Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake is the very best chocolate cake recipe. I’ve tried so many chocolate cake recipes over the years, and this chocolate cake is the best tasting one. It has been my go-to recipe for so many years. The recipe comes directly from Hershey’s cocoa!
If you’re looking for a cake for a special celebration, this is the recipe for you. Why make a boxed mix from a store when you can make an easy cake from scratch that is going to taste so much better? For those of you who are not so good at baking, don’t worry! This chocolate cake recipe is easy enough… even for beginning bakers. Just follow the directions in the recipe, and you are likely to have great success!
What makes this the best chocolate cake recipe?
It has a wonderful, rich chocolate flavor that comes simply from using Hershey’s cocoa in the cake batter. It’s super easy to make. The frosting is creamy and so delicious. I like to double the frosting recipe on this cake so it yields a nice, thick layer of frosting. And this cake has been a big hit at every single party where I’ve served it. People love a good chocolate cake, and this is one good chocolate cake!
Variations:
- ONE PAN: You can bake this same cake batter in a 9×13-inch pan (greased and floured) for 35 to 40 minutes.
- CUPCAKES: Put cupcake papers in a muffin pan, fill each 2/3 full with batter, and bake 22 to 25 minutes
- BUNDT: Grease and flour a tube pan, fill with cake batter and bake 50 to 55 minutes.
- THREE LAYERS: Grease and flour three 8-inch pans. Divide batter evenly between the pans and bake 30 to 35 minutes.
High Altitude tips:
If you are baking at high altitude, you will need to make some adjustments in order to get the same result for those baking at lower elevations. Anything over 3500 feet is considered high altitude, and cakes can be a trickier to bake. Follow these adjustments and your cake is likely to turn out just fine.
- Increase oven temperature 15 to 25 degrees if you are above 5000 feet.
- Your cake might be done about five minutes sooner, so be sure to check on it early.
- Measure out the sugar and then take out 2 tablespoons of sugar in this recipe and put it back in your sugar container.
- Add an extra tablespoon of milk at 3,000 feet. Add an additional 1/2 tablespoon of milk for each additional 1,000 feet above that.
- Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour at 3,000 feet. Add an additional tablespoon of flour for each additional 1,000 feet above that.
- Decrease baking powder by 1/8 teaspoon up to 5,000 feet. Decrease BP by 1/4 at 6000 to 7500 feet.
If you are looking for more cake recipes, you might like to try these:
- Funfetti Bundt Cake
- Spice Cake
- Chocolate Ganache Cake
- Blueberry Lemon Layer Cake
- White Wedding Cake
- Milky Way Cake
- Chocolate Coconut Cake
- Kahlua Cake
Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake
Recipe Details
Ingredients
CAKE:
- 2 cups granulated white sugar
- 1¾ cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup Hershey's unsweetened cocoa
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
FROSTING:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 2/3 cup Hershey's unsweetened cocoa
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
PREPARE THE CAKE:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; use an electric mixer to beat for 2 minutes. Stir in the water (batter will be thin). Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from the pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
PREPARE THE FROSTING:
- Melt the butter. Stir in the cocoa. Alternately add sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add a small amount of additional milk, if needed. Stir in the vanilla.
Video
Notes
- *Double the frosting recipe if you'd like a good amount of frosting to work with. Pictures in this post show a cake with double the amount of frosting.
- ONE PAN: You can bake this same cake batter in a 9x13-inch pan (greased and floured) for 35 to 40 minutes.
- CUPCAKES: Put cupcake papers in a muffin pan, fill each 2/3 full with batter, and bake 22 to 25 minutes
- BUNDT: Grease and flour a tube pan, fill with cake batter and bake 50 to 55 minutes.
- THREE LAYERS: Grease and flour three 8-inch pans. Divide batter evenly between the pans and bake 30 to 35 minutes.
Does this cake work well for stacking into tiers for a wedding cake? Thanks.
It’s not a super dense cake, so I’m not sure about that.
My grandson and I made thus cake today and it is absolutely delicious!
This is a wonderful recipe. One of the best I have ever tried. I did use 3 eggs because mine were medium ones.
Hi! We love this cake BUT I have one question. Every time I make it, the center falls during baking or immediately after I pulled it out. I follow the recipe. Again; it’s delicious and I just cover with frosting but I would love to figure out what’s not working for me. Thank you!
Mine sank, also! Great flavor and consistency was super moist, but the collapse in the middle didn’t help.
well could not wait to make this cake it looked like it was going to be great as I poured it into 9×13 pan. and it looked like pretty large amount next to a cake mix from box. I was so excited when buzzer went off and the cake had fallen smetime during baking, Not sure why??? any answers would be helpful, mind you I have been baking for 65 years lol.I went ahead and made frosting as I will try to eat it Please let me know if others have fallen
I’m not sure what happened! Have you read through the other comments? This recipe is from Hershey’s and has been around a long time. Shouldn’t be a troubling recipe~!
Looks delicious! I have a newly diagnosed dairy free 7 y/o and am wondering if rice/almond milk could be subbed for the milk? And at the same measurement?
I’m not so familiar with that substitution, so I’m not sure.
Looks so moist and chocolatey. I am definitely going to make this.
Absolutely the best chocolate cake! I have made it several times and it always turns out great.
Will the recipe stretch to make a three layer round cake or does everything need to be increased by a third?
It’s kind of a normal-sized cake, so I wouldn’t think stretching it into 3 layers would work that well.
Love this cake recipe! Would also love that frosting recipe!!!
The frosting recipe is included with the cake recipe 🙂
can hot cocoa mix be used to substitute the cocoa powder?
No, it is not the same.
have been making this cake for 25 years. Never, ever had a problem and it is delicious!
I remember years ago when I was in grammar school, we were allowed to bring in cupcakes to school on our b-day. The kids and teachers all couldn’t wait for our day caused they all raved at at these cupcakes. I continued the tradition with my kids with
Same reviews. This is a great recipe, but I usually use buttercream icing.
I could not agree more! For me, it doesn’t get any better than the perfectly chocolate cake recipe on the Hershey’s cocoa container, or the chocolate chip cookie recipe on the bag of Nestle morsels. They are classics!
Will this recipe work for cupcakes?
probably!
I have been making this cake for years, I totally agree, it is the best chocolate cake ever. It has turned out every single time. We look forward to someone’s birthday so we can have this cake.
Lori, can this cake be prepared ahead of time and be refrigerated??
I think so!
This cake is the best! I love trying new recipes, but this is my go-to recipe also : )
Hi, would this cake work, using almond flour in place of all purpose flour?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Shelley- No, almond flour can not be used interchangeably with all-purpose. The cake would not turn out.
This is a runny cake. I couldnt get it out of my pan and when I did it crumbled to pieces. Wont make again.
How strange! I’ve made this so many times (originally from Hershey’s), and it turns out perfect every time. I wonder if perhaps the water wasn’t mixed in well enough? It’s supposed to be a thin batter. Well greased & floured pans should pop the cake out easily. Sorry it did not work out for you!