Big Al's-Style Chocolate Cake Recipe

IMAGE Roselle Miranda

When it comes to cake, a chocolate cake is an easy fan favorite flavor, so when a truly decadent and sinfully delicious one presents itself, you know you want to dive right on in and indulge! That's exactly what you'll want to do with this chocolate cake recipe hack of the popular Big Al's Cookie Jar chocolate cake. 

What Is Big Al's-Style Chocolate Cake

This decadent chocolate cake is still one of our favorite desserts in Manila. This is a classic and moist chocolate cake baked straight into an aluminum pan, topped with a similarly classic chocolate fudge frosting, and served as is. It's an unassuming cake that catapults you back to your childhood memories of your first bite of chocolate and all the reasons you love the flavor.  

You just can't go wrong with this double chocolate combo! 

How To Make Big Al's-Style Chocolate Cake

 

Under this glossy chocolate frosting is a moist and rich chocolate cake.

Photo by Roselle Miranda

For this recipe hack of this popular home-baked original, the chocolate cake batter is poured and then baked straight in a disposable aluminum square cake pan. It's a no-mess technique that makes it easy to buy and gift to friends and family without worrying about a cake box. The batter is a rich but simple chocolate cake recipe. 

The most irresistible part of this cake is the decadent pairing of the cake and the frosting on top. This version uses a simple chocolate frosting that uses evaporated milk, cocoa powder, and sugar to create it. It's made extra glossy (and richer tasting!) from the butter that's stirred in before it's poured and spread onto the cake. 

How To Serve Big Al's-Style Chocolate Cake

Since this is baked into an aluminum cake pan, it's easy to serve! Serve as is in the disposable pan with forks to help you share it with family and friends. Want to make it extra? Grab a container of vanilla ice cream to make it ala mode. 

Tips To Make A Delicious Big Al's-Style Chocolate Cake

Chocolate cake can be tricky to make, especially since it has a tendency to come out dry and not moist. That's why when it comes to tips for avoiding chocolate cake baking mistakes, these are the top ones to avoid: 

1. 1 Use the right kind of cocoa powder listed in the recipe. 
2. 2 Test your baking powder to ensure your cake rises. 
3. 3 Dust your baking pan with cocoa powder instead of flour. 
4. 4 Tap the filled cake pans to release bubbles. 

How To Store Big Al's-Style Chocolate Cake

Storing cake sounds pretty basic: place it in the refrigerator. This is important for this cake since it has a frosting made with milk.  

Want to try recreating this decadent cake? We hacked this cake recipe so you can make it at home. Watch how easy it is to make: 

Drooling over this recipe? Here it is: 

Big Al's-Style Chocolate Cake Recipe