The ultimate chocolate cakes for every occasion

Chocolate cake is the answer to many needs: for the joy of cooking, to give comfort, to celebrate. Whether you're after a stunning four-layer celebration cake or a beginner's no-fail slab cake, this selection of some of our favourite chocolate cakes offer a cake for every desire, occasion or kitchen - even if you don't want to turn on the oven!

Let’s start small: the quick choc mug cake

Looking for speedy satisfaction: This microwave cake in a cup, from Loving Gluten Free host and cookbook author Helen Tzouganatos, goes from thought to reality in about five minutes.

When you're in a 'world's best cake' mood

Dubbed "the world's best chocolate cake", this recipe comes from celebrated baker and cookbook author Helen Goh, so you know it's going to be a good cake! The recipe first appeared in an article entitled 'World's Best Chocolate Cake', dedicated to Goh's café, the now-closed Mortar & Pestle, in Melbourne.

Espresso adds depth of flavour to the cake, which is topped with chocolate ganache and served with an espresso cinnamon mascarpone cream on the side.

Alternatively, try Adam Liaw's "best ever" chocolate cake, a two-layer cake with creamy cocoa icing.

The one for peanut butter lovers

These ooey gooey, chocolate peanut butter lava cakes make a fantastic dessert. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream!

A very easy, no-fail, melt-and-mix cake

“Everyone needs a good old-fashioned chocolate cake in their repertoire that is easy enough to whip up on a whim,” says Anneka Manning of her chocolate coconut slab cake, which is topped with simple chocolate buttercream.

The really big chocolate cake (aka ‘the cake that cures everything’)

“In times of stress, only excess will do: this is an enormous cake. But it keeps very well and there is no such thing as too much chocolate cake,” says food writer Ruth Reichl. This cake is one of the recipes that helped the former editor of Gourmet magazine deal with the implosion of her life after the unexpected closure of the magazine. And thus, why she calls it the cake that cures everything: "It is impossible to hold on to gloom with so much chocolate wafting its exuberant scent into every corner of the house.” The two-layer cake is filled and topped with a chocolate and cream cheese frosting, and it will feed 20-25 people (Reichl has also said of this cake that it freezes well as individually wrapped portions).

For those who are all about the frosting

The cake is indulgent, rich, impressive – but that’s only half the appeal of Donna Hay’s magic no-flour chocolate fudge cake. Just look at the rich, thick swirls of frosting, an indulgent combination of cream cheese, ricotta, coconut sugar, cocoa and vanilla.

For those who can't decide

This two-tone day + night cake, a confection of eggs, nuts, chocolate and sugar, is simple but and quite spectacular. The ‘day' half (egg whites and almonds) and the ‘night' half (egg yolks, chocolate and hazelnuts) are baked together, then covered with a chocolate ganache.

When you have no chocolate, just cocoa

This kladdkaka is a Swedish favourite, a simple cake that’s dark and dense and sticky (‘kladd’ means sticky in Swedish). You can serve it at room temperature or chill it to make it lusciously dense and fudgier. Other great options for cocoa-only cakes include Anneka’s chocolate coconut slab cake, and Donna’s no-flour chocolate fudge cake, both mentioned above.

An impressive (and gluten-free) cake for coffee lovers

This dark chocolate espresso mud cake makes a stunning birthday cake, and it’s a great one for a party because everything is finished 3-4 hours (or even 1-2 days) before serving, so the cake – and its wickedly rich frosting! – can chill. Oh, and that frosting? Secret ingredient: Avocado. Yes, really. The smooth richness of avocado transforms into a decadent dark chocolate mousse.

For folk who like a mousse-y cake

"This is a fabulous gluten-free dessert option, rich with chocolate flavour and a beautiful mousse-y texture,” says Poh Ling Yeow of her flourless chocolate cake with ale ice-cream.

For those who like a sticky-fudgy cake

“This is the fudgiest of all the chocolate cakes I know,” says celebrated baker Nadine Ingram, of Sydney’s Flour and Stone bakery, of her chocolate raspberry buttermilk cake.

For when you need a vegan chocolate cake

This chocolate decadence cake is not only vegan, but gluten-free too. It's sweetened with dates and banana, has an extra depth of flavour from a slug of coffee and is topped with a coconut milk chocolate ganache.

Ones that push the boundaries a little

This torta di castagna, rosmarino e cacao (chestnut, rosemary and cocoa cake) is has a lovely story as well as a taste that’s intriguingly different to the usual choc cake. Skye McAlpine was inspired to create her version of this Venetian favourite after reading a cookbook found in a second-hand bookshop. “It’s a classic autumnal dish – at this time of year, you can buy it in bakeries across Venice,” she says. “Chocolate, chestnut and rosemary … is a match made in heaven.”

And for chilli fans, here’s a Mexican chilli chocolate cake with layers of chocolate cake and chilli-infused icing.

The rich, fudgy dessert cake

Donna Hay knows cake, so when she says a cake never fails, you know it’s going to work. This one-bowl chocolate dessert cake, made with dark chocolate and brown sugar, is rich and fudgy.

The one with condensed milk

This is a chocolate twist on the traditional tres leches (three milks) cake that is a favourite in many parts of Central and South America. Holes are poked into the cooked cake, and a mixture of condensed milk, evaporated milk and cream is poured over the cake. It’s chilled overnight, to allow the sweet milky mixture to soak through the cake, and then served up with more milk mixture. So yes, you’ll want a spoon for this one!

The secret ingredient cakes

Beetroot and chocolate are an excellent pairing in cake. Try it in beetroot, quinoa and chocolate muffins, double chocolate zucchini muffins, a vegan chocolate beetroot Turkish delight cake, Poh Ling Yeow’s Totally Unicorn beetroot cake or a multi-layer chocolate and truffle cake in which roasted baby beets lend an extra dose of dense fudginess to a deep, dark chocolate cake.

The ultimate chocolate celebration cakes

This ombre mocha layer cake is strikingly handsome, with four layers of cake, a whipped chocolate ganache filling and coating, and chocolate drip icing over the top (the recipe includes tips for how to achieve the drip effect).

Jamie Oliver’s chocolate celebration cake feature layers of chocolate sponge, a chocolate and puffed rice mixture, and a creamy nougat frosting. "It’s delicious, it has incredible texture, it looks amazing, and it’s a pleasure to make and watch people enjoying," Oliver says.

And of course, a cupcake

Smaller cakes but double the fun: Kirsten Tibballs' chocolate cupcakes are topped with a rich and creamy chocolate ganache. Make a dozen, devour them and then make a dozen more.

You can find more indulgent bakes in our chocolate cake collection.