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.
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
One reader, Greta, commented: “This is, hands down, the best chocolate cake I have ever baked. And I’m not the only one who thinks so… because I have baked and shared this cake with many people… it’s simply the best! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. โ โ โ โ โ “
Another reader, Melanie, commented: “This has become my go-to chocolate cake! My family loves it. The directions are very clear and easy to follow. Before now, I did not consider myself a baker. I had only baked box cakes. Now, this recipe has catapulted me into a from-scratch cake baker. So glad I found this recipe and many others from this site. โ โ โ โ โ ”
Another reader, Todd, commented: “Outstanding! One of the best cakes I have ever made. Moist, chocolatey, beyond delicious! โ โ โ โ โ “
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 hereโwhen 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. Save it for another recipe, like these homemade brownies. 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! You can find it in the coffee or baking aisle at the grocery store or online.
- Oil: Don’t use butter in this cake batter. Cocoa powder is a particularly drying ingredient, so this cake needs oil for suitable moisture. Same goes for my chocolate cake roll recipe, too.
- Eggs: Use 2 room-temperature eggs. If your eggs are cold, place them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
- 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 donโt drink coffee, you can use hot water. For deeper and darker flavor, though, use coffee. (Decaf coffee works!) You use it in thisย black velvet cupcakes recipe, too.
What an Easy Cake!
While you can use a mixer, you could also simply use a whisk. Whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Combine them, add the hot coffee, then whisk everything together. The cake batter is thin.
Divide between two 9-inch cake pans. You can easily stretch it to three or four 8-inch cake layers if needed. Or make a quarter sheet cake using a 9×13-inch cake pan. See recipe Notes for details.
Need a one-layer cake? Use this mint chocolate cake recipe for one 9-inch round cake.
Need cupcakes? Try my super moist chocolate cupcakes, classic chocolate cupcakes, or cream-filled chocolate cupcakes recipes.
For a Slightly Sturdier Version of This Cake
As mentioned above, 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 or sturdier cake. ๐
Silky Chocolate Buttercream
Like my yellow cake, I use my favoriteย chocolate buttercream. I slightly increased the amount of each ingredient to produce extra frosting for this chocolate layer cake. 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 whole milk can be substituted if needed.
While I love chocolate frosting here the most, this cake is also wonderful with vanilla buttercream or peanut butter 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!
Print
Deliciously 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 flourย (spooned & leveled)
- 3/4 cup (64g) 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 (113g/120ml) vegetable oil (or canola oil or melted coconut oil)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240g/ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 cup (240g/ml) freshly brewed strong hot coffee or hot water
Chocolate Buttercream
- 1 and 1/4 cups (282g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 and 1/2 cups (420g) confectioners’ย sugar
- 3/4 cup (64g) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
- 3โ5 Tablespoons (45โ75g/ml) heavy cream (or half-and-half or milk), at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- optional for decoration: semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). 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:ย 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 dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, add the hot coffee/water, and whisk or beat on low speed until the batter is completely combined. Batter is thin.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 23โ26 minutes or until 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!)
- Cool the cakes in the pans set on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Run a knife around the edges to help loosen the sides, remove the cakes from the pans, peel off the parchment, and place on the cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Make the buttercream: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamyโabout 2 minutes. Add confectionersโ sugar, cocoa powder, 3 Tablespoons heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. 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 confectionersโ sugar or cocoa powder if frosting is too thin or 1โ2 more Tablespoons of cream if frosting is too thick. 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 use an icing spatulaย andย bench scraper for the frosting. Garnish with chocolate chips, if desired.
- Refrigerate uncovered cake for at least 30โ60 minutes before slicing to help set the shape. After that, you can serve the cake or continue refrigerating for up to 4โ6 hours before serving. Cake can be served at room temperature or chilled.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 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 2โ3 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 |ย 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 cake pans in step 1 and bake for 22โ25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This frosting will be enough for 3 layers. If desired, 1.5x the buttercream ingredient amounts or use the frosting recipe from my Piรฑata 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.) Because there is no leavening in the 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 buttermilk substitute 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 โbuttermilkโ 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 (120g/ml) each. Add 3/4 cup (180g) of room-temperature full-fat sour cream with the wet ingredients. You can see this described above 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.
- Can I top this cake with fondant? The sour cream version (note above) makes a sturdier cake that should hold up under fondant.
- Amount of Cake Batter: This recipe 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 this cake taste like coffee. Instead, they deepen and enhance the chocolate flavor. I highly recommend them both. Decaf coffee is fine. You can find espresso powder in the coffee or baking aisle at the grocery store or online. You can use the same amount of instant coffee (the powder, not coffee grounds) instead of espresso powder if desired. If coffee isn’t your thing, you can leave out the espresso powder and use hot water instead of the hot coffee.
- 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 35โ40 minutes bake time.
- Chocolate Cupcakes: I have 2 favorite chocolate cupcake recipes: my super moist chocolate cupcakes and this classic chocolate cupcakes recipe. The second one is based off of this chocolate cake recipe and has the same texture and flavor as this cake!ย
Recipe adapted from Ina Garten and originally from Hershey’s
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi
Thank you for the recipe
What can I replace eggs with
Hi Pinal, we havenโt tested this recipe with egg substitutes, so are unsure of the result. But any time you make an ingredient substitution you should expect the outcome to be somewhat different. Sorry we canโt be of more help here!
Ymmmm. Hi Sally. When I use the sour cream method, is it ok to use whole milk Greek yogurt in the recipe, or should I stick with the sour cream. Also, I am baking this in 9-inch heart shaped cake pans. Any time difference from the heart shaped pans and the 9-inch round pans? Thank you so much!
Hi Lanita! Whole milk greek yogurt should work well too. Bake time will vary with a different shaped pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
I’m hoping to use this recipe for a birthday cake! Will it hold up with stacking another 6″ on top with supports? It also needs to be dairy free, so I can’t use the sour cream, as mentioned for a sturdier option. I’m planning to use oat/almond milk sub for the buttermilk.
Thank you!
Hi Emily! We do not recommend this recipe as the bottom tier for a cakeโ-even the sour cream version is a bit too light to support a top tier. You could use it for a top tier, though, with a different flavored bottom tier.
I love this recipe! My question is if I’m making two 10 inch round cakes, do I just use this recipe as is or multiply ingredients by 1.25? Or make the cupcake version and add some batter to each pan so that it’s at the halfway point? Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Hi Mary! Here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes.
This is going to make a much larger cake than I need. My tins are 7″ could this be adapted to fit my tins don’t really want to have to buy more.
Hi Wendy, If you don’t want to alter the recipe, you can use your 7 inch pans and fill your three pans half way, then use any leftover batter for a few cupcakes.
This was the best chocolate cake recipe I’ve ever tried. It was so moist with outstanding chocolate taste. I don’t drink coffee, so I didn’t add that, but still an outstanding flavor.
How many cups of frosting is this please? Looking to use it just as a filling for a 5 or 6 layer vanilla cake.
Hi Carlz, This recipe yields about 3 cups of frosting or so, but is easily scaleable.
Hi! I am planning on making this cake, but am unsure about the frosting. While I love the chocolate, I need to dye the frosting pink. I am not the biggest fan of buttercream. What other frosting is stable enough for a layer cake and would also pair well with the chocolate flavor?
Hi Andreea, the strawberry cream cheese frosting from this cake would be a wonderful pairing with chocolate cake! If you’d prefer a vanilla-based frosting that is simply colored pink, you can try our Swiss meringue buttercream or whipped frosting. Both are not as sweet as traditional American buttercream. We hope you enjoy it!
Baking cakes is out of my comfort zone. So, I decided to try your recipe because of the tips for success. It came out incredibly well!!!