This cake. Hershey’s Chocolate Cake is the most versatile and the easiest perfect one-bowl chocolate cake recipe I have ever made.
As long as I can remember, I’ve seen the well-known chocolate cake recipe on the side of the Hershey’s cocoa box and I’ve made it countless times. On a whim, I decided to try making a gluten-free version of the famous Hershey Cake a few years ago.
WOW. It turned out beautifully the very first time and I have made this cake many more times since then, both the original recipe and the gluten-free variation.
There is nothing quite like having a lightning-fast homemade cake recipe that turns out perfectly every single time.
Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake
The cake is sturdy enough to hold together in layers, as cupcakes or to slice as a bundt cake. I’ve made this recipe into cupcakes and topped them with Fresh Strawberry Frosting.
I’ve made a layer cake filled with strawberry frosting, and a layer of berries, and then topped the cake with chocolate frosting.
I’ve made bundt cakes and simply poured the warm frosting over the cake. Every way I’ve served this cake, it has disappeared in no time at all!
Hershey Chocolate Cake
Nothing sparks that warm fuzzy feeling like the aroma of chocolate cake baking in your home. Put something chocolatey in the oven and watch as all the members of your family suddenly flock to the kitchen like moths to an iridescent light.
Don’t get me wrong. I love an adventurous dessert ( hello, Flourless Hot Chocolate Cake) and sometimes you need an elegant showstopper like Chocolate Lava Cakes to wow a table.
But at the end of the day, it’s hard to beat the familiar pleasure of a simple Hershey’s chocolate bundt cake.
The original version of this recipe has been on the side of Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa box for decades so chances are you grew up eating this cake or something close to it.
There’s something fun and a little magical about recreating a familiar dessert from childhood! And if you didn’t get to experience this deliciously perfect Hershey cake recipe as a kid, now’s your time.
Is Hershey’s cocoa powder gluten free?
YES! Baking without gluten shouldn’t mean having to live without enjoying a classic Hershey’s chocolate cake, which is why I am sharing this gluten-free version of Hershey’s famous cake.
For another ultra-rich and unforgettable gluten-free chocolate cake, be sure to try this gluten-free chocolate cake with salted caramel frosting too. It’s a little bit fussier, but the payoff is worth it.
Cake Frosting Recipes
This Hershey’s Perfect One Bowl Chocolate Cake recipe includes directions for making a creamy chocolate icing that you pour over the cake once cooled. It’s an easy way to create a visually appealing cake without a ton of extra fuss.
That said, this cake is an amazing vehicle for all kinds of frostings. Fluffy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting would be a dream on top of this Hershey’s cake, as would Fresh Strawberry Frosting.
This recipe makes awesome cupcakes as well. Simply fill two cupcake pans evenly with batter and bake for slightly less time than you would a sheet or bundt cake.
Hershey’s Chocolate Cake Recipe
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a bundt pan and lightly flour it with a couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder. (Alternatively, grease (2) 9″ round pans or prepare (24) cupcake liners.)
- Stir together the sugar, flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and beat with a mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Slowly pour in the boiling water and continue stirring to combine. The batter should be very thin and watery. Pour into the prepared bundt pan or divide between two round pans or cupcake holders.
- Bake the bundt cake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (2) 9″ rounds will bake in 30-35 minutes and cupcakes will bake in 22-24 minutes. Cool completely.
Hershey‘s Chocolate Frosting
- Heat the cream on the stove-top over low heat until steaming, or in a medium size glass bowl in the microwave until simmering. (About 2 minutes at high heat was all it took in the microwave.)
- Remove from the heat and add the chocolate to the hot cream. Let this sit for a few minutes. Stir or whisk to combine, until the chocolate mixture is smooth and glossy.
- Add the sugar and cocoa powder and whisk or stir until completely smooth. Pour the frosting over the cooled cake. Serve immediately or place the cake in the refrigerator to chill until the frosting is set.
Make this one-bowl cake over and over again and have fun experimenting with different toppings.
Hershey’s Perfect One Bowl Chocolate Cake is:
- Rich and chocolatey
- Easy and quick to make from scratch
- Versatile
- Easily made gluten-free
Check out all of the Gluten Free Dessert Recipes on this site!
Hershey’s Cocoa Recipes
Want a few more recipes that use Hershey’s cocoa? Try a scoop of homemade chocolate ice cream over your cake for a chocolate lover’s dream dessert.
Flourless chocolate brownie cookies and this cold chocolate snacking cake are must-try recipes too. Grandma’s old-fashioned crazy cake is a recipe my kids always loved to make and so is this striped zebra cake.
It’s hard to go wrong with a Hershey cake recipe. They’re classics for a good reason.
Hershey’s Perfect One Bowl Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour*
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup light flavored olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
*Gluten-Free Alternative
- 1¼ cups brown rice flour
- ½ cup potato starch
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
Frosting Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips 6 ounces worth
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a bundt pan and lightly flour it with a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder. (Alternatively, grease (2) 9" round pans or prepare (24) cupcake liners.)
- Stir together the sugar, flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and beat with a mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Slowly pour in the boiling water and continue stirring to combine. The batter should be very thin and watery. Pour into prepared bundt pan or divide between two round pans or cupcake holders.
- Bake the bundt cake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (2) 9″ rounds will bake in 30-35 minutes and cupcakes will bake in 22-24 minutes. Cool completely.
Frosting Instructions
- Heat the cream on the stove-top over low heat until steaming, or in a medium size glass bowl in the microwave until simmering. (About 2 minutes at high heat was all it took in the microwave.) Remove from the heat and add the chocolate to the hot cream. Let this sit for a few minutes. Stir or whisk to combine, until the chocolate mixture is smooth and glossy.
- Add the sugar and cocoa powder and whisk or stir until completely smooth. Pour the frosting over the cooled cake. Serve immediately or place the cake in the refrigerator to chill until the frosting is set. Enjoy!
Nutrition
{originally published 4/30/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 5/30/23}
Kate says
Mmmmm….chocolate on chocolate! Looks delicious!
connie says
The frosting on your cake looks absolutely delightful! The Hershey's recipe is a great one to have on hand for when you need to pull something together quick. I love that cake, so versatile, soft and moist but still sturdy. Easy and fast, as well. For the gluten free version, is that 1/4 teaspoon tapioca starch, or 1/4 cup? I don't need to eat gluten-free but sometimes I need gluten-free for friends/coworkers. Thanks for posting!
Mary says
Thank you for catching that, Connie! It is 1/4 cup of tapioca starch.
Tricia Buice says
Wow Mary – this is beautiful. I think I had their chocolate cake once at a wedding – it was the groom's cake. This is so pretty with the rich chocolate ganache icing – absolutely beautiful! Hope you have a great weekend.
Mary Callan says
What a gorgeous cake! that frosting looks so thick and delicious!
mary
Joanna Sprik says
It's beautiful!
Anonymous says
Sounds like a wonderful cake but do you know how to make this cake gluten free and totally vegan? I need a special dessert to serve on May 7th to my book club. Can you help me? My email is: [email protected]
Mary says
Hi Robyn,
I do not have an egg free version of this cake. However, this old fashioned cake is naturally vegan and you should be able to use a GF flour blend for the all purpose flour in the recipe.
http://southernfood.about.com/od/chocolatecakes/r/bl01018c.htm
I hope that helps!
Mary
Anonymous says
Thanks Mary. I appreciate your help. I'll let you know how it turns out. I was actually thinking about maybe substituting chia seeds for the eggs and coconut milk for the milk and seeing how your recipe turns out.
Be well,
Robyn
Anonymous says
What is meant by "light flavored Olive Oil? Can Canola or Vegetable Oil be substituted in place of the Olive Oil?
Mary says
Light flavored olive oil is my personal preference for baking. Extra virgin olive oil will give a distinct olive oil flavor, so I choose the lighter flavored oil.
Yes, you can substitute canola or vegetable oil without any problem.
Marion Palmer says
Hi. Can I bake this in a 9 x 13 cake pan?
Mary says
Yes, it should work just fine. Test for doneness before removing it from the oven, you'll probably need a few extra minutes. Enjoy!
Anonymous says
Thanks, Mary.
Tanya Walker says
Funny, you have this cake on your blog! My mom made this cake all through my growing up. Once I was old enough to help her I asked where she got it from…a cookbook and she said "No, the Hershey box." I was astounded even as a teen! But the cake never lasted long especially if my older brother was around and he loved it with chocolate ice cream…double overload!! LOL!
Goodies Gone Gluten Free says
Mary, this cake is sooo amazing. I have made it several times. No one ever thinks this could be a gluten free cake! Thanks!
skoochack says
I made this tonight it am blown away! it's delicious and the texture is perfect. just like your "perfect white cake," you'd never know it was gluten free. Thanks!
Anonymous says
This recipe is wrong in the fact that there should never be more sugar in the cake than flour. There is a better version by Hershey, that has less sugar. I always cut the sugar in the recipes and have had huge success doing so. I feel if you can't look at a recipe and see where it went wrong then you shouldn't have a food blog.
Mary says
Sorry, hon, feel free to skip this recipe, but maybe you should dial back your rudeness a wee bit? This recipe is older than I am and I'm fairly certain Hershey's chocolate didn't "go wrong" here. Reduce the sugar all you like.
The beauty of cooking and sharing recipes is that nothing is set in stone. I often reduce the sugar in recipes myself, but that in no way invalidates this classic recipe. I wanted to share the original version of this much loved classic recipe and on MY blog, I'm able to do that. Feel free to bake and share whatever recipes and opinions you'd like on your own.
Kakefanatic says
Yes Mary! You are so very correct. Many times, it’s people that don’t understand the science of baking that make mistakes such as cutting the sugar or replacing it with incorrect ingredients. Sometimes cutting sugar works, sometimes it doesn’t. This particular recipe that you have posted needs this amount of sugar due to the amount of cocoa powder in the recipe. I have made this chocolate cake recipe for at least 8 years and no one has ever complained about it being too sweet. Keep on blogging!!
Barbara S. says
Along with needing to lighten-the-heck up (after all, we’re talking about CAKE here!), Anonymous needs to read the recipe more closely. With the other flour components, it asks for 3/4 cup very bitter, powdery-dry, straight-up cocoa. Hence, the sugar measurement DOES NOT equal “the dries.” In addition, as that bitter cocoa powder is in fact one of “the dries,” I’d be willing to bet that if Anon decreased the sugar and tasted the batter, he or she would reaching for the sugar canister and adding more – probably bringing it up to the recipe’s specification – before pouring it into the pan. (By the way, sugar has a hydrocscopic impact, bringing much needed moisture into play with a powdered-cocoa dependent chocolate cake.)
Juicer Reviews says
Make these…fantastic!
Stacy says
Made the gluten free version and it was fantastic!! Will definitely make again and again. Very much appreciate all your gluten free recipes – keep them coming!!
Cake judge 👩⚖️ says
Booooo it’s cake come on here it has so many weird ingredients
Bob says
Yum
Irum says
Tried this recipe and it turned out delicious. I never thought a gluten free cake can be so good! So soft fluffy,moist and literally melts in mouth. It’s worth trying!
Christina Goding says
Would this work with Bob’s Red Mill All purpose GF flour substituted for the items that are starred?
Mary says
I haven’t tried that myself, so I can’t speak to how it will work. It’s certainly worth a try. If you try it, let us know how it works.
Marianela says
Hi! I used that Fluor and worked great. My family loved it! The cake was fluffy and tasted incredible. Had to use my kids cocoa since I forgot to buy one (but it worked awesome).
Mary Younkin says
I’m glad you love the cake, Marianela!
Toni says
Hi can you use normal flour and haw much please Toni .
Mary Younkin says
You’ll need 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, Toni.
Michelle Cantrell says
Thank you so much for all your recipes, Mary. I love your blog and read it almost daily. I’ve tried many of the easier, 30 minutes of less type recipes, like your recent sweet and sour stir fry, so deliciously awesome and easy! I’m 65 with a 73 year old husband that asks me daily “What’s for dinner?” while eating his breakfast. My response to him is “Let me see what I can find in while I’m bare feet in the kitchen.” He has never understood that response because I’m always barefoot too! I just ant to thank you dear lady and btw, this cake is delicious! I made it for our card club and everyone loved it! They asked for the recipe, instead of giving it to them, I wrote down your website for them. ❤️😘
Mary Younkin says
I love this so much, Michelle! What a beautiful compliment. I am thrilled that you are enjoying the recipes so much!