Everyone needs a go-to recipe for chocolate cake. Something they come back to time and time again. This recipe is my go-to recipe. I use this every time I want (more like need) to make a chocolate cake, and it translates perfectly into cupcakes as well. It’s full of chocolate flavor and is super moist, thanks to the addition of oil as opposed to butter.
As for the frosting- omg. SO good! The frosting is a Nando’s copycat, developed by none other than the very talented Maham Alavi (her recipe can be found here). Her recipe is perfect, and all I’ve done is adapt the technique a bit. The ingredients and their proportions are spot-on, and they result in perfectly balanced and smooth frosting. This frosting is so delicious and adaptable, that it even goes amazingly well with vanilla cake and cupcakes.
Enjoy!
(Also, please excuse the “rustic” appearance of the cake. I cannot for the life of me frost a smooth cake.)
Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Malt Frosting
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup hot coffee
- 1 cup neutral flavored oil
- 1 cup milk, whole or reduced fat
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup chocolate malted milk powder
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Prepare Cake
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Preheat oven to 325°F and set aside two greased 8-inch square baking pans or 9-inch round baking pans.
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In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
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In a separate bowl, whisk together coffee, oil, milk, vanilla, and egg.
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Add liquid ingredients to flour mixture, and whisk until thoroughly combined. Transfer batter to prepared baking pans and bake until an inserted toothpick near the center comes out clean, about 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Prepare Frosting
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In a large bowl, whisk butter, cream cheese, and cocoa powder over low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium high and whisk until smooth.
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In a separate small bowl, whisk together cream and malted milk powder. Slowly add it to the butter mixture, and beat until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
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Gradually add powdered sugar, beating on low speed, until incorporated. Increase speed to high and whip until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
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Frost the cooled cake as desired.
Recipe Notes
Recipe can be adapted to bake cupcakes (will produce about 30 cupcakes). It will take 15-22 minutes to bake.
Cake adapted from Food.com; Frosting technique adapted from Maham Alavi, who blogs at Mayhem In The House.
Hi,
Is the malted chocolate milk powder basically chocolate Ovaltine?
yes, exactly!
Hi, what do you mean by 1 cup of coffee? Is that one mug of water with 1 spoon of instant coffee? Also could you give the recipe in grams rather than cups by any chance? Thank you!
Hello Amy! The coffee is just one cup of brewed coffee, or 1 cup of boiling water with 1 spoon of instant coffee mixed in. The coffee doesn’t add any coffee flavor to the cake, but it helps bring out more flavor of the chocolate. If you don’t have instant coffee or regular coffee, you’re more than welcome to use just hot water in its place.
How many grams is 1/2cup of cocoa powder and 3/4cup of whipping cream. Could u specify in grams ? Thanks
Hello,
Thank you for stopping by! Unfortunately I don’t have access to those measurements for you, but in the future I will try to incorporate measurements in grams as well.
I use standard measuring cups and spoons here on the site because they are more easily accessible to most.
Gram conversion can be found on the web… just say hey Google blah blah and wala.
I made this today adding half yogurt and half milk instead of just milk. For the icing i used 4 cubes kiri cream cheese and mistakenly put 1/2 cup butter instead of a full cup and it was perfectly light, fluffy and not too sweet. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe. It was lived by kids and bigs alike.
Wow! So happy to hear that! Thank you so much for swinging by and leaving your feedback 🙂
do we have to add some juice to make the cake moist ?
Nope, it’s very moist on its own 🙂
Salam!
What is this chocolate malted powder? N where do we get it? Costco or any other place?
Wsalam!
Chocolate malted powder is ovaltine. You can find it at your local desi grocery store, or even in the baking aisle in most major grocery stores.
Hi Heena,
I am looking forward to trying this recipe. Which brand of malted chocolate powder would you recommend for the best results?
Hello! I always use Ovaltine, and get great results!
I’d love to hear your feedback once you’ve made it 🙂
Hi!
Would you recommend a paddle attachment or a whisk attachment for the making of the frosting?
Hello! I would go for the whisk attachment for the frosting 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
My khala made this exact cake and she could not stop going on about it. Her guests said it tasted just even better than Nando’s infamous chocolate cake. I’ve already bought all the ingredients. Can’t wait to make it!!
thank you so much Wasia! So happy to hear this!
I made this cake today, and it’s so yummy! 😋I have never tasted a cake like this! This is the best cake I have tasted in my life! Thanks for sharing it!
Thank you SO much!
Made this cake the other day – thank you for such an easy-to-follow recipe for us beginners! It turned out amazing and was polished off the very same day.
This makes me so happy! Thank you!
My cake sinks what to do
Are you sure it is completely baked through? Typically an underbaked bake will sink in the center.
Is this frosting stable enough to use between layers? Thank you!
Yes, absolutely!