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
Keywords: cake, chocolate cake
I made this cake for my husband’s birthday. It turned out amazing. I got so many compliments on the cake itself for being flavorful and moist. The frosting was delicious. And it was so easy to make!
★★★★★
I absolutely adore this recipe, all all other recipes I have tried from this website! Go to birthday cake for chocolate lovers, you are a master. I am planning on making this for a friends birthday this weekend, but I have a bit of a dilemma. I go to work at 6 AM and need the cake for right after work with no access to a fridge! Is it okay to leave it at room temperature, or is refrigerator storage non negotiable?
★★★★★
Hi Melanie, We are happy you enjoy this recipe! After decorating anything with buttercream or cream cheese frosting, it’s fine for 1 day at room temperature. After that, it’s best to refrigerate it. As always, use your best judgment and whatever you are comfortable with.
Hiiii This is the recipe number I already lost the count I’ve done Lol one question but this time I will do it for my daughters bday and I want to do buttercream today but cake and decoration tomorrow if I store the buttercream how Can I use it tomorrow? What are the steps once I take it out from the fridge to use it?
Hi Melanie, You can cover the buttercream tightly and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator. After refrigerating then beat the frosting on medium speed for a few seconds so it’s creamy again. You can beat in a splash of heavy cream or milk to help thin the frosting out again, if needed.
I read the reviews and experienced some of the same issues. The center sank terribly in the middle. Had to bake longer for it to set in the center, so the edge were dry and over baked. I’m not an amateur baker. I weighed the ingredients as listed (grams) and went with the sour cream version. What a waste of time and ingredients.
★
made this for my daughters birthday and they love it! tried it in the air fryer this year and it came out beautifully
thank you
Halved the recipe to make one layer in a 9″ pan. After double the amount of cooking time at 350, the middle is still completely wet! What did I do wrong?
Hi Isabelle, you should be able to halve this recipe for one 9-inch cake – same bake time and temperature. Did you make any substitutions to any of the ingredients?
Recipe worked well, tasted great and so thankful for the metric measurements. Thank you so much.
★★★★
So so good! I made a marshmallow cream for the middle and topped it with chocolate ganache for a giant whoopie pie. The cake was so light and moist and deliciously chocolatey. Loved it!
★★★★★
this is a fabulous recipe and it has been a huge hit every time.
question though. could I replace the vanilla with orange extract and make this a chocolate orange cake?
★★★★★
Hi Tarloke, You could also try adding some orange extract in addition to the vanilla extract (don’t leave out the vanilla completely). Let us know what you try!
Loved this chocolate cake! I used the coffee and 1 tablespoon of espresso powder and it definitely enhanced the chocolate flavor and gave it a richness. I also opted to use the sour cream and the caked turned out wonderfully! It’s not a terribly time consuming or overly complicated recipe which I really appreciate. The most time consuming part is measuring all the ingredients but after that, it comes together very quickly. I’m not usually a fan of frosting and in my family I’m known to scrape the frosting off my piece of cake but the frosting in this recipe was really delicious and not overly sweet. Thank you for the last chocolate cake recipe I’ll ever need!
★★★★★
Hi! I have tried this recipe a few times but it always turns out dry. I have tried so many things but can’t get that moist look and taste that yours has. Your cakes are always so beautiful and I bet they taste so good too! Is there anything you would suggest doing to get the cake moist? Thank you so much and I look forward to trying this out again for a more moist look and taste!!
Hi Olivia, Thank you for trying this recipe. When your cakes are too dense, the first thing you can check is to make sure your baking soda and baking powder are fresh. We find they lose effectiveness after 3 months. For more tips on how to prevent a dense cake, see this post: How to Prevent a Dry or Dense Cake.
Please help!
I like to make this cake for my daughters 4th bday but I want to decorate as a Frozen Theme. Please advice how to do that.
Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Hi Saira, how fun! We would do a quick google search to find a fun Frozen Cake tutorial with good reviews. Let us know how it goes!
I made the sour cream version with hot coffee and used cream cheese frosting. My husband loved it, delicious chocolate flavor!
★★★★★
Made this cake for my mother’s birthday yesterday and it was a major hit. Everyone commented out how rich and moist it was. I multiplied the recipe by 1.5 and make a 3 layer 8 inch cake. Added a little coffee to the buttercream as well to bring out the chocolate in the frosting. Will definitely make this one again.
★★★★★
Can chocolate chips be added to the cake batter for extra chocolatiness?
Hi Rich, You can add 1 cup (180g) of chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate (semi sweet or dark) if desired. Use the sour cream version detailed in the notes, which creates a slightly thicker batter to hold them up. Enjoy!
If I was wanting to make a single layer 8 or 9 inch round cake, would it be better to halve this recipe or would it work as a single layer cake? I looked at your cake pan size chart and an 8 or 9 inch round pan should contain the whole of this batter (6 cups). I have made this recipe as a double layer cake and it is fabulous.
Hi Andrea, You can cut this recipe in half for a single layer round cake. You can also make it as written as a single layer 9×13 inch cake (see recipe notes for details).
Awesome!! Easy recipe! Super moist & delicious!
★★★★★
This cake is my favourite cake to make with my kids! They love it, it’s so chocolatey! I have just found out my youngest is allergic to egg & wanted to make this for birthday – do you know how I could adjust this to be egg free? Thanks!
★★★★★
Hi Emma, We are so happy you enjoy this recipe! We haven’t tested this recipe with any egg substitutes but let us know if you try any. If you are interested here are all of our egg free recipes.
Do we need baking soda? Can it be substituted?
Hi Angelica, Unfortunately your cake will not rise properly without the baking soda and we have not tested any substitutes successfully. Let us know if you try any!
I am very excited to try this for my chocolate-loving husband’s nameday! I do not have a “paddle attachment” unfortunately. Could I simply use the standard whisks on my standing mixer? Thank you
Yes, definitely! Just be extra careful not to over-mix the batter (just mix until combined). Enjoy!
I’ve made this cake several times and stopped because it always is dry with an aftertaste of coffee. I never tried the sour cream version, but I suspect that it helps with the dry crumb.
★★★★
Hi. I’ve made this cake by the recipe once and it was amazing! I wanted to make it again for my daughters birthday, but I was wondering… would it work to fold fresh or frozen raspberries into the batter? Or would that release too much water?
Also would it be okay to bake it in a 9X13 pan instead of doing the layers?
And lastly would it pair well with Sally’s chocolate ganache frosting instead of the buttercream?
Thanks!
★★★★★
Hi! You can definitely add some fresh raspberries to the batter. I haven’t tested it, but I would avoid frozen because they may release too much liquid. You can bake in a 9×13 inch pan– see note– and I think the ganache would be so tasty on the raspberry chocolate version!
This cake is delicious. That said, I have followed this recipe twice in two, 9”pans…and both times the cakes sank in the middle—-drastically.
★★★★
I’m having this problem as well. I’m hoping there will be some help with this!
Very moist cake- baked perfectly. However, I sure hope the butter cream will cite the coffee flavor because without frosting that’s all I can taste!
★★★★
SOOOO delicious! Made the regular version (without sour cream). It worked exactly as written and everyone raved about it. We used Sally’s chocolate cream cheese frosting instead of the buttercream, and we’ll probably make it again soon.
★★★★★
I love this recipe! The only things I did differently was changing out the expresso power for a hot chocolate packet, and I did a peanut butter buttercream icing instead. The cake was perfectly moist and had a wonderful flavor. I’ve tried several recipes for chocolate cake, but this one is by far my favorite!
★★★★★
Lovely cake just had with my morning coffee. The only one thing I refrigerated over night and it’s come out a bit hard but Its just my fault. Anyway delicious and I will bake for my Birthday next week. It was just a trial
★★★★★
Haven’t made this recipe yet, though it is intended for my younger brother, turning nine today. I was wondering if I should just stick to the frosting, or should I go for homemade fondant. At first I was aiming for a fondant covered cake, but since I’m now planning to use this recipe, I’m unsure of how well it’d actually go with the cake, along with the fact I’ve never made fondant before and it will be my first attempt if I do so. What do you suggest?
Hi Kate, we love this cake with the chocolate buttercream!
I am going to make a 6 inch cake, would dividing the recipe produce 2 or 3 layers? I’m going to use a raspberry buttercream in the center and chocolate ganache on the top of the cake. Would you recommend buttercream under the ganache?
★★★★★
Hi Bridget, for a three layer 6 inch chocolate cake, we recommend using the batter from our chocolate cupcakes instead – it’s the perfect amount of batter! You can read more about baking 6 inch cakes here. You can use buttercream under the ganache on top if you prefer, but we usually put ganache right on top of cakes. Happy baking!
Made this last year for my teenagers bday and she has requested it again this year. It is fantastic!
★★★★★
what about the taste didn’t you like?
I made this cake last night for a coworkers birthday and it turned out amazing! I’m not usually a huge fan of chocolate cake but this was really moist and delicious. It held up well in 2 layers – no crumbling despite being such a light cake. I paired it with a raspberry filling and raspberry buttercream, then topped with a chocolate ganache drip and everyone loved it!
★★★★★