Ultimate Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe

This is chocolate cake at its finest. Incredibly moist, rich and intensely chocolatey, it's a recipe you'll find yourself coming back to time and time again. Don't let the long ingredient list deter you. Every ingredient plays its part in creating a beautifully tender sponge with a deep chocolate flavour, made using our 100% Natural, speciality-grade cocoa powder.

For the ultimate finish, pair it with our Chocolate Buttercream Recipe. This versatile recipe also works perfectly for rich, dark chocolate cupcakes. Simply brush your cupcake cases lightly with oil and reduce the baking time, checking for doneness after around 15 minutes.

Prep time 20m

Cook time 25m

Total time 45m

Servings 10 servings

Difficulty Medium

Ingredients

210g plain flour
75g Islands 100% Natural Cocoa Powder
175g brown sugar
175g caster sugar
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp espresso powder
100ml vegetable oil
30ml melted butter
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
240ml buttermilk
240ml hot coffee

Equipment

2x 8-inch cake tins

Sieve

Bowls

Whisks & Spoons

Kettle

Method

1

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line two 8-inch cake tins with baking parchment and lightly grease the parchment with butter.
2

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, caster sugar, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, sea salt and espresso powder.
3

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, melted butter and vanilla extract until combined. Add the buttermilk and whisk again until smooth.
4

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
5

Gradually add the hot coffee, whisking briefly until the batter is smooth. The mixture will be quite thin.
6

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake tins and bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
7

Allow the cakes to cool completely in the tins before carefully removing them.

Tips

We recommend using freshly brewed coffee in this recipe. Don't worry, the cake won't taste of coffee. Instead, the coffee enhances the cocoa powder, creating a deeper, richer chocolate flavour.