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Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe

By Kukies Cakes · Published 23 October 2026

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This is a simple one-bowl chocolate cake. There is no creaming and no mixer required: you whisk the dry ingredients, stir in the wet ones and finish with hot water, which loosens the batter and helps the cocoa develop a deeper flavour.

The batter is much thinner than a vanilla cake batter. That is expected, and it is part of why the finished cake is soft and moist.

Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe

  • Prep15 min
  • Bake32 min
  • Cool1 hr
  • Total1 hr 47 min
  • MakesTwo 20 cm layers, about 12 to 16 slices

Tin:Two 20 cm (8 inch) round cake tins, 5 cm deep or deeper, greased and lined with baking paper.
Oven:175 °C conventional (top and bottom heat), or 160 °C fan-assisted. Rack in the middle of the oven.

Ingredients

Dry

Wet

Equipment

  • Two 20 cm round cake tins and baking paper
  • Large mixing bowl and whisk
  • Sieve and spatula
  • Kitchen scale and measuring spoons
  • Wire cooling rack

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 175 °C (160 °C fan). Grease the tins and line the bases with baking paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, sifted cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt until evenly combined. Break up any lumps of cocoa.
  3. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Whisk or beat for about 2 minutes, until smooth.
  4. Carefully stir in the hot water until the batter is smooth. It will be very thin; this is normal.
  5. Pour the batter evenly into the tins. Tap each tin gently on the counter to release large air bubbles.
  6. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a skewer in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, and the tops spring back when touched lightly.
  7. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely, about 1 hour, before filling or frosting.

Storage

Once completely cool, wrap unfrosted layers in cling film and keep at room temperature for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 2 months and thaw wrapped. A frosted cake should be kept in a cool place; refrigerate it if your kitchen is warm or the filling or frosting contains cream, custard or cream cheese. Bring a chilled cake back toward room temperature before serving for the best texture.

What to expect from this chocolate cake

This cake is tender and rich rather than dense and fudgy, and it holds its shape well enough to fill and stack. It pairs well with classic buttercream frosting, and the sweetness of a vanilla buttercream balances the bitterness of the cocoa.

Tips for a better result

  • Sift the cocoa. Cocoa clumps easily, and those lumps will not dissolve in a thin batter.
  • Use hot, not lukewarm, water. Heat helps the cocoa dissolve and bloom, which deepens its flavour.
  • Measure the bicarbonate of soda and baking powder level. Both are strong raising agents, and too much of either can leave a bitter, soapy taste or a collapsed middle.
  • Don’t overbake. Chocolate cakes look done earlier than they are because of their colour. Use the skewer and the spring-back test rather than relying on how dark the top looks.
  • Cool before stacking. The thin batter makes a delicate crumb that is easier to level once it has cooled completely.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Problem Likely cause What to try next time
Dry crumb Overbaking, too much flour from scooping Weigh the flour, check early, use an oven thermometer
Sunken centre Too much raising agent, oven door opened early, underbaked Level the spoons, keep the door closed until the last 10 minutes; see why cakes sink in the middle
Bitter or soapy taste Too much bicarbonate of soda, or cocoa not mixed through Measure carefully and whisk the dry ingredients well
Cocoa specks in the cake Cocoa not sifted Sift the cocoa and whisk the dry ingredients thoroughly
Cake sticks to the tin Tin not lined Grease and line the bases with baking paper

Ovens, tins and brands of cocoa differ, so treat times and results as a guide.

Substitutions

  • Buttermilk for the milk. It is a reasonable swap here because the recipe contains bicarbonate of soda, which reacts with acid. Use the same volume.
  • Oil. Sunflower or another neutral oil works. We don’t recommend olive oil, whose flavour stands out.
  • Eggs. We haven’t written an eggless version of this recipe.

Keeping it moist

Chocolate cake stays soft for longer when you wrap it well and don’t refrigerate it unnecessarily. Our guide to keeping a cake moist without making it dense goes into more detail, and how to store a birthday cake covers frosted cakes.

Published by Kukies Cakes. Ovens, tins and ingredients vary, so treat baking times as a guide and use the doneness checks in the method. We're still adding our own kitchen notes and photos to this recipe.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the batter so runny?

The hot water and oil make this a thin batter on purpose. It bakes into a soft, moist crumb. If you add more flour to thicken it, the cake will come out drier.

Do I have to use coffee?

No. Hot water works. Hot brewed coffee can make the chocolate flavour taste a little deeper without tasting like coffee, but it is optional.

Can I use Dutch-process cocoa?

We have written this recipe with ordinary unsweetened cocoa powder, which is acidic and works with the bicarbonate of soda. Dutch-process cocoa is less acidic and can change how the cake rises, so we recommend sticking with the cocoa listed.

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