This week we celebrated a dear friend’s birthday, & I wanted something rich, bold, & unforgettable for the chocolate-loving birthday boy. This cake delivered exactly that. It’s the kind of cake that stops the table for a moment: moist, deep, fluffy, & completely irresistible. Watching everyone take that first bite & instantly go silent… that’s when I know. This cake is pure magic. Honestly, I can’t resist not having to label it as the best chocolate cake ever made.

For the Cake:

• 1 ½ cups (190 g) flour
• 1 cup (90 g) cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ½ cups (360 ml) stout
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon espresso powder
• 1 cup (225 g) butter, softened
• 1 ½ cups (300 g) sugar
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup (120 g) mayonnaise
• 100 g dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Grease and line three cake tins with parchment paper. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, & baking powder. In a separate measuring cup, whisk the stout, vanilla, & espresso powder until combined.

In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter & sugar together on medium speed until pale & fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed to keep everything even. Beat in the eggs one at a time, letting each fully incorporate before adding the next. Add the mayonnaise & mix until the batter is smooth & silky.

Add the dry & wet ingredients to the batter in alternating additions (a third of the dry, a third of the wet, and so on), mixing just until everything comes together. Fold in the chopped dark chocolate with a rubber spatula. For today’s particular recipe I used the birthday boy’s all-time favorite Tony’s Chocolonely, an addition that only made this cake even more out of this world.

Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared tins & bake for about 35 minutes, or until the centers spring back lightly when touched. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10–15 minutes, until they’re easy to handle. Run a butter knife around the edges, invert each cake onto a plate, peel off the parchment, & let them cool completely on a rack.

For the frosting, nothing beats my very own Chocolate Frosting, also found here on thegutenappetit.com.

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Hats off to the most delicious chocolate cake I have ever tasted. After sharing several of my failed attempts at finding the richest, most chocolatey, perfectly moist from-scratch cake, I honestly thought my quest was doomed…especially after years of being spoiled by Betty Crocker and Pillsbury. Those boxed beauties really do hit. But then I stumbled across this recipe, brought it home, & everything changed.

Chocolate cake itself has a long, delicious history. Baking with chocolate began in the early 1700s, but it wasn’t until the 19th century, when cocoa processing improved & Dutch cocoa appeared, that chocolate cakes as we know them started to take shape. The first printed chocolate cake recipe showed up in 1847, simple & humble, made with flour, sugar, eggs, butter, & chocolate. As baking evolved, so did the cake: electric mixers & ovens in the early 1900s made richer, fluffier cakes possible, including the famous Devil’s Food Cake.

By the mid-20th century, boxed mixes swept into home kitchens, making chocolate cake even more iconic & accessible. And while those mixes are still delicious (& remain forever nostalgic), nothing compares to the flavor & texture of a truly good homemade chocolate cake. This one? It delivers. Rich, deep, moist, & absolutely unforgettable: a recipe worth keeping forever.