Cooking

23 Chocolate Cake Recipes Worth a Second Slice

Including our fudgiest chocolate cake yet.
Sticky Chocolate Cake with a piece scooped out and on to a plate
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Pearl Jones and Thu Buser, prop styling by Sean Dooley

There’s something special about a homemade chocolate cake. Sure, cardboard-encased supermarket sheet cakes have their nostalgia, and bakery cakes with their intricate piping are beautiful. But do they perfume your home with the aroma of cocoa and butter? Do they let you sneak swoops of icing while you’re waiting for the cake to chill on the cooling rack? Do they elicit the same oohs and aahs (and sense of self-satisfaction) when you carry it out to your guests? Not quite.

Not to pick favorites, but this Sticky Chocolate Cake by deputy food editor Hana Asbrink is our favorite chocolate cake recipe right now. Inspired by the Swedish dessert kladdkaka, it’s got a gooey, molten chocolate center with a crackly brownie-esque top. It’s absurdly easy and begging to be shared—just as appropriate for a kids’ sleepover as it is for a Valentine’s Day date night.

That’s not the only chocolate cake we’re here to rave about, though. From buttercream-lathered sheet cakes made for elementary school birthday parties to dinner-party-worthy towering layers, we’ve got a chocolate cake recipe for every age and every occasion. Set out some butter at room temperature and get baking—there’s plenty to choose from.

  • Sheet cake on a glitter background with flowers.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Floral Styling by LaParis Phillips 
    1/23

    Chocolate Sheet Cake With Brown Butter Frosting

    Our staff is categorically obsessed with the genius of this brown butter frosting. Made by adding milk powder to the melted butter mix, it’s extra toasty and malty—just right swooshed over a buttermilk chocolate sheet cake.

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  • Sticky Chocolate Cake with a piece scooped out and on to a plate
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Pearl Jones and Thu Buser, prop styling by Sean Dooley
    2/23

    Sticky Chocolate Cake

    For confident pros and first-time bakers alike. There’s no risk of underbaking or overbaking it. Less time in the oven means it’s more molten in the center. More time and it’s a little more set. Chocolate lovers won’t mind either way.

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  • A slice of Brooklyn Blackout Cake with three layers of sponge two layer of chocolate pudding and a ganache frosting.
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Judy Mancini.
    3/23

    Brooklyn Blackout Cake

    Three layers of super moist cake + two layers of creamy pudding = a chocolate lover’s dream.

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  • Glutenfree thanksgiving dessert
    Photographs by Jenny Huang, food styling by Sue Li, prop styling by Sophie Strangio
    4/23

    Chocolate Buckwheat Cake

    This gluten-free chocolate cake uses Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder and earthy buckwheat for a chocolate flavor that’s intense and more, well, chocolaty. Serve it with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

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  • Overhead view of a sliced vegan chocolate cake on an orange glass platter.
    Photograph by Emma Fishman, prop styling by Emma Ringness, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi
    5/23

    Vegan Chocolate Cake With Chocolate-Orange Frosting

    There’s no special order vegan substitute in this cake. Just some baking soda and vinegar for the lift. A rich chocolate ganache, made with bittersweet chocolate melted in a large bowl over hot water, makes for those picturesque swoops.

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  • Image may contain Food Dessert Cake Icing Creme and Cream
    Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou
    6/23

    Heartbeet Chocolate Cake

    There’s moist chocolate cake, and then there’s moist chocolate cake, like this glossy number. Gluten-free thanks to almond flour, it stays plush and soft thanks to puréed beets in the wet ingredients mixture that give it an almost red-velvet-esque color.

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  • A slice of chocolate fudge cake placed upright on a plate with remaining cake in the background.
    Photo by Shay Harrington
    7/23

    Chocolate Fudge Cake

    A dose of almond meal gives this cake its ultra-satisfying texture, and a subtle nutty flavor that complements the chocolate.

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  • A chocolate cake baked in a castiron skillet topped with three scoops of ice cream and a tahinichocolate sauce.
    Photograph by Joe Lingeman, food styling by Shilpa Uskokovic, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua
    8/23

    Tahini Hot Fudge Skillet Cake

    Semisweet chocolate chips and nutty tahini are best friends in this easy skillet cake. You’ll use Dutch-process cocoa, vanilla extract, and brown sugar for a pour-over chocolate sauce that pools in all of the nooks and crannies.

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  • A single chocolate lava cake topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The cake has been sliced open and the liquid...
    Alex Lau
    9/23

    BA’s Best Chocolate Lava Cake

    A deep, dark, molten chocolate cake recipe with a liquid chocolate center thanks to a spoonful of ganache, which melts as the cake bakes.

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  • Buche de Noel with meringue mushrooms on a white platter placed on a green tablecloth
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi, Prop Styling by Alex Massillon
    10/23

    Bûche de Noël

    A little bit of vegetable oil in the cake batter helps keep the cake pliable and rollable after it’s baked for those stunning swirls. Preparing your cake pan is key. Use plenty of nonstick spray and parchment paper for no cracks.

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  • Image may contain Food Bread Dessert Chocolate and Fudge
    Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Micah Morton
    13/23

    Spiced Chocolate-Pumpkin Cake With Pumpkin Glaze

    There’s no stand mixer needed, and this cake comes together in just one mixing bowl—no finicky separating of wet and dry ingredients. Fewer dishes to wash and less total time means you’re that much closer to chocolate cake. Depending on what you have in your kitchen, you can bake this cake in a square, loaf, or round cake pan.

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  • A baked Flourless Chocolate Meringue Cake from Claire Saffitz
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Beth Pakradooni
    14/23

    Flourless Chocolate Meringue Cake

    You’ll need five large eggs to make this dairy- and grain-free chocolate cake—it’s what gives the cake its lift, structure, and that crackly, swirly meringue top.

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  • A slice of black forest layer cake with four layers of chocolate sponge sandwiches with cherry preserves ganache and...
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou and Natasha Pickowicz, prop styling by Rebecca Bartoshesky
    21/23

    Black Forest Layer Cake With Cherry Preserves

    Some chocolate cakes can be overwhelmingly intense, but this one manages to feel light and balanced, with no single component dominating the others.

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  • Image may contain Food Biscuit Cookie Dessert Chocolate Ice Cream Cream Creme Dish and Meal
    Photo by Peden + Munk
    22/23

    Chocolate-Rye Crumb Cake

    Because it contains more essential oils, whole grain rye flour can spoil quickly. Store the unused portion in the fridge or freezer.

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  • Image may contain Cupcake Creme Cream Food Dessert Cake Bread Fungus and Muffin
    Alex Lau
    23/23

    Devil’s Food Cupcakes

    Non-Dutch-process cocoa powder is sometimes labeled “natural,” and since all of the chocolate flavor depends on what kind you use, quality matters for these devil's food cupcakes. Get the recipe for vanilla cream cheese frosting here.

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Antara is an associate editor at Bon Appétit whose work includes writing about the joys of cooking with South Asian spice blends, a review of Bad Bunny’s Miami restaurant, and plenty of ingredient and technique explainers to help level up your kitchen skills. She developed the “Part-Time Plant-Based” cooking column ... Read More
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