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 and frosting and both were fantastic! Probably the best homemade chocolate cake I’ve made. The cake is moist and chocolatey. The frosting was fluffy and delicious. Your cake recipes are wonderful!
★★★★★
Made the cake and frosting using the sour cream variation. Everyone said it was the best chocolate cake they ever had. Rich, chocolatey, perfect crumb. It’s my new go to cake.
★★★★★
Fantastic! Light and flavorful cake and delicious frosting (even with an extra half stick of butter, oops!).
★★★★★
★★★★★
I love to bake.I made this cake a year ago for my b-day huge hit so delicious!
★★★★★
This recipe is awesome I made it for my i love to bake so for my birthday last I love to bake,so this year I made it for I love to bake.I made this cake for my b-day-and it was a huge hit! sodelicious!
★★★★★
I’ve been using this recipe (the original) for maybe 8 years. It’s the absolute best chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten. I make it maybe 4 times a year. I use a 10X13 glass pan.
★★★★★
This is outrageously delicious. I had no sinking. It was actually domed. Can’t say for sure why but I bumped the temp 15 degrees, put in the coffee immediately before the oven and whipped the butter up a lot first, until it was almost white and had a lot of volume. I also mixed the batter until it had some bubbles.
★★★★★
Hi! I am making this tomorrow as an 8in layer. Can I use the extra batter to make some cupcakes?
Hi Alex, absolutely! See recipe Notes for cupcake details.
Delicious !!! The espresso powder definitely is a plus.
My go to chocolate cake recipe – Thank You !!!
I’m not trying to go through 50+ pages of comments to look for this answer, so sorry if this is a repeat:
Anyone else having the problem of not getting the center of these cakes to rise at all?? I’ve tweaked the time and temperature, tried this as 2 and 3 cakes, with & without sour cream, lighter and heavier on both dry and wet ingredients, and always end up with sunken centers — even right out of the oven. The flavor is outstanding, but they’re impossible to frost and have a normal-looking cake unless i make another quarter batch to use as fillers for each layer’s giant depression.
We’re happy to help troubleshoot. This usually happened when cakes are under-baked, though some sinking is inevitable with chocolate cakes. We’d try increasing the bake time by just a minute or two next time to see if that helps. Make sure your baking soda and baking powder are fresh, too, for optimal rise—we find they start to lose their effectiveness after about 3 months, even if not technically expired. Thank you for giving this recipe a try, and we hope this helps for next time!
I wish to thank you for again putting out such a fantastic recipe. We are addicted to quite of few of you things and I don’t have to use them as a general idea, they are great as published.
I did the original cake and it has a great tooth and flavor.
I will admit that I am a fan of ermine frosting, also known as boiled milk, flour, or heritage frosting, and used that.
I have so many bad memories of cakes with “American buttercream” that i did not try yours, so I apologize.
Thanks again.
★★★★★
This cake has been my go-to for YEARS now and it never fails to delight and impress! I know that Sally specifically says NOT to use dutch processed cocoa, but I have been making it with black cocoa (highly dutch-processed) for a couple years now and I LOVE it. The presence of the baking powder as well as baking soda, and the acid in the buttermilk must be enough to counteract the chemical difference between the two? I don’t really know the science, but it has never given me problems and it makes the cake amazingly dark and dangerous with a beautiful flavor.
★★★★★
I loved the cake ! So moist ! I am not a fan of chocolate cakes but this one broke the rule !
★★★★★
Omg This was so good! I added strawberries and chocolate shavings and it was delish. I reccommebd reducing the sugar in the icing by about 100g as we did and it was the perfect amount of sweet
★★★★★
This was so incredibly delicious! The espresso powder sent it to the next level!!
★★★★★
Very wonderful, easy to make cake. Sally, you did an amazing job, the instructions were very specific but easy to understand and not wordy. The cake turned out amazing and won my french classes cake competition against very talented students. PS: This cake will make itself known, its smell fills the room with chocolaty delight!
★★★★★
Making this today for my son’s bday! I only have cacao powder—can that be used instead of cocoa? Thanks!
Hi MarciK, we haven’t tested it so we’re unsure of the results. Cacao can be more drying and bitter. If possible, we highly recommend sticking with natural cocoa powder.
Can this recipe be used for a tiered cake or is it too moist?
Hi Ceci, at this time, we do not have a chocolate cake recipe that is sturdy enough to serve as a bottom tier. You could use it for the top tier (or use our 6 inch chocolate cake). Our wedding cake recipe also lists some of our cake recipes that work well as bottom tiers. Hope this helps!
This is truly the best chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted. I’ve made various versions from Sally’s recipes (chocolate raspberry, black forest, etc.) and it comes out perfectly every time. I made it yesterday with the mint chip frosting for my son’s 11th birthday. Truly, everyone thought it was delicious. I didn’t have sour cream, which is how I usually make it, so I just did the buttermilk version and it was every bit as tasty. Can’t say enough about the mint chip frosting, either! Was so good!
★★★★★
How long do the cakes need to cool in the pans before frosting
★★★★★
Hi Suzanne, we recommend you let them cool completely before frosting.
Thank you Would that be roughly 2 hours?
★★★★★
It shouldn’t take that long. Place the pans on a cooling rack so air can circulate underneath them.
I love the sour cream version of this cake. You must have been reading my mind. The internet is filled with chocolate cake recipes that use hot water or hot coffee. I don’t like the light spongy cake that results when using hot water or hot coffee in the recipe. Your sour cream version creates a much better cake crumb. Just what I was looking for. I notice you use combinations of buttermilk and sour cream in some of your other recipes. Well done. Dan
★★★★★
This is what you wish your store/bakery bought cakes would taste! There are no words to describe how amazing this cake is. Thank you, Sally for sharing this recipe! I made it for my birthday and, believe me, this will be my go to chocolate cake from now on. It was really easy to make, too.
★★★★★
I’m looking for a great chocolate cake and frosting made with real chocolate and not coco powder. Can you put one of those up♀️
Cocoa powder is real chocolate. You have to use 100% unsweetened cocoa. If you’re looking for a different type of chocolate frosting you can google chocolate Ganache frosting.
Hi Sally, I only have 2 8 inches pans. Can I make this cake in those?
Hi Vivi, you can use the recipe as is for a 2 layer, 8 inch cake (bake time will be a bit longer for the thicker layers but same oven temperature). Hope it’s a hit!
I’ve got a question. What should I do if I have only one cake pan? Should I leave the batter at room temperature or put it into the fridge, while the first layer is baking and cooling? Thank you!
Hi Natasha, you can bake one layer at a time, and leave the unused batter covered at room temperature while waiting for the layers to bake. Hope you enjoy the cake!
If I was to make extra batter could I use it to make cupcakes as well as making the cake of course??
Yes, absolutely!
I am new to baking so this is probably a dumb question. Are both cakes cooked at the same time? I know that some things need extra time if 2 are placed in an oven. Thank you for your time.
Hi Richard! Yes, we bake both cakes at the same time, on the same rack in the oven.
The cake rose when taken out after 26 minutes. But it came out like a paste at the center when checked if cooked . So kept back in the oven for another 5 Mt’s and then the cake on sides were withdrawn and looked cooked. But no dome and flat cake. Still middle came out like paste and uncooked Thought it will continue to cook in the pan .
Cooked in 2 pans of 9 inches.
Put the icing . Icing was in abundance.
It was so disappointing to get an uncooked cake.
The flavours were awesome though.
It was uncooked and like a paste .inside.after 26 minutes ..even after cooking for extra 5 minutes it did not change the paste like texture.
Disappointed.
Why was it not getting cooked ..any idea?
I’ve tried this recipe three times. I found the cakes came out a wee bit on the crisp side and the chocolate flavor wasn’t what I was looking for, nor did the cakes have the moisture level they needed (IMVHO). I ended up giving them a soak with the drench to be sure we had a higher moisture level. Mine did not rise a whole lot and I used AP flour. My only consideration left in this would be what outcome I could expect if I switched over to cake flour on this one.
By the way – that cinnamon roll recipe should be outlawed in most states. Nobody can resist them and I anticipate being sued in federal court for creating a wave of Type II diabetes – Just kidding. Astonishingly good one there, Ms. Sally.
Hi Clint, cake flour is not recommended for this recipe. It is too fragile in combination with the cocoa powder. If your cake was slightly crisp and dry, perhaps it was over-baked? Always check on your cakes as they bake, all ovens are slightly different and yours may require less time. Also make sure that your baking soda and powder are fresh, we find they can lose strength before technically expired.
Delicious!!! Both cake & frosting were made for the first time – followed the instructions exactly & it turned out perfectly
★★★★★