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 made this yesterday. It is soooooo good and I’ve made many chocolate cakes. This is going to be my number one choice for a chocolate cake! I have given out several slices to family members and they are loving it! I will definitely try other recipes you post! Thank you!!
I’m not waiting till my or anyone else’s birthday to make this. My is in June 2022! Looks soooo good!
Carl you definitely should not wait. The time is now! Seize the day!!!
What do you mean by spooned and sifted??
Hi Tamara! Don’t dip your measuring cup into your flour container. Instead, use a spoon to fill your measuring cup, then level off the top. Then, add the measured flour to the bowl through a sifter. Hope this helps! Enjoy!
Made this cake just because I couldn’t resist the temptation + we had the ingredients, and I gotta say, oh my GOOD THIS IS SO GOOD!!!! I could barely keep myself from sampling the frosting while i was making it. Definitely a fantastic contender for having been my first cake!! :-D
Only problem I had was not letting it cool- i was too excited to take them out & they didn’t set properly :-( FIVE STARS!!!
Have you ever made these into cupcakes?
I never have rachel! I think they would be great. Fill about 2/3 full. enjoy!
I also make my own birthday cakes, and I don’t mind one bit! It’s a sure-fire way to get what I want! In fact, just two weeks ago, I celebrated with a copy-cat Hot Fudge Cake!
This recipe sounds ah-making and I think I will make it to celebrate a successful knee surgery in a few weeks! Can’t wait to try it!
Exactly! Happy late birthday Melina, and good luck with the surgery! I definitely feel like you deserve a cake after that!
This really was an amazing cake! I must admit the mixing of the ingredients was a bit different than usual but a huge success nonetheless. I didn’t have sour cream on hand so I subbed greek yogurt. I also normally cut out a lot of the sugars in cake recipes but I did not do that here. And it was not too sweet at all. ( I didn’t make this frosting; had another one that I needed to use up). Thank you for a wonderful chocolate cake recipe!
It is a great recipe to make a birthday special cake. my bf birthday coming soon. thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Thanks
Enjoy Jessi!!! This is still one of my favorite cakes! I bet bf will love it :)
This is my favorite Chocolate Cake! I’ve made it several times now and it’s my new go-to!
I personally prefer the “lighter salt” frosting and always go with unsalted butter for the frosting… the extra saltiness may be coming from my tears of joy as I eat this cake though…
Are you SURE it’s better than a Texas sheet cake? Ingredient missing is buttermilk. Any recipe is better with buttermilk which has a permanent place in my fridge. I’ve made the sheet cake so many times that the recipe is in my head. Might add I’m a native Texan. No prejudice.
Hi Ann! This cake would still work great I think if you subbed the sour cream for real buttermilk. Let me know if you try it out! I think you will love it! It has the same fudgy flavor as a texas sheet cake, but gets to be all dressed up as a layer cake with buttercream frosting instead of cooked frosting. It’s such a fun twist!
Wowww. I wasn’t disappointed! With all this debate in the reviews, I wasn’t sure what to think with the salt or the rise of the cake. Regardless of the debate, I’ve used your recipes before and felt confident.
Let me start by saying, the salted butter worried me. So I just made sure to check the different brands at my store and chose the one with the least sodium. Not a big deal.
The recipe was extremely easy to follow. I went with Ghirardelli cocoa powder for the cake and it tasted amazing. I even snuck a taste of the batter just to make sure. Seriously, so good, even raw.
I didn’t need to take out my stand mixer. All was done by hand and that’s a win in my book! My cake didn’t rise all that high, but the texture was spot on. Like a cross between a cake and a brownie.
I’ve never frozen cakes before, but now I’m definitely a believer. How have I never done this before! What a time saver. I tend to get flustered with decorating, so leaving that to be the only focus of the day really helps. Not to mention, the cold cake was definitely a game changer in icing it.
I found the frosting to be delicious. It’s a tad salty, but in a good way. Like a salted caramel way, except with chocolate. It’s the perfect compliment to a sweet cake. I personally don’t enjoy sweet on top of sweet, so this icing created a depth of flavor to elevate an otherwise overly sweet dessert. I think if ppl struggle with the salt, then adjust to your taste level.
Hands down this was the star of my nephews birthday party.
I’m so glad the recipe was a success Tatyana! That is awesome! I love reading all your notes. I’m sure this will be so helpful for other readers :) Thank you so much for chiming in!
Hey, i follow all your recipes and must say they are really useful and easy to apply. I made this chocolate cake for my wife’s birthday and i have to say she was starstruck seeing it. But, i used white choco chips for a little twist. I must say the resulted cake was mouth watering and she loved it. It brings me joy to see her happy, all thanks to you.
I’m so glad you loved it Mark! white chocolate chips sounds delicious!
Don’t call me Karen for this. A certain famous singer, who lives in Utah, sent a humongous Maglyby’s chocolate sheet cake to my sister, Karen, after our mom’s funeral. It was all we ate for days so I will never forget the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten. This recipe is most definitely not that cake. I have searched for this recipe for years.
I’m so sorry this cake didn’t hit the spot for you Michele! Let me know the recipe if you ever find YOUR best cake! I’d love to try it!
I have 50+ years baking experience and the cake in this recipe is horrible. Lacking both moisture and taste. Need to add more sour cream, an egg yolk or two and probably a semi-sweet chocolate solid as well. In addition to cocoa powder.
I should’ve known better then to trust that any of your followers, let alone you made this cake. Because if you had, you would’ve discovered this cake is a crumbly, tasteless mess. Both a waste time and money.
I’m so sorry the recipe wasn’t for you Ms. Cal! 5 years later and this is still my go-to chocolate cake!
Karen, what a gracious reply! I have tried many of your recipes, and while some don’t work out as hoped (not delicious enough, too much work for the results, etc.), I would never be so insulting as Ms. Cal was to you. Despite the uneven results I’ve had with your recipes, I love your blog, your wit, and your bold attempts in the kitchen–not to mention your tenacity (all those banana bread trials!!). Because your “wins” far outweigh your “losses” I’ll still keep trying out your recipes, and politely pass on the ones that are not for me. BTW, among friends and family, I’m recognized for my great range of cooking skills so I’m no blind follower or cooking newbie. Let Ms. Cal have some chocolate cake to balance her bitterness. ****Side note: you can Ms. Cal can follow the recipe exactly the same way (quantities, methods, etc.), but if your ingredients aren’t the same you will get different results–maybe hers were incompatible with your recipe?
Wow, that’s super harsh. It’s one thing to not have a recipe turn out to your liking, it’s another to accuse the author (and nearly one hundred reviewers) of lying! State that it didn’t work for you, no need to personally insult the person’s character based on a cake of all things!! I’ve made this cake several times, all with great success. And next time, if you have so much experience and knowledge… make your own cake recipe, take your own pictures, and publish your own blog. Dang, Gina.
Hi I made this cake a few months ago and it was so amazing the best chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted. I can’t remember what flour I used is it all purpose/plain flour or self-raising flour? Thanks
I’m so happy to hear you loved the cake Sandra! You just need regular all-purpose flour for this recipe. Enjoy, again!
With 50+ years of experience & such a high standard & skill-set, seems odd you’d need or want to follow a “home-chef” food blogger’s copycat recipes. or at a minimum, would be able to discern the issues before getting to the end product…. I can’t imagine someone that actually had the skill & knowledge you claim would have found themselves in the position you did, so perhaps you should re-evaluate the type of baker you really are, ms. cal.
I only make this chocolate cake. It is the absolute best. Everyone that takes their first bite have the same reaction. Their mouths drop open and the say “Oh my God”
Ha that is awesome Diana! It’s so true! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!