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 was by far the best chocolate cake I have ever had! My only issue was it sunk A LOT in the middle. I saw the note about it sinking a little – any suggestions as to why it may have sunk a lot? Can’t wait to make this again for my own birthday this time! Highly recommend it with strawberry ice cream.
Hi Megan! There could be several reasons why a cake would sink in the middle. Over mixing the batter, oven temperature, and fresh leaveners all play a role. Check out our top 10 Tips for Perfect Cakes for more details!
Thanks so much am gonna make your Cake with this icing for sister in laws BDay tommorow!
Am going to make this as a birthday cake but person i am making for is a chocolate cream cheese icing fan .Do you forsee that causing any problems
Hi Keith, here is our Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting recipe you can use instead if you prefer.
Sally,
If words could express how I adore your desserts. I use your recipes and get the best comments. I’m a Paralegal and in August we are having an employee party and I want to do all Sally’s Baking Addiction Themed desserts. By the way, this cake, this cake, love this cake. And everyone I bake it for love this cake. This cake made me love chocolate cake!!!!
Do you ever teach baking lessons or have seminars? Love your recipes, love this site.
Sherleia
I’ve been baking for 50+ years and this is simply the best chocolate cake recipe I’ve ever used. I served it last night for a birthday celebration for our son, age 26. He’d invited 2 friends. As one of the friends stood by the table and took her first bite she said, “I’m not a sweets person. I don’t generally take more than a bite or two, but this cake is so good I’m going to need to sit down and finish it.” Note: I followed all recommendations for room-temp. ingredients and made following slight changes: I used the sour cream version; I cut sugar to 1 1/2 cups for cake; my eggs were very small so I added an extra egg yolk. Thank you, Sally! I love your recipes. I learn so much from your writing about technique and what really works. This recipe brought a lot of joy to our family last night–thank you again!
Thank you so much for this sweet review, Annie! We’re so happy to hear that this cake was a hit.
Would this cake be good with a vanilla buttercream frosting instead of chocolate? If so, do you have a recipe that goes best?
Hi John, our vanilla buttercream would be delicious with this cake — let us know if you give it a try!
Ben, I was skeptical too, but I went for it with the coffee and the espresso powder and the deep, rich chocolate flavors are to die for!! It doesn’t end up tasting like coffee. Honestly this is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had. I highly recommend doing it with coffee! I have a very similar chocolate cake recipe that uses hot water and it’s not as good as this one, hands down.
Hi Sally, we love this recipe and use it for all birthdays! My sister has requested it for the first time but is gluten free. Do you know if it would work using gluten free flour? Thank you!
Hi Nadine, we haven’t tested a gluten-free version of this cake, but some readers have reported success using a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour like Bob’s Red Mill or Cup4Cup. If you give anything a try, we’d love to know how it goes!
Its quite literally perfect. It impressed the most picky of judges… Mom. There’s only 1 ingredient missing, a big glass of milk to pair with it. This is for sure the most flavorful soft delicious fudgy cake. It even came out perfectly flat on top too. Thanks for the best recipe.
Hi Sally,
I loved this cake recipe and wanted to try to make a mini cake in 4in” cake pans. How long do you recommend I bake them for?
Hi Chelsy, We’re unsure of the exact bake time, but it would be significantly less. Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness (test early on so that you don’t accidentally over bake — it’s easy to do with chocolate cakes!). We’re glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I thought the cake came out good, but honestly the icing recipe was not good at all. The measurements are very uncertain and it made the icing just not turn out at all. 3-4 cups of powdered sugar? So uncertain. I had to trash it and use a different icing recipe.
This cake is amazing! So moist and rich! I halved it and made just a one layer 9 inch cake and made the icing with 1 stick butter and 1 cup icing sugar. I ran out of cocoa for the icing, so melted some 91% dark chocolate to bolster the chocolate-y-ness. It turned out wonderfully. This is the 3rd Sally’s Baking Addiction recipe that has hit it out of the park. I’ve also made the giant chocolate chip cookies and the dinner rolls. All turned out perfectly.
My kids love this cake and request it for all birthdays. I’ve make it into a basket of m&m’s cake several times with kit kats around it and m&ms on tops. Question, have you ever subbed sour cream with greek yogurt in this recipe?
Yes, Greek yogurt works as a substitute for sour cream. Enjoy!
Good afternoon
Re:Triple Chocolate Layer Cake
This is just a winner recipe!
I made it several times, I had to double the recipe to make one big box cake for my 3 grand daughters birthdays.
Everybody love this recipe, and bake some for friends too.
Thank you for this winner!
I will not make any other chocolate cake again!
I made this cake using 3 eight inch pan with the sour cream version tonight for my family and there is nothing left thank you
Great taste and texture, but didn’t rise completely in center of pans—probably due to high altitude (~7000ft). Do you have any recommendations for high altitude adjustment?
Hi Deb! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
Hi Sally, I made the triple chocolate cake recipe . I left out the espresso powder but did add the coffee. Sally this was the best chocolate cake I ever ate!!! Thank you for sharing all your delicious recipes.
Just made this cake in a sheet pan so I could freeze half. The cake was absolutely moist and delicious. I loved the subtle taste of coffee in it.
This is the best chocolate cake I have EVER made! I would give it 6 stars if I could.
I want to try this recipe for my daughter’s birthday cake, but she requested a whipped cream frosting. Will whipped frosting go well with this cake? Do you have any recipes for an easy whipped frosting? Thanks!
Hi Colleen, a whipped cream frosting would be delicious with this cake! We love this classic whipped cream, but for a stabilized frosting we recommend doing a quick google search to find one with good reviews.
Hi there,
Can I use two 8 inch cake pans?
Thanks
Hi Whitney, You can use this recipe as written to make an 8 inch cake. The layers will be slightly thicker and may take an extra minute in the oven, so keep an eye on them. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Hey, I wondered if this recipe will work for 4 layers of 6×2 inch pans? I can’t wait to try this but weren’t sure if I needed to downscale 🙂
Hi Becca! This recipe yields about 6 cups of batter, which is helpful if you need it for different Cake Pan Sizes & Conversions. Or, you can make two batches of our Super Moist Chocolate Cupcakes instead — one batch yields 3, 6 inch layers, so two batches (mixed separately!) would give you enough for your four layers + some leftover cupcakes.
I am wondering if this cake rises enough to be sliced into two layers so I have a 4 layer cake or should I bake it in an 8″ pan? If I bake it in an 8″ pan how should I adjust the baking time?
Thank you so much – I am looking forward to making this for my husband’s birthday this weekend.
Good Day,
Can this cake be used for stacking and support the weight of buttercream and a fondant covering? If not, do you have a simple chocolate sponge recipe.
Thanks in advance
Hi MJ, Unfortunately, we haven’t tested a chocolate tiered cake yet that has a sturdy enough bottom tier. We do list some tiered layer flavor suggestions in this post. Perhaps you could do another flavor on the bottom and a chocolate tier on top? We’d love to know what you try!
I’ve made this one in a buttercream tiered form on two occasions with no issues. As long as you buttercream the cake board first to stick the bottom layer and pop it in the fridge as soon as you’ve crumb coated it comes together really nicely. Has also supported the weight of a decent amount of chocolate decoration too.
Was scary on both occasions as the recipe rightly says it’s a fragile enough sponge.
Best cake ever. I made this for my birthday. I paired the cake with a homemade espresso chocolate cream cheese frosting. Amazing. Do you have the nutritional information by chance?
I love love live to cake and I just want to say that this is the BEST chocolate cake recipe EVER!!! I shy away from homemade cakes because I don’t like how they come out like a pound cake, too dense for me. Store bought chocolate cake mixes are brown cakes with not much chocolate to them. I can’t make this enough. Thank you for sharing it with us♥️
I’ve come to rely on your recipes so much 🙂 Made this cake , brushed it with kahlua and used a baileys buttercream to fill and frost . It jus gotta better with each passing day . And the aroma was so fancy bakery thank you
I made this cake for a friends birthday this last week and it is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had in my life! I heard that comment from others that were at the party as well. Freaking AMAZING!
Hi, Sally. I’m new to baking. I tried the red velvet cake and cane out amazing but I tried this recipe and it’s so soft, it crumbled out of the pan and scattered around instead of coming out smooth and together.
Please, I would love to try it again, do you have any reason why it’s won’t stay together
Hi Nana, happy to help! This is a very moist and soft cake – we suggest being VERY gentle with it. Be sure to spray your pans with non stick spray, use a round piece of parchment paper on the bottoms and then spray again. After the cake cools in the pan, run a knife along the sides to be sure nothing will stick before you turn the cakes over. You can also use the sour cream version found in the recipe notes to ensure a sturdier crumb. Hope this helps!
Hi Sally,
I am making a raspberry chocolate cake for my husband’s birthday and I would like to add raspberries to the cake batter. Will this cause the cake to be heavy or wet? Should I just add the raspberries between layers on top of the buttercream frosting (I am going to use dehydrated raspberries in your strawberry frosting recipe). Thank you for the awesome recipes.
Hi Kolina! A chocolate and raspberry cake will be so delicious. We would simply include the fresh raspberries in between the layers with the raspberry buttercream. I fear the wet berries would change the consistency of the cake batter too much. Happy baking!