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
This is my second time making this cake. The first time I made it 2 layers but I had a lot of frosting left. This time u made a 3 layer tier cake and it turned out perfectly. I simply love this cake!!! I’m gonna garnish it with semi sweet and white chocolate chips!!!
Hi,
I have two 6 inch cake pans that are 4 inches tall. I want to make a little taller cake, with 4 layers. How would you recommend that I use your recipe? Do you think I can divide the batter in those two pans and then just level the cakes and make 4 layers or should I bake two and two and will the batter be enough?
Hope to hear from you 🙂
Hi Yaslin, This recipe (and the sour cream version) yields about 6 cups of batter. You can divide it between four 6 inch pans. We don’t recommend baking it in only two 6 inch pans as that would be too much batter per pan for the cakes to rise and bake properly. You can read more about this size cake in our post 6 inch cakes.
Super delicious cake… I made this on my son’s birthday ! Followed exact recipe with sour cream
This cake was a hit. So moist. This is the best chocolate cake I have ever had.
Hi sally
I’m planning to make this tomorrow for my son’s birthday party on Saturday (construction theme!). I happen to have cake flour. Can I use that in place of all purpose or just stick with AP?
Hi Teri. Best to use all-purpose flour. Since the cake also calls for cocoa powder, which is a very light and fine dry ingredient, cake flour is simply too light. The cake would fall apart.
Thank you!! I read that one note that I missed after I hit submit of course! I doubled the recipe because I want to make a larger and smaller base in a 9 & 10” springform pan. I hope it comes out ok. I wanted the layers a little thicker. Hopefully it bakes evenly!
This was such a great recipe! I’m made it for a birthday and it was perfectly moist and so delicious! I definitely recommend this recipe.
Made it exactly per recipe.
Very rich and yummy!
Will make again.
I just made this but forgot the hot coffee, oops. It’s still delicious and moist, and I love the taste of the salt!
This turned out so delicious and was so easy to make! However, one layer broke when I picked it up after getting it out of the pan and it also kept falling apart when I cut in the middle. Any tips to get it to hold better? I used the version with hot coffee. And oh yeah, the buttercream frosting was also amazing!
Wow! Thanks you, Sally for the perfect chocolate cake recipe. I loved how the hot coffee deepens the chocolate flavor. This has become my go-to recipe for chocolate cakes!
Super recipe, thank you! Family is very happy! Layered it with blueberry jam and whipped cream + amaretto.
I recently tried this recipe and I have to say that it’s THE BEST chocolate cake recipe ever !! The cake was so rich and soft and rose really well. Even without the buttercream, fresh from the oven, it was heavenly!
Yeah Patricia it’s Sally’s fault that you are a moron. Learn to use a computer, it’s 2020. Just print the pages you need. Why on earth would you want to print everything?
Your stupidity is no ones fault but your own.
Made this as the sponge for my son’s 4th birthday cake. It went down a storm and tricked everyone into thinking I am a talented cook! Have since made Sally’s choc chip cookies and similar excellent results.
My 8-year-old daughter made this recipe all by herself and it turned out beautifully! Not being coffee drinkers, she used a cup of Earl Grey tea instead. What a lovely flavour! We are so happy to have you as our baking coach!
Hi Sally,
I want to bake this recipe because it just looks so good! But I want to you three six inch pans. I was wondering if you knew how to adjust the measurements for that? Thanks:)
Hi Sahara, for a 3 layer 6 inch cake, I recommend using our chocolate cupcakes recipe and baking the batter in 6 inch pans. You can read more about our 6 inch cake flavors and varieties in our 6 inch cake recipes post!
Sally! This was one of the best cake recipes I’ve ever made – it was light, fluffy, and moist, compared to other cakes I’ve made that ended up being dense and compact. The frosting was unbelievably smooth, creamy, and easy to pipe! I give this a 100 out of 10!
Hi Sally,
I’ve made this cake several times and it’s always a huge hit. I love the richness of the chocolate. I am planning to make your chocolate whoopie pies and I’m wondering if I should/could add espresso powder to the batter like in this recipe to get that delicious, rich chocolate flavor?
Hi Ashley, We are so glad you enjoy this recipe! You can add some espresso powder to the whoopie pie recipe without making any other changes if you would like. Enjoy!
Just made this cake for my son’s birthday tomorrow. And then made a half batch more for cupcakes and got 11. The flavors are so intense- the coffee really brought out the chocolate flavor! I loved how super easy this recipe was to make and most of alllovedd the soft, moist texture and great taste. This is definitely my go-to chocolate cake recipe from now on.
Made this cake for a granddaughter’s BD. Used a whisk and hand held electric mixer. Used melted coconut oil. The Buttercream frosting needed more whipped cream and I only used 3C powdered sugar. The cake definitely has a softer crumb. We all loved the flavors & moisture of the cake and frosting. If all your cake, etc recipes are this delicious, For sure I’ll be baking more often.
Hi, Sally. Thank you for all your wonderful receipts so well explained!
A friend ask me to make her birthday cake. She wants a 3 layers cake – two chocolate and one yellow/white cake.
I would love do make the triple chocolate (my favourite cake!). But I don’t know what is the best yellow/white cake to match with triple one (something with light texture). And, if the triple can stand a three layers cake.
I hope you can help me. 😉
Hi Claudia! I would use these two chocolate cake layers, then my one layer sprinkle cake (without the sprinkles– or leave in the sprinkles, your choice!).
This is my go-to recipe when I bake birthday cakes for friends! Super easy and always get a million compliments!
Made this cake yesterday for my stepson.
Was so good and rich. Didn’t have the big chocolate chips so I used mini ones and covered the cake with them. It was still a big hit.
Very good.
I made this recipe for a birthday and it was great! The cake was so moist and delicious. I wanted to make it a little special, so instead of layering it with buttercream, I filled it with strawberry filling with a buttercream dam around it. It really enhanced the flavor and added the perfect touch. I made a homemade strawberry filling from this website: https://veenaazmanov.com/ultimate-strawberry-filling-recipe/
It was really delicious. Thank you for this recipe.
Such a yummy cake! The first time I tried it I put it all into one pan instead of two since I only had one 9 inch pan but it took quite a long time to cook so i dont reccomend doing that! I did the second one in two batches and it turned out much better!
Absolutely delicious!!! I made this recipe exactly as written (sour cream version) and it is the best chocolate cake I have ever made. And, I have made quite a few! So tender, moist and with a good crumb. Just Wow!!! Thank you for an amazing recipe.
Thank you Sally! I made the sour cream version with your swiss buttercream, and added a layer of your ganache in between the cake layers. MY GOODNESS was it delicious!! What a perfect chocolate cake with the most delicious and moist crumb. I’ve made both versions with and without sour cream and I did find the version with the sour cream to be easier to frost and hold together. Definitely a keeper!!!
Ok this was just basically amazing. I would love to post my cake picture because this cake absolutely rocks. Worked it exactly as the recipe says – sour cream version. Awesome birthday cake…
I just tried making this for my stepson birthday and it smells delicious. When making the frosting, it still has a slightly cocoa powder taste to it. (I have no frosted it yet, literally just made the frosting) how can I combat that cocoa powder flavor?