’t have it.. hopefully it still turns out good..

  277. 5 stars
    I love this recipe and have made it several times following the recipe to a tee. Only once was it perfect and other times it falls in the center. Please give me some advice so I can perfect this cake.

  278. 5 stars
    This recipe is great! Highly recommend it. Easy to put together with on hand ingredients ( I made soured milk instead of using buttermilk) and that frosting recipe is now a staple in my recipe box!

  279. Thank you, Lauren! An easy to follow recipe and the taste is awesome! I’ve never baked anything in my life. This was the first time and I was baking for my wife’s birthday. Turned out perfect!

  280. 5 stars
    This is my go to chocolate cake recipe! Everyone loves it! I’m wondering though if I can add a cup of coffee instead of boiling water to add a coffee flavor… or even a tablespoon of grounded up coffee to the mixture …. hmmmm… anyone experience with this???

  281. 5 stars
    This cake receipe is amazing. I added grated Hersey bar to mix and sprinkled chopped Reese’s on the icing. Imagination is the key to cooking

    Chef T.

  282. HI !
    i want to try this recipe but before that i just want to know of the measurements for baking soda and powder should be reduced to 1 spoon or keep the same as recipe says.

    thanks
    Reema

  283. 5 stars
    Ive been using this recipe for a few months and it hasn’t failed me! I must say it is the best chocolate cake I’ve encountered. It reminds me of my childhood years. I’m not sure if it’s the same recipe but definitely what I was looking for. I love decorating the cake with hershey chocolate chips and sprinkles. It’s just so delicious!

  284. 5 stars
    I’m not usually a chocolate cake fan but this cake has been a game changer! Thank you for this excellent recipe!

  285. 5 stars
    This is THE BEST cake i ever ate.. Followed your instructions as is.. made a chocolate poke cake with a whipped cream frosting . It is just extra ordinary.. im waiting for next occassion in the family to make it again.. Thank you so much.. <3

  286. 5 stars
    I made this for our anniversary and it was great,the only thing I did diferent was used self rising flour…now I’m making it for my son’s birthday..he always wants a chocolate cake, I think he will love this one.He likes caramel so I might drizzle some on top.

  287. 5 stars
    Fantastic chocolate cake! The cake is moist and tender. The frosting is creamy smooth and luscious.
    I made with reduced baking powder and soda as I live at 2800 ft elevation. I also melted the butter for the frosting. I will definitely make this again. Thanks!

  288. 5 stars
    This was so good! I’ve made a few different chocolate cake recipes before, but this one held together well and didn’t crumble too much. And the flavor was great, my kids kept asking for more 😉

  289. 4 stars
    I just baked this recipe today and I sifted all of my dry ingredients. Wondering how it will turn out. Anyway I also did the 1 tsp of baking powder and baking soda. What I was really confused on was the frosting. I did the two pan 9in and I don’t feel like the frosting will be enough for both.

    1. I always double the frosting, because I like to decorate the cake a bit. (And you can dip Graham crackers in the extra frosting if you have any 😉 )

  290. 5 stars
    Really the best chocolate cake. Very moist and flavorful, very rich. HUGE hit with the family! I followed the recipe exactly, except I used 2% milk instead of buttermilk. It’s better than boxes, better than store-bought, actually better than most bakeries. Sending it to all my sisters!

  291. 5 stars
    Very moist and delicious cake recipe! I highly recommend. Only thing: be sure to cool the cakes in the fridge/freezer before frosting. The cake is moist so it may be too crumbly when warm. Tastes really rich though!

  292. 3 stars
    Very good cake although I had a couple things which would make me think twice. The only adjustment I made was I added 3/4 chocolate chips to the batter. Used 2 cake pans for a layered cake and even after baking it 10 minutes longer than directed, it sank a bit when I pulled it out of the oven. An extra dose of frosting covered it for the most part. Also, it was salty. I measured all ingredients and one should not taste salt in a cake. It was slight, but I did notice it. Definately cut the salt on half. Overall, a very good cake but a few adjustments needed…maybe a bit more flour and half the salt.

  293. 5 stars
    Thank you for this recipe !!! it made three 6 inch cakes with nothing left to spare! Perfection!! I cut the cake into six layers, then filled with pecan coconut frosting and poured chocolate ganache over it all…it’s my new go to, for chocolate cake. Big hit!

  294. The cake came out well, but the frosting was too runny what did I do wrong? I also found the frosting too sweet with all that powdered sugar.

  295. 5 stars
    Hi there I made this recipe exactly I am an experienced baker as well , but I’m confused because every time I make this recipe it sinks a bit in the middle not a whole lot but just a small round dip in the center any clue why?

  296. 5 stars
    Wonderful recipe… I did take the advise of 1 tsp baking powder/baking soda. Came out perfect, also is becoming my go to now. Thank you for sharing! 🙂

  297. 5 stars
    I have made this cake for years. I got it on the back of the Hershey’s Coco container. I have read how some people had spill over in the oven & yes this has happened to me before. So what I do now is I divide the cake batter into 3 9″pans. Cook it for 15 minutes then look at the cake if it’s not set cook for 5min more. Take the toothpick & see if it’s set. Keep doing this till there is moist crumbs on your toothpick. Cooking this cake in 3 pans is going to mess with your time so you have to keep your eyes on it. We love this cake. This is my go to cake & everyone asks me for it. You can do a lot with the fillings & frostings. I have had cherry filling & whipped cream frosting also if you like it you can poor rum into a bowl & brush the cake lightly. Then put the cherry filling & whipped cream take chocolate shavings & pat them on the sides of the cake. Also put strawberry filling with whipped cream & fresh strawberries on top or chocolate covered strawberries on top. There’s a lot you can do with this cake. Don’t forget you can do a ganache frosting to. Enjoy

  298. I was reading some comments so I want to verify the exact measurements for the baking soda and baking powder. A couple of readers said they reduced the amount. Would you please let me know? Thank you.

    1. 5 stars
      I used 1 cup of 2% milk, and to substitute it for buttermilk, I put 1 tablespoon of vinegar in the milk and let it sit for 10-15 minutes while I put together the other ingredients.

  299. Hi. I’m m looking for a good homemade chocolate cake recipe. I found your recipe and wanting to know what kind of butter do I need for this? Thank you

    1. You would make the batter exactly as instructed. It will make about 30 cupcakes–bake at 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter and bake them for 22 to 25 minutes.

  300. 5 stars
    Hi! Thanks for the recipe! The cake was moist and simply delicious. My family finds the frosting a tad bit too sweet though. If I make it again, can I reduce the powdered sugar in the frosting? What do I replace it with to maintain the same consistency though?

  301. 3 stars
    Amazing texture, it was fluffy and moist, but it didn’t taste very chocolate-y. I’m not a very experienced baker so I’m not sure how the recipe could be altered to make it richer, but it definitely needs more sweetness and a fuller flavor.

  302. I made this perfect chocolate chocolate cake and followed the recipe by far the best chocolate cake I have ever made. Rich Moist and delicious frosting also was delicious. Thanks

  303. I followed the the recipe, but the cake didn’t set. Only the top was fine and the rest of the cake was still a batter mix

    1. Hi Megan, it sounds like it needed to bake longer. Take it out when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean (without batter on it and with a few crumbs), or when you touch the baked cake in the center it should feel spongy.

  304. 5 stars
    Hey!! Lauren this is princy from Coimbatore,India. I tried this delicious cake and output was really amazing that I couldn’t believe, everyone of my family really loved!! But the only difficulty was that my cake was soo soft and it broke when I lifted it from the plate!! What can do to avoid it!!! Only tat was my query other than that everything was perfect!

    1. Hi Grace–nice to meet you! Next time you could try adding some more flour and bake for a few extra minutes.

  305. 4 stars
    Two things: Every time I bake a cake with cocoa powder, the cake sticks to the pans–they are non-stick pans and I use a baking spray w/flour. This doesn’t happen with any other cake.

    Also, I reduced the oven temperature to 325 F., as that is usually recommended for non-stick pans. I increased the baking time for five more minutes, but the centers still didn’t seem quite done. Should I have baked at 350 F. as the recipe instructs, even considering the type pans I used?

    1. My suggestions: Use parchment paper rounds in the bottom of your cake pans. Also spray them with cooking spray.
      Then bake at 350.

  306. 5 stars
    I’m not a baker at all but decided to make this chocolate cake for my sister’s birthday. Much to my surprise and everyone else’s it turned out great! If I can make it, ANYONE can! Thanks for sharing!

  307. 5 stars
    Wow this is amazing! I was so scared since the batter was so thin. But it turned out so good. I used 3 pans instead of 2. And make sure to sift all dry ingredients. Nobody tell on me for getting a second piece ?

  308. This cake recipe seemed delightful at first, I tried it out the first time and the cake was delicious. I attempted a second try but when I tried to cook it, the water kept rising to the top and the cake wasn’t cooking at all. In all, I ended up cooking it for over an hour. I tried every way to fix it, but it just stayed exactly the same.

  309. 5 stars
    Hi, how can I modify this recipe to omit the egg? I am a vegetarian thus should like to substitute the egg with any other ingredient.

    Thanks

    1. I have not tried any of these but these are all recommended substitutes for eggs. For each whole egg you could substitute any of the following: 1/2 medium banana mashed or
      1/4 cup apple sauce or 1 Tb. ground flax seed and 3 Tbl. water
      Best Wishes

  310. Hi! For the temp. setting, is the 350F with fan assist or without? My oven is fan assisted so wanted to see if the time or temp. would change?

    1. 5 stars
      Hi i recently baked these again using a fan assisted oven at 165 the rise slight uneven but they were certainly better than baking at 180.

      I think the next time i bake them i will do 160 , check at 22 mins .

      Please do let me know what your experience is ?
      I have bake a batch for my daughters birthday.

  311. defintely going to give it a try, but please can you tell me, if I don’t want to make it a double layered cake, can I just use a 13inch x 9 inch rectangular pan? Any difference in baking time or result?

    1. You can find the directions for a 9×13 cake under the “instructions” in the recipe card. (takes 35 to 40 minutes to bake).

  312. 5 stars
    Absolutely scrumptious! Followed the directions to a “T” and it came out perfect. I made this for my nephews birthday and everyone loved it. I would definitely make it again and again. Thanks so much for sharing. Can’t wait to try the “German Chocolate” variety.

    1. Hi
      I was thinking of making this for my daughters birthday
      Did you so 3x 8 inch cakes or 2 x 9 inch cakes ?

      Would you mind sharing a picture how you decorated it. Thanks

  313. 5 stars
    I’ve used this recipe for a long time. I was a baker in Alaska and works great every time. I’ve baked it in a cast iron pan on a fire and it’s great. You’ve got to use the Hershey’s cocoa though.

  314. 5 stars
    I’m making my second time cake mix…..this time for our church cake walk …..yes we all love it so must spend the wealth of goodness

  315. Hi ,
    Whats the time for cupcakes? I’m not a baker, first time I’ll try without ingredients from a box. 🙂

  316. 5 stars
    The recipe made 24 delicious cupcakes. They were a huge hit at an adult birthday celebration. Thank you for an amazing recipe!

      1. 5 stars
        I did the same temperature, but, as the recipe directed, only baked it for 22-25 minutes, until they sprang back up when touched.

  317. 4 stars
    hi ,

    Could i please ask the oven temperature for fan assisted would the same ? 350 f will be 180 c in fan assisted or should i decrease to 170/160 ?

    I am only asking because i made the cupcakes yesterday they tasted delicious but they did not rise evenly and when i took them out of the oven they shrunk not sure what went wrong . ? oven temp

    any ideas ?

  318. 5 stars
    I am not a baker by any stretch of the imagination, but I followed the directions/recipe and was very pleased with the result! My daughters thought it was the best thing ever and the youngest said it was so good she wanted to eat the whole cake lol

    1. I wish I’d seen this comment before baking. My cake went everywhere. What’s left in the pan is like a brownie so I’m hoping to make something from it.

      My guess too much baking soda and powder.

      1. Ditto on the wish I’d seen this. ..can’t someone CHANGE that? I don’t hold out high hope for what’s in oven. Great.

        1. 5 stars
          Oh, I didn’t seem to have that problem at all! I filled the cupcakes 2/3 of the way and they turned out perfectly! This is the best chocolate cake recipe I’ve ever made! With the leftover batter, I filled a square cake pan about 1/4 full and it rose to a height of about 2/3 the pan height. The cupcakes were delicious, but my family did notice that the cake was more moist than the cupcakes. Overall, it was fantastic! The best!!!

    2. 1 star
      This recipe plain out sucks! End of story!

      Should not be called chocolate cake…rather cocoa cake. Portions were wrong and over-f lowed 9″ round cake pans. Cake stuck to edges even though I buttered and floured and used Wilton fabric belt wrap thingys soaked in water.
      Frosting came out like thick fudge so I thinned it more and was still too thick. Used the Wilton pre icing spray, put in fridge, and when I took out and iced it the cake tore apart of what was left of it anyway. Somebody remove or update this please…stupid me I didn’t read the reviews first. Wondering how this came up first result on Google… probably cuz they titled it using Hershey name and the word chocolate, when it clearly only had to do with only cocoa.

      1. I’m sorry, but I kind of have to laugh at your comment. This recipe was developed by Hershey’s over a century ago and has been beloved ever since. (And if you did actually read the reviews you would find 200+ positive experiences 😉 ) I’m sorry you had trouble, but it sounds like it was more to do with your method, and possibly altitude than it is to do with the recipe.
        Here’s a resource that may help you troubleshoot for future cake baking: https://www.kitchenkrafts.com/product/troubleshooting-cake-problems

  319. 5 stars
    I had half a bag of cutie oranges that were about to go bad and decided to make a chocolate orange cake but I wanted to do it from scratch. I used this recipe but I made a few changes. I didn’t have cocoa powder so I substituted dark chocolate squares. I melted the dark chocolate then added milk and brown sugar before adding it to my wet ingredients. I juiced the oranges and added orange extract. Instead of using 2 cups of sugar I used half a cup of brown sugar and half a cup of granulated sugar. It came out perfectly. I have used other recipes for baking a cake and this is by far my favorite.

  320. Hello! I’m going to be making 2-8 inch cakes with this recipe . How long do you think they’ll need to bake? I don’t want to over bake them and make them dry! Thank you so much!

    1. This batter has more volume than just two 8 inch pans can hold….I’d suggest using three 8” pans, or just fill the two pans and save the extra batter to make a few cupcakes. The 8inch cakes will probably cook for about 28-35 minutes.

  321. 4 stars
    Hi! Lauren I’m Gloria from Nigeria, I will be trying out your recipe today on chocolate cake, I’m so excited about it yippee….. Thanks for sharing

  322. 5 stars
    This cake is anazing!Made it for the 1st time for a BIRTHDAY party & EVERYONE raved about it..rich,moist,delicious.Frosting also wonderful!Gonna make another one today just for us!

    1. Yes, I think you could add a few Tablespoons expresso or it’s also common to substitute coffee for the boiling water.

    1. Yes, that would work fine. OR, If you don’t have buttermilk, a simple substitute is 1 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice.

  323. Hi there..

    I dont know why but for the past some years – whenever i tried to use oil in cakes, it ended up like a blob of oil and it even smelled horrible and ofcourse it was so not anywhere near to eating. I’ve wasted about two cakes and so much money – I’ve even given up on my love for baking after this. Could you tell me what I might be doing wrong ? I want to try one last time? or if i could replace oil with melted butter perhaps? Where i live – there isnt exactly a wide range of oils available … just normal cooking oils and they all smell the same.

    I will look forward to your reply!!!As I have a birthday for my brothers daughter this Saturday which is 29th Sep. and I was wanting to use this recipe for cupcakes?

    With love,

    1. Hi Sid, if you use regular canola oil or vegetable oil it shouldn’t effect the taste or smell of the cake. You could substitute melted butter 🙂 Hope you enjoy it.

      1. Oh great ! I am so happy you replied ! Thankyou so much Laura…Now I am going to use melted butter ! I am not exactly sure about what ratio to substitute it with, but I’ll share the feedback! I am going to bake it tonight!
        Wish me luck !

  324. Lauren,

    I’m making this cake tomorrow but I would like to add chocolate chips to it. Have you done it? Will it affect the rise of the cake? Any advise? Thanks

    1. Hi Marisol,

      I think it will turn out well with the addition of chocolate chips. Just stir them in at the end! I hope you enjoy it!

  325. 5 stars
    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!

    1. 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

  326. 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!

    1. 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!!

      1. 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!

  327. 5 stars
    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!

  328. 5 stars
    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!!

  329. 5 stars
    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!

  330. I’ve made this cake twice,followed exactly and the flavour was awesome but both times it sank in the middle,not sure why it did but I would make it again

  331. 5 stars
    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!

  332. 5 stars
    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.

  333. 4 stars
    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.

  334. 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

  335. 5 stars
    I made this cake tonight for our son’s birthday tomorrow.
    Does this need refrigeration due to the butter in the frosting?

  336. 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

    1. 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.

  337. 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!

  338. 5 stars
    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.

    1. 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 🙂

  339. 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

  340. 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.

  341. 4 stars
    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?

  342. 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?

    1. 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.

  343. 5 stars
    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.

    1. 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 🙂

  344. 5 stars
    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)!

  345. Do you have any suggestions on how to get the cake out of the pans, or any tips to get it not to stick? Just made this with my son, it turned out great and tastes super good! Just bummed the cakes stuck to the bottom of them pans even tho I grease and floured them! Going to try and rebuild it with the frosting ha ha

    1. Hi Jordan, if you keep scrolling under the recipe you will find helpful”TIPS”. I am confident TIP #3 will solve your problem. Good luck.

  346. Used 1x 9in and 1x 9.5in tins. My cakes looked ok as I took them out the oven after checking that they were done with a toothpick (30min) but they fell totally flat immediately after…. I made the recipe twice, to see if I’d done something wrong but same result 🙁

  347. I made these cakes last night- only Change I made was that I used whole wheat flour. The taste is a great just a tad dry. Any recommendations to make it moister when using whole wheat flour? My son loved it- I just added Greek yogurt frosting on top. I will make the frosting next time as well. Thanks for sharing your tips.

  348. I just baked this cake and followed the instructions perfectly. It was very thin, as you said it would be. It didn’t rise very much and has fallen after it has cooled. Does yours not rise very much? I’m used to cakes that rise in the middle and don’t fall. I haven’t tasted it yet so I don’t know how it tastes. I made the icing and that tastes great.

  349. 5 stars
    This cake came out great, but I ran out of cocoa powder and vanilla before I got to the icing so I just used 1/2 cup butter, 3 cups of powdered sugar, 1/4 almond milk (I’m allergic to normal milk), 3 shakes of cinnamon, and about half a teaspoon of lemon juice. Turned out really nice and gave the icing a lighter, less sweet flavor.
    I also didn’t have a 2nd cake pan, so I made half of the batter into cupcakes (I know I’m breaking all kinds of rules XD ). Brought the baking time down to 20 minutes, which seemed perfect.
    Successful experiment all in all, I think.

  350. I love baking and this cake is amazing. I’m also diabetic. Could I substitute splenda in place of the sugar? Thanks again for this recipe.

    1. Thanks! I haven’t tested this with splenda, so I couldn’t say for sure how it will effect it. I’d love to know if you do!

  351. I baked this cake tonight, but my cake did not rise much after I made a few adjustments. I am really curious to know if any of my changes would especially limit the cake’s ability to rise. First, I used 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for each cup of flour (minus 2 tbsps) to make my flour more like cake flour. I thought cake flour would help make the cake rise better. Second, I substituted water and butter (1 tbsp) for the 1 cup of milk. My only other alternative for cow’s milk was soy, which I didn’t have. Third, I whipped the egg yolks and whites separate. I saved the whipped whites for the very end after the boiling water and gently folded them in before filling the pans. The third change was a huge risk because I am not much of a baker and I don’t know if I ruined some special baking sequence by doing it that way. I like the whipped egg white result when I make waffles so I gave it a try after seeing at least one search result of someone using it for cakes. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly. My cake did not rise much or at all. I used two 9″pans filled at least halfway and each baked layer is barely an inch. I would appreciate any advice on whether any of my changes were particularly bad and what I could do better next time. ~Thank you

  352. Hi
    Can you please give the measures in metric units like in grams for dry ingredients and MLS for liquids?not sure what do you mean by cup measures?

  353. Hi! I’m planning to use this as the base layer for an ice cream cake. Do you think it’s okay to freeze?

  354. Would you say this is a good cake for a tiered wedding cake. On the video it looks very moist and I want to know if you think it’ll hold well?

    1. For a tiered wedding cake, as long as it had the proper dowel supports I would imagine it could work fine, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!

  355. 5 stars
    EXCELLENT CAKE!!! I made this without running to the store… had no buttermilk in the house so I used 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1/2 cup of 2% percent milk whisked together. Also instead of 1 cup of boiling water I used 1 cup of hot strong coffee. I don’t believe the recipe called for it, but I did sift the dry ingredients.

  356. 5 stars
    I baked this cake today with exact propotions given and it turned out just perfect. Too spongy, delicious. Taste wise perfect, texture wise perfect. 5 star to it.

  357. Hi lauren , I’m so excited to try this recipe for father’s day
    But I’m facing a great problem which is my 11 inch cake pan and I don’t have smaller ones
    Is it possible to continue with my plans ??

    1. Hi Jeny, you would need more batter volume to fill an 11′ cake pan. I would make 1 1/2 of this recipe. You may have a little bit of extra batter, but it will at least be enough to fill your pans 🙂

    1. Hi Ellen, that should work fine, you may just want to leave out about 1 cup of batter so that the cakes don’t overflow.

  358. 5 stars
    I have made this a couple times now…seems a little different every time..but sometimes it’s raining outside and sometimes dry as a bone….it is the BEST chocolate I have ever tasted,anywhere. I have one in the oven now and prepared the frosting. Used a bundt pan and added a little smashed banana(had an overriper) simply one of life’s easy luxuries

    1. It really is such a great recipe! I love the idea of adding an overripe banana–I bet it will be moist and delicious!

  359. 5 stars
    Made this and it came out great!! VERY moist and the icing is delicious!! I’m very curious if I could make this without the cocoa and have a perfectly moist pound cake. Not sure if anyone has tried that yet, but I probably will. Thank you for the recipe!!

  360. I made this cake two times in a row last night. It fell both times. I have never had this happen before and I have no idea why. So puzzled.

    1. Hi there, it’s probably best to sit down with a notepad and calculator. Times each ingredient by 4.

    1. Hi Connie, that would be fine, maybe just leave a tiny bit of the batter out so that the cake doesn’t overflow in the pan. Bake time will be similar to the 9×13” (around 35-40 minutes)

    1. Hi Jancie, you mean in place of the buttermilk? I’m sure that would work fine, if you needed to. 🙂

  361. 5 stars
    I was looking for a cake made from scratch because I wanted to try baking a cake with Pepsi so I used your recipe but did not put any eggs or oil or the water I just put the vanilla and Pepsi in and then all the dry ingredients and it turned out really good! This cake is awesome because I cannot eat eggs and I have to use gluten free flour But everything turned out really well. Very happy that I found this recipe thank you!

    1. HI Sue, thanks for sharing how you adapted this chocolate cake to add pepsi and be gluten free. That’s awesome! I’m happy you enjoyed it!

  362. When you bake the two layers are you repeating the recipe twice or does one recipe cover enough cake batter for two layers?

    1. I haven’t tried it, but it is a really thin batter. You could line the bottom and sides of your springform with tinfoil….hope you get to try it 🙂

  363. Hi can this cake be used for cupcakes? If so would it Just need to bake for about 15-20 minutes?

  364. Does this recipe make enough batter for two cakes, or do you need to double the recipe to make both layers?

    1. Hi Iris,
      This recipe makes enough to fill two 9 inch round pans (for a double layer cake) or one 9×13 baking pan. I hope you love it!

  365. 5 stars
    I made this cake recently and it was delicious!!! Super moist and just the perfect amount of richness-if that even makes sense! My mother in law said it was the best chocolate cake she ever had! Even my son who is not a fan of cake in general absolutely loved it.
    I was just wondering if I can make it into cupcakes as well. If so do you know what the time difference would be?

    1. Thanks for sharing Chrissy! I”m so glad it got a thumbs up from everyone. You can definitely make it into cupcakes (it will make about 30). Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes. Enjoy!

  366. 5 stars
    This will be my second time making this cake! the recipe is very easy to understand and the cake is delicious!

  367. 5 stars
    Recipe I found on the back of the Hershey’s cocoa can and I substitute the milk with buttermilk and coffee for the water the most moiste cake I’ve ever made. My husband loves ir as do the rest of the family and friends. It is so easy to make and so yummy.

  368. 5 stars
    I will try your frosting this weekend, it looks really nice! Since doesn’t have too much butter 🙂 i will let you know how it results! Hi from Mexico! 🙂

  369. Hershey’s Choc cake is one of my fav’s! The recipe is on the Hershey Cocoa container for the cake and the frosting! Easy to make and very good!!!

  370. 5 stars
    I have made this cake once before a few years ago. It was my first time making a cake ever and while I it was a bit bumpy at first I managed to get it done. At the time I really did not have a cake turntable and my molds were not a very good kind. They were the spring loaded molds that tended to leak with the watery batter used in this cake. So the finished product did not look very pretty but it tasted good. Fast forward three years and I now have much more experience cooking and baking. I have the turn table and the proper molds purchased that will not load. I am looking forward to making this cake recipe again in the future. It really is a simple recipe but produces a wonderfully rich and chocolaty cake.

  371. 5 stars
    Just made this cake I was surprise how good
    and moist was .share with a couple of frids
    They too loved it
    ..Thank You for sharing .

  372. 5 stars
    do we need to mix the wet ingredients first by beating eggs well and then adding the dry ingredients like the usual cake recipes ?? or simply mix everything together no need to beat the eggs thoroughly? please reply am confused . i need to make chocolate cake

    1. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together separately first 🙂 . I’ve recently added step-by-step process photos, so I hope they help 🙂 Enjoy!

  373. First time making chocolate cake ever. Could be due to this why it didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped. I found it bland even for chocolate cake and found the need to add something else (I added jam between the layers). But aside from my taste preference I will say that it was a bit drier than expected to the point of being quite crumbly (one of my layers fell apart) which surprised me since it was so thick before adding the water. I don’t know whether it was because I substituted almond milk for regular milk (maybe an extra egg would help?). I am not writing this to be rude. I would just like to let people know what I experienced to try and help. I was quite surprised since every recipe I have followed turns out pretty accurately. But again it could have been the almond milk that affected the texture and taste.

    1. Hi Leo, one of the most common causes of a dry cake is too much flour. When measuring flour gently scoop the flour into your measuring cup and then level it off with a flat spatula or knife. If the flour gets too firmly packed into the measuring cup, or it isn’t leveled off, more could be added then is necessary, causing a dry and crumbly cake.
      Over-mixing the batter could also cause a tough and dry cake. When the flour mixture is added to the liquid mixture, gluten begins to form. The more you beat the batter, the more gluten is formed. So be sure not to over-mix the cake batter before pouring it into the cake pans.
      You could also double check your oven temperature (calibrate it with a thermometer) to make sure it’s not cooking to “hot”. (Two of my ovens in past homes cooked at hotter temperatures than they said, which can cause problems when baking if you’re not aware of it) 🙂 Hope this helps! Happy baking!

    2. It amazes me how people like you who substitute the ingredients that are called for then wonder why the result was different?

  374. 5 stars
    Several times in your comments section it was asked what to do if recipe calls for baking powder and baking soda, there was no reply. I only have baking powder, unable to get to store, and so want to make the Hershey chocolate cake tomorrow for my son birthday since I have no finance right now to take him out to breakfast ordinner like I usually do. My concern is since recipe calls for 1 1/2 teas of baking soda and 1 1/2 teas of baking powder, will all that extra baking powder be too much and will the taste and texture of the cake be drastically affected. Anxiously awaiting your reply.
    Thank you.Beverly

    1. Hi Beverly, Normally It’s fine to substitute, but since this recipe calls for so much of each, I wouldn’t suggest it. Baking soda has 4 times the power of baking powder, so for 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda you would need to substitute 6 teaspoons of baking powder (plus the 1 1/2 teaspoons that the recipe already calls for). 7 1/2 teaspoons is a lot, and I fear it would change the taste and texture. Could you borrow some baking soda from a neighbor? Sorry! You could try this recipe instead–it would need 4 teaspoons of baking powder instead of the 1 teaspoon of soda. https://www.cookingclassy.com/chocolate-cake-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/ Best of luck!

  375. This cake was great! First time baking from scratch for my in-laws and everyone including myself was very impressed! Don’t be worried your batter is too thin mine was very thin and the cake came out perfectly. Wish I could add a photo. Thank you for the recipe!!

  376. 5 stars
    This cake worked out so well! First time making a cake from scratch for my in laws and they were all very impressed! I was impressed too! Thank you for the recipe!

    1. I’m so happy I could be apart of your first cake-from-scratch experience! Thanks so much for sharing Beth! Hope you get to try more of my cake recipes soon!

        1. It will still turn out fine! 🙂 Next time you could add a little splash of lemon juice or vinegar to your milk to make buttermilk.

  377. To make this “perfect chocolate cake” as a sheet cake for the Mississippi Mud cake, what size pan should I use! And should the recipe be adjusted in any way?

        1. Yes! For a 12 cup bundt pan bake at 350 for about 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes before removing from pan. Enjoy!

  378. This is my go to chocolate cake recipe. It is so easy to make and has always turned out well for me, and the frosting too.