Chocolate

Wait, We Should Put *What* in Our Chocolate Cake?

The surprise ingredient makes complete sense.

Photo by Posie Harwood Brien

This article is a part of Mayo Week—seven days celebrating all things mayonnaise—presented in partnership by our friends at Primal Kitchen.


Confession: This cake involved some subterfuge. After baking it and enjoying a slice, I knew I'd hit upon an exceptionally good recipe. I've always struggled with chocolate cakes, finding the batter too liquidy and the resulting cakes far too moist to frost easily. Classic chocolate cake recipes never taste truly rich enough for me. This recipe from the back of the cocoa box was my top contender until now.

So I had to share the cake, of course. But here's the issue: This cake is made with an entire! cup! of! mayonnaise! I sensed that bit of information would put people off the cake before giving it a chance. Instead, I served it up without a word about the mayonnaise. Everyone loved it, swooning over the texture and the flavor. Once the last crumbs were eaten, and only smears of frosting remained, I confessed.

Photo by Posie Harwood

Although it sounds bizarre, and your friends will pull a face, mayonnaise makes complete sense in a cake. It's made of eggs and oil, both of which are normal cake ingredients. The recipe is an old-fashioned one that comes from the Hellman's mayonnaise archives. Mayonnaise replaces the oil that's traditionally used in chocolate layer cakes.

Join The Conversation

Top Comment:
“Pair it with a Vanilla Swiss Buttercream, then make a good chocolate ganache to pour over the top, and drip down the sides for the very best Black & White you'll ever eat.”
— rob
Comment

You can't taste any mayo-ness at all; it merely serves to give the cake a wonderfully velvety texture and perfectly moist crumb. To get the best chocolate flavor, use a really good quality cocoa powder. You'll see that the recipe calls for espresso powder: This is entirely optional. It's fine if you leave it out, but a pinch of espresso powder really helps to enhance the flavor of chocolate in baking. It won't add any coffee flavor in this small quantity.

Photo by Posie Harwood

In these photos, I used a basic caramel sauce to fill my cake and a simple chocolate buttercream to frost the outside. You could do the same, or you could fill and frost it all with chocolate buttercream. You could also go in lots of other directions using the cake recipe as a base: Peanut butter frosting would be fantastic. Seven-minute frosting would be a great option, particularly if you want something less rich. You could use vanilla buttercream, dulce de leche frosting, or even serve the cake plain with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Any flavor that pairs with chocolate will work here, so go wild. It is cake after all, and when it comes to cake, one should not hold back.

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Do you think you'll put mayo in your next chocolate cake? Tell us in the comments!

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • Mary Beth Carroll
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    Lynn Miller
I like warm homemade bread slathered with fresh raw milk butter, ice cream in all seasons, the smell of garlic in olive oil, and sugar snap peas fresh off the vine.

138 Comments

Mary B. September 9, 2024
yoghurt too is an option
 
chefrockyrd August 22, 2024
A friend makes this mayo cake all the time for company. It is always very well received and people are shocked when she tells them it contains mayo. It is very moist and has a great crumb. I like it, but have to say I can definitely taste the hellmans mayo in it. Maybe she puts more that the usual, I will have to find out. .
 
Amy F. August 21, 2024
Talk to anyone in Chicago and they will tell you Portillo’s chocolate cake is the best in the city. Well known not so secret ingredient is Mayo.
 
Kirsten August 21, 2024
I disagree with the prior review. That chocolate cake is gorgeous and I want to eat it right now!

I probably going to make it soon.

Thank you 52 for the recipe. 🙂
 
Lynn M. June 26, 2024
The cake recipe looks like one that's been around for 50 years or so. What I can't get over is why Food52 chose to use such a sloppy mess of a cake photo to promote this recipe. The frosting is running all over the place, the layers aren't leveled or even stacked evenly.
Maybe you're appealing to home bakers with few baking skills, but don't you think it's a good idea to use a beautiful image that readers can aspire to?
No one I know would bring this slap dash mess of a cake to any gathering.
 
rob August 21, 2024
Not every cake has to be perfectly crisp and smooth. I will bet this is absolutely delicious, and that is the desired end result, isn't it?

These Chocolate Mayo cakes have been around since the late 40'x, maybe even a little earlier, both Hellman's and Hershey's got in on the act. Probably for the last 40 to 45 years I have been adding about a quarter cup of Mayo to ALL my cakes, it definitely improves them. If I'm only making a two layer 8" cake, or one layer tea cake I'll cut it down to just a few good Tbsp.

Try it, you'll like it.

BTW. I am a baker. Have owned and operated both small and VERY large bakeries. I've made many professional quality cakes, but when I'm with my grandkids, they ALL look just like this, and the kids are just as proud as they can be of their baking skills. And so am I.
 
MacGuffin September 9, 2024
Interesting. I think its appearance is why it looks like something I'd actually enjoy eating. The horror . . .
 
Helen S. November 5, 2023
When you realize that mayonnaise is basically emulsified oil, it makes perfect sense. This is also one of the oldest recipes around and still good today.
 
Smaug December 26, 2023
An emulsion is a specific type of combination of two liquids; you can't emulsify a single substance.
 
Smaug December 26, 2023
An emulsion is a specific type of combination of two liquids; you can't emulsify a single substance.
 
Helen S. December 26, 2023
Mayonnaise is not one substance but a a combination of eggs, oil and flavorings. The eggs and oil form the emulsion which is mayonnaise.
 
Smaug December 26, 2023
Well, egg yolks, but yes. The phrase "emulsified oil", however, is nonsense- a small point except that the word is so widely misused in the culinary press
 
Helen S. December 26, 2023
This is really nit picky. The point of the entire discussion is that mayonnaise is mainly oil and that oil is great for making cakes, muffins, cupcakes, etc. very moist with a longer shelf life. When you think of it that way, mayo is not so surprising. There are tons of words misued by the culinary press. As a professional bakery and pastry chef for over 30 years, I'm interested in helping people understand baking and pastry to further enhance the enjoyment of it.
 
Smaug December 26, 2023
Well, not really that picky. The word is so widely used, it's really a shame that it is being-or has been-rendered meaningless; there isn't really a substitute. Why not just say "mayonnaise is basically oil" and leave it at that?
 
Helen S. December 26, 2023
Because it is an emulsion and I am not writing just for you. There are many words whose meanings have become obscured over time and are used differently now that formerly. I have taught an accredited baking and pastry course, owned an upscale bakery and am currently the pastry chef at a 4 diamond restaurant. The important thing is that people who bake understand what and why. I doubt they care about our pedantic discussion. I wish you a happy 2024 filled with all correct words. It was an interesting conversation.
 
Smaug December 27, 2023
Ready to drop the mic? Well, at least you're not a professional writer, many of whom are doing no better- I don't knoew wehat ever happened to the concedpt of editing. I simply don't see that anything is gained by misusing a bludgeon to an audience likely to already be confused as to its meaning, nor anything to be lost by using it properly, but whatever. Your basic point, that it's simply adding oil or fat (which is what the majority of chefs' "tricks" come down to) seems valid, though the egg yolk (about 50%water, 30% fat) contains lecithin, a powerful emulsifier that may be active in the batter.
 
Smaug December 27, 2023
Jeez that's a lot of typos; these comment sections could use an edit function too.
 
cynthia K. November 5, 2023
My sister has been famous for making this most requested cake as long as I can remember. I know there has been some eyebrows raised when she revealed her “secret “ ingredient, but you can’t argue against perfection. She tops hers with peanut butter icing.
 
abuttonbox November 5, 2023
Hellman's had the recipe on their label in the 70s... probably even earlier too. Thanks for reminding us of how wonderful it is!
 
Barbara C. August 28, 2023
Just shared the recipe with my grown kids. I remember when I was a child, my mom making her “mayonnaise chocolate cake”. The men and women at the VFW events raved about it. (Dad served in Africa during WW11). My kids responded to my text with memories of their Grandma Maggie’s mayonnaise chocolate cake at family gatherings. Thanks for a wonderful walk down memory lane.
 
gigi S. August 3, 2023
What kind of mayonnaise did you use?
 
MotherHood August 3, 2023
So I have a different recipe that calls for Mayo in cake … be careful what brand you use as some have garlic powder in them!
 
Rebekah H. August 3, 2023
This is the very first thing I remember baking on my own when I was in high school. I can’t quite remember if I had a page from a magazine or just the back of the cocoa powder box. It’s what sparked my love of baking and now finally at the age of 45 I own and operate a bakery 😁
 
Wanda April 27, 2019
Hi, your recipe is a little different than mine. My Mom made this all the time. I have her recipe from back in the 50’s. It was always served with cooked icing. Nice to see it coming back in the limelight.
 
Jonica D. March 23, 2018
It is an old recipe. The frosting is like pudding. Absolutely wonderful! I made this over 50 years ago when we were first married and Mayo was such an
Expensive ingredient.
 
Jan J. March 20, 2018
This is nothing new. My grandmother used to put mayonnaise in cakes....95 years ago.
 
S.Neubeck March 10, 2018
I often kick anything chocolate up by adding chopped chilis.
 
MarZig March 9, 2018
Yes. I forgot about this trick! Cal the wait to try your recipe!
 
simran February 12, 2018
Nicely explained the ingredient of this cake, this cake looks delicious and the decoration is just amazing. I would like to try this cake at home as all the steps is briefly explained.
 
Agnes August 21, 2017
I have been using MAYONNAISE in my cakes for many, many years 30 years or more (recipe from the Hellman’s jar) any cake you use it with comes out delicious. In place of water, use any flavored juice etc.
 
Peg C. August 20, 2017
Totally agree, and not to forget, a mayonnaisey chocolate cake is one of Ruth Reichl's stand-boys as well! AskPeg