With a super moist crumb and fudgy, yet light texture, this chocolate cake recipe will soon be your favorite too. Top with chocolate buttercream and chocolate chips for 3x the chocolate flavor. You can also prepare this chocolate layer cake as a sheet cake, too. See recipe note.
Originally published in 2013 and now with more in-depth descriptions, a helpful video tutorial, clearer instructions, and different ways to use this classic chocolate cake recipe. I hope you enjoy all the new features in this recipe post!
Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake… But Better
This pictured cake is a combination of chocolate buttercream and mock-devil’s food cake. You know the Devil’s Food chocolate cake you get at a restaurant or even from a box mix? This is that exact cake, only completely homemade. Notice the reddish tint? That’s where the name Devil’s Food comes from. The baking soda in this recipe reacts with the natural cocoa powder, which results in the reddish color. More on the science behind using dutch-process vs. natural cocoa powder here, if you’re interested.
This is, without a doubt, the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had. And judging by your feedback in the reviews, I’m confident you’d say the same thing!
This Chocolate Cake Is:
- Extra moist
- 2 layers, but can be made as 3 layers or as a sheet cake
- Soft with a velvety crumb
- Deeply flavorful
- Unapologetically rich, just like my flourless chocolate cake
- Covered with creamy chocolate buttercream
Key Chocolate Cake Ingredients & Why
Each ingredient serves an important role. For best results, do not make substitutions.
- All-Purpose Flour: The structure of the cake. Unlike confetti cake where you can use either, do not use cake flour here—when combined with ultra-light cocoa powder, cake flour is too fine for this cake.
- Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder: Do not use dutch-process cocoa powder. If you’re interested, see dutch-process vs natural cocoa powder for an in-depth explanation.
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder: Remember the differences in baking soda vs baking powder? We use both here for lift.
- Salt: Salt balances the flavor.
- Espresso Powder: Espresso powder is optional, but I recommend its addition because it enhances the chocolate flavor. The chocolate cake will not taste like coffee, I promise. I use espresso powder in my chocolate zucchini cake, Guinness cake, chocolate raspberry cake, and marble loaf cake too!
- Oil: Don’t use butter in this cake batter. Cocoa powder is a particularly drying ingredient, so this cake needs oil for suitable moisture.
- Eggs: Use 2 room temperature eggs. To speed up the gently warming, place refrigerated eggs in a cup of warm water for 10 minutes. Did you know what the temperature of your ingredients has a direct correlation to the success of your recipes? Unless otherwise noted, use room temperature ingredients.
- Buttermilk: This chocolate cake requires the moisture and acidity from buttermilk. Lately I’ve been using a mix of sour cream and buttermilk, as well as reducing the hot liquid. You can read more about this next and see my dark chocolate mousse cake, tuxedo cake, black forest cake, German chocolate cake, and chocolate peanut butter cake recipes.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds flavor.
- Hot Coffee or Hot Water: Hot liquid enhances the cocoa powder’s flavor. It also encourages it to bloom and dissolve appropriately. You’ll notice I don’t use hot liquid in my chocolate cupcakes recipe. That’s because there isn’t the same volume of dry ingredients. With this amount of cake batter, we need a hot liquid to break up the cocoa powder lumps resting in all that flour. If you don’t drink coffee, you can use hot water. For deeper and darker flavor, though, use coffee. (Decaf coffee works!)
What an Easy Cake!
No mixer required for the batter, simply whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients (or vice versa, it doesn’t make any difference), add the hot coffee, then whisk everything together. The cake batter is thin. Divide between 2 9-inch cake pans. You can easily stretch it to 3 or 4 8-inch or 9-inch cakes if needed. Or make a quarter sheet cake using a 9×13-inch cake pan. See my recipe notes for details.
Need a 1 layer cake? Use this mint chocolate cake recipe for 1 9-inch round cake.
Need cupcakes? Use either my super moist chocolate cupcakes or cream-filled chocolate cupcakes recipe.
Lately I’ve Been Using Sour Cream
As mentioned above and in the video tutorial, there are two ways to prepare this cake batter and the slight difference involves the wet ingredients. You can follow the recipe as written using buttermilk and hot coffee/water. Or you can add sour cream. Whichever way you make it, the process is the same. (Just reduce the liquids and add sour cream!)
- Original Version (pictured and written below): The original recipe produces a very thin batter. The cake is extra soft with a deliciously spongey texture.
- Sour Cream Version (written in recipe notes and shown in video tutorial): By replacing some of the buttermilk and hot coffee with sour cream, the cake batter is slightly thicker and produces a slightly denser cake with more structure. I love using sour cream in my vanilla cake, too!
Both cakes are equally moist and chocolatey with the same flavor and ease of preparation. It just depends if you want a spongier cake or not. 🙂
Silky Chocolate Buttercream
Like my yellow cake, I use my favorite chocolate buttercream. I slightly increase the amount of each ingredient to produce extra frosting. If you prefer a thinner layer of frosting, use the chocolate buttercream recipe. But if you crave extra buttercream, follow the frosting measurements below. You need 6 ingredients total:
- Unsalted Butter
- Confectioners’ Sugar
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Heavy Cream or Milk
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
Because there is no leavening occurring, you can use either dutch-process or natural cocoa powder in the buttercream. Heavy cream provides an extra creamy frosting, but milk can be substituted if needed.
While I love chocolate frosting here the most, this cake is also wonderful with vanilla buttercream or strawberry buttercream frosting instead!
So, why do I call it triple chocolate layer cake when it only has 2 layers? Well, chocolate is used three times: chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, chocolate chips. Press a handful on top like we do with warm chocolate chip cookies, or go with “the more the better” motto like we did. Let’s eat!
PrintDeliciously Moist Chocolate Layer Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: serves 12-16
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is my favorite homemade chocolate cake recipe. With a super moist crumb and fudgy, yet light texture, this chocolate cake recipe will be your favorite too. Top with chocolate buttercream and chocolate chips for 3x the chocolate flavor. You can also prepare this chocolate layer cake as a sheet cake. See recipe Note.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 3/4 cup (62g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder (optional)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil (or canola oil or melted coconut oil)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 cup (240ml) freshly brewed strong hot coffee (regular or decaf)
Chocolate Buttercream
- 1 and 1/4 cups (282g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 and 1/2 cups (420g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3/4 cup (65g) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or dutch process)
- 3–5 Tablespoons (45-75ml) heavy cream (or half-and-half or milk), at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional for decoration: semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease two 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder (if using) together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or you can use a whisk) mix the oil, eggs, and vanilla together on medium-high speed until combined. Add the buttermilk and mix until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the hot water/coffee, and whisk or beat on low speed until the batter is completely combined. Batter is thin.
- Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake for 23-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Note: Even if they’re completely done, the cooled cakes may *slightly* sink in the center. Cocoa powder is simply not as structurally strong as all-purpose flour and can’t hold up to all the moisture necessary to make a moist tasting chocolate cake. It’s normal!)
- Remove the cakes from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely in the pan.
- Make the buttercream: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy—about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, 3 Tablespoons heavy cream, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 1 full minute. Do not over-whip. Add 1/4 cup more confectioners’ sugar or cocoa powder if frosting is too thin or 1-2 more Tablespoons of cream if frosting is too thick. (I usually add 1 more.) Taste. Add another pinch of salt if desired.
- Assemble and frost: If cooled cakes are domed on top, use a large serrated knife to slice a thin layer off the tops to create a flat surface. This is called “leveling” the cakes. Discard or crumble over finished cake. Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd layer and spread remaining frosting all over the top and sides. I always use an icing spatula and bench scraper for the frosting. Garnish with chocolate chips, if desired.
- Refrigerate uncovered cake for at least 30-60 minutes before slicing to help set the shape. After that, you can serve the cake or continue refrigerating for up to 4–6 hours before serving. Cake can be served at room temperature or chilled.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days. I like using a cake carrier for storing and transporting.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare cake through step 4. Wrap the individual baked and cooled cake layers tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature then continue with step 5. You can prepare the chocolate buttercream 2-3 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate, then bring to room temperature before spreading onto/assembling the cake. Frosted cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or serve cold.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Round Cake Pans | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cooling Rack | Cake Stand, Serving Plate, or Cake Turntable | Icing Spatula | Bench Scraper | Cake Carrier (for storing)
- 3 Layer Cake: You can also prepare this cake as a 3 layer cake. Divide batter between three 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans in step 1 and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This frosting will be enough for 3 layers. If desired, use the frosting recipe from my Piñata Cake if you want extra frosting.
- Cocoa Powder: Use natural cocoa powder in the cake, not dutch-process. (See dutch-process vs natural cocoa powder for more information.) Since there is no leavening occurring in frosting, you can use either natural or dutch-process in the chocolate buttercream.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY version of buttermilk if needed. Add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough room temperature whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1 cup. (In a pinch, lower fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the cake won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Sour Cream Version: Lately I’ve been using a mix of sour cream and buttermilk, as well as reducing the hot coffee. Reduce the buttermilk and hot coffee to 1/2 cup (120ml) each. Add 3/4 cup (180g) of room temperature full-fat sour cream with the wet ingredients. You can see this described above, in the video tutorial, and in my dark chocolate mousse cake. That cake and this cake are both fantastically moist, but the sour cream version has a slightly sturdier crumb.
- FAQ: The sour cream version (note above) makes a sturdy enough cake that will hold under fondant.
- Amount of Cake Batter: This recipe (and the sour cream version) yields about 6 cups of batter, which is helpful if you need it for different Cake Pan Sizes & Conversions.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read more about why room temperature ingredients are important.
- Espresso Powder/Coffee: Espresso powder and coffee will not make the cake taste like coffee. Instead, they deepen the chocolate flavor. I highly recommend them both. You can use the same amount of instant coffee (the powder) instead of espresso powder if desired. If coffee isn’t your thing, you can leave out the espresso powder and use extra hot water or hot chai tea.
- Bundt Pan: I recommend my chocolate cream cheese Bundt cake but without the cream cheese filling. Reduce buttermilk in that recipe to 1/4 cup and increase sour cream to 1 cup.
- 9×13 Inch Pan: You can bake this cake in a 9×13-inch baking pan. Same oven temperature, about 35-40 minutes bake time.
- Chocolate Cupcakes: Here is my favorite chocolate cupcakes recipe. Same unbelievable texture as this cake! (You’ll notice I don’t use hot liquid in that recipe. That’s because there isn’t the same volume of dry ingredients to break up. If you need more than 1 dozen chocolate cupcakes, use this chocolate cake recipe for 2-3 dozen. Same baking instructions as my chocolate cupcakes.
Recipe adapted from Ina Garten and originally from Hershey’s
I have made this cake many times, my husband and family love it. but.. I like a firmer cake. Your change of the recipe with using the sour cream and cutting back on the coffee and buttermilk was a fantastic change. It made the cake more firm (cake like) and the taste of course was fantastic. There was rave reviews from my friends on my husbands birthday
Hi Sally,
I would love to bake this cake but my husband does not like cakes that are a bit on the sweeter side. Hence I end up using half the amount of sugar asked in the recipe. Wanted to ask your opinion on the least amount of sugar I could go with to make this a hit?
Hi Nancy, you can try reducing the sugar in this cake batter but the results will be different. I recommend reducing by only a little. Sugar not only sweetens the cake, but adds volume and tenderness. Let me know what you try.
The best chocolate cake ever! Baked it yesterday for my husband’s birthday. He LOVED it and so did my parents!! Was a bit panicky while baking coz my husband wanted a dark chocolatey bittersweet cake (He is a chocoholic) and I didn’t know how this will turn out. But it turned out AMAZING!! I reduced the sugar to 200gm and used brown sugar. For the frosting I used whipped chocolate ganache and glazed it with chocolate ganache. I’m from India and used Mordoe’s dark chocolate for the cake. Thank you so much for the recipe!!!
Absolute hands down BEST chocolate cake ever! I baked it for my daughters first birthday last month and it was amazing. Everybody was raving about it! Just made it again today as why not ;)we need as much baking love right now. Thanks so much 🙂
I have made this cake a few times and currently have one baking as I write for my son’s birthday. This is by far the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made and always gets rave reviews. The last being for a 21st birthday. I used double the recipe and stacked all 4 cakes sandwiched with buttercream nutella and cherries then decorated with lots of chocolates and chocolate shards the birthday girl was reluctant to share as it tasted so good! Thanks for the excellent recipe.
Hi, Sally! Can I substitute buttermilk/sourcream with plain yogurt instead?
I haven’t tested that before, but you can certainly try it! The cake batter will be thicker, but the bake time should be about the same.
Thanks! I tried it and it was good. You have great recipes!
This is my favorite cake, so rich and chocolatey. I’ve made it countless times. My friend’s birthday is coming up and I’d like to make this with peanut butter somehow added in. Any idea on how to do this- peanut butter frosting in the middle or chopped Reese’s somewhere? I love your site, hands down the best there is. I’ve made many things, all have been delicious.
Hi Christine, what a delicious idea! I recommend using the frosting recipe included in our chocolate sheet cake. It should be enough to frost this cake. You can always 1.5x it to ensure you have enough for piping decorations, too. Sprinkle chopped Reese’s Pieces/Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in between layers or on top, or use Reese’s Cups to decorate!
Thank you so much. I love the addition of the chopped candies. She will either love me or hate me. Her birthday isn’t until the end of August, I might have to make a test run before that, haha.
Hi Sally! I’m a novice cake baker. I made this cake last night for my daughter’s birthday today. We haven’t tasted it yet but I have a question. Baking it in an electric oven, I found that it took longer than 26 minutes to get a clean toothpick out of the center of the cake and even then, the center seemed to be still a little “wet”. Any thoughts or tips on this? Thank you!
Hi Kristin, Every oven is different so it’s normal for baking times to differ. If you don’t already own one I always suggest getting an oven thermometer. You can see a link to the one I like, and all of of my other tips, in my post 10 Baking Tips for the Perfect Cake.
Hi! I’m wanting to make this for my son’s birthday but I’m wanting to make a layered sheet cake And use your strawberry buttercream as the middle filling, bc my son loves it! We always make the chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes but this time he wants a cake. I have two 9×13 pans. Could I just double the recipe to make two layers or would the layers be too thick? Or should I just divide the original amount of batter between the two pans? I’m thinking that may make it too thin..?
Hi Elizabeth, For the best results I recommend making this recipe twice and not doubling it. You can make two 9×13 cakes and layer them with the strawberry frosting. I hope he has a great birthday!
Thank you Sally for your quick response! I’ll make 2 separate cakes. These will be my mini wedding cake with buttercream! I love your blog so much I had to use one of your recipes for this special day:)
The cake was moist and had a silky taste. I added a tablespoon of whiskey as well which gave a lovely flavor. I oreoared a chocolate swiss meringue frosting and it just turned out to be a success. Thanks for the amazing recipe!!
Hi Sally! I don’t have 2 cake pans – could I pour all the batter into one pan and slice the cake in half after baking? FYI I’m using a 7 inch springform cake pan and will use your conversion chart to adjust for size! Thank you!
I don’t recommend it, Carrie. You can bake your first layer and leave the remaining batter loosely covered at room temperature until you are ready to use the pan again for the second layer.
Hi Sally,
I don’t suppose you need any more comments with your overwhelming rave reviews, but I just had to chime in. I first baked this cake for my daughter’s birthday in May. My husband and father both loved it so much, I offered to make it again for Father’s Day. We celebrated with extended family, and my sister in law also purchased an extra ice cream cake for my brother. Your chocolate cake was the overwhelming favorite! My sister in law texted me the next day to tell me my 10 year old niece said, “I wish Aunt Catherine would bake me another cake.” High praise! This cake is so moist and delicious! Thanks for your great recipes and tutorials.
The best chocolate cake I have ever eaten in my life!
This is probably the best chocolate cake I have ever made and I will continue to make it over and over again. It made for a great Father’s Day treat
Fantastic cake! I’ve topped with fresh strawberries and was fab, thank you!!
made this recipe as is as cupcakes and still came out great! super moist and light
HI Sally,
my twelve years old daughter tried your triple chocolate layer recipe ad it was the boss, the cake was so moist ad the texture was just right. Thanks looking forward fun fill cake time with your recipes.
Hey Sally I love this recipe! I was wondering if I could bake this cake in a bundt pan and for how long? thanks!
Sure can! See recipe note.
I’m a baker – and I found your recipes when I was trying to find some fun foods to make during our “quarantine” time. This one was a HUGE hit and turned out perfectly! I wouldn’t change a thing. Loved the light and smooth frosting and the cake texture was great – we loved it even more after it was in the fridge for a day or two. So yummy!
Hi Sally, your hotlinks are AMAZING resources for someone who only bakes for holidays and birthdays! thank you for such simply stated great information. My son loves extra extra chocolatey cake, but would also like something chewy or chunky in the cake when i asked him about his “dream cake” would it work to chop up into little pieces a coconut date crunchy protein bar or something like that and add it to your batter before baking or is that a ridiculous idea? do you have any other suggestion?
Hi Elle, I’m happy to help you with his dream cake! I have never tried adding a chopped up bar to this cake and fear it would be to heavy and sink unless you chop it up very very small. But you can add 1 cup (180g) of chocolate chips (or any flavor chips). Use the sour cream version detailed in the notes, which creates a slightly thicker batter to hold them up.
Thanks so much for your lightning fast response! I’m off to the grocery~~~~
Hi! Do you think I can make the buttermilk substitute using oat milk instead of whole milk?
Quick update…I made the cake this morning using a “buttermilk” made from oat milk and white vinegar and it still turned out extremely moist. This cake is amazing! Thank you.
Hi Sally, hope you’re doing well. I wanted to ask if I could use the Chocolate Mousse filling of your Dark chocolate mousse cake for this cake instead of the buttercream? Thanks in advance
Yes, absolutely!
We made this cake last week for my birthday, and it was THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE I HAVE EVER HAD! Ohmigosh, so delicious. And not difficult. I am never, ever making another box cake as long as I live. Thank you, Sally!
Wow this was so good! I’ve made quite a few chocolate cakes over the years for all my children’s birthdays, this one is the winner! The criteria for me is that it has to be easy to make, and this was is definitely easy. I didn’t have coffee powder but I did use brewed decaf coffee which worked great. I also made your Super Moist Chocolate Cupcakes, but in comparison, this one was more moist and had a richer taste. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m reluctant to leave a 5 star review, I would like this recipe to be my own secret! I don’t want anyone else to know how I make the best chocolate cake they’ve ever tasted – they can just assume it is down to my masterful bakery skills! How did you bring yourself to share it Sally!
You don’t taste the coffee at all, just amazing rich moist chocolate….ahhh.
I am going to try with sour cream next time. The other version is fine (well, incredible) if just eaten at home, but it does kind of fall apart. if you want to take it anywhere or share at work etc, I think a slightly firmer denser cake will make it a little easier and less messy.
Anyway, suffice to say – best.chocolate.cake.ever.
Just made this for my dad’s birthday, and it was super moist and delicious! Not too sweet, but not bitter at all – perfect balance for a chocolate cake. That said, I’d really reccommend halving the icing. It’s got great flavour, but I easily covered the whole cake with only half – more than that would have overwhelmed the cake, in my opinion. Really satisfied!
The cake is amazing!! I’ve made it 5 times now because friends and family are addicted and want for every occasion or just because! I don’t use the espresso powder and I use boiling water instead of coffee and it still has that dark rich chocolate color! For the frosting I use 1 stick of butter and an oz of cream cheese for a chocolate cream cheese frosting which tastes amazing!
Hi Sally! Can I do 2 layered cake but the top layer a 8 inch?
Hi Sally,
I wanted to make a version of this cake but adding a hint of stout beer. Would you be able to advise how to do so?
Thank you!
Hi Kris, I haven’t tested this exact recipe with stout but I do have a recipe for Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes that I think you would enjoy. You can use that batter to make two thin 9-inch round cake layers if you wish.
Absolutely delicious, I made it for my brothers birthday and everyone loved it! Will definitely use again!