Literally the BEST chocolate cake ever to cross my lips. It is dense and rich and moist and almost brownie-like but still in a cake way. It’s a Magleby’s copycat. You will not regret this!
A couple weeks ago, I tried to make myself a gorgeous layer cake as a belated birthday present to myself. But my cakes broke coming out of the pan. So I shoved them into a 9×13 and smeared frosting on top and ate it like an animal.
I shared my broken cake on Facebook and my friend Jane said, “Sorry about baking your own cake for your birthday. That is just wrong!” And I told her that I didn’t mind, because Eric had made me pancakes on my birthday and I ACTUALLY had to spit them out in the sink. True story.
GUESS WHAT. The Food Charlatan turns FOUR this week! My actual anniversary was on Sunday (but I don’t post on Sundays because Sundays are for family and cake.) My first post ever was Pumpkin Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies, where I tell the story about the time we brought cookies to our neighbor and he opened the door wearing nothing but a towel. True story.
A couple years ago I updated the photos on that post, which I kind of regret. That post is more important to me as a piece of my own history than as a traffic-driver. I still kept one of the old photos up, and the story is the same, but still. I kind of feel like I went back and edited my own journal.
Buuuut that’s one of the things about food blogging. It’s kind of like that part in Princess Bride when Inigo Montoya is all like “Father, guide my sword,” and it’s this epic moment, but then he runs into a tree and thinks he failed. But then, he leans on the tree, and the secret passage opens and he saves the day!
Okay so maybe if you’re not a Princess Bride freak that went over your head. What I’m TRYING to say is that food blogging is AWESOME and WEIRD and FUN and HARD and CONSTANTLY changing. And I freaking love it. It is crazy to think how far we’ve come from the days when it was just Eric and my mom reading my posts. I’m so glad you guys are here! It’s a par-tay!
How to make the best chocolate cake ever
And what’s a party without cake and candles. This is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had, hands down. It’s a copycat of the cake served at Magleby’s, a restaurant in Utah. When they served it to me (I was at a wedding, one of dozens) I thought to myself, meh, mass-served chocolate cake. Then I tried a bite and was completely blown away.
I saw this copycat cake over on Baked in AZ (who has a beautiful blog by the way, definitely check out her work!) and knew I had to try it. It is so dense and rich and moist. It’s like a Texas Sheet Cake, only better. You know how the edges of a cake are usually dry? Eric and I were fighting over the edge pieces because they are so fudgy. SO GOOD!
So good that I made it twice. I won’t tell you how much that had to do with me breaking my first cake. But both times, Eric said to me, “Don’t make any other chocolate cake recipe ever again.” Maybe I will make this again on my 5th anniversary…or maybe I should make it at least 5 times before then.
UPDATE: I recently made a Homemade White Cake Recipe that you might also want to try out!!
P.S. Do you have gluten free friends? Try out my friend Sarah’s Gluten Free Chocolate Cake! I’ve tried it and it’s legit amazing.
More chocolate!!
- Absolutely The Best Brownies I Have Ever Made >> No, I’m serious. I wouldn’t joke about this.
- Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies >> These are to die for.
- Cream Cheese Chocolate Cupcakes >> Gotta love the tang in these!
- Strawberry Truffle Cake >> These are definitely decadent
- Brown Sugar Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting: << this is today’s chocolate cake, minus the chocolate. Whaaat? It works, I promise.
- If you are on the hunt for The Perfect White Cake, try this one! It’s amazing!
- Death By Chocolate Cupcakes from American Heritage Cooking
- Whipped Chocolate Buttercream Frosting from I am Baker
- Crockpot Chocolate Lava Cake from Life in the Lofthouse
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The Best Chocolate Cake I’ve Ever Had (And a Par-taaay!)
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup salted butter
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 cups flour, sifted spooned
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Frosting:
- 1 & 1/2 cups salted butter, 3 sticks, softened
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
- 5 & 1/4 cups powder sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease 2 9-inch cake pans with butter, then coat with flour. Then trace the bottom of the cake pans onto parchment paper, cut out the circles, and put them in the bottom of the pan.*
- In a medium saucepan, melt 1 cup butter over medium heat. Stir in the water and cocoa and whisk until combined. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for about 30 seconds. Remove pot from heat and let sit aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the white sugar, flour, and 3/4 teaspoon salt.
- In another medium bowl, whisk together 2 eggs. Slowly sprinkle baking soda and baking powder over the top while you whisk. Beat until there are no lumps. The mixture may foam, and that's ok!
- Stir in the vanilla and 1 cup brown sugar.
- When the chocolate mixture in the pot has cooled enough to handle, stir it into the flour mixture. Then add the egg mixture. Each time mix only until combined.
- Lastly, fold in the sour cream. DON'T over mix!!
- Divide the batter evenly between the 2 pans (I use a scale). Drop the cakes on the counter from a few inches above to get out some of the air bubbles.
- Bake for about 34-40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Remove from the oven when a toothpick comes out of the center clean.
- Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then carefully loosen edges with a knife and invert onto a cooling wrack. Let cakes cool completely.
- Wrap the cakes securely in plastic wrap and freeze for about an hour or 2. (This is only so that it's easy to frost the cake. If you are in a hurry and presentation isn't an issue, frost as soon as they are cool!)
Make the frosting:
- Cream the butter well. Add the cocoa and powdered sugar in increments, adding the cream in between. Beat well after each addition. Add the salt and vanilla.
- Smear a bit of frosting on the bottom of a cake plate. Place 1 frozen cake on top, then cover the top with about 1 cup of frosting (I like to use an offset spatula).
- Place the other cake on top, then frost the outside and edges. If you don't want your cake plate to get frosting all over it, line it with strips of parchment paper that you can pull out when the cake is completely frosted.
- Serve with lots of milk!
Notes
Nutrition
I have FINALLY found my go-to chocolate cake!!! I made it this past weekend for my daughter’s 23rd birthday. She is always “everything chocolate”! Rave reviews from the whole family!! They said “this is it”! I made the recipe EXACTLY as written…twice. I wanted 4 layers for a big, tall cake. I made the layers a day ahead and wrapped each one tightly in plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator. I did not get them out the next day until I was ready to assemble and ice the cake. It worked perfectly. So moist and delicious!! I doubled the icing recipe as well, but didn’t end up using it all and there was still PLENTY of icing on the cake. Come Monday…the cake is even better than yesterday! Thank you!! I wish I could post a picture. It was so pretty on an antique white cake stand with 23 extra-long pink candles. THANK YOU!!
That is awesome Dana!! This is exactly how I felt the first time I made this cake! “I’ve found the one!!” It’s just a great feeling. I love that you did 4 layers, great idea! What a wonderful birthday for your daughter :) And I agree, the cake is sometimes even better on day two, which is totally not how cake usually is. Love it. Thanks so much for reviewing Dana!
I made this cake today, cut it into fourths, and shared with three neighbors. Everyone said cake was absolutely delicious! I only deviated slightly; I used 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks only because I read somewhere that yolks add moisture. I was immensely satisfied with the result!
You are the best neighbor ever Cheyenne! You can move in next door to me anytime you want :) I’m so glad you all enjoyed the cake! Good idea using an egg yolk! Thanks for the review :)
It is a great recipe to make a birthday special cake. my bro birthday coming soon. thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
My husband just made me this cake again for my birthday. It’s just the best birthday cake! So glad you enjoy it Ankit. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve never seen a cake recipe that SPECIFIES salted butter! LOLOL! Bless your heart! There’s no standard amount of added salt, so one brand could have 1/4 tsp per stick while another could have 1/2 tsp. No wonder some people are “sensitive”-they’re adding double the salt!
Bring on the salted butter I say! It’s all I cook or bake with!
Want to try this cake..can you recommend a substitute for sour cream pls? It’s bit difficult to find easily in our country..thanks!
Hi Shini! I’m not sure what country you’re in or what you have available. Greek yogurt would probably work. You could also try heavy cream! Enjoy!
Simply WOW!! Thank you so much
SO glad you enjoyed it Shilpa! Thanks for the review!
I have made this cake a dozen times and I have gotten rave reviews. It’s my go to recipe for chocolate cake. It is a little on the delicate side but I freeze mine so that helps when I decorate it. Also for those who think it’s salty, maybe it’s because you are using table salt, which tends to taste saltier than the same measurement of kosher.
Great idea to freeze the cakes before decorating Sondra! Thanks for sharing! And I think you’re right about the salt, it really is important to use kosher here. I’m so glad you love the recipe! Thanks for commenting!
I recently started wanting to decorate homemade cakes from home and your recipes are the best I just don’t think it’s sturdy enough for layers , any subsections ?
Hi Unique! I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes! This cake is delicate and might not be as sturdy or as tall as you would want for cake decorating.
Hello and thanks for sharing your recipe!
Do you pack your brown sugar?
Thank you!
Hi Alison, yes, pack the brown sugar! Any time a recipe calls for brown sugar it should be packed. Thanks for the reminder to specify!
I loved this cake and made it for an event and got so many compliments. I accidentally had grabbed coffee flavored cocoa so I didn’t realize until I was all done and was licking the frosting off a spoon. It worked to be amazingly yummy.I do agree with some that it tasted a tad too salty but that could be my taste buds as I don’t add a lot of salt to my foods so I seem to notice it more.when it’s there. I am making it again for Easter and adjusting the salt. What a great recipe.
I didn’t even know coffee flavored cocoa was a thing Missy! That is such a great idea, people are always adding coffee to chocolate cakes to enhance the flavors, so that is genius. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and thank you so much for coming back to leave a comment!
Have you made this as cupcakes? How many cupcakes will this recipe make?
Hi Amethyst! No I haven’t tried it as cupcakes, I would imagine it would make the typical amount, 24 or so.
Karen- I’m excited to try this. Twenty nine years ago, the first year I was married, my husband neglected to get me s birthday cake. He hates cake; but to me, the birthday cake 🎂 is MOST important. At 10 pm that night, I got out of bed in a huff and made my own cake. He’s gotten me a cake from the best bakery in town every year since. Chocolate, of course. Love your blog and your recipes.
Oh my gosh Marilyn, I just read this out loud to my husband and we are CRACKING UP!!!! That is so funny!!! I guess he learned his lesson, haha! And I guess you will have to make this cake on a different day since clearly you don’t need to worry about cake on your birthday anymore!! Thanks for the story and the laughs!
I LOVE your blog. I read all your comments about the recipe you are posting. Can’t wait to try this chocolate cake. I looked at the blog you mentioned. Have to say your photos are so much more inviting. Thanks for making your blog so enjoyable.
Why thank you Carla! You are so sweet to say that! I hope you get to try the cake soon :)
I have been searching for a chocolate cake for a couple years now. I mean a GOOOOOD chocolate cake. Just reading all these women’s comments about the cake plus your blog post, I HAVE TO try it! Moist is what I’m looking for! Chocolatey and sweet is what I crave! 😭🥰😆
Yes Vita you have to try it out! You will not be disappointed! It’s unbelievably moist. Let me know how it goes!
For me the cake didn’t rise enough, I might have over mixed it.
But there must be something wrong with your recipe, as the frosting has way too much sugar – it says 5 and 1/4 cups of sugar? I only put half that and I couldn’t finish a slice, I had to remove the frosting from the top. Please confirm that it’s 5 whole cups of powder sugar.
Hi Adrian, the recipe is correct as written! I’ve made this cake dozens of times. My other favorite buttercream frosting calls for 2 sticks of butter and 4 cups of powdered sugar, so this is on par with that. Buttercream might just not be your thing :)
Can cake flour be used to make this cake?
Hi Delores, I’ve never tried that! I imagine it would work fine, but don’t know for sure.