Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake Recipe (2024)

Ina Garten’s Chocolate Cake recipe ~ it’s a classic! When I hear the word dessert, this homey, rich,chocolateycake is what springs to mind. Everybody should make it at least once.

Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake Recipe (1)

Ina Garten’s chocolate cake is hands-down one of my favorite chocolate cakes I’ve ever baked, (or tasted!)

It will take a lot for me to look for another chocolate cake recipe in the near future. The texture and flavor of Ina Garten’s chocolate cake is just my style — it’s very moist without being dense or heavy at all, and has just the right balance of sweetness with rich chocolate flavor. I can see why this is a beloved recipe, and will be my go-to from now on.

Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake Recipe (2)

This easy chocolate cake has the light, even texture of a boxed cake mix

The chocolate cake itself is similar to my Chocolate Cake with Cranberry Buttercream, but even a little bit simpler to put together as it calls for oil and cocoa powder rather than melted butter and chocolate. You can feel confident going with either one, depending on whether you’re in a butter creaming mood or not. They both bake up perfectly with a nice deep rich color and fabulous chocolate flavor.

Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake Recipe (3)

A pinch of salt and some silky sour cream makes chocolate frosting even better!

I did make a couple of changes to the original frosting recipe to suit my preferences ~ I added a pinch of salt, a bit of sour cream, and increased the amount of powdered sugar. These changes help to bulk up the frosting a bit so that there’s plenty to generously frost a double layer cake (I’m paranoid about running out!)

I feel that the salt and sour cream help offset the added sugar a little bit. The added sour cream also makes for a slightly softer frosting that doesn’t go quite as crusty over time as a plain buttercream frosting tends to do.

Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake Recipe (4)

I kept my cake as plain and simple as can be, but of course this is a wonderful base for all kinds of variations and decorations. The cake would be amazing with a vanilla frosting, a peanut butter frosting, a blackberry buttercream, whatever you like!

Suggestions for decorating a chocolate layer cake

If your occasion calls for a little more frippery, here are some ideas…

  • One of my favorite ways to decorate any chocolate surface is with chocolate shavings: just take a bar of chocolate and a vegetable peeler and peel off little curls. If your chocolate is dry you can microwave it for a few seconds to soften it so that you can get it to curl beautifully.
  • Chocolate sprinkles look pretty on a chocolate cake, you can decorate the top, or press them into the sides.
  • If it’s the season, pop some berries on top, strawberries and raspberries are perfect. Intersperse some green mint leaves.
  • Arrange malted milk balls or other chocolate candy around the perimeter of the cake.
Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake Recipe (5)

How to crumb coat a layer cake

The moist, delicate texture of this cake mean that it is a little bit trickier to frost without getting crumbs in your frosting, so I recommend doing a quick “crumb coat,” which, if you’ve never bothered with one in the past, really isn’t as complicated or annoying as it might sound!

  • To make a “crumb coat,” simply frost the top and sids of the cake with a thin layer of frosting, getting everything as smooth as you can. Don’t worry if there are crumbs showing.
  • Then, refrigerate the cake for at least 15 minutes. This sets the frosting and effectively locks all those crumbs in place before you move on to your next coat of frosting, so they won’t be floating around and getting in your way! That’s it!
Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake Recipe (6)

I think this cake is the perfect celebratory cake for any and all occasions ~ it’s a great recipe to have in your back pocket for birthdays, anniversaries, graduation parties, you name it.

More luscious layer cakes ~

  • Banana Cake with Spiced Vanilla Buttercream
  • Orange Creamsicle Cake
  • Raspberry Lemon Cake
  • Blueberry Lemon Layer Cake

Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake Recipe (7)

Ina Garten’s Chocolate Cake

Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake recipe ~ it's a classic! When I hear the word dessert, this homey, rich,chocolateycake is what springs to mind. Everybody should make it at least once.

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Prep Time:20 minutes minutes

Cook Time:35 minutes minutes

Total Time:55 minutes minutes

Servings: 16 servings

Equipment

  • Two 8-inch round cake pans Note: this cake is thick, so make sure your cake pans are at least 2 inches tall to accomodate the batter.

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

For the frosting

  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions

For the cake

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper discs.

  • Whisk all the dry ingredients together well in a large bowl.

  • In a separate bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients EXCEPT the coffee.

  • Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing as you go. Once incorporated, add the hot coffee, and mix everything until there are no pockets of dry flour left. The batter will be very thin.

  • Divide the batter between the two cake pans, and bake for 35 minutes until risen and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out without wet batter clinging to it.

  • Allow the cakes to partially cool in the pans, then turn out onto a cooling rack to completely cool before frosting. The cakes can be made a day or two ahead and kept in the refrigerator before frosting.

For the frosting

  • Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave using short bursts. Stir until smooth and set aside to cool slightly.

  • Beat the room temperature butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for a couple minutes until smooth and noticeably paler in color. Slowly add the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla, beating on a low-medium speed until everything is smooth.

  • Whisk the sour cream into the partially cooled melted chocolate. This both cools down the chocolate and warms up the sour cream so that both are more-or-less room temperature before adding to the butter mixture.

  • Add the chocolate and sour cream mixture to the mixer bowl and beat on low speed until everything is smooth and combined.

  • If your frosting seems a little too loose, you can refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes to allow it to firm up a little bit. Then give it a good stir before frosting the cake.

Notes

*Recipe lightly adapted from Ina Garten.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: baking, cake, chocolate, dessert, frosting, Ina Garten, valentines day

Nutrition

Calories: 498 kcal · Carbohydrates: 67 g · Protein: 4 g · Fat: 26 g · Saturated Fat: 17 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 57 mg · Sodium: 316 mg · Potassium: 205 mg · Fiber: 3 g · Sugar: 52 g · Vitamin A: 459 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 57 mg · Iron: 2 mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake Recipe (8)
Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What cocoa does Ina Garten use? ›

The Barefoot Contessa recommends the Pernigotti Cocoa Powder on her website. This ingredient has changed names — it's now known as the ChefShop Cocoa Powder — and it comes in a 1 kilo (or 2.2-pound) bag on Amazon.

How to make cake formula? ›

Example
  1. Example.
  2. 1 cup sugar (7 ounces)
  3. 1 12 cups flour (6 3/4 ounces)
  4. 1 14 teaspoons baking powder or 3/8 teaspoon baking soda.
  5. 2 eggs (3 1/2 ounces)
  6. 12 cup butter (4 ounces)
  7. 12 cup milk (4 ounces)
  8. 12 teaspoon salt.

What goes best with chocolate cake? ›

5 Chocolate Cake Filling and Toppings Ideas
  1. Mascarpone cream. Mascarpones make a really great addition to your chocolate cake. ...
  2. Raspberry. Raspberries pair so well with chocolate, it's no surprise that we recommend them as a filling and topping for your chocolate cake. ...
  3. Lemon. ...
  4. Vanilla buttercream. ...
  5. Chocolate ganache.
Sep 19, 2022

What is Ina Garten's favorite cake? ›

I made Beatty's Chocolate Cake, which Ina Garten said is the "most fabulous cake" she's ever made. The chocolate cake and buttercream frosting both feature coffee — the special secret ingredient.

Can I use Hershey's cocoa for baking cocoa? ›

You don't have to go to great lengths to find a great cocoa powder for your chocolaty bakes. Hershey's Cocoa can be found at practically every supermarket, big-box store and mom-and-pop grocer, and our Test Kitchen recommends that you make it a staple in your pantry.

What's the difference between Hershey's cocoa and cocoa powder? ›

This is in part because of the way cacao vs cocoa is produced. In the case of cocoa, the beans are roasted. In contrast, cacao powder is often 'raw' so the beans are normally sun-dried rather roasted (though this isn't always the case). Because of this, they retain more of their nutrients.

What are the 5 main ingredients in cake? ›

These basic ingredients for baking a cake are; flour, eggs, fat (usually butter), sugar, salt, a form of liquid (usually milk), and leavening agents (such as baking soda).

What is the ratio of flour to eggs in a cake? ›

Pound Cake = 1 part flour: 1 part egg: 1 part fat: 1 part sugar. Baker Move: Pull your butter and eggs out of the fridge a couple of hours before you're ready to bake. Room-temperature butter is better for creaming, and you'll want the eggs at the same temperature to prevent them from seizing.

Which flour is used to make cake? ›

Since its gluten proteins are very weak, cake flour is often used to make soft, tender baked goods like cakes, pastries, or biscuits. A chlorination process further breaks down cake flour's gluten, creating a flour that's even more delicate. All-purpose flour is made from a mixture of hard and soft wheat.

What kind of frosting goes best with chocolate cake? ›

Chocolate Ganache is the simplest, easiest and quickest frosting you can make for chocolate cake. Mix equal parts chocolate chips with warm cream and stir until smooth and shiny. It's the perfect frosting for chocoholics!

Which flavour is best in chocolate cake? ›

No one disputes that one of the very best chocolate cake flavour combinations is fruity. If the cake that you're making uses white or milk chocolate and is very sweet, then something more acidic like passion fruit will work brilliantly to balance out the fat and sugar.

What drink pairs with chocolate cake? ›

Chocolate cake

Any dessert wine, such as Madeira, Port, Muscat or Riesling, will bring a good balance of sweetness and acidity. Chilling it for three hours in the fridge before serving will optimise the flavours. As you may well know, we're big fans of the coffee-chocolate combination at Hotel Chocolat!

What was Julia Child's favorite cake? ›

The Queen of Sheba Chocolate Cake (” Reine de Saba” in French) has been made famous in North America by cooking instructor Julia Child. It is said to have been the first French cake she ate when she arrived in France.

What cocoa powder do bakers use? ›

“When it comes to baking, I prefer Dutch process cocoa powder,” says former BA food editor Claire Saffitz. “The alkalizing process darkens the color and typically deepens the flavor.” Dutch process cocoa powder produces baked goods that taste more intensely chocolatey.

Who has the best cocoa? ›

Ecuador is home to some of the best cacao beans in the world. Only approximately 5% of cacao in the world is labeled as “Fine Aroma,” and Ecuador produces nearly 63% of it.

Is there a difference between cocoa powder and baking cocoa? ›

The answer is in the heat. Cocoa powder and cacao powder are very similar, the only difference being that cocoa is processed at a much higher temperature (and often packaged cocoa contains added sugar and dairy).

Is Van Houten cocoa or cacao? ›

Van Houten has been manufacturing cocoa powder since 1828, when its founder, Coenraad Van Houten, pioneered a process to manufacture cocoa in Amsterdam, Holland. The result was a tastier and more soluble cocoa powder which spurred the growth of the hot chocolate drink industry.

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