How to Make a Simple Chocolate Cake

Co-authored by Jessica Gibson

Last Updated: March 29, 2023 Tested

Everyone likes chocolate cake! If you like simple recipes, or are short of time, why not make a simple chocolate cake? It's delicious, easy to make, and takes less than an hour from start to finish.

Ingredients

Simple Chocolate Cake

2 tablespoons cocoa
2 eggs
1 cup (110g) self-rising flour
1 cup (200g) sugar
1/2 stick (60g) melted butter
1/2 cup (125g) milk

Plain Chocolate Cake

1 cup oil
1 cup caster/superfine/powdered sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose (plain) flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Simple Chocolate Cake

1
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2
Place all ingredients in a bowl.

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3
Beat with an electric beater until the mixture is smooth.
- Beat for around three minutes. This is a fairly wet mixture and the beating is important.
- Beat through enough to make a smooth batter but not too much that the air is taken out.
4
Pour into grease and base lined (baking paper on the bottom) cake tin.
5
Bake for approximately 40 minutes at 325°F (160°C) or until cooked when tested. Test by inserting a clean metal skewer into the centre of the cake and when the skewer is pulled out, it should be clean. If there is a sign of batter on the skewer, the cake is not fully cooked.
- If the cake is still wet and/or moist when tested place back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.
6
Add frosting, sprinkles, and any other sorts of decoration.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Plain Chocolate Cake

1
Place the mixing bowl out on the bench.
2
Pour the oil into the mixing bowl.
3
Add the caster/superfine sugar to the oil.
4
Mix to combine. The sugar will soak up the oil and won't mix completely.
5
Add the cocoa, flour and baking powder to a separate mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
6
Crack the eggs into the oil mixture. Add the flour mixture. Mix to combine.
7
Grease or line the baking pan/tin. Pour the batter into the pan. Place in the preheated oven to bake.
8
Bake for half an hour or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
9
Remove from the oven using oven mitts. Allow to cool on a wire cooling rack before serving.

Community Q&A

Question

What will happen if I add too much oil?

Lanie Beare

Community Answer

Your cake will become too greasy and taste disgusting. To avoid this, put the oil in first, and if you pour too much, just dump some of it back into the bottle using a funnel.
Question

When you say oil, which oil are you talking about?

Community Answer

Vegetable oil and canola oil are both common options for baking because of their neutral flavor. Be careful with more flavorful oils like coconut oil, olive oil, or sunflower oil, because they can overpower the other flavors in your recipe.
Question

If I use self-rising flour, do I need to use baking powder?

Community Answer

No, you don't need to add baking powder. Self-rising flours already have it.