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An easy chocolate cake that’s moist, delicious and packed full of chocolate.
It can be made in any size of round, square or rectangular tin so you can use whatever tins you have in the cupboard, and can feed a few or a whole crowd.
Today’s recipe is a variation on my popular Chocolate Birthday Cake Recipe, as with that recipe it can be made in pretty much any size of round, square or rectangular tin (see the handy calculator just above the main recipe).
It’s incredibly simple to make. I’ve taken the Mary Berry approach to baking and kept it as easy as possible by making an all-in-one chocolate sponge cake. This means all of the ingredients (except for the melted milk chocolate) are added into the bowl and simply mixed together. The melted milk chocolate is then mixed in before baking.
The melted milk chocolate is the secret to what makes this cake taste amazing. It makes the cake moist and ensures that it tastes really chocolatey, something I find isn’t always the case with cakes made with cocoa powder alone.
How to create the swirl design on top of the cake
When it comes to chocolate cake, it’s really the flavour that counts. However, if you want to neaten your cake up a bit then I think this swirl design is really effective, and it’s very simple to achieve.
What you need
- Small palette knife
- Cake decorating turntable – This sounds like a fancy piece of equipment, but it really isn’t. You should be able to get one for a few pounds. It isn’t essential, but it’s much easier to get a neat swirl if you have one.
What to do
- Once you’ve covered the top of your chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream, smooth it with a palette knife (it doesn’t need to be perfect just reasonably even).
- Pop the cake onto the cake turntable.
- Starting from the edge of the cake and working in. Slightly dig the end of your palette knife into the buttercream. Holding the knife steady, slowly spin the cake stand to create a circle. As you turn the cake stand, move the knife inwards slightly so that once the first circle is complete your knife is now just inside ready for the next circle. Keep rotating until the palette knife reaches the middle of the cake.
I’ve finished my cake with some small round chocolate sprinkles.
The great thing about this is that if you don’t get it quite as you want it the first time (I didn’t!) you can simply smooth it over with the palette knife and have another go.
Can I use dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate?
Absolutely. I use milk chocolate in this cake recipe as that’s what I prefer, but if you’re a dark chocolate lover then this works just as well using that instead. You can also use a mixture of the two if you’d like something in between.
What about white chocolate?
Rather than tweaking this recipe, I’d recommend using my white chocolate cake recipe which was specifically designed to be packed full of white chocolate flavour.
Can I use self-raising flour instead of plain flour?
Yes, for the standard two-layer 20cm round cake recipe you switch the 190g of plain flour and 2½ tsp of baking powder for 200g of self-raising flour.
How can this chocolate cake be stored?
The cake can be stored in an airtight container for 4-5 days after baking. Ideally it should be stored in the fridge (although I’d recommend allowing your slice to come up to room temperature before eating as it will have more flavour and the buttercream will soften a little). If you don’t have room in the fridge it should be absolutely fine stored at room temperature as long as your room isn’t too hot (that’s what I always do with mine as I have a tiny fridge).
This cake is suitable for freezing, either just the chocolate sponge or the buttercreamed cake.
To freeze the chocolate sponge cake, wait for it to cool and then wrap the cake in clingfilm or store it in an airtight container before freezing. Defrost it thoroughly before decorating.
The buttercreamed cake can also be frozen in the same way.
I would not recommend freezing just the buttercream to use later as the consistency becomes a little too fudgey. This means it’s delicious on the cake but tricky to spread.
What are the chocolate cake ingredients for a different size of tin?
The main recipe below is for a two-layer 20cm round cake (this serves 12 people). However, this recipe is easily adapted to use other sizes of tins.
To find the ingredients needed to make this cake in a different size, simply add the dimensions of your tin and the number of layers into the boxes below and hit “Calculate”.
Round Cake
Cake Diameter (cm)
Number of Layers
Cake Ingredients
0 g plain flour
0 tsp baking powder
0 egg(s)
0 g soft margarine or butter
0 g caster sugar
0 tsp vanilla extract
0 tsp milk
0 g cocoa powder
0 g milk chocolate
Buttercream Ingredients
0 g butter
0 g icing sugar
0 g milk chocolate
0 g cocoa powder
0 tsp vanilla extract
Square or rectangular cake
Cake Size (cm)
x
Number of layers
Cake Ingredients
0 g plain flour
0 tsp baking powder
0 egg(s)
0 g soft margarine or butter
0 g caster sugar
0 tsp vanilla extract
0 tsp milk
0 g cocoa powder
0 g milk chocolate
Buttercream Ingredients
0 g butter
0 g icing sugar
0 g milk chocolate
0 g cocoa powder
0 tsp vanilla extract
To keep this calculator from becoming too much of a coding monster behind the scenes I've only included metric measurements. If you would like US cups measurements for a different size of tin then simply calculate the metric measurements here and then pop the results into my grams to cups calculator and it'll tell you what you need.
The US cups/ounces measurements for the original two-layer 20cm round cake recipe can be found by clicking the big green button just above the ingredients.
What is the cooking time for a different size of cake and what oven temperature should I use?
The ingredients are calculated so that the depth of each cake is the same as in the original recipe. This means that the cooking time and temperature don't need to change, so you can use what's listed in the main recipe.
Can this cake be cooked in one deep tin?
Theoretically yes, but I find I get the best results from using sandwich tins and this is what I would recommend.
If you would like to bake the cake in a deep then the cooking time will need to increase to 45-50 minutes.
FREE GRAMS TO CUPS CONVERSION CHARTS
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Easy Chocolate Cake
INGREDIENTS
For the chocolate cake
- 190 g plain flour
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- 100 g milk chocolate
- 40 g cocoa powder
- 230 g caster sugar
- 230 g margarine or butter - if you're using butter it must be soft at room temperature
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp milk
For the chocolate buttercream
- 250 g butter - soft at room temperature
- 250 g icing sugar
- 150 g milk chocolate
- 40 g cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- A little milk
This recipe makes a 20cm round cake. If you would like to make a different size of round, square or rectangular cake, you can find the ingredients you need just above the recipe.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 160C/140C fan.Line two 20cm round sandwich tins with greaseproof paper or re-usable baking tin liners (I use these tins and these liners).
- Melt your milk chocolate (100g) - You can either melt it in the microwave (heat for 30 seconds, stir and then heat for a further 30 seconds. Repeat until the chocolate has melted), over a bain marie, or in a saucepan over a very low heat. Set the chocolate aside to cool.
- Put all of the other cake ingredients into a large bowl (190g plain flour, 2½ tsp baking powder, 40g cocoa powder, 230g caster sugar, 230g margarine or butter, 4 large eggs, ¼ tsp vanilla extract and 2 tsp milk). Beat together (either using an electric mixer on a low speed or by hand) until the ingredients are combined. Add the melted chocolate and mix in (again at a low speed) until combined.
- Split the cake mixture between the two tins. Smooth the mixture using a palette knife or the back of a spoon. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Once the cakes are cooked, remove them from the oven and leave to cool in their tins for about 10 minutes before removing them from the tin and moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
While the cake is cooling, make the chocolate buttercream
- Melt your milk chocolate (150g) and set aside to cool - It is essential that the chocolate has cooled before it is combined with the other ingredients so it doesn't melt the butter.
- Beat the butter (250g) until soft - This can either be done with an electric mixer at a low speed or by hand. Add the icing sugar (250g), cocoa powder (40g) and vanilla extract (¼ tsp) and beat together on a low speed until combined.
- Slowly add the melted milk chocolate and beat until combined. Your buttercream needs to be a spreadable consistency. If it is a little too thick, beat in a little milk (no more than 1 tsp at a time) until it reaches your desired consistency.
Build the cake
- Place the bottom layer of chocolate sponge on to your serving dish. Spread half of the chocolate buttercream onto the bottom layer using a palette knife or the back of a spoon. Add the top layer of chocolate sponge and then spread the remaining buttercream on top of the cake. To create the swirl effect shown in the pictures have a look at my tips above the recipe.
- Enjoy!
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For
The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary, and product recipes can change over time.
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Tree Nut-Free
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
- Lupin-Free
This cake can be made dairy-free by switching the butter/margarine for a dairy-free alternative (I like to use Pure Sunflower), using dairy-free dark chocolate, and switching the milk for a dairy-free alternative.
For the buttercream, take a look at my dairy-free chocolate buttercream recipe, which has full instructions.
Stacey says
Is it possible to use with Nutella?
Charlotte Oates says
I wouldn’t add it into the cake mix as other ingredients would also need to be adjusted to ensure you still get a successful sponge. However, you could switch the buttercream for my Nutella buttercream to add plenty of Nutella flavour.
Nutella Buttercream
Elizabeth says
I prefer to make cupcakes so how many cupcakes will this recipe make and how long should I bake them?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes. It will make 16 cupcakes. You’ll need to bake them for c. 23 minutes.
Eniola says
Hi Charlotte, is it possible to use self raising flour and baking powder for this recipe and if so what would the portions be? Reason I ask is because your birthday cake all in one vanilla sponge recipe used self raising flour plus baking powder and the texture was heavenly. I absolutely love the texture.
Charlotte Oates says
If you want to use self-raising flour instead of plain flour and baking powder then use 200g of self raising flour and no additional baking powder. However, self-raising flour is basically plain flour with the raising agent pre-mixed in so you won’t get a noticeably different result. This cake is based on my vanilla sponge, however you won’t get quite the same constancy due to the added chocolate in the cake mixture. Also, you’ll notice that I don’t add any much baking powder when using self-raising flour. This is because in this particular recipe increasing the amount of baking powder leads to the cake rising too much and then sinking after baking. The amount recommended in the recipe is just right to get a good rise and a flat top to your sponge.
Karen Forrester says
Hi Charlotte
I’ve been asked to make a Halloween themed chocolate cake with biscoff buttercream for someones birthday but they want it black, do you think yourchocolate buttercream on the outside would work well with the biscoff buttercream in the middle? I’ve read that a chocolate buttercream is easier to colour black.
Thanks Karen
Charlotte Oates says
What you’ve read is right, chocolate is easier to colour black as it’s already dark to start with so you need to add less colouring than you would to a lighter buttercream. I think what you’ve suggested would work well.
Amanda says
Would this cake be ok to cover with fondant?
Charlotte Oates says
It would. I’d recommend adding a thin layer of buttercream to help the fondant stick and help you to get a smooth finish.
Karen Forrester says
Hi Charlotte I have made this particular recipe several times and it always goes down really well. I have been asked to make a Chocolate Reeses’s cake for someone’s birthday and was wondering whether you thought that this would go well with a peanut butter buttercream?
Thanks Karen
Charlotte Oates says
It definitely would. I use chocolate sponge with peanut buttercream in my Snickers cupcakes and the go together extremely well.
Laura Callaghan says
Best chocolate cake ever!
Dee says
My cake tuned out fantastic. Used a chocolate ganache to decorate. The chocolate sponge recipe is great, the cakes turned out fluffy and soft. Love the addition of melted chocolate as the flavour is so much better than just using cocoa powder.
Mrs Elaine Grant says
tried this today and really pleased. used the original recipe and made in 3 6inch layer. all 3 together will build up to 4 and a half inches(without the filling) so glad i came across this as my usual recipe is very fiddly. Thanks so much
Paula Roberts says
Hi Charlotte- this is my definite go to chocolate cake recipe- it never disappoints! I have made it as a three layer which worked really well. Do you think I would be Pushing it if I did it as a four layer ?:) Thank you!
Charlotte Oates says
That should be absolutely fine.
Dawn says
This is the second time I’ve used this recipe and I can’t fault it!
it smells delicious and has a great flavour too.
I needed a cake that was suitable for Carving a F1 Ferrari and it didn’t disappoint !!
Tania says
Easy to make and delicious
Laura says
I’d like to cover the cake sides in the frosting too; would you recommend this and if so, would double the quantity suffice?
Looking to turn it into a drip cake too.
Also, when entering the number of tiers, does the calculator take into account the fact that the frosting will need to go between every tier?
Charlotte Oates says
Double should be more than enough.
Yes, when you use the calculator it increases the buttercream to allow for it to be between each layer and on top.
Dawn says
I don’t believe it does as I have just made the 9 egg version for a triple tier oblong cake, then added my filling. You can always adjust the amount you use to get the height you need.