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 (64g) 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 (113g/120ml) vegetable oil (or canola oil or melted coconut oil)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup (240g/ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
1 cup (240g/ml) freshly brewed strong hot coffee or hot water

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 (64g) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
3–5 Tablespoons (45–75g/ml) heavy cream (or half-and-half or milk), at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
optional for decoration: semi-sweet chocolate chips

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Instructions

Preheat the 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 dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, add the hot coffee/water, and whisk or beat on low speed until the batter is completely combined. Batter is thin.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 23–26 minutes or until 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!)
Cool the cakes in the pans set on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Run a knife around the edges to help loosen the sides, remove the cakes from the pans, peel off the parchment, and place on the cooling rack to finish cooling.
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, vanilla extract, and salt. 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. 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 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 up to 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 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, 1.5x the buttercream ingredient amounts or 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.) Because there is no leavening in the 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 buttermilk substitute 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 (120g/ml) each. Add 3/4 cup (180g) of room-temperature full-fat sour cream with the wet ingredients. You can see this described above 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.
Can I top this cake with fondant? The sour cream version (note above) makes a sturdier cake that should hold up under fondant.
Amount of Cake Batter: This recipe 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 this cake taste like coffee. Instead, they deepen and enhance the chocolate flavor. I highly recommend them both. Decaf coffee is fine. You can find espresso powder in the coffee or baking aisle at the grocery store or online. You can use the same amount of instant coffee (the powder, not coffee grounds) instead of espresso powder if desired. If coffee isn’t your thing, you can leave out the espresso powder and use hot water instead of the hot coffee.
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: I have 2 favorite chocolate cupcake recipes: my super moist chocolate cupcakes and this classic chocolate cupcakes recipe. The second one is based off of this chocolate cake recipe and has the same texture and flavor as this cake!

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten and originally from Hershey’s