Who doesn’t love a good chocolate cake?! This recipe is easy to make and delicious, especially when paired with my homemade cream cheese frosting!
Jump to RecipeOk, who doesn’t like chocolate cake? I mean, I guess if you are one of those people who doesn’t like chocolate, ok. But really, chocolate cake is so yummy!
Here’s a recipe for chocolate cake from scratch that came with my kitchen aid mixer. I have used it a couple of times for birthdays and modified it a bit over the years.
There aren’t any artificial preservatives, dyes, or anything like that in it that you would possibly get with a box cake. And it tastes so much better! This recipe is specific to the kitchen aid, but you could still do it with an electric mixer.
I always top the cake with cream cheese frosting, but that’s my favorite type of frosting. It’s very creamy and has a sweet flavor. The texture makes it easy to spread without leaving a lot of lines on the cake.
Cream cheese frosting also takes color really well if you need it. I like to use the Wilton brand gel food coloring for everything. It doesn’t take much of the gel to have a rich and vibrant color.
Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Step by Step
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 oz semisweet chocolate bars or chips (melted)
Frosting
- 4 oz butter
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans by spreading with a bit of butter or cooking oil. Sprinkle in flour until the grease is coated. This really helps the cake come out of the pan without any problems.
Combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) in the mixing bowl. Attach the whisk. Stir for a minute until everything is mixed together.
Add the butter, milk, and vanilla. Switch to the flat beater and stir on speed 2 for about one minute.
Pour in the eggs and melted chocolate and mix on speed 2 for another 30 seconds. Increase the speed to 6 for an additional minute. It may help to scrape the sides and mix again.
Divide the batter into the two prepared cake pans and bake for about 35-45 minutes. You want the cake to be set and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and set the pans on a cooling rack until the cakes have cooled completely.
Once the cakes are cool, prepare the frosting. Whisk the cream cheese and butter in the stand mixer for 2-3 minutes.
Slowly add the powdered sugar, 1/3 cup at a time, until it is all mixed in. Then add the vanilla extract. Stir just until it’s combined.
Place the bottom layer of the cake on a serving plate and frost only the top. Then, to help keep a neater serving plate, use small pieces of parchment or wax paper under the edges of the cake.
Set the top layer on the frosted bottom layer. Scoop the frosting onto the cake and frost the top and sides.
Recipe
Originally Published On: January 11, 2016
Last Updated On: July 27, 2023
Chocolate Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 oz semisweet chocolate bars or chips (melted)
- 4 oz butter
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans
- Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl
- Add butter, milk, and vanilla
- Attach flat beater and set speed to 2 for 1 minute
- Add eggs and chocolate and continue on speed 2 for 30 seconds
- Increase speed to 6 for another minute
- Pour batter into pans and bake for 30-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean
- Cool 10 minutes in pan, then transfer to cooling rack
- Combine butter and cream cheese in electric mixer
- Slowly add in powdered sugar until creamy, then add vanilla
- Frost the cake as desired
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
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You make me want to just eat baked goods all day long. Ha. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing 😉
I mean, I could easily eat baked goods all day. If only my waistline would agree!!
Ooh, chocolate cake – my favourite!! This one looks absolutely scrumptious too… you’ve made me want to go and eat cake now!
Normally, as much as I love chocolate, I go for vanilla cake. But this one is just the right amount so it’s my favorite!
Cream Cheese frosting is so underrated!! It is my absolute favorite. I fell in love with it on red velvet cakes and it has grown to be my go to, no matter the flavor of the cake.
I feel the exact same way! I believe it was red velvet that I first had it on, too. If it wouldn’t have melted I would have had cream cheese frosting on my wedding cake if I could have!
I’m the complete opposite, I don’t love chocolate cake and I can’t stand cream cheese frosting! But this one doesn’t look typical, your cake looks more like a malted chocolate flavor rather than a store bought kind!
Yes, it’s definitely a different flavor. Some chocolate cake can be too much, even for me who loves chocolate. But this is just the right amount for me. You could always frost it with a different type of icing, I just love cream cheese 🙂
Yum! I’ve never tried a cream cheese frosting on chocolate cake before, but you have me intrigued! And grating the chocolate with a zester – genius!
I love the combination. Then again, I just love cream cheese frosting!
Looks wonderful. Do you know of a way to convert to a sheet cake?
I’ve never tried it. I would think you could make the batter and put it in a large pan and bake that way. Your baking time may vary since it’s a different shape.
You stole the words outta my mouth – who doesn’t love chocolate cake?! This recipe seems easy enough to follow so I’m going to give it a try. Cream cheese frosting is my fav too.
I prefer this cake over a store-bought chocolate cake. Sometimes those can be overpowering but this is just the right amount for me. And always with cream cheese frosting!
Yummm!!! I love cream cheese icing. I am not a huge whipped icing fan so I always opt for a cream cheese icing or frosting. Not sure I ever had it on chocolate cake though. I will have to give this a try.
I love the combination! Especially on this chocolate cake because the chocolate isn’t overpowering so it lets the cream cheese frosting shine.
I can always find room for a fresh baked cake. Cream cheese frosting is also a favorite of mine! Looks delicious!
Who wouldn’t want cake?! Especially when it’s fresh and from scratch is the best.
Ahh I wish I was eating this right now! I’m a sucker for cream cheese icing!
Oh man, me too. It’s my weakness when it comes to cakes.
I am actually not a big fan of chocolate cakes especially the ones they sell in stores because I always find them too sweet, But I have tried the chocolate cake the my mom’s friend made and I really liked it, it was not too sweet. I love cream cheese frosting too!
This one isn’t as sweet at store-bought cakes either. At least I don’t think it is. Making it homemade gives you a lot more control.
I am not usually a huge chocolate fan but omg this looks good! I think the cream cheese frosting is such a great addition!
I love cream cheese frosting. To me, that’s what really shines with this cake.
So interesting to melt chocolate instead of using coco. Unusual for sure. Cream cheese frosting is my favorite!
It’s different, but I like the texture it gives the cake. It isn’t quite as dry and I like the chunks of chocolate that don’t always completely melt throughout the cake.
I always love homemade cake, I wont eat storebought. This looks amazing, I am saving this for later!
Homemade is so much better than buying a box. I like having control over what goes into the food, including delicious desserts, that I eat.
O my yum!!!! Who doesn’t just love chocolate cake!!! One of my absolute favorite desserts. Must give your recipe a try
I prefer it homemade. The boxed cake can be too much sometimes, but this is just the right amount of chocolate to give the flavor without overpowering everything else.