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Mention chocolate cake and you get my undivided attention. It is my all time favorite dessert. And while I’ve baked some of the most popular (hint: Ina’s Chocolate Cake and Reddit viral hit Nana’s Devil’s Food Cake ), I’m always eager to try rave recommendations—especially when they come in the form of beloved family recipes. So when I was scrolling Old recipes subreddit recently and saw a chocolate cake recipe offered as a staple at every family birthday for at least 40 years, I was immediately intrigued.
The recipe was shared by Reddit user /MrsNacho8000, who explains that the cake came from their grandmother’s best friend (and bridesmaid), Aunt Doris. “Aunt Doris has been gone since the early 1980s, but since then she has been a part of every birthday in our family with her moist and rich chocolate cake.” Simple math tells us that this cake has been a family favorite for at least the past 40 years, though probably much, much longer. One commenter chimed in and said their grandmother did it same birthday cake and it was a total hit.
A quick glance at the recipe card told me that this cake would probably be easy to bake, plus I had all the ingredients in the pantry so I knew I had to try it right away. Here’s how it turned out.
How to make Aunt Doris’ Chocolate Cake
The instructions are somewhat vague and simply say, “Mix everything well. The batter is thin. Bake at 13×9. 350℉, 45m”. I love free-form recipe cards — always feel like such a fun challenge. And I knew exactly how to approach it. Having baked a lot of cakes over the years, I know that the order in which the ingredients are added is important, so I’ve used that as a guide here. And while I’m sure Aunt Doris didn’t use a stand mixer, I did.
I started by mixing flour (I used all purpose), unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. Next, in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (you can also use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer), I beat the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy and beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl. as required. I alternately added the wet ingredients (milk, coffee and vanilla extract) and the dry ingredients and continued to beat until the batter was smooth. I poured the batter into a greased 9×13 inch pan and baked at 350℉ for 45 minutes.
While the recipe mentions the frosting, it doesn’t include the recipe, although the original poster in the comments section states that their family just used coconut covered buttercream. I opted for this easy chocolate frosting recipe, though I left out the coconut so I could focus on the cake itself.
My honest review of Aunt Doris’ Chocolate Cake
To cut it short: Aunt Doris makes an absolutely delicious chocolate cake with the most amazing texture.
I still can’t decide what I like more about this cake: the texture or the height (it’s so tall!). The tall height was the first thing I noticed when I pulled the cake out of the oven. There was no way to miss it. There is a cake incredibly tender, moist and pillowy soft, but not so soft as to be too soft. I don’t think I’ve ever described a cake as cuddly, but that was the first word that came to mind when I tasted this. This texture is absolutely perfect in my book.
When I read the recipe, the cake immediately reminded me of my favorite chocolate cake recipe – but this version has more lift and height, which I really love. It was also so easy to make, which is always a plus in my book. The only downside for me is that I expected and craved a richer, more chocolaty taste.
I will definitely be making this cake again, with a few tweaks of my own to bring out the chocolate flavor (don’t worry – I’ll share them below!).