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3 ½ cups (500g) all-purpose flour

1 ⅓ cups (112g) cocoa powder

2 tsp (9g) baking powder

2 tsp (11g) baking soda

3 cups plus 1 ½ tbsp (620g) granulated sugar

1 ½ tsp (9g) salt

3 ½ cups minus 1 tbsp (630g) Homemade Chocolate Cake Mix

½ cup (118ml) vegetable oil

2 large eggs

¾ cups (180ml) full fat sour cream

1 tsp (5ml) pure vanilla extract

1 cups (237ml) hot coffee or water

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1. Make the cake mix. Use a fine mesh sieve to sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl. Add sugar and salt and whisk to blend very well so the ingredients are evenly combined.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 8-inch round cake pans, dust lightly with flour and line the base with rounds of parchment paper.

3. First prepare the coffee and keep it hot. If you are using instant coffee, add 1 tablespoon of instant coffee granules or 2 teaspoons of espresso powder to 1 cup of just boiled water and set it aside while you prepare the batter.

4. Combine eggs, oil, sour cream and vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk to blend well. Pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix with an electric handheld mixer on medium-low until blended.

5. Add the hot coffee gradually in two stages to minimize clumps forming and mix until evenly combined and the batter is smooth.

6. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans and tap the pans on the countertop to allow any large air bubbles to surface and pop.

7. Bake for 30-33 minutes until cakes spring back when pressed gently and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

8. Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes before running a knife or offset spatula around the sides and inverting the cakes onto the rack to cool completely.

9. Assemble the cake. Once cakes are cooled, place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread about ¾ cup of frosting over the top, then place the other cake layer on top. Cover the entire cake with frosting.

Home » Chocolate Cake

Homemade Chocolate Cake Mix

Updated: Nov 26, 2025 by christina.marsigliese ·

Making chocolate cake just got easier! I've turned my most popular Moist Chocolate Cake recipe into a homemade chocolate cake mix so you can have it ready and waiting for any time you're in the mood to bake. It is also great for gifting during the holidays. As a Food Scientist I worked in Australia for 3 years developing boxed cake mix formulas for a popular brand called White Wings. I spent countless days in a cake mix factory supervising tons of flour, sugar and cocoa mixing in giant vats. I used this knowledge to create this cake mix so now you can literally dump in the bag of mix, add oil, eggs and other liquids, mix and bake. With this magic mix on hand, you'll be able to make delicious and super moist chocolate cake in no time at all!

My recipe is already so quick and easy to make, and now you can make it even faster - literally as fast as a box mix, except it contains only simple pantry ingredients. It actually takes under 5 minutes and the cakes bake in under 30, so you can be on birthday, anniversary, or any occasion dessert duty on the fly. I always have a batch in the pantry because my family requests this cake for every special occasion, and even on a Friday night in. We make it at least once a month. My secret is out, and I can't wait for you to have this time-saving mix at the ready for when that chocolate craving strikes. If you prefer a smaller cake, try my single layer Ultimate Moist Chocolate Fudge Cake and you can also check out this One Bowl Chocolate Sheet Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE

Here are some notes about the ingredients. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

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All purpose flour - you do not need specialty cake flour to make a wonderful chocolate cake. Just be sure to measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour is the most common mistake and leads to tough and dry cake. The most accurate way to measure flour is using a scale. If you don't have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, spoon it into your measuring cup and use a knife to level it off. This batter is meant to be quite runny so refrain from adding more flour to make it thicker.

Granulated sugar - my original Best Moist Chocolate Cake recipe uses white sugar and brown sugar. However, to transform it into a shelf stable dry mix, I have omitted the brown sugar due to its moisture content. The moisture in molasses can cause the baking powder to react during storage, so in order to preserve the quality of the mix, it is important to eliminate sources of moisture.

Cocoa powder - you can make due with basic quality flour, sour cream, milk and oil but you should get your hands on some good quality cocoa powder! It's the main flavor and you want it to shine so use the best you can find. I love to use this Dutch Process cocoa powder for this recipe. Make sure you use unsweetened cocoa powder and not cocoa mix.

Baking powder - use a double acting baking powder. This means it will react and produce gas upon hydration when you mix in the wet ingredients to make the batter, and it will react again when exposed to heat in the oven during baking.

Baking soda - sodium bicarbonate is a pure, standard ingredient so any form will work.

Salt - salt is one of the most important ingredients to enhance the flavor of chocolate cake, so be sure to use the right amount.

Eggs - two whole eggs will set the structure of this cake and help emulsify the batter.

Sour cream - one of the secrets to the best moist chocolate cake recipe is sour cream! And a lot of it. Sour cream contributes the dairy undertones, rich flavor and body (thanks to its high protein and fat content) that oil-based cakes lack. Full fat sour cream adds richness and dairy notes to this cake in the absence of butter.

Oil - this is an oil-based cake. Although I LOVE BUTTER, oil makes cakes ultra moist since it is an unsaturated fat that is liquid at room temperature. Plus, with this intense chocolate flavor and the sour cream, you won't miss the butter.

Pure vanilla extract - vanilla is not in the mix as it is a liquid ingredient, so you will add it with the other wet ingredients.

Hot coffee or water - my original recipe uses hot coffee in the batter. The hot liquid dissolves the sugar and activates the leavening agents so that the cake begins to rise and set instantly. It is also the reason why this cake is so moist. Coffee adds subtle roasted flavors that complement the chocolate (it will not taste like coffee), but you can also just use hot water.

Dark chocolate - you'll need pure dark chocolate to make this frosting. Anything between 50 and 70% cocoa solids will work, but I highly recommend dark chocolate with 60% cocoa solids. You can blend semisweet chocolate with my favorite bittersweet chocolate callets which are very convenient.

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HOW TO MAKE THE BEST MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE FROM HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CAKE MIX

This recipe is SO EASY and you can make it all with a bowl and a whisk - no mixer required if you don't have one!

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STEP 1). Make the dry cake mix. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl.

STEP 2). Blend in sugar and salt. Add sugar and salt and whisk to blend very well. You can use a stand mixer and mix on low speed for 2 minutes so all of the ingredients are evenly blended, or you can put all of the ingredients into a sealed bag and shake it up so all ingredients are evenly dispersed.

STEP 3). Make the batter. Combine wet ingredients. Combine eggs, oil, sour cream and vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk to blend well, then add to the dry ingredients. In a pinch you can also add these ingredients directly to the bowl with the dry ingredients.

STEP 4). Mix wet and dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix with a whisk or an electric hand mixer on medium-low until blended. It will be thick and somewhat dry.

STEP 5). Mix in hot coffee or water. Add the hot coffee or water gradually in two stages to minimize clumps forming and beat until evenly combined and the batter smooth.

STEP 6). Bake. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 30-33 minutes until cakes spring back when pressed gently and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes before inverting onto the rack to cool completely.

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STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS (watch the recipe video at the bottom of the page for a full tutorial)

Add oil, eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Whisk until mostly combined.

When the batter gets thick, begin to add hot coffee or hot water.

Whisk in the coffee until batter is completely smooth.

Divide batter evenly into prepared cake pans.

Baked chocolate cake

BAKING SCIENCE

This cake is almost like magic because the batter is so fluid that you will be nervous that it won't work, but trust the process! There's science behind the proportions.

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Sugar:flour ratio - there is more sugar by weight compared to flour in this recipe which is what allows it to be so moist. Sugar is hygroscopic which means that it strongly binds water and will hold onto all the liquid in this batter. Mixing sugar into the flour breaks up the flour particles interferes with gluten development. That's because sugar competes for water and will pull moisture away from flour to prevent gluten network formation during the mixing stage.

Cocoa particles - cocoa powder has some starch and does contribute some function of flour to provide structure to the cake, however it does not contain gluten proteins. When the cocoa is dispersed into the flour, it helps to break up the flour particles and also interferes with gluten development.

Low moisture mix - removing the brown sugar from my original recipe allows this to be a shelf stable cake mix. Brown sugar has some inherent moisture from the molasses and over time this moisture can enable reactions that can affect the quality of the cake.

Water:sugar ratio - there is a lot of moisture in the prepared cake batter and that wouldn't work if there was less sugar in the mix. The sugar binds the water to prevent it from evaporating out, and during baking the starches in the flour and cocoa powder slowly hydrate and swell. They eventually set into a gel network to create the soft moist crumb structure.

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