The Best Amish Chocolate Cake Recipe

Moist Amish Chocolate Cake

This Amish chocolate cake recipe makes the most fluffy and moist chocolate cake ever! It's a made-from-scratch chocolate cake that will have you coming back for another piece.

Amish chocolate cake is easy to make and a great dessert for any occasion. Once baked and cooled, top the cake with whipped chocolate buttercream or your favorite frosting.

My son is not a huge fan of cake, and he prefers pie or a giant chocolate chip cookie for his birthday. So I was surprised when I caught him indulging in my homemade chocolate cake. But he informed me that he loves this cake because it's so delightfully light and fluffy.

Ingredients

1. All-purpose flour forms the base of the cake batter. It provides structure and stability.
2. White sugar provides sweetness and moisture.
3. Unsweetened cocoa powder adds rich chocolate flavor and deep color to the cake. Cocoa powder is the primary source of chocolate flavor. (I recommend sifting it to remove any clumps and make sure it gets incorporated properly.)
4. Baking powder acts as a leavening agent, helping the cake batter rise, and contributing to the light and airy texture.
5. Baking soda is another leavening agent that contributes to the cake's tenderness.
6. Salt enhances the flavors.
7. Eggs bind the ingredients together, provide structure, and add moisture and richness.
8. Oil (canola or vegetable) adds moisture to the cake and helps keep it moist and tender. It also contributes to the cake's texture, making it softer and more delicate than if butter were used.
9. Whole milk adds moisture, richness, and tenderness. (If you only have 2% milk, it will work. However, whole milk has more fat, making the cake a bit richer and moister.)
10. Vanilla enhances the flavor.
11. Hot coffee (strongly brewed) helps intensify the richness and depth of the chocolate, making the cake more decadent and flavorful. The hot temperature also helps bloom the cocoa powder, enhancing its flavor. (You can use boiling water if you don't want to add coffee.)

Step by Step Instructions

1. Preheat the Oven:
   • Preheat your oven to 325°F (163°C).
2. Prepare the Baking Pan:
   • Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
3. Whisk Dry Ingredients:
   • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, sifted cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Beat Wet Ingredients:
   • In another large bowl, beat eggs.
   • Add oil, vanilla extract, and whole milk to the eggs.
   • Beat well until combined.
5. Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients:
   • Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
   • Mix to combine.
6. Add Hot Coffee:
   • Slowly pour hot, strongly brewed coffee into the batter while mixing on low speed.
   • Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix only until everything is well combined. The batter will be very thin.
7. Pour and Bake:
   • Pour the batter into a greased 9x13-inch baking pan.
   • Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a couple of crumbs.
8. Cool and Frost:
   • Let the cake cool completely in the pan.
   • Once cooled, top with your favorite frosting.

Butter or Oil?

A lot of recipes such as my Amish coffee cake recipe use butter, and it adds a good flavor.

But this homemade chocolate cake uses oil instead of butter. While butter provides a lot of flavor in recipes, oil gives cakes a lovely light and moist texture. And since we already have a rich chocolatey flavor, we don't need the flavor of butter to compete with the chocolate.

Cupcakes - this cake batter can also be made into chocolate cupcakes! This recipe will make anywhere from 24 - 28 cupcakes, depending on how full you fill the tins. And the cupcakes only need to be baked for about 20 - 22 minutes.

Does Homemade Chocolate Cake Need to be Refrigerated?

Can you store chocolate cake at room temperature or does it need to be refrigerated? The answer depends on how long you want to keep it and what kind of frosting you use.

This classic chocolate cake can be stored, tightly covered, at room temperature for up to four or five days (this can depend on temperature and humidity). To make it last longer, you can tightly wrap and refrigerate the cake for up to a week or even freeze it for a few months - make sure it is airtight.

However, if you top it with cream cheese frosting, the cake must be stored in the refrigerator.

I prefer to eat room-temperature cake. So even if I store my cake in the refrigerator, I bring it back to room temperature before eating it. And remember, frosted cakes taste the best in the first three days. After that, the texture won't be quite the same.

But if chocolate on chocolate is not your thing, feel free to top this cake with your favorite frosting.

Dessert for Sunday Lunch

I grew up New Order Amish. We had church every other Sunday with a traditional church meal of buns and peanut butter spread served afterward. Then we had Sunday School on the in-between Sunday.

After the Sunday School service, the hosts usually invited a few of their close friends, the youth group, and any visitors, to stay for lunch. (This was usually a big full-course cooked meal.)

We had a lot of various dishes, desserts, etc. But homemade cake, cornstarch pudding, and strawberry Danish dessert were the most common desserts that were served with Sunday lunch. These are easy-to-make and inexpensive dessert dishes that go together very well.

More Amish Cake Recipes

• Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
• Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake
• Chai Spice Cake
• Blueberry Coffee Cake