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 new go-to chocolate cake recipe! It’s so easy to make, and it’s rich & chocolatey, while also being moist & fluffy. Everyone who I’ve served this to loved it, and one person said this cake felt “like a cloud.” I made this once with just buttermilk & once with the sour cream version, and, while both were delicious, I definitely prefer the sour cream version. The sour cream noticeably adds structure and prevents the cake from squishing down a bit after it’s assembled, which helps keep it lighter & fluffier over time.
My favourite chocolate cake recipe! I made it today after my friend passed me the recipe. I’ve never made a cake with such a thin batter and was surprised it works really well. I would politely suggest an edit in your recipe to either suggest cake tins without spring open or to line fully with baking paper to prevent the thin batter leaking everywhere (like it did with me and my friend! )
My sister made this cake! I was in heaven. I’m here for the recipe, I’m going to make this cake myself for my Birthday!!!!
Does this recipe have to have coffee in it ? Can you taste the coffee ?
Hi Sadie, see recipe notes for details on the coffee and espresso powder!
Hi Sally. So if I want to make 2 x 7”x11” layers of 1” high when baked, do I use this recipe twice?
Hi Karine, here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes.
Hi Mrs Sally, I made this recipe for my church family for today and it received rave reviews. I did omit the chocolate chips on the side, I’m not a fan of chocolate chips, but it was wonderful. My friend said it looked like a store bought cake, and tasted even better. I am making the June challenge cookies next week and I’ll write a review on them. Thank Mrs Sally
I loved this recipe so much, thank you!
My daughter has requested this cake for her birthday. Cake needs to withstand a short car drive and stay outside fridge for around 2hrs before being served. Temperature should be around 25-28 degrees Celsius. Do you think the buttercream frosting will hold? Any suggestions please?
Thank you in advance
Hi Micaela! It should hold up ok – try to keep the cake cool and out of sunlight as much as you can.
I only had Dutch process cocoa powder so I used that both in the cake and the frosting. I used the espresso powder, but don’t drink coffee so boiling water was used for the hot coffee. I thought the cake turned out perfectly! I remember the original Hershey cake and the hot water in the batter. That was always my go-to chocolate cake recipe, but this recipe improved on that Hershey one!
For the 1c of hot strong coffee, could I use espresso instead? I only have an espresso machine. I was thinking I could do a double shot then add more hot water to get to 1 cup.
That should be fine, Alicia. Enjoy!
Hello I have tried the buttercream as it’s delicious!
I would like to add a bit of raspberry flavour to it as it goes well with chocolate, would you recommend to add some jam?
Thank you
Hi Micaela, you can absolutely add a thin layer of raspberry jam between the layers. We’d recommend a very thin layer of chocolate buttercream underneath it, with a ring of buttercream around the edges, to prevent the jam from coming out the sides. Let us know what you try!
hi! would the non instant espresso powder work (the one i use to make cuban coffee) or only the instant espresso powder should be used? thank you
Hi Sonny! Only instant espresso should be added directly to the cake batter.
what is your shortest but most delicious cake recipe?
Hi Akaila, here are all of our single layer cakes.
Hi Sally, I have tried this recipe a few times and have made it exactly as written and my cakes always sink in the middle. I live in Colorado at a higher altitude, is there something I should change to they won’t sink?
I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Can I double this recipe to make a larger sheet pan cake? Which size would be best?
Hi Charlotte! You can reference our cake pan sizes and conversion guide to see how much batter you would need for different sized pans. This recipe yields about 6 cups of batter. We always recommend making multiple batches instead of doubling for best results.
Hi! I was wondering if this cake needs to be crumb-coated? Thank you!
Hi Annie! It’s not essential, but crumb coats can be helpful depending on how you plan to decorate the outside. It certainly won’t hurt, if you prefer to make a crumb coat before adding additional frosting!
The most chocolatey, moist, and delicious cake EVER! I made this for my son’s birthday and it was SO good! I did make a milk chocolate frosting which really complimented the cake. Thank you for this recipe! I will never use boxed cake mix again!
Do you think this would work as one layer cake? I have all of my ingredients measured but only one cake tin.
Hi Emma, that would depend on the size of you cake tin. Is it an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan? You can bake your cake layers one at a time, if needed, leaving the rest of the batter sitting covered at room temperature.
I made this last night for my colleagues at work. One is dairy intolerant and another has to have very limited sugar, so I used unsweetened Almond milk and Canderel baking sweetener. I included ground coffee but opted for hot water. I only had 8″ loose bottomed springform baking tins but lined them well, they wetr perfect (no leaks) . They took longer to bake but didn’t sink at all despite several skewer tests! When cooled, i sprinkled 1 tbsp sugar syrup over each spnge. Finished off with chocolate ganache (250ml Elmlea plant based cream substitute + 250g quality milk chocolate) one third poured on top, and two thirds whipped – half the whipped used as buttercream filling and the other half coated the sides.. Finally, stuck Cadbury chocolate fingers around the side.
Colleagues said it was THE BEST chocolate cake they’ve ever tasted!
This cake is worth the hype!!! My son requested a chocolate cake with raspberry filling, and while not a baker-it was easy to make! It’s the perfect chocolate cake-most, chocolaty, not overly sweet. Paired with chocolate French buttercream-delish!!!
Best chocolate cake I ever tasted. The only change I made was to slightly reduce both granulated sugar and confectioners sugar, I prefer it slightly less sweet.
This recipe uses the same amount of confectioners sugar as the Favorite Chocolate Buttercream recipe. Shouldn’t it also be increased if you are using it on a 2 layer cake?
Hi Pam! This amount of sugar works great for spreading on this cake recipe, but you can use extra confectioners’ sugar for a thicker buttercream (like in our chocolate buttercream recipe) if you prefer!
Hi Sally, I wanted to use this reciepe to make my daughters 1st birthday cake. If I were to stack 4 layers would that hold? Or am I able to slice the cakes in half?
Hi Niri, We recommend making this batter twice (do not double) for a total of 4 layers. This will prevent over or under mixing a large quantity of batter. Using the sour cream version of the recipe (detailed in the recipe notes) will yield a slightly sturdier crumb that will be better for a 4 layer cake. We hope it’s a hit!
I made this cake for my husband’s birthday it was COMPLETE HIT! my daughter now has asked for it for her birthday. We are doing a candy theme decoration, I wanted to ask whether you think the cake would be strong enough to take a few lollipop candies (round swirly type) sticking out of it? Any advice!?
Hi Lyndsay! It will really depend on the weight of the lollipops. If placed on the top, that should work just fine. Let us know what you try!
Followed recipe instructions but then covered the cake in strawberry slices. Very tasty, next time will add even more strawberries and reduce the amount of frosting a bit because the cake is very moist and dense already. The frosting is delicious though
This recipe has become a family favorite! I’ve made it as both the layer cake and sheet cake and both were amazing. When I mentioned that I was thinking of making it again, my husband got really excited!
Hi Sally! In the video tutorial you mentioned you use sour cream but on your website there are no measurements for it. Can you please tell me the measurement?
Hi Tiffany! See recipe notes for details on the sour cream version. You’ll need 3/4 cup (180g). Enjoy!
How would you convert this to 3 layer 6 inch cake?
Hi Ade, for a 3 inch, 6 layer cake, we recommend using our chocolate cupcake batter — same great taste! You can follow the baking directions on 6 inch cakes.
Hi! This will be my first time making this cake and I don’t drink coffee. Do you have any recommendations for brands of coffee and espresso powder? Or does it not really matter? Thanks!
Hi Dia, you really can’t taste the coffee flavor in this cake, so it shouldn’t matter what brands of coffee and instant espresso powder you use. Hope you love the cake!
I’ve made this as is……will it work with vanilla buttercream? My children requested a chocolate cake w vanilla icing …… and I love this chocolate cake.
Hi Chrissie, absolutely! The vanilla buttercream would taste great on this cake.
Perfect recipe and very easy to follow. I have made it several times now, and the notes are fantastic for allowing different options from size to substitutions – every one has worked!
I absolutely love this recipe. It’s my go to chocolate cake recipe!
Everyone loves it so much, my friend now wants me to make her wedding cake with the sour cream version. Will it be strong enough to stack a tier on top?
Hi, Ameera. If you haven’t made wedding cakes, all the structural components you can’t see from the outside might surprise you. There are dowels inserted in each tier, and each tier is supported with its own cake circle underneath (moisture-resistant cardboard sold precut to correspond with the layer size). All this is today you can get away with a softer cake. Do lots of homework, because setting up a cake at the venue isn’t for the faint of heart, but still less frightening than transporting a stacked cake. Good luck!
*to say, not *today!