When you say Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake one of two things happens. People either look at you strangely wondering why you are putting mayonnaise in a cake, or they ask for a slice, because they know it’s an incredibly moist and delicious chocolate cake.
If you’ve never had Mayonnaise Cake, you are in for a treat. While it may sound strange, remember – mayonnaise is made of eggs and oil – classic cake ingredients!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
Amazing Taste and Texture – You simply can’t beat the taste and texture of a chocolate mayonnaise cake. You get rich chocolate flavor in a wonderfully moist cake, it’s incredible!
As Easy As A Mix – When it comes to homemade cake, it doesn’t get any easier than this recipe. It really is just as simple as making cake from a mix.
Perfect For Any Occasion – While this cake is quick and easy enough to make for a weeknight dessert, it’s delicious enough to serve for a special occasion.
Tried and True Recipe – Decades ago this recipe was found on the Hellmann’s Mayonnaise Jar, and it’s been popular ever since. Chances are your grandma has made or enjoyed a mayonnaise cake!
Serve With or Without Frosting – This cake is delicious with a layer of frosting, or just a dusting of powdered sugar. Whichever you prefer!
Homemade or Cake Mix Options – Below you’ll find the recipe for both a Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake from scratch, and how to make one by doctoring a cake mix.
People who haven’t tried Mayonnaise Cake tend to be a bit taken aback they hear it’s name. I’ll admit, at first glance it sounds, well, interesting, and might get a little side eye. But have faith my friends! The essential ingredients in mayonnaise are eggs and oil, which are also ingredients commonly found in many cake recipes.
Trust me on this – it’s an AMAZING cake, and no, it does not, in any way, taste like mayonnaise!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Recipe Discussion
Let’s discuss how to make this Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake recipe, as well as the ingredients that are needed. Please take note that below you will find discussion, expert tips, and answers to frequently asked questions about this recipe to help you recreate it in your kitchen. If you *just* want the recipe itself, scroll down. The full printable recipe itself, with exact measurements and instructions, is found at the bottom of this page.
Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake Ingredients
- Flour – All-purpose flour works perfectly in this recipe. Make sure you measure it correctly by giving your flour a stir, than spooning it into your dry measuring cup, then leveling it off. Don’t measure by scooping the flour with the measuring cup – this compacts the flour and results in a bit too much four in the recipe.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – While regular unsweetened cocoa powder works perfectly in this recipe, I also love using Dark Cocoa Powder for an even richer chocolate taste.
- Sugar – Granulated white sugar.
- Eggs – Make sure to use large size eggs.
- Mayonnaise – I prefer to use a full fat mayonnaise for the best results. Also, make sure not to use something like Miracle Whip. Stick with a simple, basic mayonnaise.
- Water – The recipe calls or water, but you can also use a cooled cup of plain coffee, or add instant coffee to the water prior to mixing it into the cake. It will not taste like coffee, it just gives it a deeper chocolate flavor.
Chocolate Frosting Ingredients
While this cake can be served plain, or with a dusting of powdered sugar, it is also delicious topped with chocolate buttercream frosting. Here’s what you’ll need to make the frosting.
- Butter – You can use salted or unsalted butter, whichever you prefer or have on hand.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – Just like with the cake, you can use a regular cocoa powder, or go with a dark cocoa variety.
- Powdered Sugar – Also called confectioners sugar. If yours is lumpy, give it a sift prior to using.
- Heavy Cream – Also called heavy whipping cream. If you don’t have heavy cream, you could also make this with half and half or even milk.
- Vanilla – I always recommend using a pure vanilla extract.
How To Make Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. If desired you can also use parchment cake pan liners. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt, then set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer for approximately 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add mayonnaise to the mixture and beat on low for approximately 1 minute.
- Add flour mixture to the sugar mixture, in three additions, alternating with adding the water, stirring well between each addition. Pour into prepared baking pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool on wire racks.
- Cool completely prior to frosting.
- To make the frosting, combine melted butter and cocoa powder. Then add in powdered sugar, along with cream, and beat until light and fluffy. Add in salt and vanilla, mix well, then spread onto cooled cake.
Recipe Tips and Advice
Storage – This chocolate mayonnaise cake can be stored covered, at room temperature, for approximately five days. If you are saving it any longer than that, I highly recommend freezing it.
Equipment Recommendations – Here are so items that will help you make, and store, this mayo cake.
- 9″ round cake pans
- Parchment Cake Pan Liners – If you struggle with getting your cakes out of your pans cleanly, then you’ll LOVE these precut parchment sheets.
- Baker’s Joy Spray – If you aren’t using the parchment sheets, then I highly recommend using Baker’s Joy Non-Stick spray. With flour in the spray, it helps your cakes release from the pan easily.
- Cake Saver – This is FANTASTIC at helping keep your cake fresh when storing.
- Cake Stand – This 12″ white cake stand is a classic, perfect to use with any cake.
Recipe FAQs
The addition of mayonnaise to a cake gives it a wonderful rich flavor and texture, and it helps the cake to stay moist a bit longer than a cake without mayonnaise.
You do not actually taste the mayonnaise at all! But you’ll notice that the cake is moist and rich.
Yes, you can! I’ve added instructions below for this option!
Mayonnaise Cake With Cake Mix
While the recipe in the recipe card below is from scratch, if you’d like to make a mayonnaise cake with a cake mix, I’ve got you covered!
Ingredients: Chocolate Cake Mix, 1 Cup Mayonnaise, 3 Eggs, Water
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl combine chocolate cake mix, mayonnaise, three eggs and 1 cup water. Stir to combine, mix with an electric mixer for two minutes. Pour into two 8″ round cake pans that have been coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of cakes comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for ten minutes, then invert cakes from pans and onto wire cooling rack. Allow to cool completely. If desired, frost using frosting recipe shared below.
More Recipes To Try
If you enjoy this chocolate mayonnaise cake, here are some other cake recipes I recommend trying!
- Marble Cake
- Chocolate Eclair Cake
- Easy Chocolate Banana Cake
- Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
Chocolate Cakes You’ll Love!
Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 2/3 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 1/3 cups water
Chocolate Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup heavy cream or heavy whipping cream (half and half or milk can also be used)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Instructions
Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt, then set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer for approximately 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add mayonnaise to the mixture and beat on low for approximately 1 minute.
- Add flour mixture to the sugar mixture, in three additions, alternating with adding the water, stirring well between each addition. Pour into prepared baking pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool on wire racks.
- Cool completely prior to frosting.
Chocolate Frosting
- Combine melted butter and cocoa and mix until butter and cocoa have combined. This may take a bit of stirring as cocoa powder sometimes doesn't combine with liquids easily.
- Next, using an electric mixer, alternately add powdered sugar and cream, beating until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla and mix well.
- Add an extra teaspoon of cream if a thinner consistency is desired. If frosting seems too thin, add additional powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Spread onto cooled cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Megan Ruangchamneil says
Probably the best cake I have ever made from scratch. Made for my mom’s bday and she loved it!
Anonymous says
I’m making this cake again tonight 😂 2nd time in 2 wks 😬
Christi Johnstone says
Love it!
Patricia Nemeth says
I should have known but the frosting shows 1/3 cup Heavy cream and my frosting
was a liquid mess.
Then at the very bottom of the page it spells if you need to add an additional teaspoon of cream.
There’s a lot of cost associated with making a scratch frosting and if you could correct the recipe.
Christi Johnstone says
Patricia, the recipe is correct. 1/3 cup heavy cream should not create a “liquid mess”. Please also note this is right in the recipe it says “add additional powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached”. So if the frosting wasn’t as thick as you liked, simply add more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
Tumi says
Cake is so yummy 👌👌👌🎂🎂🎂
Betty says
You was saying don’t use Miracle Whip, we’ll I was out of mayonnaise one day and already had things measured so I had Miracle Whip and I used it, my cake came out delicious and you couldn’t even tell I used Miracle Whip
So I’ve done it with cake mix a long time ago after making a mayonnaise cake, so you can use either
Christi Johnstone says
Good to know!
Kim says
Can I use any other pan, maybe a 9 x 13?
Christi Johnstone says
Sure, you’ll likely need to just adjust the bake time a bit. I haven’t made this particular cake in a sheet pan, so I don’t have a specific amount of time to share.
Maria says
Can I use a bundle cake tin
Martha Rowland says
thank you . Ishall trythis recipe tonight