Homemade chocolate cake is sooo much better than the store bought boxed mixes, without any weird processed ingredients, is super frugal and did I mention it plain tastes better. Score!
My great-grandmother passed down many things in our family, and though I never knew her, I still think of the woman she was whenever I use her recipes or sieve when making applesauce, raspberry jelly, and blackberry syrup.
I know she was a God fearing woman and an excellent baker, hence her recipe for Heavenly Chocolate Mayo Cake is still our go to recipe. I wonder if she had any idea her legacy would live on in my home.
I love getting old family recipes (even when they’re not from my family) like 1930s Chocolate Gravy and Depression Era Chocolate Wacky Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. There’s something about reaching back through generations that make me feel connected. And if a recipe has been passed down, then you know it is going to taste amazing.
I didn’t name this recipe, it was already called Grandma’s Heavenly Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake. It’s a from scratch, honest to goodness moist and heavenly cake. My son requested cupcakes with caramel frosting.
It’s been a tradition since my children were born to bake all of their birthday cakes. It’s been fun, we’ve had tractors, ninjas, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and my daughter wants a Barbie cake this year. This year, my nine year old didn’t care so much about the theme, just the taste. Can you hear the tremor in my voice? How do they grow so fast?
Here they are cooling. My daughter kept begging for one of the muffins. Because if she called them a muffin, who cares if they were before lunch. And frosting, who needs frosting? She takes after her mother with the no patience gene.
Resources for Homemade Chocolate Cake
I use the old-fashioned chocolate cake recipe for everything, seriously, don’t waste your money on those boxed cake mixes, because from scratch is better and so much healthier. The same goes for this exceptional homemade vanilla extract and homemade mayonnaise.
Speaking of from scratch, if you like this recipe and adore vintage and the old-ways of doing things, you’ll want to check out my new book The Made-From-Scratch Life, for more family recipes, tips, and simple living advice (this is one of the recipes in there, plus others from my grandparents, great-grandparents, and my parents.)
This recipe will yield a regular cake in either a 9×13, two circle pans, or 24 cupcakes (depending on how full you fill them). I actually used my super large muffin tins (these are from our affiliate partner Amazon Baker’s Secret 116466007 Basics Nonstick 6-Cup Texas Muffin Pan, but then I realized I needed more cupcakes for the party and switched to my regular pans. I’m kind of partial to the jumbo tins. I like cake, what can I say.
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Great-Grandma’s Homemade Chocolate Mayo Cake
To make sure your cake turns out wonderfully moist, don’t over bake. I pull my cakes out as soon as the center tests done by pulling out a toothpick with no batter stuck to it.
The secret to this cake is both the mayonnaise and the brewed coffee. You don’t taste the coffee, but it works like magic to make this especially moist, rich, and dare I say… heavenly.
Grandma’s Chocolate Mayo Cake & Caramel Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour I used soft white wheat but all purpose or cake flour is fine
- 1 cup sugar I use organic evaporated cane juice
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1/2 cup brewed coffee
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Frosting
- 5 Tablespoons butter I think cream cheese would work well, too
- 1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons boiling water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir all dry ingredients together. Combine wet ingredients with dry until smooth. Pour into greased and floured pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes for a cake or 16 minutes for cupcakes. Cool completely before frosting.
- For frosting. Beat butter and vanilla together. Slowly add in sugar until creamed together. Pour in boiling water and beat until creamy. Spread over cupcakes.
My daughter requested raspberry frosting this year, I used a little bit of beet root powder and raspberry jam with the buttercream frosting recipe in The Made-from-Scratch Life.
Do you have a special family recipe that’s been passed down?
Hello! I made this recipe for my son’s birthday! I was wondering if the icing is supposed to have a gritty consistency? I’m used to using the powered sugar so maybe it is? It had a WONDERFUL flavor! Thank you for sharing!
This recipe sounds like it will be delicious, but I have a question. Will it stay moist & fluffy for a couple of days if it isn’t cut into? (What self control!) I need to make a birthday cake for an out of town party so I will have to make it a couple of days ahead.
Can you freeze it? It will stay freshest if you make it, wrap it tightly after cooling, then freeze it. It’s easy to frost a frozen cake and they thaw great. Otherwise, frost it and keep it sealed up tight and it will stay a good texture for a few days.
Thanks for a great idea! Yes, that should work.
I already love chocolate mayo cake. Never heard of caramel frosting. I’d love to see your recipe.
I just made this and popped it into the oven and I must say the batter alone was absolutely delicious! So, I am sure the final product will be too! Thank you for sharing a piece of your history with us. As a lover of baking, this was a sweet one to make:)
Hi Melissa! I saw where you said yogurt would be a good mayo substitute…would that be a plain yogurt? Thank you!
Yes plain yogurt!
I can relate to your day that you became overwhelmed. I never nap and both my husband and I had a crash day and taking a nap did the trick. We both felt refreshed for another day.
Your cupcake recipe does look heavenly. I made homemade vanilla cupcakes and homemade chocolate frosting. What a treat! Even made chicken stock and broke out the pressure canner since I don’t have much freezer space. Used some of the stock to make Pasta Fazole. Came out great.
Take care,
Debra
My mother used to make this EVERY DAY (without the coffee) before we left for school. Plus other baking she did during the day!!!
Thank you so much I used to have it yes ago my Husband keeps asking for it so I’ll make it to night
Yay, love when I find a recipe again!
Thank you, Melissa! The cake sounds so good- must try it without revealing the entire ingredients list to my family.
Hope your daughter had an awesome birthday!
I’ve just put this chocolate cake on the oven. I presumed it was in an 8.5 X11 pan. You’ve not indicated the size in your recipe. Hope I’m correct.
It works in any size pan, a 9×13, two 9 inch, or cupcakes. Let me know how it turns out!
OK, I just made these for myself for Mother’s Day. Cupcakes are in the oven as we speak. My only comment…..DO NOT lick the bowl. If you do, I promise you will not have enough to put in the oven. Holy Moly that batter is good!
lol Mary I love it…. and I tend to be a batter taster too.
I love this recipe and will be making it for Mother’s Day. I have one concern though. I don’t know if you have any control over the pop-up ads that come up on your blog but there is one that is totally false news about Chip and Joanna Gaines and Fixer Upper and tries to promote/sell Joanna’s line of face cream. I was just on her Facebook page and she has a message that this is totally false and she does not have a cosmetic line, nor are they cancelling the show. Normally I ignore these kind of ads but then I read many people are buying this cream and getting injured (which is NOT affiliated with Joanna Gaines). I just thought you may want to know.
Mary, I’ll see if I can get the ad service to block that one, thanks for the heads up!
What is gar? I have never heard of it. And what is the organic evaporated cane juice you use? Is there anything else I can substitute?
You can use sugar as a direct substitute for the evaporated can juice.
Kelly,
I have the seven minute frosting recipe too! I so agree, no boxed cake mix can touch it.
I have the same recipe that I use for our homemade chocolate cakes. It was my grandma’s recipe as well! It is our favorite. I’m spoiled by the homemade cakes and have yet to find a “box” cake mix that I like. Another favorite of ours is the chocolate buttermilk cake with seven minute frosting.
I use my grandmother’s mayonnaise cake recipe all the time – even won ribbons at the County Fair for this delicious moist cake! Yum yum!!!!
This was the heaviest ‘cake batter’ I have ever worked with!! I baked the cupcakes for 20 minutes and toothpick test was clean but even after I took them out and cooled them, they were heavy, chewy and more like a brownie than a cupcake. I was not pleased!! Won’t be using this recipe ever again…
Made it! Loved it! Super moist! I made it in two 9″ rounds. Just barely enough frosting 🙂
That looks delicious! I made some mayo-cupcakes (not this recipe; this is only the second time I’ve seen a mayo-cake recipe!) with buttercream frosting… It tasted like a Ho-Ho or Ding-Dong, without the aftertaste from all the preservatives and fake ingredients! Yum! Who needs boxed cakes or mixes? 😉
Sarah,
That is the perfect example, it does taste like a from-scratch Ho-Ho!
I’m planning on doing some baking today and I just came across this in my email…I have to ask…you really just have to stir everything together…no beater? I’ve never seen a cake recipe that you didn’t have to beat…Thanks for sharing…
Melissa, thank you for sharing such a treasured recipe. This makes me feel like part of your family. I’m old school and write recipes on paper and it would be very nice to add your great-grandmothers first name along with yours. Thanks and have a blessed day.
Ellen,
Thank you so much! This was from my Grandma Pearl. 🙂
My grandma’s name was Pearl and my middle name is Pearl! You don’t hear that name very often anymore. Anyway, I am going to try this wonderful looking cake today and I was reading over the recipe and it looks like you should also add the vanilla in the frosting as well, but I don’t see it in the instructions. Thanks for sharing!
Sorry, the recipe card doesn’t let me separate the frosting part, but it’s vanilla extract.
Loved seeing this! My grandma had the same cake recipe written in her recipe book. I was lucky she lived into my 20’s so I could ask her about its origin. She told me it was from WWII when eggs, butter and milk were rationed. The mayonnaise has oil and eggs in it so it worked well as a substitute. The only difference between your recipe and hers is the coffee.
The caramel frosting looks lovely. Grandma used a 7 minute frosting on hers.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Gail,
My grandma also did a 7 minute frosting sometimes! The coffee heightens the chocolate without leaving a coffee flavor, it’s also a great way to use up that last little bit of coffee in the pot.
What leftover coffee??? LOL!
Lol, I hear you, I usually purposefully save some on days I know I’m making this cake… or just brew a second pot.
OOPS! can’t read. Glazed right over the part that says “Frosting”
Melissa,
Recipe sounds very rich, but, is there a typo on the ingredients with the vanilla? Also, is that vanilla or extract?
Thanks,
Jose
Hi Jose, I’m not Melissa but yep it is one teaspoon of vanilla, and yes it is vanilla extract. Hope this helps you.
Can something be used in place of Mayo? I agree with Sandy; mayo contains eggs. Food allergies here. Would I use coconut oil, apple sauce, gelatin, flax seed… ?
If you do coconut oil I’d use a little bit less than the Mayo, apple sauce would work I think, or even cooked pureed pumpkin. If you don’t have dairy allergies, yogurt would be a great sub.
Do you make your own mayonnaise? I never use store bought mayo because of the nasty Gmo soybean oil, but make my own on occasion when I want to use some. Homemade is a bit thinner than storebought so just wondering if it would work. Looks like a delicious recipe!
It sounds delish but mayo has eggs in it. 😉
We eat Mayonnaise Cake on a regular basis. This recipe is dfferent from mine but I must say, it is the only other recipe I have seen with mayo in it.
Hi, may I substitute the water with fresh milk or chocolate milk? Thanks
Absolutely, if you have buttermilk I think that would give it a fantastic texture, too.
I was wondering if these cupcakes could be made without the coffee? I am not suppose to have caffeine. I know my kids would love these also. Thank you 🙂
You bet. Just use all water instead of coffee. The coffee helps bring out the chocolate flavor, but you can use water or applesauce in place of it.
Or use decaf coffee, hazelnut flavored even! Yum.
Chocolate naturally has caffeine in it. If you want to lessen the caffeine, use decaf coffee..
I suggest decaffeinated coffee. Also, I’m making this cake for my son’s birthday. (I loved a chocolate mayo cake from childhood.) Thxs for sharing!