Moist Chocolate Cake
It is the time of the year where the school is having a welcome back to school cum meet the teachers BBQ evening for the new school year. Parents are asked to bring a dessert for the event while the BBQ is free, donation is welcome to cover the cost of food.
I decided to make Nanzaro’s favourite chocolate cake. It is a very moist, eggless chocolate cake. I usually made this cake for my kids birthday party.
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) oil
- a handful of semisweet chocolate chips
Please click on the link below for the instructions.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F.
 Sift the dry ingredients i.e. flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. If without the cocoa powder, I would just use a whisk to mix the ingredients. But cocoa powder tends to be lumpy and it is recommended to sift it for any recipe. |
 Whisk the sugar and wet ingredients, i.e water, vanilla, vinegar and oil in a large bowl until the sugar is dissolved. |
 Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well. |
 Pour the batter into a greased and floured or parchment lined 9 x 13″ pan.Sprinkle a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips on the batter for garnishing. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The cake will be slightly moist when tested with a tooth pick. |
 This is a very simple recipe which pleases any chocolate cake lovers. Will you bake it for your family? |
For those of you who do not have an oven or try to avoid the oven in the hot summer, I have a version of this cake which is steamed. Check out the Steamed Moist Chocolate Cake here.
If you like steamed cake recipes, check out the following:
- Steamed Banana Cake
- Steamed Mah Lai Ko
- Steamed Rice Cakes (Pak Thong Koh)
- Another Steamed Rice Cake
- Steamed Red Bean Rice Cake (Poot Jei Gou)
- Chinese Sponge Cake
- Nian Gao (Chinese New Year Cake)
If you like this recipe, do me a favour … DIGG me here:
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Categorized Under: Cakes
Hey Chow.. got to see your blog while browsing for chocolate cakes.. I am an ameture when it comes to baking.. your step by step instruction motivated me to do the cake around 11 pm in the night— yes I am crazy girl when it comes to cooking… didn’t have vinegar and chocolate chips… lets see how it comes…. I will post the recipe in my website soon— will keep you informed..
Hi Priya, the acidity is to help the cake rise when the vinegar reacts with the baking soda. Therefore, you may substitute the vinegar with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Let me know how your cake turns up.
Hi Honey: What was that tamarind chutney Jenny mentioned about? They sound interesting … would you make it? Please? :-)
Your cakes looks yummy. As I am a newbie with cakes, is it possible to steam the cake instead of baking it?
Hi Margorie, You can always give it a try. I do have a Chinese sponge cake recipe in this blog which is steamed; check it out at http://chowtimes.com/2006/02/chinese_sponge_cake_1.html
Hi Suanne,
I’m Viji from Barbados and I tried your cake today. I’d to bake it for 15 more min as the center was still gooey.It came out very well and was delicious. This is a keeper! Thanks for your simple, yet yummy ,receipe.
Hi Viji,
I’m glad you enjoyed it. This cake is my kids’ favourite. Sometimes, I throw a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips on top for the extra chocolate flavour.
awsum!!.. i like the way yuve out across the entire package…
Hi Chow
This is my first visit to your blog. I am really impressed.
I tried this chocolate cake today with half the quantity in a 8 inch square pan. The only change to the recipe was that I used 1 tbsp of lemon juice instead of 1 tbsp of vinegar and I removed the cake at 30 minutes. I ran into two issues. The cake was a bit dry on top. And I think it was not sweet enough. Is the sugar qty mentioned right?
Hi Spice Lover, this cake is not overly sweet even there is 2 cups of sugar for a 9×11″ pan but we like it just the way it is. Perhaps, you have a really sweet tooth.
Hi Chow
I think I should take back my comment from yesterday. The cake somehow became so moist and soft after a few hours. and the sweetness was perfect this morning with my cuppa coffee… I have blogged about it to… Do chekout when you have a minute.
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
http://boxofspices.blogspot.com/2007/02/basic-chocolate-cake.html
Just pulled the cake out of the oven ten minutes ago and it tasted fabulous. I added a thorough sprinkle of unsweetened coconut on top and it tasted amazing.
Thanks, and I am sure my family and friends will love it!!
Assalamu Alaikum
I would like to know can I add baking powder instead of baking soda? IF I do should the amount be same?
Hi Anonymous, I found this article from the net:
Baking soda is four times as strong as baking powder, so if your recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking soda, you would need four teaspoons of baking powder to produce the same amount of lift. Unfortunately, the substitution is not that simple.
Baking powder is made of baking soda and exactly the right amount of acid to react with the soda (it also includes corn starch to keep the ingredients from prematurely reacting in the privacy of their container). So if your recipe already has acidic ingredients that were going to neutralize the baking soda called for, you are adding other ingredients that may not sit well with them.
Substituting for a lack of baking powder is very easy: 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (ignoring the cornstarch) for each teaspoon of baking powder required.
The source of this article had looked into dozens of books to be sure, but no one provides information for the reverse procedure of substituting baking powder when you don’t have baking soda on hand. To do so, you would have to consider the acidic ingredients in the recipe, and perhaps re-engineer the recipe to replace them with more neutral ingredients (using whole milk instead of buttermilk, perhaps). But at that point, you would see, it would be easier and probably a lot more successful to pick up a box of baking soda.
Hi Suanne,
1. I just wanted to know that when you say 12 teaspoons oil, can we also use butter instead?
2. I have made few chocolate cakes in past but none of them was moist so I was curious that which ingredient actually makes it moist.
Wow
Hi Richa, I have always used 1/2 cup canola oil. I have never use butter for this recipe. If you try it with butter, please let me know how it turns out. I just noticed that the equivalent for 1/2 cup should be 8 tablespoons. I think its the amount of liquid which make it moist.
hi chow,
Which brand of coco powder do you usually use in your receipe ? Thanks
Hi iman, I usually buy the no name brand from The Real Canadian Superstore. BTW, Chow is not our name. Chow is just another word for “food”.
Hi, i tried your recipe. must say its the most simplest recipe for a cake i have ever come across…i just want to ask 1 thing… the cake tasted awesome..but the sides of the cake were bit brittle..i dunno the reason ..would be glad if u could solve my query..thanks!!
Hi Sheetal, the sides of your cake came out a bit brittle may be due to the oven is too hot. If you bake your cake with glass or dark cake pan, try to lower the temperature by 25 degrees. Hope this help.
Hi Suanne, had posted a comment sometime back, still cant see it on your blog:(
Ooops!!! am sry ..i lack patience..thanks for solving my query!!
Hi Suanne,
I tried your recipe. The cake turned out sweet but great! I substitute white sugar with the brown one.. is that the culprit? Thanks for sharing the simple and great recipe.
Hi Caly,
I found this in the net:
Substitute one cup firmly packed brown sugar for every cup of granulated sugar. This substitution affects the texture and reduces the volume of baked goods; for example, it makes cookies darker and chewier. Don’t make this substitution in white or sponge cakes.
You may reduce up to one-third of the sugar in most recipes without any replacement of other ingredients. This will reduce calories in a recipe, but the flavor will be less sweet; cakes and quick breads will be paler, tougher, and drier; cookies will be tougher, paler, and smaller. Reducing sugar in yeast breads makes loaves less tender, less moist, and less brown.
Hello- i tried the recipe but it turned out a disaster, maybe becos I am very new at baking….:(
I am confused about the measurements of the ingredients, what size cup is a cup? I used 300g of flour (100g per cup), and the final batter that went into the oven was very watery. Do you think that is the problem? Please help- your cake looks so delicious that I must bake it and get it right!! Can you help with the measurements in grams or ml instead??
Hi Purple, I had measured one cup of all-purpose flour in gram and it turned out to be 114g. One cup of liquid is equivalent to 250ml. I hope this help. The final batter does look watery but it’ll turn out fine after baking. Give it another try and let me know the outcome. Good luck.
Hi,
Tried this cake. Tastes good. I prepared it with half the measurement and baked it for 30 mins. Tastes good but i notice that upper surface of the cake turned out little gooey after sometime, sticks to teeth. Is there anything i can do to improve it or is the cake suppose to be this way since it is moist? Iam new to baking, just curious to know, even without any changes i would love to prepare it again, its so tasty.
Hi- thanks for answering my query. Can I substitute corn oil for the canola oil? Would like to try this again this weekend. Thanks!
Hi Purple, you certainly can substitute canola oil with corn oil. Canola oil is a neutral-tasting oil that is very low in saturated fat while corn oil has a pleasant taste, resists developing off-flavors and offers high levels of polyunsaturated, instead of saturated fats.
Hi Aruna Nayak, I can’t recall if my cake become slightly sticky on the top after sometime but this is what I found after doing some research.
“If a homemade cake has a sticky top crust, the following problems may have occurred:
The cake was stored while still warm.
The liquid was over measured.
The cake was under-baked – the oven temperature was too low and/or the baking time was too short.
The air humidity was too high.”
I hope the above helps.
Hi Suanne,
thanks for taking time to answer my question. I would keep these things in mind while trying it next time, everybody liked it so much, wil be preparing again over the weekend. I served them with ice cream just to avoid people thinking abt it sticking to tooth. :) It tasted amazing.
Hi Chow, i am Hannah from Chicago. Today i will bake your cake that was posted. After reading all of the comments i am sure that it will turn out lovely, thanks in advance!
Hi there. I was searching for calories of Moist Chocolate Cake and came across your blog… AGAIN!
I think I’d look up on several other topics regarding food and ended up IN your blog.
Wow, I envy you. Your blog is popular! Hey, drop by me blog someday.
Hi Suanne
Just want to ask you, is it possible to make this chocolate cake creamy thru layers?(ie. by using whipped cream or truffle sauce?)
Hi Sheetal, I’m sure you can fill the cake with your favourite cream. I find it hard to slice a round cake horizontally evenly. What I will do is to bake the cake on a jello pan to get a thin layer of sheet cake. Then I divide the sheet to 2 or 3 equal pieces and fill between the layers of the cake with my favourite cream. Remember to shorten the baking time if you bake on a jello pan because its such a thin layer. It might take only 15 to 20 minutes. Also, cool the cake completely before you fill it the whipped cream.
I noticed that you used baking powder and flour for the recipe is it ok for me to use self raising flour and if it is ok what would the measurement be?
I plan to make it for my daughter’s birthday could you suggest a suitable icing for the party.
thanks in advance
Hi Kristen, self raising flour is made up of all-purpose flour (1 cup) + baking powder (1.5 teaspoons) and salt 0.5 teaspoon). So, if you use self raising flour, you should omit the baking soda and salt. As for the icing, my kids will love chocolate icing. You can refer to the comments in the Wilton Cake Decorating Level 1 comments for a buttercream icing recipe. To made Chocolate Buttercream, add 1/4 cup cocoa powder or three 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate squares, melted, and an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons water to the recipe.
What can be used as an replacement 4 egg? for makin any kind of cake.
Keep up the good work, best wishes.
This is the BEST cake EVER!!! So easy to make! Impossible to miss! Soooooo tasty… Thank you SO much! Where do you get these recipes from?
Hi Rukya, I have a very basic oven which does not have fancy setting, only bake or broil with temperature control. I would reckon you use the regular setting for baking cake as recommended in the manufacturer’s manual.
The batter is pretty runny.
Hi Suanne! I was wondering if you could tell me what setting you had put your oven on, or does it not matter? I was thinking about baking it in the fan/grill setting. Could you also tell me what the consistency of the mix should be? Thanks.
This is the first cake, no, the first anything I had ever made by myself (well, kind of). Despite being so easy to make, I was disappointed with the outcome – it wasn’t as moist and sweet as I thought it would be and the texture was a bit too muffin-like. The surface was stiff when it came out of the oven, but after it cooled down, most of it began to soften. I could tell these faults were mainly down to me adding too much of every ingredient and leaving the cake in the oven too long (on the contrary to my mum’s warnings). However, the cake was unintentionally turned into a celebration cake (for family reasons) and even though it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to be, my family gobbled it right down. I thought it was a bit too bitter and dry, but my family really enjoyed it. Wow! My first ever cake and it was a success. I just hope my family wasn’t pretending to enjoy it in order to not hurt my feelings…
Thanks for the recipe!
:-D
Hi Rukya:
Well, well … congrats on your first cake! Let me tell you a secret … Suanne had never ever cooked in her life until several years ago. Her first meal was quite awful but she turned out to be quite a cook now. Oh yeah, I lied and told her her first cooking was pretty good. ;-)
Ben
this was my first try on a cake wish me luck!!!! came out great thanks
Hi Suanne..After making this chocolate cake several times, i wish to make an eggless vanilla sponge cake ..so do i have to alter the proportion of any ingredients since cocoa powder wont be used?
Greetings Suanne: I have just read through all of the comments on this page regarding the moist chocolate cake and I am really impressed with each and every respond to them. I am going to try this recipe and I will let you know how I make out. Thank you so much for taking the time to be so helpful.
Peace, Lydine
Hi there, how’s it going?
anyway, i would like to turn this recipe into cupcakes and pour chocolate ganache over it.
you think it’s possible?
how do i vary the baking time and how many cupcakes will i get if i were to use the medium sized dark muffin pan?
thank you so much.
see ya later.
current location : Australia
i just thought you might need that tad lil’ detail just in case you’ll need me to get anything extra for this recipe.
thanks again.
Hi Quinnie, I’m sure you can bake this cake in cup cake form, just like any other cake. The baking time for cup cake is usually shorter, 17 to 22 minutes. Test the cup cake using the touch method, i.e when the cup cake bounce back when touch, it’s done. You can also test by inserting a wooden stick into the center and if it comes out clean, then it’s done.
This recipe should yield 2 dozens large cup cakes and at least 2 1/2 to 3 dozens medium cup cakes.
Came here seeing Priya’s cake. Since she has credited you with the recipe, I just had to come here to get stuck! I have some chocolate bar – do you think its alright to use that in place of cocoa powder? Being a new blogger, I would also like you to visit me when you are free and let me know your views!
Hi Harini, I found a write up on cocoa in the joyofbaking website: http://www.joyofbaking.com/cocoa.html
You will find the substitution formula at the end of the page.
Thanks, I could not wait to bake that cake! So I just used up the leftover chocolate bar in the cake by melting it in a double boiler! The cake was damn good! I could not believe that there were no eggs! Carried it to work and got showered with praises there too – I credited you!! Thanks so much!
Hi, I have just posted my almost vegan version of your cake…only the chocolate is a little less as I had only that much in hand while attempting…thanks again!!
hi suanne,
can I substitute coco powder with dark chocolate?or make it 4 spoons coco pdr and 2 spoons dark chocolate?
Hi Priyakg, I found this substitution from Cook’s Thesaurus: http://www.foodsubs.com/Chocvan.html
One ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate = 3 tablespoons cocoa plus 1 tablespoon butter or oil.
Therefore, you can substitute the 6 tablespoons of cocoa powder with 2 ounces of dark chocolate and reduce the oil by 2 tablespoons.
I would like to know how it turns out.
Hi
Great recipie and all but how do get the chocolate chips from not melting
Which flour do we use(al-purpose-bleached or unbleached)? Baking Temperature?
Hi Rosa, I usually use unbleached all purpose flour and the temperature is 350F (it’s stated on the beginning of the instructions portion).
i tried this cake, turned out spongy & yummy. my toddler and hubby both liked it. the cake vanished within a day – not healthy thou!
i’ve only one problem – i cannot stand the smell of the cocoa powder. is there any special cocoa powder sold in USA for these kind of recipes. i used hersheys & the smell is awful after baking.
i had been using cadbury cocoa powder from australia but have run-out. so this time i tried local (hersheys) & the cake was smelly. instead of 6 spns i used 3. does anyone have any alternatives. pls forward it to me otherwise i’ve to quit eating choco cakes.
kind thanx to all those who is reading this for their time and response.
i don’t have convecyoin mode. only grill and basic reheat.my toddlers and i likedn cake very much,being avertarian i cannot use egg also, so pls give me an idea ,how to make cake in grill oven ,how long?