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
Delicious!
I used some of the sour cream adjustments and I did use Dutch cocoa…
Came out wonderful!
Made this cake yesterday and it was delicious. I did not have buttermilk so subbed with milk and 1 3/4 tsp cream of tarter. Made in 9 x 13 pan. My kids and I loved it! My son has now requested for his birthday.
I made this cake for the first time as my family and I are in self . We were all craving chocolate so we gave it a go! Let me tell you, It did not disappoint! In fact hands down this will be my go to Birthday Cake or any and all occasions CAKE!!!! It was too die for. I followed the recipe completely except left out the espresso powder. I didn’t think it was needed bcs the cake still had traces of coffee flavour in it! Also, in my opinion, the cake flavour on its own was even better without the frosting. It was so chocolatey moist and delicious! Thank you Sally!
Hello sally,while baking 1 cake can keep remaining batter in refrigerator because in my oven i can bake only 1 cake at a time.i hope u’ll rply me..thank you
You can try however as soon as the batter is mixed together the baking soda is activated which means if you wait to bake it your cake may not rise as much. Alternatively you can cut the recipe in half, bake one layer, and then repeat to make the second layer.
This recipe was great! Best chocolate cake and chocolate frosting we ever had! Definitely will make again! A twin sister birthday was a success with this cake!
My espresso powder arrived and I immediately made this cake. When I leveled the cake, I ate the still-warm cake and immediately considered not even bothering to frost the cake! It is the most delicious, moist chocolate cake I have ever made and that’s saying something because I have made many, many chocolate cakes from scratch. My first cake was when I was 14 and I made a midnight chocolate cake for my mom’s birthday as a surprise. We were moving and were out of eggs. That’s when I learned about ingredient substitutions! Using mayonnaise in place of eggs also created an incredibly moist cake! That was back in 1978, long before google so I had to wake my mom up and ask her what I could use in a cake recipe instead of eggs. Luckily, she was still surprised. lol I used the sour cream option when making the cake.
This cake took me back to that time which makes it taste even better! I’m looking forward to making this for my friend’s birthday next month!!
Hi there,
I made this cake for my birthday yesterday. I used espresso powder and coffee and I went for the only buttermilk option. The cake tasted pretty good (a little salty) but it was very crumbly. I even let it cool in its pan and then I put it in the fridge overnight before I frosted it. I let it come back to room temperature before frosting. It was very difficult to frost and it kept falling apart. I’m not sure if I did something wrong or if this cake is just naturally crumbly. Just a warning to anyone who might make this cake: it comes out very crumbly and moist. It tasted good though and the buttercream was delicious!
Thanks Sally for your wonderful recipes. I always come to this blog whenever I want to bake something 🙂
My espresso powder finally arrived and I made this yesterday. It is amazing!! It is literally the best chocolate cake I have ever made!
Made it today with some sour cream and less buttermilk. So good. I like it better with sour cream and might do more next time. I’m hyper critical of my baking and love this.
I tried this cake recipe yesterday. It is delicious and moist- I have been looking for the perfect cake recipe for a long time after trying and failing at so many and this is it!
I tried this recipe last Saturday , I baked for a friend’s birthday and it was great ! I have abandoned my usual chocolate recipe for this one!
Thank you very much from the Netherlands! For anyone looking for an easy to follow chocolate cake recipe, this is it!
tried this recipe today… came out very well.. did not add expresso.. thank you very much for publishing the recipe… is there an option to post pictures?
This chocolate is it!!! It’s soft and moist and deliciously chocolately. I use instant espresso as the coffee and add to the mix. The flavor depth is spot on!
I made this cake and the result was so perfect! Delicious. The best chocolate cake we have tried. I followed the exact recipe, which is very easy! Thanks for this 🙂
Hi Sally, I really love your recipes. I made this one today with my little boy ( two and half years old) and he couldn’t wait to eat it.
Well, I didn’t have espresso powder so, I used Nespresso machine to make a small shot of decaffeinated espresso. I used the buttermilk version and the cake is so fluffy and soft. I followed your chocolate ganasch recipe for the decorations. It is very yummy. Thank you.
Made this recipe a lot of times and loved it! But recently te recipe changed a bit. I tried that but I did really taste the coffee. I added the espresso powder and the coffee. Which should I leave out next time? The espresso powder or substitute the coffee for water?
Hi Rosa, You can leave out the espresso powder next time and keep the hot coffee. That should still give you a rich chocolate taste!
Made this yesterday for my brother’s birthday and the whole family loved it!! No mods, wouldn’t change a thing 🙂
Hello I’m going to test run this choc cake as most of my previous ones have always been too dry (after scouring tips & recipes & explanations from website for past 3 hours a lot has been explained)! … I’m wondering if it will hold up under a mixture of soft fondant & sculptures icing which (hopefully) I will make into Simba from lion king – which will entail a lot of sculpting with cake tools for his fur & mane ……h-e-l-p as 1st attempt (for my daughters 21st in 3 weeks)
Hi Michelle! I’m happy to help. Using the sour cream method/version from the notes, this cake would be just find under decorative fondant.
The chocolate cake itself came out quite well, my only issue was I had some bubbling at the bottom forming craters but I believe that was my fault. However, I had very big problems with the buttercream frosting. The recipe itself was straight forward sk I know I didn’t miss an ingredient or do something wrong. My icing came out lumpy and separated. I tried saving it by adding more sugar/cream but it simply didn’t work. If the icing was usable it would have received a five star rating but I ended up using another recipe for the icing.
I forgot to leave stars.
Great chocolate cake recipe and just as you describe. I used the sour cream version with the hot coffee. I frosted it with your peanut butter frosting. Excellent cake! Whole family loved it.
This cake was DELICIOUS!! I made a 9×13 cake and it was so moist and fluffy. It was perfect even made two days ahead, and it was devoured by my friends in no time!
Delicious!!
Honestly, you should rename this the Bruce Bogtrotter cake… I made it this afternoon (with ganache icing instead of buttercream) and holy batarang batman. It is the epitome of the cake on the movie Matilda. Its so rich and gooey and oh my giddy aunt. I’m in cake heaven!!
I rarely bake from scratch because of time, but I always make an exception for this cake. My husband’s favorite. It’s a very good chocolate cake! This recipe is so wonderful, even I don’t mess it up!
I haven’t tasted the cake yet because I made it for a birthday later today. But the frosting tasting amazing. It has a very good chocolate flavor and is very silky on the tongue. It spreads very well. I did need quite a bit more heavy cream, probably about 10 tblsp and I only used 3 cups of the powdered sugar. The cakes look so good, like a real devils food cake, they rose well and have a very shiny surface. I can’t wait to try this cake, since the batter was delicious I have no doubt that the cake will be fantastic.
LOVE this recipe. I have probably made it 25 times since you originally shared it; it always gets rave reviews. The sheet pan instructions make this a very portable cake for family gatherings, church potlucks and office treats. This and your Biscoff cookies are two rock-the-house faves. Oh, I can’t forget the Chicago deep dish pizza and soft pretzels: two savory faves. Keep ’em comin’ please. And congrats on baby news!
Oh me, oh my this is a delicious cake! just finished it and am decorating now and I’m stealing pieces from leveling and a scoop of the frosting… I must get this cake out of my house ASAP! I will be sharing this cake with everyone I know! Thanks as usual Sally for perfection again.
Hi Sally! I’d like to use this recipe to make a 3-layer cake with peanut butter frosting between layers and on top. Would that work for this type of cake? If so, would your peanut butter frosting recipe be enough for in and on/around the cake? Thank you!
You can divide this batter between 3 9-inch cake pans. The layers will take a little less time to bake since they’ll be thinner. I would double the peanut butter frosting recipe. Enjoy!
The chocolate cake I have been looking for my whole life… I use the sour cream version and, although I can’t get enough dark chocolate, skip the espresso powder for my honey’s taste. Perfect cake! Since it’s usually just my family of 2 adults and a toddler eating this, I use 6″ cake pans and make cupcakes to freeze with the rest of the batter.
can i use water instead of coffee?
I make this cake time and time again. Comes out perfect every time!
Made this for my daughter’s first birthday and it was a hit:) thanks alot for this amazing recipe.
WOW, another total winner. I was a little skeptical because when I handled the cooled cakes they seemed a little flimsy (or spongy? something seemed off) But … In Sally We Trust. Although I did find I had to bake the layers a little bit longer, but I think oven temp calibration may be the culprit.
I baked the cakes a couple days ahead, wrapped and froze them. Made the buttercream and frosted them the day of the party. Perfect amount of icing! Perfect texture! So chocolatey and rich and moist! Got rave reviews from everyone. It looked a little small (I am incapable of judging portion sizes, in all fairness), but makes 18 very decent cake slices. And now the sound of me shredding all my other chocolate cake recipes…