A homemade dark chocolate cake that's as easy and moist as a box mix using a vintage no-fail Hershey's recipe.
JUMP TO RECIPEI've always been the oddball in the cooking world who actually LIKES boxed cake mixes. I know, I know, that's ludicrous, right?
Well, aside from them being EASY, they're also so incredibly moist and tender. I've tried SO MANY homemade cake recipes over the years that were just too dry and too firm for my liking. Especially chocolate cakes.
I've figured out how to recreate something similarly tender and moist with sheet cake recipes but no traditional cake recipe holds a candle to this classic from Hershey's. Check out my two favorite sheet cake recipes: The BEST Chocolate Sheet Cake and Birthday Texas Sheet Cake (Yellow Texas Sheet Cake)
I originally found this recipe in an old Hershey's cookbook from my childhood (waaaaay back in the 1900's). It was small with a metal, spiral binding with an illustration of a little girl licking a spoon and it was chocked full of excellent recipes. Anybody remember that cookbook??
What drew my attention to the Black Magic Cake was that it was easy enough for 10-year old me to make. I didn't have to melt chocolate or combine the ingredients in a persnickety way AND I could make it in one 13x9 pan instead of trying to take on a layered cake.
The cake is absolutely delicious as-is (without frosting) so I never frosted it much when I made it as a kid. If I did, I usually just grabbed a can of ready-made frosting. I still do just that sometimes!
But when I really want to put on the dog, I make this No-Fail Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (pictured) which is ta die for and equally easy to make!
Just like the cake recipe, this buttercream uses cocoa powder instead of chocolate so it is super easy to whip up!
You can also use my recipe for No-Fail Buttercream Frosting which is a white frosting that can be flavored however you like... vanilla, coconut, peppermint, almond, lemon... just use whichever extract you'd like to flavor the buttercream.
6 REASONS I LOVE THIS RECIPE
- All the ingredients get mixed in one bowl at the same time, making it as easy as a box mix.
- Cocoa powder is used to flavor the cake so you don't have to fool with melting chocolate.
- It is insanely moist and stays that way! I suspect this is likely to do with the use of vegetable oil instead of butter or shortening.
- The chocolate flavor is rich and deep from the black coffee (which is likely where the cake got its name).
- It doesn't have to be frosted but it's next-level delicious if you do. It can flex from weekday snack cake to decadent dessert depending on what you need.
- There's a certain warm-and-fuzzy nostalgia to using vintage recipes like this one!
A FEW RECIPE NOTES
- The cake does NOT taste like coffee. The coffee just amplifies the chocolate flavor and adds to the rich dark color. I hear you can substitute boiling water for the coffee but I've never tried it myself.
- This cake can also be made in round cake pans or a bundt pan BUT you will need to grease and flour the pan(s). Bake 8-9" round pans 25-30 minutes, bundt pan 50-55 minutes.
- Substitute buttermilk with this milk/vinegar combo if needed: Add 3 teaspoons white vinegar to a 1-cup measuring pitcher then fill to the 1-cup line with milk. Let rest at least 5 minutes for the vinegar to "sour" the milk.
MORE CHOCOLATE CAKES TO TRY!
CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE - A true southern chocolate pound cake recipe that’s moist and fudgy and packed with rich chocolate flavor.
IMPOSSIBLE 5-INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE CAKE - An impossibly moist, fudgy, decadent chocolate bundt cake recipe made with just five ingredients.
THE BEST CHOCOLATE TEXAS SHEET CAKE - A tried-and-true family recipe for velvety tender chocolate cake with old-fashioned cocoa icing poured on while the cake is still warm.
EARTHQUAKE CAKE - A decadent chocolate cake with pecans, coconut, chocolate chips and an ooey-gooey cream cheese frosting explosion that cracks the cake apart!
BLACK-BOTTOM CUPCAKES - A shortcut recipe for the classic chocolate cupcakes filled with chocolate chip cream cheese filling.
Recipe for Black Magic Cake
Get the recipe for this no muss, no fuss frosting made easy with cocoa powder and a 1-lb box of powdered sugar!
NO-FAIL CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
Black Magic Cake
A homemade dark chocolate cake that's as easy and moist as a box mix using a vintage no-fail Hershey's recipe that turns out perfect every time.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup hot black coffee
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray or butter.
- Add sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt to a large mixing bowl then whisk well. 2 c. sugar, 1 3/4 c. flour, 3/4 cup cocoa, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp each baking powder & salt
- Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla then mix with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. 2 eggs, 1 c. each buttermilk & coffee, 1/2 c. oil, 1 tsp vanilla
- Pour batter into prepared pan then bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserting in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool completely then frost with No-Fail Chocolate Buttercream Frosting or your favorite frosting.
Notes
- The cake does NOT taste like coffee. The coffee just amplifies the chocolate flavor and adds to the rich dark color. I hear you can substitute boiling water for the coffee but I've never tried it myself.
- This cake can also be made in round cake pans or a bundt pan BUT you will need to grease and flour the pan(s). Bake 8-9" round pans 25-30 minutes, bundt pan 50-55 minutes.
- Substitute buttermilk with this milk/vinegar combo if needed: Add 3 teaspoons white vinegar to a 1-cup measuring pitcher then fill to the 1-cup line with milk. Let rest at least 5 minutes for the vinegar to "sour" the milk.
I have been making this cake for 40 years. I know it as Hershey’s chocolate cake. It’s the best chocolate cake I have found to date.
ReplyDeleteA MUST TRY FOR ME I LOVE CHOCOLATE CAKE. I USE ALL THE SAME INGREDIENTS WHEN MAKEING A CHOCOLATE CAKE BUT THIS IS WORTH A TRY AGAIN YOUR WAY. THE BUTTERCREAM LOOKS SO FLUFFY AND LIGHT AND VERY DELICIOUS TOO I CAN'T WAIT TO TRY THIS CAKE.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it!! It's always been a favorite of mine because it's so much easier to mix up than most traditional homemade cakes.
DeleteShall we assume this is regular unsweetened cocoa powder and not Dutch processed? TIA!
ReplyDeleteYou can use either since both are unsweetened. If you prefer the milder flavor of Dutch processed, go for it. If you like the more robust flavor of regular cocoa powder, use it. Hope that makes sense sweetie!!
DeleteChef’s kiss 🤌 to this perfect response
DeleteWhere is the box mix /
DeleteAP flour?
ReplyDeleteIt’s always AP flour unless otherwise stated
Delete