I know, I know. There’s tons of recipes that call themselves the best chocolate cake. Heck, there’s probably a “best” post for every recipe ever. But that doesn’t mean that one of them isn’t telling the truth. This is my absolute favorite general chocolate cake recipe and I think it can be yours too. But I will say right now there is a secret ingredient: mayonnaise.
Now don’t be weirded out, this is actually common in many of the restaurant cakes you’ve been getting and probably wondering why yours doesn’t taste as rich or decadent at home. After all, mayonnaise is just fat and egg, which are already the two main components in baking to begin with.
This recipe was actually taught to me by Alona’s grandmother. Now I don’t know if baking cakes with mayonnaise is a traditional Ukrainian thing, but I knew as soon as I tried it, I needed the recipe. As with almost all of my baking recipes I give measurements down to the gram, so I suggest if you don’t have one already to get a kitchen scale. Just like in my Mandatory Kitchen Accessories post, I recommend OXO because they are affordable, but also decent quality for a home cook.
Ingredients
Cake
- 180 grams Flour, AP. I used All Purpose since that’s just what is always available. I haven’t tried this recipe with cake flour, but if you do please let me know how it turns out in the comments.
- 120 grams Cocoa Powder
- 5 grams Salt
- 5 grams Vanilla Powder. I like using actual ground vanilla more than extract, but it is entirely up to you what you prefer.
- 6 grams Baking Soda
- 2 grams Baking Powder
- 300 ml Beer; porter. You can use stout beer if porter is hard to find, but I personally like the taste of porter more. Then again I’m lucky to live nearby the Lvivske Brewery and I use their Lvivske Porter. It is an 8% alcohol beer, but don’t worry, it bakes off and I find it helps make the cake taste more “silky”
- 225 grams Butter; unsalted
- 300 grams Sugar, granulated.
- 3 Eggs; large
- 100 ml Mayonnaise. Should mayo go in ml or grams, it’s kind of a viscous liquid so I picked ml. Either way, 100 ml is close to 100 grams so you’ll be fine. You can use store-bought or try your hand at Homemade Mayonnaise using my easy follow recipe.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- 600 grams Confectioner Sugar; aka powdered sugar
- 130 grams Butter
- 60 grams Cocoa Powder
- 20 ml Milk; more or less to adjust to desired consistency
Best Chocolate Cake Instructions
1. Using a stand mixer with whisk attachment cream together the butter and the sugar until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time on low speed until mixed.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla powder, and salt.
3. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the stand mixer on low speed, scraping down the sides when need be. Add the beer during this time as well. I jump between adding some dry, then some beer, then some dry and so forth until everything is combined. Add the mayonnaise at this point and let it combine, then turn off the mixer.
4. Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius. In three cake tins butter the bottoms and edges then pour the batter evenly into each of the three tins. Place in the oven to bake for 35 minutes. Do the toothpick test to check for done-ness.
5. Remove the cakes from the tins and place on a wire wrack to cool. The cakes should be completely cool (room temperature) before you begin to frost otherwise everything will melt.
6. Back in the stand mixer on the whisk attachment cream together the butter and the cocoa powder. A little at a time add the powdered sugar to slowly increase the volume. Use the milk to thin it out if it gets too thick (unless you like it really thick).
Notes
As mentioned above, you can substitute stout for porter when it comes to the beer, but what we are really looking for is a dark malty caramel flavored beer since those are the flavors we want to be enhanced in the baking process.
You can decorate this cake however you like. For example I used some delicious walnuts from Alona’s Grandmother’s backyard tree, and some chocolate wafer roll things from the corner store by my place.
If you are making this cake for a holiday you can easily make it a day in advance. Just be sure to not put it in the fridge or it can dry out. Leave it on your counter with a cake cover and it will be perfect for the next day.
As you can see by my frosting, I actually used very little milk. It’s a personal preference of mine that I like frosting much more dense or thick, but if you add more milk you will be able to achieve a thinner more ‘whipped’ type of frosting.
The plate featured in the main picture for the best chocolate cake, and the one below is my absolutely gorgeous Churchill Stonecast Duck Egg Blue 11 Inch Round, available on Amazon.
If you like this recipe, go check out my Chocolate Lava Cake for something really special! This was also the very first recipe I put up on the site. Click here for all of my Cooking To Entertain desserts.
The Best Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 180 grams Flour AP
- 120 grams Cocoa Powder
- 5 grams Salt
- 5 grams Vanilla Powder
- 6 grams Baking Soda
- 2 grams Baking Powder
- 300 ml Beer porter, although Stout can be substituted
- 225 grams Butter
- 300 grams Sugar granulated
- 3 large Eggs
- 100 ml Mayonnaise
Frosting
- 600 grams Confectioner Sugar aka Powdered Sugar
- 60 grams Cocoa Powder
- 130 grams Butter
- 20 ml Milk adjust to desired texture
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer with whisk attachment cream together the butter and the sugar until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time on low speed until mixed.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla powder, and salt.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the stand mixer on low speed, scraping down the sides when need be. Add the beer during this time as well. I jump between adding some dry, then some beer, then some dry and so forth until everything is combined. Add the mayonnaise at this point and let it combine, then turn off the mixer.
- Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius. In three cake tins butter the bottoms and edges then pour the batter evenly into each of the three tins. Place in the oven to bake for 35 minutes. Do the toothpick test to check for done-ness.
- Remove the cakes from the tins and place on a wire wrack to cool. The cakes should be completely cool (room temperature) before you begin to frost otherwise everything will melt.
- Back in the stand mixer on the whisk attachment cream together the butter and the cocoa powder. A little at a time add the powdered sugar to slowly increase the volume. Use the milk to thin it out if it gets too thick (unless you like it really thick).
Notes
