This Easy Chocolate Cake recipe for kids is not a complicated recipe and is fast to make and fast to eat!
If you want a great recipe to bake with the kids, then look no further. The whole family will love this delicious cake.
Table of Contents
Why you'll love this recipe
Baking is fun and baking with your children is double the fun! However using a complicated recipe just means no one gets to eat cake quickly. This no fuss, easy Chocolate Cake recipe for kids ensures that you get the cake into the oven super fast.
I've baked this cake many time with my kids while they were growing up and has served me well. One bowl to mix up the cake batter, one baking pan to bake the cake and one simple chocolate frosting spread on the top - just like a boxed cake mix but so much tastier!
More kid friendly recipes like this include these Dark Chocolate Brownies and Budino al Cioccolato (Creamy Chocolate Puddings). Plus both are super delicious!
Ingredient notes
This is the cake that your grandmother would have made - no fancy ingredients, no fancy baking pans and no fuss.
- flour - both self rising and all purpose (No self rising? Check the recipe notes for a substitution)
- cocoa - I like Dutch processed (more on this a below)
- sugar - superfine (castor) sugar is best in the cake and powdered (castor) sugar for the frosting
- unsalted butter - so that you can control the salt
- eggs - at room temperature
- milk - either whole or low fat is fine
- baking (bicarb) soda - which will work with the cocoa to help rise that cake and make it nice and fluffy
What's great is that this recipe uses melted butter. No need to wait for the butter to soften!
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
This easy Chocolate cake recipe for kids is quick-mix and really easy to make with 6 simple steps.
- In a stand mixer bowl, sift the flours, cocoa powder, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
- Add the milk and melted butter. Mix for 30 seconds.
- Scrape the sides and base of the bowl with a spatula. This is important to ensure even mixing.
- Add the eggs and beat on medium for 2 minutes.
- Pour into baking pan.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes.
Before baking, tap the baking pan on the kitchen bench to break any excess air bubbles. This prevents those large pockets of air that sometimes occur in quick-mix cakes.
Chocolate frosting
Frosting for this cake is a very simple chocolate buttercream. Mix softened butter with sifted icing (powdered) sugar and cocoa then add vanilla extract for flavor and a little milk until smooth. Beat until thick and creamy and spread over the top of the cake. This is a very simply frosting that has a multitude of uses.
Tips for success and FAQ's
Sugar is a traditional sweetener used in many sweet, baking recipe. However, sugar does much more than sweeten a this recipe. Sugar adds moisture, tenderizes and even helps leaven a cake and using the incorrect sugar can change the end result.
I like to use castor (or superfine) sugar in baking that calls for white sugar like my Apple cake. If you only have regular granulated sugar it can usually be substituted but you may comprise on lightness.
Coco powder is not just cocoa powder. There are two types - natural and dutch processed and there is a lot of science behind the difference. You can read here about what Serious Eats has to say about it. It's interesting stuff but basically "normal'"cocoa powder is naturally acidic so it reacts with the bicarbonate of soda. Conversely, dutch process cocoa powder has had the naturally occurring acid neutralized. This mean is won't work in a recipe relying solely on bicarbonate of soda for the leavening.
While I used dutch processed cocoa powder in this recipe, you can substitute natural cocoa powder because this recipe doesn't rely solely on bicarbonate of soda for the leavening. This cake also uses self raising flour for leavening which contains baking powder.
If you don't have self raising flour, you can read this post about how to make a substitute or check the notes in the recipe below.
I like to use dutch processed cocoa powder in this quick-mix chocolate cake because I find it gives the cake a darker color and more of a chocolate taste. However. in this recipe the choice is yours. Use natural cocoa powder if that's what you have.
With this easy Chocolate cake recipe for kids, you will enjoy baking with your children because it is such a simple, no fuss cake and turns out perfectly every time!
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Recipe
Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 ½ cups self raising flour see notes
- ¼ cup plain (all purpose) flour
- ¼ cup dutch process cocoa powder see notes
- 1 cup castor (superfine) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- pinch salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup melted unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
Chocolate Frosting
- 1 ¼ cups icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- 1 tablespoon dutch process cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2 tablespoon whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 340°F/170°C. Butter an 8in/20cm round deep cake pan. Line the base then flour the sides with a mixture of flour and cocoa powder.
- In a stand mixer bowl, sift the flours, cocoa powder, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
- Add the milk, butter and vanilla.
- Mix on low for 30 seconds. With a rubber spatula, scrape the sides and base of the bowl to ensure all the flour is incorporated.
- Add the eggs.
- Mix on medium for 2 minutes.
- Pour in to prepared pan. Give the pan one sharp bang on the kitchen bench to burst excess air bubbles.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the cake is coming away from the sides and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes. Then turn out onto a wire rack. Place a second wire rack onto the cake and upturn so that the cake sit on it base. Don't just pick the warm cake up with your hands to turn it over because it may crack.
Chocolate Frosting
- Sift the icing (powdered) sugar and cocoa into stand mixer bowl.
- Add the butter and mix on low for 1 minute.
- Add 1 tablespoon of milk and vanilla extract and continue to mix. Add more milk to achieve a a smooth but thick frosting.
Frost cake
- Frost the cooled cake with all of the chocolate frosting. Decorate as desired.
Notes
- If you don't have self raising flour you can make your own. In Australia, the brand I use calls for 2 teaspoons per cup of flour. However American readers may need to adjust this quantity - most brands call for 1 - 1 ¼ teaspoons per cup of flour. In other countries, please follow the directions on the packet of baking powder you are using.
- You could also use cake flour in this recipe.
- While I used dutch process cocoa powder in this recipe, you can substitute natural cocoa powder because this recipe doesn't rely solely on bicarbonate of soda for the leavening. Dutch process cocoa powder is wonderful in this quick-mix chocolate cake because I find it gives the cake a darker color and more of a chocolate taste. However. in this recipe the choice is yours. Use natural cocoa powder if that's what you have.
Nutritional Estimate Per Serving
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. For accurate results, it is recommended that the nutritional information be calculated based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Blitzo
This chocolate cake recipe looks so sweet. I made it for my family.
Jan
Looks delicious, however, I am trying to avoid recipes with butter. Can I substitute oil for the melted butter?
Marcellina
Hello Jan! I have never made this chocolate cake with oil but I would suspect that it would work. The difference would be in the texture of the finished cake because the butter will set as the cake cools but the oil never sets. Cakes made with oil generally keep well and are quite moist. Let me know how you go.
Jeanne McGrath
Hi Marcellina, if I'm not mistaken, the amount of sugar is not listed in the recipe.
Marcellina
Jeanne, thank you so much for letting me know. One cup of sugar is needed. I like to use castor (superfine) sugar because it dissolves easily and the resulting texture of the cake is much more delicate.
Kelly | Foodtasia
Marcellina, I'm so drooling over this cake! It looks absolutely wonderful! I love the simplicity of a no-fuss cake - especially when it's covered in that gorgeous chocolate frosting!
[
This cake looks so beautiful and moist.. Also love your frosting. can't take my eyes off.
Marcellina
I could eat chocolate frosting from the bowl...actually I do! 🙂
Robyn Jones
This cake looks so light and moist, and that chocolate buttercream finishes it off perfectly! I will definitely have to give this a try!
sherry
thanks for all the info marcellina. i like to use Dutch cocoa too as it has such a great colour and flavour. i do love a bit of cake with my frosting so I'd have to make heaps more:-) frosting that is ... cheers sherry
Marcellina
Haha! Good to see you are supporting the sugar cane farmers, Sherry! I'm partial to a good frosting too!
Sylvie
This chocolate cake looks soooo fluffy and delicious! So much better than any cake mix you could buy from the supermarket 🙂
Marcellina
It sure is, Sylvie! It's my favourite chocolate cake!