The Surprising Ingredient You Should Skip When Making Chocolate Cake

If you ask any professional baker what they think it takes to create the perfect chocolate cake, you will likely get countless different methods, ingredients lists, and measurement variations. Every baker has a different formula for making their magic, although many consider baking to be a science rather than an art while cooking is the opposite, as Redditors have debated.

The perfect chocolate cake depends on both the ingredients and the method, but there are secrets for making the best chocolate cake you can follow when aiming for the tastiest baked treat, such as using high-quality chocolate and carefully measuring all of the ingredients. Incorrectly measuring by even a small amount can make a difference in the cake's texture and flavor. Plus, when it comes to the level of moisture in the cake, it turns out there is one ingredient that you should avoid altogether if you're looking to prevent a dry dessert.

The secret is out: In order to avoid a chocolate cake that turns out too dry, you'll want to avoid using butter. Though some swear by this dairy ingredient in their baked goods, it turns out it's actually not the best option in this case.

Canola oil or vegetable oil is the way to go, as opposed to using butter, according to The Kitchn. The outlet explains that this is because oil has a higher fat content than butter; oil is 100% fat, while butter is only 80%. The remaining 20% is actually water, which evaporates at high temperatures. This means that the cake will turn out dry, since the water disappears as it bakes. Plus, butter turns from a liquid to a solid as it cools. This is not the case with oil, so a cake made with oil will also retain more moisture as its temperatures lowers.