This Chocolate Cake is a delicious way to celebrate any occasion, in this case, Easter. This is a small 6-inch 1 layer chocolate cake that is good for any day of the year, not only Easter. This is my go to any occasion cake. Simple, easy and delicious.

Hi Guys, I just want to greet everyone Happy Easter. Whether you are celebrating Easter or not, this Chocolate Cake is for you. There’s really no need for special occasion to make this cake, I use this recipe quite often when I crave for a simple chocolate cake. This and my chocolate cake bake in ramekin are my two quick and easy chocolate recipe that I truly love. So to celebrate Easter, I see no reason not to make this cake. 

Ingredients for 6-inch Chocolate Cake

• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – I like using a natural cocoa powder for a stronger chocolate flavor. Also, since natural cocoa powder are more acidic, it reacts better to baking soda which is the leavening agent in this recipe. This makes the cake fluffier, and it gives a good rise to the cake.. Natural cocoa powder is the most common that you can find in grocery stores (the likes of Hershey’s, Ghirardelli). If you do not have natural cocoa powder, you can use Dutch process and replace baking soda with baking powder instead.
• Water – To dilute the cocoa powder and make it into a paste
• Granulated Sugar – To sweeten the cake
• Vegetable Oil – This produces the soft moist cake
•  Eggs – To give structure to the cake. Use room temperature for easy mixing. Take the eggs out from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before using or submerge it in warm water for 10 minutes
• Vanilla Extract – For additional flavor. You can also use coffee powder to bring out the flavor of the chocolate and for a little espresso flavor
• All-Purpose Flour – This is the base dry ingredient of the cake
• Salt – A little salt goes a long way to enhance the taste, so do not skip
• Baking soda – This acts as the leavening agent and reacts with natural cocoa powder to give the cake a nice rise
•  2 Batch of Chocolate Ganache Frosting (or any frosting you like) – You can replace this with other frosting that you like. Check my other recommendations at the end of this post
• Whipping Cream – To make the frosting lighter and fliffier. You can also skip this and just have a thick ganache

How to Make 6-inch Chocolate Cake

• Mix the Dry Ingredients: In a bowl sift all the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder) together. Sifting is important because cocoa powder tends to have lumps.
• Mix Wet Ingredients: In a separate bow, mix oil, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and buttermilk.
• Wet + Dry Ingredients: Gently mix the and dry ingredients together until combined, juts like that! Now you have a basic chocolate cake batter. Pour into the cake pan lined with parchment paper and bake. Before decorating, make sure  that the cake is completely cooled. 
• Let’s Make the Frosting. To keep it simple, we shall use chocolate ganache for frosting the top. We don’t need a lot, just enough to coat the top so that the sprinkles will have something to stick to. I have a separate post on how to make chocolate ganache using cream or using milk. They’re both very detailed and you will get a lot of information not only on how to make it but also how to use it. Be sure to check those post. You can use the chocolate ganache to coat the top. You can make it into a whipped chocolate ganache for a lighter frosting. You can easily do this by adding whipped cream and mixing it until light and fluffy.
• Let’s decorate! The fun part is the decorating. Spread the frosting on top of the cake. You can use other frosting, I will leave some suggestions at the end of this post. Sprinkle the top of the cake with sprinkles and easter candies. You can add more if you like, no judgement here, I add more than 4 myself a lot of times. That’s it!! You have now an adorable Easter themed chocolate cake, Enjoy! 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup Natural Cocoa Powder
• 1 teaspoon Espresso Powder
• 1/4 cup Flavorless Oil
• 1/4 cup Buttermilk
• 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
•  1 Egg – Room Temperature
•  1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
•  1/4 teaspoon Salt
•  1/4 teaspoon Baking soda

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

• one 4-ounce quality semi-sweet chocolate bar (113g), finely chopped
• 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
• optional garnish: candies, sprinkles or fresh fruits

Make Your own Buttermilk

No need to buy a huge carton just to make this chocolate cake. Make your own buttermilk by adding 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or white unflavored vinegar. Leave them for 10 minutes or until they start to curdle. Buttermilk make the cake softer, if you do not have buttermilk or lemon and vinegar to make your own buttermilk, you can use plain fresh milk.

Instructions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350F/(175C). Grease a 6×2 inch cake pan, line with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the small cake seamlessly release from the pan. I usually grease it with nonstick spray you can also use melted butter or any flavorless oil to grease the pan.
2. Mix Dry Ingredients: Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder(if using), and salt together in a large bowl.
3. Add Wet Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and buttermilk together in a medium bowl.
4. Wet + Dry Ingredients: Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and whisk until smooth and combined.
5. Pour the Batter in a Pan: Pour the cake batter evenly into prepared cake pan. Level the top wih spatula or back of a spoon.
6. Bake Bake for 30 minutes or until the cake is baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Avoid over-baking.
7. Cool – Let cool completely before decorating
8. Make the chocolate ganache as the cake cools Place chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil– that’s too hot!) Pour over chocolate, then let cover and let it sit and do not stir for 5 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. With a metal spoon or small rubber spatula, very slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. Do not stir vigorously as it could create bubbles. Ganache will be thin, so let it cool and thicken for at least 30-60 minutes before using. Refrigerating speeds this up, but the ganache will not cool evenly. Stir it a few times as it sets in the refrigerator so it remains smooth. Make sure to cover the top with plastic wrap and let the plastic touch the top of the chocolate. This prevents the top for drying and creating a thin layer of “skin” or “film”. You can also let the ganache fully cool and thicken (takes about 2 hours) outside on your kitchen counter. After 2 hours, you can whip the cooled ganache with a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until light in color and texture, about 3-4 minutes on medium-high speed.
9. Decorate: Spread ganache on cooled cake. If ganache has cooled and thickened enough (or if you whipped it), you could pipe it with a piping bag/tip. Decorate with optional garnishes, if desired. Slice and serve.
10. Store: Cover leftover cake tightly and store at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Serves 4

How to Make Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Now when it comes to frosting, I often use a simple Chocolate Ganache to frost my cake. It is a simple decadent frosting. Very versatile and can be made in different consistently to produce a different effect. A light and runny consistency can be used for drizzling on top. A light and whipped consistency is nice for piping, and thick and smooth consistency are great for spreading on top like what I did here. You can definitely use other frosting. My second favorite is a simple Vanilla or Mocha Whipped Cream Frosting but seriously, any frosting will work with chocolate cake, just my opinion. 

Let’s Decorate!

When it comes to decorating this cake, it is pretty flexible. You do not have to stick to what I am using here, use what you have and use what you like. I just added some pastel sprinkles and Easter candies to keep with the Easter theme but you can literally decorate this as you wish. You can even have it plain with just the chocolate ganache frosting. The chocolate ganache sealed the deal for this cake, so do give it a try.

• Spread ganache on cooled cake. If ganache has cooled and thickened enough (or if you whipped it), you could pipe it with a piping bag/tip. Decorate with optional garnishes, if desired. Slice and serve.

I have other chocolate cake recipes if you are looking for a bigger cake for sharing. On the other hand, for those of us who love to keep the cake all to yourself, this 1 layer 6-inch cake will be more than enough to keep us really happy. 

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