Today’s high altitude chocolate mayonnaise cake has an incredibly rich, tender, and moist cake crumb, and is frosted with fluffy vanilla buttercream. This retro, super moist chocolate cake with mayonnaise might become your new favorite cake!
You might also love these high altitude tested classic cake recipes for yellow birthday sheet cake with chocolate frosting, coconut cake, and the best vanilla cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Incredibly Moist. Chocolate mayonnaise cake is a classic cake that became popular in the 1930s and 1940s. And while the thought of mayonnaise in a chocolate cake might put you off, keep in mind that mayonnaise is little more than oil, eggs and vinegar. So it’s really a wonderful ingredient for cakes that’s indiscernible in taste, but adds so much moisture, tenderness and richness to keep the cake fresh for days after baking.
Any Flavor Buttercream. I love a chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream, but this cake goes wonderfully with pretty much any flavor of buttercream you want to frost it with. I have many flavor variations in my perfect American buttercream recipe.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude. For today’s recipe, I started with my popular chocolate cake recipe, and simply replaced the vegetable oil with the same amount of mayonnaise. The end result is very similar, with the chocolate mayonnaise cake possibly being ever so slightly more rich and moist. But it’s difficult to make a comparison without tasting the two cakes side by side.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Cake
- Flour. You’ll need plain all-purpose flour to give the cake structure and strength.
- Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
- Cocoa Powder. Use unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder (not natural cocoa powder) for a rich chocolate flavor. For the extra dark color, replace 2 tablespoons of the Dutch-processed cocoa powder with black cocoa powder.
- Instant Espresso Powder. This is optional, but I love the way it deepens the flavor of the cocoa powder.
- Baking Soda + Baking Powder. Leavening agents to help the cake rise as it bakes.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances flavors.
- Eggs. Add moisture, richness and strength.
- Milk + Sour Cream + Mayonnaise. The combination of whole milk, full fat sour cream and mayonnaise adds fat for a very rich, moist, tender cake. You can likely use any type of mayonnaise, but although I use an avocado oil mayonnaise for eating, I have only tested this cake using Best Foods Olive Oil Mayonnaise.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
Buttercream
- Butter. You can use either salted or unsalted butter, although I usually use unsalted and then add a pinch of salt.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
- Meringue Powder. Adds stability and improves the texture.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray. If making half the recipe, use three 6-inch cake pans.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Separately, whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream, mayonnaise and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk until combined, about 15 seconds.
- Divide the batter between the pans. Bake on the center oven rack for about 25-30 minutes, until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched, or a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt, mixing to combine.
- Add the vanilla, and increase the speed to medium (#4-6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer); whip for 4-5 minutes until very light and fluffy, scraping the bowl down occasionally, and only adding the milk if needed for desired consistency.Turn the speed down to “stir” and mix for 2 minutes to eliminate big air bubbles.
- Remove the cooled cakes from the pans. Place one cake layer on a cake board, and frost with a layer of buttercream. Repeat stacking and filling the cake layers, then frost all over with a thin “crumb coat” of buttercream. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set the crumb coat. Keep the bowl of remaining buttercream covered. Frost all over with a final, swirly layer of buttercream, or leave the cake as is for a semi-naked frosted cake.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store leftover cake?
Leftover cake should be stored in an airtight container or cake carrier at room temperature for up to 3 days.
What kind of cocoa powder did you use?
I used Drost Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder, and for the super dark color, I replaced 2 tablespoons of the cocoa powder with The Cocoa Trader Black Cocoa Powder. This will give your chocolate mayonnaise cake a rich, dark color and a flavor similar to Oreo cookies.
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High Altitude Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake with Vanilla Buttercream
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- 8-inch cake pans (x3)
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened, Dutch-processed cocoa powder (see recipe notes)
- 1-2 tbsp instant espresso powder or instant coffee, optional
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder, optional
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-4 tbsp milk, only if needed
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray. If making half the recipe, use three 6-inch cake pans.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Separately, whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream, mayonnaise and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk until combined, about 15 seconds.
- Divide the batter between the pans. Bake on the center oven rack for about 25-30 minutes, until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched, or a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt, mixing to combine.
- Add the vanilla, and increase the speed to medium (#4-6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer); whip for 4-5 minutes until very light and fluffy, scraping the bowl down occasionally, and only adding the milk if needed for desired consistency.Turn the speed down to "stir" and mix for 2 minutes to eliminate big air bubbles.
- Remove the cooled cakes from the pans. Place one cake layer on a cake board, and frost with a layer of buttercream. Repeat stacking and filling the cake layers, then frost all over with a thin "crumb coat" of buttercream. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set the crumb coat. Keep the bowl of remaining buttercream covered. Frost all over with a final, swirly layer of buttercream, or leave the cake as is for a semi-naked frosted cake.
When I opened my weekly ‘What’s Baking This Week’ email and this cake popped up, I told myself I HAD to make it. Well, I made it this weekend and it’s an exceptional cake. As Heather suggests, I purchased the dark cocoa she recommends, and it truly makes this cake look like an Oreo cookie. The cake is so moist, and the fluffy white buttercream accompanies it really well.
I accidentally used coconut extract instead of vanilla extract and everyone raved about it. If it could give this cake 10 stars, I would!
Thank you so much, Donna, I’m so happy you loved it!
I’ve make this cake twice and it turned out perfect both times! I used Heather’s chocolate buttercream and it was chocolate heaven. The whole family was drooling over it. Thank you for these awesome recipes. Do you have a cookbook in the works by any chance? I’ll be your first customer!
Another great recipe! I’m at 3400 ft and your recipe works as written for me – no adjustments necessary. I also halved the recipe and it fit in 2 6″ pans (taller layers, but baked until tester came out clean). I’m so thrilled I found your website. Thank you!