Name: The Best Easy Chocolate Cake
Total time: 2 h
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 1/2 ounces/213 grams); 1 cup sugar (7 ounces/198 grams); 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon table salt; 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (2 ounces/57 grams); 2 ounces (57 grams) bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine (see note); 1 cup fresh black coffee, hot; 2/3 cup mayonnaise; 1 large egg; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; Confectioners' sugar (for serving; optional)

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted an easy chocolate mayonnaise cake recipe that would deliver good chocolate flavor. To get there, we “bloomed” unsweetened cocoa powder in coffee to intensify its flavor and supplemented it with bittersweet chocolate. Although traditional easy chocolate cake recipes are made with mayonnaise only, we found that adding an egg to the batter gave it moisture and a springy texture that we loved.

Before You Begin

We recommend using one of the test kitchen’s favorite baking chocolates, Callebaut Intense Dark L-60-40NV, or Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar for this recipe, but any high-quality dark, bittersweet, or semisweet chocolate will work. Instead of confectioners’ sugar, the cake can also be served with sweetened whipped cream.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 8-inch-square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl. In separate bowl, combine cocoa and chocolate; pour hot coffee over cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth; let cool slightly. Whisk in mayonnaise, egg, and vanilla. Stir mayonnaise mixture into flour mixture until combined.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out with few crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes.

Let cake cool in pan on wire rack, 1 to 2 hours. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, cut into squares, and serve straight from the pan; or turn cake out onto serving platter and dust with confectioners’ sugar.