Name: Easy chocolate cake
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: Chocolate cake; 125 grams butter, softened; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 1/4 cups (275g) caster sugar; 2 eggs; 1 1/3 cups (200g) self-raising flour; 1/2 cup (50g) cocoa powder; 2/3 cup (160ml) water; Chocolate icing; 90 grams dark eating chocolate, chopped coarsely; 30 grams butter; 1 cup (160g) icing sugar; 2 tablespoons hot water

There really is nothing quite like the a homemade chocolate cake, moist and rich in flavour. So if you’re a beginner baker or pressed for time, this easy chocolate cake recipe means you can make your own from scratch. With pantry staples like butter, flour, eggs, sugar and of course cocoa, it’s quick to get in the oven and great for making with kids. It’s also a good chocolate birthday cake recipe to have up your sleeve for busy weeknights.

Ingredients

Chocolate cake

125 grams butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups (275g) caster sugar

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups (200g) self-raising flour

1/2 cup (50g) cocoa powder

2/3 cup (160ml) water

Chocolate icing

90 grams dark eating chocolate, chopped coarsely

30 grams butter

1 cup (160g) icing sugar

2 tablespoons hot water

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease deep 20cm-round cake pan; line with baking paper.

Beat butter, extract, sugar, eggs, sifted flour and cocoa, and the water in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed until ingredients are combined. Increase speed to medium; beat about 3 minutes or until mixture is smooth and paler in colour.

Spread mixture into pan; bake about 1 hour. Stand cake 5 minutes; turn, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, make chocolate icing. Spread cake with icing.

Chocolate icing

Melt chocolate and butter in small heatproof bowl over small saucepan of simmering water; gradually stir in sifted icing sugar and the hot water, stirring until icing is spreadable.

Chocolate cake recipe tips and notes

Icing the cake: Make sure you let your cake cool before icing it so that it stays on top of the cake rather than melting.
Don’t like icing? You could skip the dark chocolate icing and serve this moist chocolate cake with either fresh strawberries, a drizzle of cream or a scoop of ice cream.
Butter for the cake: Make sure the butter has been left at room temperature for long enough to soften. Depending on the time of year, this could take anywhere from a few minutes to 30 or 40 minutes and makes it easier to bring all of the chocolate cake ingredients together in a batter.
Storage: Chocolate cake can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You could also freeze it for up to 3 months.
Birthdays: You could decorate this cake with lollies, fruit or anything else to make it feel special. Or for something different (that’s also great to have up your sleeve), try our basic vanilla butter cake recipe.

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Women's Weekly Food

Trusted by home cooks for 90 years, The Australian Women’s Weekly’s Test Kitchen and cookbooks hold a singular place in shaping home cooking within the Australian culinary landscape. Today, the AWW Test Kitchen in Sydney is a thriving hub for food content, connected to two bustling photographic studios where a talented team of Australia’s best recipe developers, art directors, editors and photographers create our world class food content. Our recipes are thoroughly tested and tasted and given the Test Kitchen tick of approval, guaranteeing you’ll get great results in your home kitchen.

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