Chocolate cake is one of the most well-loved, classic desserts of all time. There's a lot of choices out there: Belgian chocolate, ganache frosting, chocolate fudge, white chocolate, salted caramel - plus cupcakes and brownies too! Whether you're vegan, organic-focussed, keto, looking for a birthday treat or just for a delicious dessert, our buying guide and top ten recommendations have you covered.
From the likes of Amazon, Tesco, ASDA and Waitrose we've reviewed the most mouth-wateringly delicious confections available in the UK, including supermarket brands like Tesco Finest and smaller, more artisanal options like Gower Cottage Brownies. We are quite frankly amazed at the quality of cake which can be delivered to your door!
Quick List - Top Chocolate Cakes
Delicario
An Award Winning Organic Vegan Chocolate Ganache Cake, Without Most Allergens
Gower Cottage Brownies
Belgian Chocolate Brownies Handmade With Only Quality Ingredients
Tesco
Tesco's Decadent Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake for 16 People
Emily is a registered integrative, naturopathic nutritionist trained in the principles of functional medicine, biomedicine and human sciences, and she has a Master’s Degree in nutrition. She has extensive clinical experience in both private practice and the public health and wellbeing sector. Her work embraces the interplay between nutrition, bio-individuality and mindset, educating and empowering clients to make lasting changes wherever they are on their health journey.
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Emily is a registered integrative, naturopathic nutritionist and has a Master’s Degree in nutrition. Her work embraces the interplay between nutrition, bio-individuality, mindset, educating and empowering clients to make lasting changes wherever they are on their health journey. You can check out her work from her Instagram account and website.
You wouldn't want to choose a cake that serves 14 just to have at home, but likewise, you wouldn't want to find yourself without enough for your guests at a gathering. The total number of number of servings a cake can provide is usually printed clearly on the packaging (or it is obvious if dealing with individual brownies or cupcakes).
Follow serving size recommendations when cutting the cake, or choose a pre-cut cake, to make sure everyone has a suitable - not overwhelming or underwhelming - portion size. If we are trying to stay healthy, portion control ( aka sticking to suggested serving sizes) can really help us to still have our cake and eat it.
I recommend trying mindful eating techniques to help you really savour the slice! Take your time to enjoy the cake and tune in to the sights, smells, and feelings of connection with the people around you.
Try putting the cake down between each bite, eating with your non-dominant hand, or taking some slow breaths between bites. This helps your brain figure out when you’re satisfied to help prevent over-eating.
Some of us might pay less attention to the nutritional information label on an indulgent chocolate cake than we would for healthier items on our shopping list. However it's a good idea to check the labelling, as calories, sugar and fat can vary greatly across seemingly-similar products.
The recommended daily energy intake for adults is around 2000 calories, and of this, total fat content should be kept down to less than 70g, and saturates to less than 20g. Added sugars shouldn't make up more than 5% of our calorie intake each day, which is around 30g of sugar per day. Most food labels now state how much of the RDA the product contains, to help you keep an eye on your recommended daily allowance, even when enjoying a treat.
Calories are usually the first thing people seek out when reading nutrition labels. We’re always told not to have too many, but what even is a calorie? When it comes to nutrition, calories refer to the energy we get from our food and drink.
Calorie consumption is actually really important for health as we need energy! Without it, our cells couldn’t function, and normal body processes wouldn’t happen. The important thing to remember with calories is moderation.
It used to be that if you had any special dietary requirements you'd simply have to steer clear of sweet treats and cakes. Luckily though, there are now options out there, whether you're on a vegan, organic, lactose-free, keto or even sugar-free diet!
Aside from specific dietary needs, these days it's widely believed that avoiding certain things like dairy, sugar and grains can help you to live more healthily. So if you find yourself buying in a cake for a vegan friend, it won't hurt to enjoy a slice yourself and you may even find yourself not being able to tell the difference.
While free-from treats can sometimes have less sugar and fat, that’s not always the case, so make sure you don’t neglect the nutrition information just because it’s dairy-free or gluten-free. Just like any other diet or lifestyle, it is still possible to eat unhealthily while being vegan or grain-free. Keep checking the nutrition labels and keep an eye on the ingredients list and portion sizes.
If you are buying a cake as part of your usual shop, to be eaten casually over the week or as a weekend dessert, you'll probably want to buy a chilled one. Buying a chilled cake is pretty convenient if it's just to have as a treat at home, and there are lots of cakes that last for a week or more these days.
However, if you are looking for a cake for a special occasion such as a birthday and the cake has to be 'just so', you might want to consider choosing a frozen cake which you'll need to defrost. There are some delightful handmade or hand-finished cakes options that arrive safely packaged in dry ice, and can be simply defrosted in a matter of hours and taste sublimely fresh!
Frozen cakes, or cakes you are able to freeze once bought, can have a longer shelf life, which is useful if being used for a particular occasion. Cakes can be frozen for up to 4 months and should be defrosted in the fridge which can take around eight hours.
If you are now really craving chocolate, check out our recommendations for the best chocolate bars, the best hot chocolate powders and the best dark chocolates.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Delicario Vegan Organic Chocolate Gaache Cake | ![]() | An Award Winning Organic Vegan Chocolate Ganache Cake, Without Most Allergens | |
2 | Gower Cottage Brownies Handmade Belgian Chocolate Brownies | ![]() | Belgian Chocolate Brownies Handmade With Only Quality Ingredients | |
3 | Waitrose & Partners Belgian Chocolate Cake | ![]() | A Delicious Weekend-Treat Chocolate Cake From Waitrose | |
4 | Tesco Chocolate & Salted Caramel Drip Cake | ![]() | Tesco's Decadent Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake for 16 People | |
5 | Just Love Food Company Vegan Chocolate Cake | ![]() | A Delicious Plant-Based Option to Serve 8, Without Artificial Colours of Flavourings | |
6 | Waitrose White Chocolate & Raspberry Cake | ![]() | A Gorgeous White Chocolate Option Which Serves 14 People | |
7 | Tesco Finest Tesco Finest Chocolate Cake | ![]() | An Indulgent Belgian Chocolate Sponge From the Tesco Finest Range | |
8 | The Handmade Cake Company Frozen Vegan Belgian Chocolate Fudge Cake | ![]() | A Huge, Scrumptious, Handmade Vegan Chocolate Fudge Cake | |
9 | Lola's Cupcakes Chocolate Cupcakes by Post Box|8 cupcakes | ![]() | Luxury Handmade Assortment of Chocolate Cupcakes-By-Post | |
10 | No Guilt Bakes Keto Cake Bites | ![]() | Gluten, Sugar and Grain-Free Keto-Friendly Cake Bites |
This is the ultimate Italian chocolate indulgance ganache cake, better still it is vegan, organic and gluten-free! The very minimal ingredients (without flour, butter nor eggs) have been carefully chosen to give a soft and voluptuous, intense chocolate taste.
This cake has been the winner of numerous Great Taste and International Chocolate Awards, thanks to the thirty year recipe development by baking artisans in Florence, Italy. Unbelievably you can get this heavenly cake sent to you through the post!
Although technically not a cake, these chocolate brownies had to make it onto our list, being widely rated in both their reviews and BBC Good Food Magazine as the best chocolate brownies around. And we must say, they're not wrong, so they are near the top.
Made using only British butter, free-range eggs, sugar, flour and high-quality dark Belgian chocolate, you don't have to worry about preservatives or unwanted ingredients and their taste is unbelievably chocolatey. They arrive beautifully packaged in tissue paper, raffia and their own Gower Cottage Brownies box, with a personalised message too. They are clearly made with passion and love.
A delicious cake filled and topped with Belgian chocolate frosting, what's not to love? It's rich and moist for a packaged cake - you can definitely tell that the foodies at Waitrose & Partners had a part in its creation!
Reasonably priced and indulgent without being over-sweet. We think it is the perfect size to enjoy as a couple over a special weekend, or you could take it along when a number of desserts are being shared. It's moreish so it won't stretch that far!
Tesco has created something special for a celebration with this decadent chocolate drip cake. It's a chocolate sponge cake, filled with a layer of salted caramel sauce, coated with chocolate flavour frosting and topped with an impressive-looking drip design.
If that's not enough to tempt you, then the excellent decoration will. The top is artfully hand- finished with fudge pieces, chocolate coated wheat crunchies, and chocolate decorations. This cake would make a stunning birthday cake centrepiece, for young and old alike.
Not only vegan but made with no hydrogenated fat, artificial colours or flavours, we found that it's not only on the healthier side (compared to other chocolate cakes) but hands down is the best tasting vegan supermarket option across the board.
You won't be able to get enough of this chocolate sponge cake, with chocolate frosting on both the inside and the outside! We love the detail of the lustred dark chocolate drops too. Impressively moist, your non-vegan friends may well not be able to tell the difference.
If you're looking for a slightly more delicate option, choose this elegant white chocolate and raspberry cake. The combination of Madeira sponge, white chocolate buttercream, raspberry jam and freeze dried raspberry pieces is divine, and its lightness makes it ideal for dessert after a big family get-together.
It generously serves 14 people - especially as the white chocolate makes it very sweet so one slice is enough and satisfying. The white chocolate curls on the top make this an elegant option, especially as it goes well with a glass of prosecco.
A gratifying cake when you want to go all out chocolate - no holds barred! The Belgian milk chocolate ganache buttercream with the Belgian chocolate marbled curls will appeal to all chocolate fans.
The soft layered sponge, moist, sumptuous texture and delightful appearance were just what we were looking for in a cake. Messy, great value and deliciously indulgent. Quite a small cake so realistically would feed up to 4 (not 6) chocoholics.
This delicious three-layer vegan chocolate cake, proves you don't have to miss out when on a plant-based diet. An exceptionally tasty option, the chocolate icing isn't too sweet and it creates a delightful balance with the moist, rich fudge cake.
Pre-sliced into 14 pieces, it prevents waste and overindulgence and the cake arrives frozen in dry ice. It can be defrosted in four hours and tastes so fresh that you will be amazed it started off frozen. This comes highly recommended but the price-tag moves it lower down the rankings.
Okay, so this isn't one cake but eight! It's difficult to think of a chocolate-loving child (or adult!) that wouldn't absolutely adore these at their party, so if there's a celebration for a chocoholic coming up, this cupcakes-by-post service is one to remember.
The included 8 mouth-watering flavours are: Chocolate Heaven, Chocolate Hazelnut, Salted Caramel, Black Forest, Black Bottom, Caramel Macadamia, Cookies & Cream and Chocolate. These cupcakes are handcrafted then packed with dry ice and posted out nationwide! The price point has kept these further down the list, but we reckon they are more than worth it for a special occasion.
Although it's not quite a traditional cake, we simply had to sneak in this offering from No-Guilt Bakes for being a fabulous ketogenic option. In fact, not only are they keto, but they are also sugar and gluten-free, made with almond and coconut flour and without preservatives of any kind - yet most importantly, they taste heavenly.
A genuinely healthy option for when you're craving that sweet treat, you get five packets for the price making them super convenient and good value too. Although we're strictly focusing on chocolate cakes in this review, be sure to check out the five other flavours, including cinnamon swirl and lemon and poppy seed.
Freshly baked chocolate cake can last for about 1 or 2 days if stored at normal room temperature. However, it also depends on the storage. Try to cover with foil to prevent the cake from drying, as long as it remains moist, you can expect prolonged shelf life.
Yes, you can freeze the chocolate cake, remember to store it in plastic freezer wrap or place it in a heavy-duty freezer bag. It lasts about 4-6 months, depending on how it is stored.
Written and researched by Melanie McPhail
No. 1: Delicario|Vegan Organic Chocolate Gaache Cake
No. 2: Gower Cottage Brownies|Handmade Belgian Chocolate Brownies
No. 3: Waitrose & Partners|Belgian Chocolate Cake
No. 4: Tesco|Chocolate & Salted Caramel Drip Cake
No. 5: Just Love Food Company|Vegan Chocolate Cake
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