Moist Chocolate Cake: a Mix and Match Bakery Recipe
Amycakes Bakes | amycakesbakes.com
5 from 6 votes
Extra moist and fudgy chocolate cake with a soft and tender texture and the perfect amount of chocolate flavor. Made with just two bowls (no mixer required), this cake comes together quickly.This is a Mix and Match Recipe--that means this recipe is for just the cake. It's meant to be combined with your favorite frosting and filling recipes. You can get creative with your flavor combinations just like we did at Amycakes Bakery!Use the Cut and Stack Method to get the following:1x batch yields one three-layer 6" cake cut from a ¼ sheet pan2x batch yields one three-layer 8" cake cut from a ½ sheet panYou can also bake this cake in sheetcake pans or round cake pans--See my Cake Pan Chart.
Servings 8servings or more
Prep Time 10 minutesmins
Cook Time 24 minutesmins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
170 grams (1 ¼ cup + 2Tbsp)All-Purpose FlourI use Gold Medal
1 ½teaspoonBaking Powder
1teaspoonBaking Soda
¾teaspoonSalt
2tablespooninstant clearjelA food starch used in commercial baking that enhances moisture and texture in cakes. Please make sure it is labeled as "INSTANT." See Note #1
26 grams (¼cup)Unsweetened Cocoa PowderI use Hershey's
100 grams (½cup)Sugar
113 grams (½cup)packed Brown Sugar
Wet Ingredients
2largeEggs
¾cupButtermilk
¼cupbrewed Coffee
¼ cup + 1tablespoonVegetable Oil
3tablespoonDark Corn Syrupor use light corn syrup
1 ½teaspoonVanilla Extract
Chocolate Butter Mixture
¾ stick (3 oz)Salted Butter
43 grams (¼cup)Semi-Sweet Chocolate ChipsI use Nestle
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 1" tall ¼ sheet pan with parchment paper, then spray the bottom (on top of the parchment) and sides of the pan with cooking spray. Or choose a different cake pan(s) using the chart in my post about Half-Batches and Cake Pans.
Using a sifter or fine mesh strainer, sift the first seven Dry Ingredients into a large bowl, then add brown sugar. Whisk until well blended. If you see any large brown sugar clumps, break them up and blend them in with your fingers.
Combine Wet Ingredients in a separate large bowl and whisk until smooth and well-blended.
Melt salted butter in the microwave (or over the stove) until just melted. Avoid overcooking. Add semi-sweet chocolate chips and whisk until melted and smooth (Whisk for 30 seconds to 1 minute--the heat from the melted butter plus the whisking will melt the chips).
Pour Wet Ingredients into Dry Ingredients and whisk until incorporated. Pour Chocolate Butter Mixture over batter and whisk until smooth and lump-free. (A few teeny brown sugar lumps are ok and will dissolve as it bakes).
Pour batter into the prepared ½ sheet pan and smooth out batter until even (an offset icing spatula works well for this). The batter will be about ¼ inch from the top of a 1" tall sheet pan.
Allow pan to set for 5-10 minutes before putting it in the oven. This will give time for the instant clearjel (or instant pudding mix) to thicken the cake batter before it bakes, allowing for a better rise.
Bake in the middle or top rack (avoid bottom rack) of a preheated 325-degree oven for 16 minutes. Without opening the oven, turn the temperature down to 300 degrees and bake for another 8-10 minutes. Check the cake at this point. See if it is done by lightly touching the top of the cake--try to avoid moving the cake pan or baking rack, which could cause an underdone cake to sink. If jiggly at all to your touch, bake for another 1-5 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick or small paring knife comes out clean when quickly stuck in the cake. A few moist crumbs on your knife are fine, but they shouldn't look wet.
Allow cake to cool completely. To make a sheet cake, follow the Baker's Shortcut (Note #4), or choose your round cake size using the Cut and Stack method (Note #2). Leave the cake in the sheet pan, and using a slight sawing motion, cut the cooled cake into your desired cake size with cake rings (You can use a knife and the cake rings as a guide for any halve pieces that you cut.) Brush lightly with simple syrup (optional, Note #3).
Wrap thoroughly in plastic wrap and freeze cake in the pan for 2 hours or overnight. (You can even bake the cake up to a week ahead of time and freeze). The cake will be much easier to layer if it is cold or frozen. To wrap the cake, place another sheet of parchment on top of the cake (this will prevent the plastic wrap from sticking to the cake), and wrap the whole pan with plastic wrap. (I pull the plastic wrap out and place the pan on top of it. Then I wrap 2-3 ways horizontally and one way vertically so that there are two layers of wrap on all sides of the pan including the bottom).
Notes
Notes for 2x batches:1 + ½ tsp=½ Tbsp 3 tsp= 1 Tbsp
Read my article Instant Clearjel: a Magical Little-Known Bakery Ingredient to see why I think this ingredient is worth having in your pantry. Instant Clearjel must always be whisked thoroughly with other dry ingredients before being added to wet ingredients to avoid clumping. I have tested this recipe with the following Instant Clearjel brands: Hoosier Hill Farm, Prepared Pantry, and Ingredion. Make sure what you purchase is labeled as “Instant.” Cooktyle Clearjel is a different product that does not work the same in cakes.
When baking cakes in a sheet pan, the cake bakes more evenly (flatter on top and with no dark edges), and you get to choose your cake size after baking by cutting the cake out with cake rings. Read more on how to bake and layer cakes this way in How to Bake and Layer Cakes Like a Pro: 5 Easy Steps.
Simple Syrup is optional, but I use it to seal in the moisture for cakes that will be refrigerated or frozen. While the cake cools, make a simple syrup by combining 1 tablespoon water and 1 tablespoon sugar in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until the sugar is dissolved after whisking, about 20-30 seconds. You can also make a larger batch of this (1 part sugar to 1 part water) and keep it in the fridge if you’re doing a lot of cake baking. Always cut the cake with cake rings before brushing the cake brush simple syrup, to avoid the cake being too sticky when cut.