With this homemade chocolate cake mix, my life is now complete.
There used to be a time in my life where I actually thought the only way to make a cake was by opening a box.
When I became obsessed with making my cakes from scratch, I didn’t know homemade cake mixes existed. It wasn’t until my sister Julie passed on her recipe for yellow cake mix that I decided to give this chocolate version a go.
Winner-winner chocolate cake for dinner. 😉
Goodbye boxed mixes that contain chemicals and un-natural ingredients. There’s a new cake mix in town and it’s EASY!
Last year when I shared my homemade yellow cake mix it was a hit! I had no idea so many people were looking for an alternative to buying boxed mixes. ALSO it’s pretty much the best yellow cake around, in my opinion.
And NOW we have a chocolate version! Same easy ingredients… just chocolate.
To Make This Homemade Chocolate Cake Mix You will need:
- unbleached all-purpose flour
- sugar
- natural cocoa powder
- baking powder
- fine salt (sea salt or Himalayan)
- unsalted butter
Measure and add 2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour into a large mixing bowl. See recipe card notes for substituting cake flour. Then measure and add 1½ cups sugar, 1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon fine salt and place them into a large bowl. Be sure to style it super cool sand art form because that is a crucial step when making this cake mix.
Kidding.
Grab a whisk and combine.
Almost done.
Seriously, you see how easy this is right?
Drop in 4 tablespoons of softened unsalted butter and use a pastry cutter to blend it into the dry ingredients.
Ta-DAH! Since this has butter in it, simply store in a glass or plastic container with a tight fitting lid in your refrigerator. Then you have homemade chocolate cake mix at your fingertips!
Give Homemade Cake Mix As A Gift:
If you want to give homemade chocolate cake mix as a gift, omit the butter and store all the dry ingredients in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Write out the remaining ingredients (include the butter!) and then recipe instructions (start by creaming the butter, vanilla, eggs and adding the dry ingredients, water, oil etc.) out onto a note card and tie it around the jar with string.
Make The Cake:
The recipe for making the cake is below, however if you want to see a step-by-step for the cake and frosting, click here
Other Homemade Cake Mixes:
Enjoy! And if you give this Homemade Chocolate Cake Mix recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Homemade Chocolate Cake Mix
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, see notes
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder, like Hershey's or Ghirardelli
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine salt, sea salt or Himalayan
- 4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Use a pastry cutter to blend in the butter.
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
Can you Substitute cake flour?
Yes! If using cake flour instead of all-purpose flour, you will need only need 2¼ cups cake flour. However the cakes crumb/texture will be different.Nutritional Value Is for the Entire Cake Mix.
Homemade Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 recipe homemade chocolate cake mix
- 1 cup water
- 2/3 cup grapeseed oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
FOR THE FROSTING:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 2½ cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 to 3 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Equipment
Instructions
- Grease and line 2 (9-inch) cake pans with parchment.
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ (or 180℃).
- Into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the homemade cake mix, water and oil. Mix on low until combined.
- With the mixer on low, add the vanilla plus one egg at a time to the cake mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each egg.
- Divide the cake mixture (about 2 1/2 cups each) among the two prepared pans. Slide the pans into your preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester comes out with only a few crumbs attached. Rotate the pans half way through baking to ensure even baking.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before running a knife around the edge and turning the cakes out onto a wire cooling rack.
- Cool the cakes completely before frosting.
FOR THE FROSTING:
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the butter and mix on low speed until light and creamy (about 2 minutes).
- Next, sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a large bowl.
- Using a large liquid measuring cup combine the whole milk, buttermilk, vanilla and almond extract.
- Add a few large spoonfuls of the cocoa mixture to the butter in the mixer, alternating with the liquids. Mix on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed to high and mix for 4 to 5 minutes or until the frosting is light and fluffy.
HOW TO FROST THE CAKE:
- Spread a teaspoon of frosting in the middle of the cake plate/stand. Place the first cake layer onto a cake stand and loosely place strips of parchment or wax paper just underneath the edge all around the cake. Top with 1/3 of the frosting and starting at the center, spread the frosting out to the edge, leaving a little extra frosting overhanging the edge of the cake. Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting and top it with the remaining frosting. Spread the frosting out from the center and down around the sides of the cake.
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THANK YOU in advance for your support!
Love this idea!! How long would it last in the fridge in your opinion? Thank you!
Hi Diana! I would say 1-2 months, possibly longer. 🙂
Is this recipe good to use instead of cake mix in this recipe:
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/chocolate-strawberry-cake-with-fluffy-frosting/14b8ee5c-4fe7-41c5-95c6-ec9e323845da ?
I would think so!
What and how much ingredients would you put in when you’re ready to bake?
Hi Paige! Here’s the link 🙂 http://www.simplyscratch.com/2016/09/homemade-chocolate-cake-with-chocolate-almond-frosting.html
Absolute worst recipe ever online. So confusing. Doesn’t give proper measurements or durations for bake time etc. Honestly such a poor excuse for a “thorough” recipe. Horrible job all around. Looked amazing in picture but I feel catfished
Kyle, this is a cake mix recipe. I hope you didn’t eat it as is? The chocolate cake recipe is linked throughout the post, so if you want to use it to make a cake, you will need to follow the link to that recipe.
Kyle, link at bottom. Tells you how to bake it
Would it be possible to use almond or coconut flour to make it keto? I’d love to make this of so!
Thank you!
Hi Tammy! Without testing it I can’t give you an accurate answer. Sorry!
I’m really disappointed. I think there was too much baking soda, it tasted really bad. Such a shame because I made 6 powdered batches of it to use as I needed it and now I’ll need to throw it all out, or somehow dilute it down. It’s also really oily. I did use sunflower oil instead of grape seed. I don’t know if that made a difference. I was also surprised at how much sugar it contained. Almost as much as the flour. Sorry for the negative review, but I’m wondering if the ratios are right?
My apologies. I used bicarbonate soda, which is different to baking powder. That probably made it taste so bad.
No problem! Thanks for coming back and clarifying!
What temp for the cake?
Hi Victoria! This is the recipe for the cake mix, in the post is the link for the actual cake. Enjoy! https://www.simplyscratch.com/2016/09/homemade-chocolate-cake-with-chocolate-almond-frosting.html
This looks like a great mix! I was searching for a mix that I can use in place of a boxed cake recipe. Would you be able to tell me the weight of this mix in oz? The cake I want to bake calls for a 15.25 oz box. Thank you!
How do I adjust this recipe to a 15.25 oz. box?
I have a brownie recipe that I used a boxed cake in and it was delicious. I found another recipe for a cake mix and it must have been for an 18.25 oz. It didn’t taste as good as the boxed one. Thank you.
Hard to say, Marlene. Since this recipe calls for butter in the mix, it’s going to be heavier.
We tried your homemade cake mix yesterday and it was delicious!! Better than any cake box mix! For the icing-we added some melted peanut butter in because we love chocolate and peanut butter-our family loved it! Thanks!
This was moist and amazing! I used Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa and regular two cups flour. I added a large box of dry Jello chocolate pudding mix and two cups milk instead of water. Regular vegetable oil and salted butter was a half stick. Sea salt slightly less. Bake time was additional 10 minutes with two 9” rounds.
Can I use a 9 x 13 cake pan for the homemade chocolate cake.
I LOVE your HILARIOUS writing. I like how its very easy to read and you make it so its not boring and plain. Really made my day