Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake has to be one of the most decadent, delicious and easy cakes I have ever made! Simply combine all ingredients together, pour into a pan and bake. That is it! You will never want to use a prepared cake mix again once you try this recipe!
I’m definitely not a cake snob, I’m happy to use a boxed cake mix in a pinch (or even to doctor them up like in my favorite Chocolate Banana Cake). But seriously, this Mayonnaise Cake makes even boxed cake mixes seem like work! Mix ingredients together, pour into a pan, bake…done!
If you believe you are not a baker at heart, you’ll love this Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake recipe because it’s so easy – even you can bake it perfectly!
Don’t let the idea of mayonnaise in a cake scare you away. Mayonnaise is basically made of oil and eggs which are in pretty much every cake recipe and it truly makes this cake moist and decadent.
TIPS FOR A PERFECT CAKE
- Using full fat mayonnaise produces the best results. Light versions work but it will change the texture of the cake and make it chewier.
- Don’t overmix the batter. It may appear slightly lumpy but that is ok.
- Use room temperature eggs. If your eggs are cold, place them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes. There are no eggs in this recipe but a great tip when baking cakes in general!
- When measuring flour it’s important to remember not to scoop it into the measuring cup directly from your flour container (this packs it down and measures too much flour). Simply spoon the flour into your dry measuring cup and level the excess off with a straight edge.
- Do not over bake your cake. Check it by inserting a toothpick into the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is good.
I can remember being a teenager and my friend’s mom made a mayonnaise cake. I have to admit that 3o years later, I still remember that moist tender cake and how amazing it was! When I got my hands on a pile of vintage recipe books and saw this recipe again, I knew I had to make it. There is a good reason this old fashioned mayonnaise cake recipe has been around for so long!
You can use any kind of frosting on this cake including my One Minute Easy Chocolate Frosting or my favorite Chocolate Ganache Frosting. This Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake is so wonderfully simple and unbelievably delicious that your friends will be asking for the recipe!
Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup creamy salad dressing Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
- 1 cup water lukewarm
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking dish.
- Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Pour into prepared baking dish.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Why do you tell us to not use cold eggs in the chocolate mayo cake. tell us us to warm them first and then give us a recipe that mentions no eggs? What are we warming the eggs for? By the way Mayo is eggs.
Hi Phillip, the information in the post says: There are no eggs in this recipe but a great tip when baking cakes in general! I hope this helps!
Hi there,
I have made this cake before, delish….had it growing up.
Can I make cupcakes with this batter? Am sure I can. Just no idea how long to cook them for?!
thanks,
Need for this upcoming weekend!
I haven’t tried cupcakes so I can’t say for sure how it would work Lynn. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
your chocolate mayonnaise cake directions are confusing at first you say warm your eggs then and the ingredients there are no eggs hard to follow if you’re going to say one thing then another
Hi Candy, the information says: There are no eggs in this recipe but a great tip when baking cakes in general! I hope this helps!
Can I also add 1-2 avocados (for health!) to this delicious chocolate Mayo cake?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Mary. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
delicious and easy to make. Due to an egg allergy, have to substitute vegan mayonnaise, same amount, and it still turned out great. So for those with egg allergy, Hellmann’s Vegan Mayo substituted perfect. the family loves it
Thank you for sharing! So happy to hear it works with vegan mayo too!
Really disappointed with this cake, not sure if I will try to salvage it with a frosting or just cut my losses and find a different recipe to start over. It has a very strong baking soda aftertaste, and I have since read some other reviewers mentioned this as well.
Also there was barely enough batter to fill the 9×13 pan. I measure all my dry ingredients by weight so it was not an error on my part.
The crumb is very tender, but the chocolate flavour is lacking. I think the recipe would benefit from added salt and decreased baking soda.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. Super strong baking soda flavour and… the overall flavour just fell kind of flat, not really sweet or chocolate. Perhaps this would taste better with frosting but I don’t think I’m willing to try to salvage the cake. Moisture level was bang on though, I’ll give it that!
If you google other recipe for mayonnaise cake and most of them say 2 tsp baking soda
Thanks so much for a great cake recipe that really brought back childhood memories. My grandma was a fantastic baker and she would often make a similar cake. I’ve made this recipe twice now, and it was delicious both times. I used warm coffee instead of water. I usually do in all my chocolate cake recipes. This recipe is so simple and so scrumptious. It’s a hit with my family. In fact, I made it tonight because my son has been requesting it.
Easy, not too sweet and super moist. One of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever had! Loved it!
Fell apart completely, couldn’t get it out of the pan in even 1 inch sections. I liked the taste, but definitely would add eggs, if I ever tried making it again. It had no coagulation whatsoever.
It took about 23 minutes to bake. Not terrible, but there was a bitter taste. I think it was the baking soda. It wasn’t bad with plenty of frosting. I do wonder if the baking soda could be reduced. A few weeks later, I tried a different mayonnaise cake recipe. This one includes eggs and less baking soda. It was much better.
Taste was good but it was dry and crumbly. I didn’t over mix or overcook it. In fact, I cooked it for 25 mins instead of the 30 mins. I have baked for over 30 years, always trying new recipes and have great success. But this definitely didn’t turn out as I had hoped.
So easy to make and delicious. The texture is perfect, not too crumbly or too dense. Thank you for a new family favourite :)
I just stumbled on your blog by accident, and am I glad that I did! I made this recipe today. It went together so quickly and it was so easy, and it was delicious. My son absolutely loved it. I will definitely make this again. And again, and again, and you get the picture. Thank you for making life a little easer and sweeter. I liked that the cake wasn’t overly sweet. It was just right.
loved it great taste!!!! EASY!!! I willmake again!
Can you split this recipe into two 9″ pans to make a layer cake? If so, how long should it be baked?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Joanna, but that should work just fine. I would begin checking the cakes early and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
My husband loves this recipe.
I learned of a mayo cake from a nice lady I exercise with.
I’m curious after making this cake (and waiting for it to cool – to try it) why anyone would buy a boxed cake mix. The amount of work, and ingredients of your recipe versus the boxed type, seem a wash, except your ingredients are a lot cheaper.
Thanks for the recipe and I look forward to trying others.
From a retired, alone, old guy, trying recipes for the fun of it.
I’m so happy to hear how much you loved the cake Michael! Easy and delish!
made the chocolate mayo cake. for some reason it was crumbly. what could I of done?
Hi Mary, the crumble could be too much flour, you can check out our flour measuring guide for more information on that.
weird texture and super bland taste . very disappointing
This was the first cake recipe I was taught in Home Ec. That was almost sixty-three years ago. Been around for a long time.
That is so fun Lynn! This cake is definitely a classic, it is delicious.
I agree with some of the reviewers. Tasteless and dry. Cooked less then 30 minutes or it would have been worse. Something is missing from this recipe, there isn’t enough batter to fill the 9×13 pan. And yes measured exactly as written used regular fat mayonnaise. Awful!!