Chocolate Cake Lab357 recipes
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Best Chocolate Cake

Tessa Arias · handletheheat.com · 2026 · 12 servings

Against 357 chocolate cake recipes

More cocoa than 89% of recipes and more salt than 93%.

See how all 357 chocolate cake recipes compare →

Get the method at handletheheat.com →This page has the ingredients and the numbers. The instructions and photos are on the original recipe, which Recipe Lab does not republish.

How it compares

Against the typical cake: the median of 357 chocolate cake recipes, per 100 g of flour.

  • More cocoa than 89% of recipes: 38% of the flour weight against the typical recipe's 23%.
  • More salt than 93% of recipes: 2.7% of the flour weight against the typical recipe's 1.1%, about 2.5 times as much.
  • More egg than 89% of recipes: 90% of the flour weight against the typical recipe's 46%, about twice as much.
  • More liquid than 89% of recipes: 209% of the flour weight against the typical recipe's 138%.
Cocoa: 38%, 90th percentileChocolate: 0%, 32nd percentileSugar: 180%, 79th percentileFat: 51%, 36th percentileEgg: 90%, 89th percentileLiquid: 209%, 89th percentileLeavening: 2.7%, 13th percentileSalt: 2.7%, 96th percentileCocoaChocolateSugarFatEggLiquidLeaveningSalt
Percentile on each ingredient. Shaded ring: the middle half of recipes.

Ingredients (12)

  • 1 cup (85 grams) Dutch-process cocoa85 g
  • 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder*≈ 4.8 g
  • 1 cup (237 grams) boiling water237 g
  • 1 3/4 cups (222 grams) all-purpose flour222 g
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt≈ 6 g
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda≈ 6 g
  • 2 cups (400 grams) lightly packed light brown sugar400 g
  • 1 cup (227 grams) sour cream or full-fat plain yogurt, (at room temperature)227 g
  • 4 large eggs, (at room temperature)≈ 200 g
  • 1/2 cup (112 grams) neutral oil, such as canola or avocado oil112 g
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract≈ 8 g

Toppings and extras

Listed, but not counted in the percentages below.

  • 1 batch Chocolate Buttercream Frostingn/a

flour 222 gbatter 1508 g

≈ marks grams converted from cups and spoons with standard densities; the rest are weights the source printed.

Baker's percentages

Grams per 100 g of flour, and where that falls among all 357 recipes. Shaded: the middle half. Tick: the median.

  • Cocoa38% · 90th percentile
  • Chocolate0% · 32nd percentile
  • Sugar180% · 79th percentile
  • Fat51% · 36th percentile
  • Egg90% · 89th percentile
  • Liquid209% · 89th percentile
  • Leavening2.7% · 13th percentile
  • Salt2.7% · 96th percentile

Oven

Temperature
350°F / 175°C
median 350°F
Time
32 to 35 minutes
median 33 minutes

Keep exploring

Recipes most like this one

Nearest by baker's percentages: cocoa, chocolate, sugar, fat, egg, liquid, leavening, salt.

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