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 love your recipes! I’m a self taught home baker and create a lot of my recipes esp cakes. I started baking 30 years ago. I have used your recipes since I found your website. What I love too is all the extra instructions and helpful hints you post with each of your recipes. You are my go to gal. I LOVE baking. Thank you!!!
Delicious cake and icing! Does the cake have to be refrigerated or can it be left at room temp? I don’t like cold cake ha. I know most buttercream cakes don’t have to be.
Thank you!
Cake was very nice but just a suggestion. The amount of sugar is way too much and the cake can be quite sickening just after one slice. I would recommend to use less sugar.
Loved this cake! Followed the sour cream version recipe exactly. Made a 2 layer 6″ cake and used your peanut butter frosting recipe for the filling. Frosted with chocolate buttercream recipe. Had extra batter of course, so I made 24 mini cupcakes as well. We froze half the cake (frosted and filled) and it was still delicious after a month in the freezer. I use Sally’s recipes for all my baking recipes. I’ve been baking more this last year and have learned so much from the tutorials and tips. It’s important to read all the info related to the recipe, it’s not just fluff. You won’t be disappointed if you make this amazing chocolate cake!
can i use half cake flour and half all-purpose flour?
Hi Klaiza, It’s 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.
This cake made me look like a professional baker – I just followed the steps, and it came out absolutely perfect, icing too. Celebrated my daughter’s 9th birthday with it. Thank you so much!!
I’m a new baker but this was easy and tasted incredible 🙂
This is the holy grail of chocolate cupcakes along with the chocolate buttercream. I made them for my daughter’s birthday in October and they have been requested this weekend for my father-in-laws birthday as well! We’ve tried many cake recipes over the years but this one seems to be the one everyone agreed was perfect! Thank you!
Hi Sally, I just tried your recipe, it was good but not my favorite it had a box cake taste to it. I am not the best baker but prefer cakes made with butter and not oil. Thanks for sharing!
Bernadette
Hi Sally,
I was wondering about pan preparation if made as a sheet cake. (?) Do you still grease the pan, line with parchment paper, and grease the parchment paper? Or is greasing the pan sufficient?
Thank you so much!
Hi Callie, if you’re serving the cake right out of the pan, you can simply grease it. If you want to lift the cake out of the pan to frost and serve, I would grease the pan, line with parchment, then grease the parchment.
Would this make relatively thick layers for a 8” 3-layer cake, or would they be quite thin?
Hi Sofia, this amount of batter would yield decently thick layers baked in 3 8-inch pans. I’m unsure of their height though.
It’s fine, but tastes just like a boxed cake mix. I was a little disappointed after all that work and the cost of the ingredients.
Hi! I would like to make this but as a four layer cake, how would you recommend I alter the recipe?
Hi Beth, We recommend making this batter twice (do not double) for a total of 4 layers. Enjoy!
Hi there, sorry me again! I forgot to mention that I’m planning on using 6″ tins for this recipe. How would this alter the ingredients?
Hi, I’m planning to make this cake tomorrow for my daughter’s birthday on Sunday. I was thinking of using ganache instead of buttercream as a frosting, using Guittard 70% baking bars. This is partly because I love ganache, but partly because I want a less-soft frosting to put a bunch of plastic dinosaur decorations on. I was also planning to make some vanilla buttercream and dye it for adding various decorations. Does using ganache for frosting this cake seem like an ok plan? How much of the ganache recipe would it take to cover one 9″ layer with an 8″ layer on top? Without whipping it, that is, since I don’t want it too soft. I also wanted to see whether I can use a bit of the batter to make a single cupcake to put upside down on top of the cake as a “volcano”. Would this batter work to make a cupcake, or does it have to be the cupcake recipe? (I would also need additional ganache to frost the “volcano”.) Thank you! Everything I’ve ever made from your recipes has turned out great.
Hi Adriana, Yes you can definitely cover this cake with ganache. Our ganache recipe makes 1 and 1/2 cups so you can increase it if you need to. No matter how much ganache you are making, you always need equal parts chocolate and cream. And yes, you can definitely use this batter to make a single cupcake. Enjoy!
OMG!! This icing was so light, chocolaty and not too sweet. It was perfect! I’m never going back to store bought frosting. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi sally I just have an 18 20 and 22 cm cake tins
I want to prepare a birthday cake
Could you advise which of the above could I use and if I could make in a single tin also how long would that be in the oven with the temperature please
Hi Simona, A 22 cm round pan would be perfect. There is too much batter to make all at once so you can either divide between two pans or cut the recipe in half for one layer.
I’m gonna try this on my mother’s birthday next week. Though I have a problem since our oven cannot fit multiple 8″ cake tins. Should I mix 1/3 of the wet and dry ingredients (leaving some dry and wet not mixed), then baking the first batch. Or should I mix it all, then let the other batches sit while the first one is baking.
Hope you understand. I’ve been thinking about this for hours now. Lol. Thank you!
Hi Joshua, You can go ahead and mix the full recipe, bake half of the batter and leave the remaining batter loosely covered at room temperature until you are ready to bake the second half. Enjoy!
I’m planning to make this cake for my mum’s 70th birthday next week. I normally use golden caster sugar in cakes but I see that your recipe calls for granulated sugar. Do you think golden sugar would work as well as white sugar? I have found some golden granulated in the supermarket so I’m just looking for some advice on golden vs white and granulated vs caster please.
I am so excited to make this! It looks gorgeous and has so many fantastic reviews here
Hi Nicola, golden sugar should be fine here. It’s a little tricker to make that swap when you’re making more delicate baked goods including cookies. For this cake, that swap should be just fine.
This chocolate cake recipe is fantastic! It’s so soft and fudgy! Stays fresh in the fridge for over a week! Excellent!
I follow all your recipes and it always comes out perfect. But for some reason i cant master this chocolate cake. After i baked the cake, the aftertaste was a bit bitter and smelt a bit fishy. I wanted to know why that is, maybe my levening wasn’t as good with some ingredients or something. Would you advise me on this please.
Thank you
This was a total hit for my daughter’s 6th birthday. I added a thin layer of raspberry jam in between the layers but otherwise made no changes. Cakes are so hit or miss for me but the crumb/texture was PERFECT. Thank you so much for the all the detail. Your website is my go-to now!
This is our go to for all chocolate cake bases! Today we used whole milk Kefir instead of buttermilk and it was perfect. We have made this twice in two months now, and it is always the first thing the kids want to bake if we have everything on hand.
Do you think this recipe would be ok to use with white buttercream frosting?
Yes, definitely!
THIS RECIPE WAS MADE AMAZING! THIS WAS HIT AT MY HOME. WILL DEFINITELY RECOMMEND TO EVERYONE.
Question, would these hold up if made In mini bundt pans? If yes, how far up should the batter go to allow for rising during baking? I am in charge of delivering desserts to multiple locations since we have to do a distance Thanksgiving this year and thought they would look cute as mini bundt cakes. Thanks in advance and hope everyone has a healthy, safe and happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Sheryl, Yes you should be able to make this as mini Bundts. We recommend following the sour cream version in the recipe notes for a sturdier cake. I’m unsure of the bexact bake time you will need but fill the pans about 2/3 full and check for doneness with a toothpick. Enjoy!
Hi Sally,
Is it possible to make the sponges a day or two ahead? It won’t dry up with it, especially if I were to wrap it in cling film?
Thank you!
Hi R, You can make the cakes ahead of time. See the Make Ahead Instructions in the recipe notes.
Hi!! I am making a birthday cake for my 1 year old this weekend which I want to decorate with roll out/ fondant icing. I fancy doing chocolate rather than boring Victoria sponge…….. would this cake be strong enough? I obviously would only use some butter cream in the centre and not on the outside. But not sure if it would be too weak? Thanks in advance!!
Hi Sadie, Using the sour cream method/version from the notes, this cake should be just find under fondant.
Thank you so much for the fast reply! Can I also just check- is bourneville cocoa ok to use in this recipe or is that the wrong type of cocoa? Thanks!
Amazing recipe! Best chocolate cake ever! I found grams in brackets very helpful 🙂
My cakes often don’t come out great but I was determined to make one my little girl’s birthday. This is by FAR the BEST chocolate I have ever eaten let alone made! I was so impressed with how it melted in the mouth and how yummy it was!! Thank you heaps and heaps!
My niece has asked me to bake this cake with her, and she wants to add chocolate chips (you can tell she likes chocolate a little bit!) What amount of chocolate chips can I add and still preserve this really great recipe? And I was thinking dark chocolate chips would be best – do you agree?
Hi Lisa, You can add 1 cup (180g) of chocolate chips (semi sweet or dark!). Use the sour cream version detailed in the notes, which creates a slightly thicker batter to hold them up. I hope you and your niece have fun baking this cake together!
Amazing and most delicious cake I’ve ever made!! Thank you Sally for the recipe!! Was wondering if I could make gluten free version of this cake as one of my friends would love to try it but is gluten free. Thank you!