dear fellow cake decoraters. Please could someone direct me to a scratch chocolate cake recipe. I have scrolled down the forum, googled cakes. i am bout to burn OUT!! please direct me to a tried and true chocolate recipe. if you could respond on this post or private message I would greatly appreciate it!! Thanks in advance

Hi, a lot of c/cer's use this recipe. I do too. It is very very good,I make the whole things. Also the herseys recipe on the can. Most use sour cream instead of milk. They say it doesn,t sink as bad. Also, Ron ben israel chocolate cake recipe on food network. There are so many , when others see this thread. hth

I use the one on the Hershey's can. I'm still not totally happy with it but everyone else loves it so it must be me.

http://www.marthastewart.com/282243/one-bowl-chocolate-cupcakes

Makes a beautiful cake. Use high quality coco powder, don't skimp.

J

I use the Hershey's for my basic. I sub the sour cream, but I also change the leavening amounts to a more stable amount for structure, I think 1 tsp each. I also add about a tsp of espresso powder to the hot water. For the Black Magic, I add considerably more.

This one is simple. After that, I have the ones that use high quality chocolate. All of these recipes are very dependent on proper method and can fail easily. Also, in more delicate recipes, changing the % chocolate used in the recipes can result infailure if other adjustments aren't made. These more volatile recipes could prove to be very frustrating to the novice baker.

The Hershey's with changes will give you a successful cake and then you can leisurely explore the more demanding recipes.

Yes, cocoa quality counts. I use Hershey's recipe and RLB's chocolate butter cake. I use what I have available locally and the cakes come out fine. I recently bought a different cocoa brand and used for the choc butter cake. It was soo much better than other times. Different pan types yield different results too.

I like the Hershey's recipe or the Double Chocolate Layer cake over at Epicurious.

I am also using a recipe I found online that I believe is exactly the Hershey's recipe. It's EXTREMELY moist, but I had one person say it wasn't chocolatey enough for them. Not sure how to fix that. I also used instant coffee mixed with the hot boiling water and I think it helped a little, but it does have a smell that's not so appetizing. Weird. BUT! Other than those things I think it's a great chocolate recipe because it's so moist.

Hershey's by far. The bakery I worked for used it and tweaked it the following way: Add a pinch (and seriously, just a pinch) of cinnamon and put a tsp of instant coffee....not espresso...just instant coffee to the boiling water. It adds a delicious and very chocolatey taste. The cinnamon adds a unique spicey undertone that many people can't figure out. It's just important not to add too much.

Then I learned here on CC to add the sugar just before you put in the boiling water. Don't know why it works but it helps.

Great tips, carmijok!!

I use on from CC here that is called "Best Chocolate Cake". OMG IT IS the BEST and very dark. Its the one my family and friends always ask for again and again.

Thanks everyone for all of your replies.

Thank you CCers for all your tips. I have been having troubles with the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate cake recipe and you have helped me to figure it out!

I live at an elevation of just under 4800 feet. This plays havoc with all my cake recipes. I tried doing the original Hershey's recipe last night and my cakes all overflowed. So disappointing. This morning I adjusted the BS and BP and used sour cream instead of milk, and put less batter in my pans, and had success!

So thank you again!

Here in the UK the following work best for me and agree that if its a cocoa cake then you need to source high quality. Here Green & Blacks, Barry or Valhona.

http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk/2011/02/02/lindys-chocolate-fudge-cake-recipe/

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3092/ultimate-chocolate-cake This is a winner with lots of people.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4689/chocolate-cake looks simple again a hit.

worth a go all of these have the taste factor. Many add coffee which does intensify the flavour.

TheSweet Treat, the Hershey's is by far the mildest of my chocolate cakes.

One time I replaced the cocoa with Hershey's Special Dark in another recipe and it was very chocolatey (is that a word?). Maybe someone on CC has subbed it and can tell you if it will work.

Spooky, I'm glad you had success. I really don't understand why Hershey's uses that as their feature recipe when novice and experienced bakers have so much trouble with it. It is much more stable with the changes than as written.

I use the Q's Favorite Chocolate Cake on this web site. It doesn't rise as much as other cakes and it is a little bit of a pain because it says to let the batter "rest" for an hour before baking, but I have tried other recipes and always come back to this one. It is a dark chocolate and very rich. That batter is very liquidy too, but don't let that scare you.

I just tried the chocolate cake recipe fron King Arthur Flour, it was fudgy tasting (hubby & kids loved it) and easy.
http://www.celebrateexpress.com/Another-Year-of-Fabulous-40-Deluxe-Party-Pack-for-8/73526/PartyKitDetail.aspx?REF=KNC-PlusBox&gclid=CPzNk7rJ2q4CFYkXzQodGTk0Vw

I've been using  recipe I found on the wedding cakes for you's website for buttermilk chocolate cake

http://www.wedding-cakes-for-you.com/chocolatecakerecipe.html

Imagine my surprise when i went on there to get the link fr this thread and its the original Herseys recipe LOL

I substitute for the cup of buttermilk  3/4 cupnatural yoghurt 1/4 cup milk, and it comes out great. I've tried it with Hersheys cocoa and Cadurys bournville cocoa and its great family and friends love it.

I fill it with the raspberry mousse recipe

http://www.wedding-cakes-for-you.com/raspberry-mousse-recipe.html

It smells really chocolatey ( not sure  if thats actually a word LOL) no strange smells at all.

The batter is really thin but bakes up really well and is lovely and moist. Texture is a bit loose for carving but can be done if you freeze it and carve will slightly frozen.

I use instant coffee in it for the cup of coffee and half the amount of sugar as i find the US recipes too sweet, especially once they are covered in fondant.

The reason I use the yoghurt/milk rather than buttermilk is that i never have buttermilk in the fridge but always have milk and yoghurt ( I make my own using the Easy yo kits)

http://www.easiyo.com/index.html

I use this recipe http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/08/devils-food-cak/ it yields enough for a 2 inch tall 10" round. 

Thanks Peanut66 and kikiandkyle. After this past fiasco I'm definitely switching to Dutch-processed cocoa. So many more options.

For this recipe I use 6tbsp of Ghirardelli cocoa and 3tbsp of the Hershey's Dark. I like the dark color it gives the cake, and it goes well with chocolate SMBC or vanilla ABC.