EatingWell's Died-and-Went-to-Heaven Chocolate Cake

Rating: 5 stars
9 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 9
  • 4 star values: 0
  • 3 star values: 0
  • 2 star values: 0
  • 1 star values: 0

This foolproof cake is one of our most popular recipes. Dutch-process cocoa is preferred here for its deep chocolate flavor. Source: EatingWell Magazine, March/April 1995

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Ingredients

Cake
Icing

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 12-cup Bundt pan or coat it with nonstick cooking spray. Dust the pan with flour, invert and shake out the excess.

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  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add buttermilk, brown sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Whisk in hot coffee until completely incorporated. (The batter will be quite thin.)

  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes; remove from the pan and let cool completely.

  • To make icing: In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough of the buttermilk or milk to make a thick but pourable icing. Set the cake on a serving plate and drizzle the icing over the top.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:
240 calories; 5 g total fat; 0.9 g saturated fat; 24 mg cholesterol; 362 mg sodium. 142 mg potassium; 47.6 g carbohydrates; 1.9 g fiber; 34 g sugar; 3.7 g protein; 43 IU vitamin a iu; 45 mcg folate; 71 mg calcium; 1 mg iron; 28 mg magnesium;
Exchanges:

3 other carbohydrate, 1 fat

Reviews (9)

Read More Reviews
9 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 9
  • 4 star values: 0
  • 3 star values: 0
  • 2 star values: 0
  • 1 star values: 0
Reviews:
Most Helpful Most Positive Least Positive Newest
GINNY
Rating: 5 stars
01/28/2017
This is my go-to recipe for chocolate cake and am surprised that there are so few reviews. I have made the Black Magic Cake---recipe used to be on the back of the Hershey's box but found this one which is made w/ healthier ingredients. It tastes exactly the same....has a rich chocolatey dense flavor. I bake this cake 10 or more times a year it's THAT good. I frost it scantily with a chocolate glaze or ganache. It's wonderful! Read More
EatingWell User
Rating: 5 stars
09/07/2014
Easy and delicious Simple and great results (and I am not the world's best baker by any stretch of the imagination). I made cupcakes by baking for 18 minutes and they are moist and delicious. This will be my new go-to cupcake recipe! Read More
EatingWell User
Rating: 5 stars
02/15/2013
Best Chocolate Cake! I believe this has been said many times before all over the internet (just Google the name of this cake) but this is an amazing chocolate cake! I am a true chocoholic never met a dessert I'd deem too rich and I tested this cake against 12 other recipes for an upcoming birthday cake and it was the clear winner. It's sweet but not too sweet very chocolaty tasting super moist and keeps a soft yet still slightly fudgy crumb and texture. Against the 12 other recipes I tried it had the richest chocolate flavor without an overpowering sweetness. You cannot taste the coffee at all and I'd recommend making it super strong-I brewed it nearly black in my 2nd round with this cake and it enhanced the chocolate in a big big way and I didn't taste coffee at all. I actually made this into a layer cake split between 4 9" round cake pans (I doubled the recipe). The cake is fairly soft so I worried it might not hold up well with layers but it did fantastic (admittedly the fridge was my friend while compiling the layers) had no breakage or splitting and held the layers of butter cream perfectly. I highly highly recommend this cake-it tastes amazing and puts regular cocoa/butter chocolate cakes to shame! Pros: Easy to make moist rich taste can be made in multiple forms Cons: None! Read More
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EatingWell User
Rating: 5 stars
10/30/2011
I've been making this cake for years for my kids' birthdays. We do use an unhealthy frosting on it but the cake itself is very moist and delicious. I have given this recipe out to many of my friends. Everyone loves it! Read More
EatingWell User
Rating: 5 stars
10/30/2011
This cake is magical!! I have made it for years and it is always a huge hit at birthdays and pot-luck dessert tables. Easy to mix (though an odd combination of ingredients). Don't be freaked out by how thin and runny the batter seems -- it cooks up into a dense rich moist cake that you will not believe has only 5 grams of fat per serving. It really doesn't even need icing -- just dust it with confectioners sugar if you like. Do be sure you grease and flour the bundt cake mold well and don't let the cake cool in the pan or it may stick. It does keep well -- that is if you can keep everyone from gobbling it up the first day! A tip for a cute birthday or anniversary cake for a guy (or gal) who is into cars: if you have a ribbed bundt pan this very dark battered cake comes out looking like a tire. I've tucked a small bowl or metal lid in the center hole to make a "hub cap" used dark chocolate frosting to cover it and then drawn white "tread" squiggles with icing around the outside and written the message on the "sidewalls" to look like a tire spec. You can write the special date to look like the tire size code. The first one I made for my car nut boyfriend's birthday said " wasn't it a GOODYEAR babe?" around the rim. Read More
ldb1114@aol.com
Rating: 5 stars
10/29/2011
I absolutely love this cake the coffee gives a real depth to the chocolate. I do not use the frosting. I have managed to cut the calories and fat content even further: 1 cup organic pastry flour 3/4 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour 4oz egg whites (about 2 egg whites) 1 cup 1% milk and 1/4 c nonfat plain greek yogurt (instead of buttermilk) 1/4 c natural applesauce (get the applesauce in the premeasured little cups its a bit more than 1/4c but that is ok - no sugar added - instead of oil). It comes out to about 155 cals 1.25 g fat less than 1 g sat fat 33 carb per slice (I cut 10 even slices from my bundt cake). Enjoy I am going to grab another slice! Read More
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ldb1114@aol.com
Rating: 5 stars
10/29/2011
Update: I looked at the cake again (9 3/4" bundt) and actually I cut it into 12 even slices - not 10 (or the pieces would be huge!) - so the nutritional breakdown (with the swaps) is approximately as follows: 130 cals 1 g fat less than 1 g sat fat 30 carbs. Read More
EatingWell User
Rating: 5 stars
10/29/2011
Love this recipe and so does everyone else who eats this cake! Very simple very moist and very flavourful! Been making it since I got your cookbook many years ago! Read More
arcendis@gmail.com
Rating: 5 stars
10/29/2011
Great! The batter really is soupy. I was nervous that it was so thin but it really turns out great! I used dark chocolate cocoa powder and I love it. Pros: Delicious Read More
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