It’s fine to use natural cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa—natural cocoa has most of its fat removed before it’s ground, while Dutch-process is natural cocoa that’s been treated to remove some of its acidity. This creates a stronger chocolate flavor. If you use natural cocoa and your mix lists baking soda or sodium bicarbonate, add yogurt or sour cream as mentioned in the next method. An acidic dairy ingredient neutralizes the acidity in natural cocoa, so it tastes more chocolatey. [2] X Research source
There’s no need to blend the pudding mix with milk before you add it to the bowl with the cake mix. Keep in mind that your chocolate cake will be sweeter if you use instant chocolate pudding rather than cocoa powder.
In general, you won’t need to add to the baking time unless you add ingredients like sour cream or yogurt. If the cake doesn’t look done after the recommended baking time, check it again after a few minutes.
Don’t let the chocolate syrup touch the sides of the pan or it could stick and burn. When you cut into the baked cake, you’ll have an extra-rich layer of chocolate in the middle.
Play around with different flavors of chips. Add peanut chips or white chocolate chips to your chocolate cake batter for instance.
Adding coffee won’t make your cake taste like coffee—it just enhances and brings out the richness in the cocoa. If you’re avoiding caffeine, it’s fine to use decaf coffee instead.
It’s completely fine to use low-fat sour cream or even plain yogurt.
If you’re trying to cut back on dairy or just want a different flavor, melt coconut oil and use it instead. You’ll be rewarded with a chocolate cake that’s extra light and fluffy.
Cream cheese frosting or peanut butter frosting also tastes wonderful on a chocolate cake.
