Chocolate Cake

Prepare yourself for the most standout chocolate cake recipe you will ever make. Intensely chocolate, unbelieveably plush, and incredibly straightforward to mix, this recipe will easily become your go-to for all your chocolate cake needs.

We love baking cakes because even those with the most simplistic decorations elicit ooohs and aaahs and can be total showstoppers. From From-scratch Yellow Cake to Banana Split Ice Cream Cake, you truly can’t go wrong.

Nearly everyone loves cake, and it’s the defacto celebration dessert. Birthday? Graduation? Baptism? Retirement? Anniversary?

The answer is almost always CAKE.

What stands out

This memorable from-scratch chocolate cake has been in our life for years now (it first appeared as the six-layer chocolate cake with marshmallow filling and malted chocolate frosting?), and you’ve seen it paraded around as other cakes (hello ultimate Oreo cake, Snickers cake and peanut butter cup overload cake), and now we are presenting it in all of its simple chocolate cake glory.

This is our absolute favorite chocolate cake in one of the simplest, easiest ways to prepare it – a three-layer cake filled and frosted with our favorite chocolate frosting. It gets rave reviews anytime we serve it, with most people exclaiming that it is a standby chocolate cake they’ve ever eaten, and wondering how it could be so plush.

The What goes in the bowl

Aside from baking staples like flour, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and the leaveners, this cake relies upon some special ingredients that take it from ordinary chocolate cake to best-ever:

• Dutch cocoa powder - we know, it's not easily found at most grocery stores, but it’s available from Costco and Amazon – get a bag and keep it in your pantry. It produces such an intense, rich chocolate flavor and a deeper, darker color than unsweetened cocoa powder. We consider it a pantry staple.
• Vegetable oil - No butter here! When it comes to chocolate cake, oil does reign supreme. Why? Vegetable oil is 100% fat, while butter clocks in around 80%. More fat means more coating around the flour proteins, preventing the flour from absorbing the moisture in the cake to make gluten. When this happens, unsurprisingly, cakes are drier. So for a supremely plush cake, we use vegetable oil.
• Coffee - You may have seen many chocolate cake recipes that call for coffee or brownie recipes that call for espresso powder, and there is a good reason for that. Coffee helps to ratchet up the chocolate flavor significantly, kind of a turbo boost for the cocoa powder.
• Buttermilk - Buttermilk plays two roles in the cake; first and foremost, it reacts with the baking soda to create a beautiful rise for tall cake layers. Secondly, its lactic acid creates a slightly acidic batter, which keeps the cake plush and tender by breaking down gluten.

Ingredient Substitutions

While we highly recommend you make this recipe as-is so that your cake turns out as fantastic as possible, we understand sometimes alternatives are needed. These are our recommendations:

• Coffee – You can substitute an equal amount of hot water.
• Buttermilk – Add 1½ tablespoons of lemon juice or white vinegar to a 2-cup measuring cup, then add enough milk to make 1½ cups. Stir together, then use as directed in the recipe.
• Dutch-Process Cocoa – You can use regular unsweetened cocoa powder, but please note that the color and texture of the cake will not be the same.

Chocolate Frosting Ingredients

This cake is filled and frosted with our favorite chocolate frosting – it’s rich and luscious without being overly sweet. This is what you’ll need:

• Semisweet chocolate – Chopped and melted to give the frosting a rich and creamy chocolaty finish. You can substitute dark chocolate if you’d like, but milk chocolate would be too sweet.
• Unsalted butter – Be sure to use butter that is at room temperature so that it whips up nicely.
• Powdered sugar – Sweetens, thickens, and gives a little structure to the frosting.
• Vanilla extract- Boosts the flavor up a notch!

Alternative Frostings

If you are looking for something other than a chocolate frosting for your rich and decadent chocolate cake, here are a few different frostings to try:

• Cream Cheese Frosting
• Peanut Butter Frosting
• Coconut Meringue Buttercream
• 7-Minute Frosting
• Espresso Buttercream

Serving Suggestions

Frosted, decorated, and ready to serve, here are a few of our favorite ways to dish out chocolate cake:

• With a cold glass of milk.
• Served with a scoop of from-scratch vanilla ice cream.
• Paired with a warm espresso-based drink or a hot cup of coffee.
• Straight from the cake stand with a fork.

Common questions

Baker notes

Looking for how to keep your cake plush longer? Here are our tips for storing this chocolate cake to maintain maximum freshness.

• Unfrosted Cake Layers: Store wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for 1 day. You can also store the cake wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Freezer: For longer storage, keep the cake layers wrapped in plastic wrap and then wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in a resealable freezer bag for up to 1 month in the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before frosting and serving.
• Frosted Cake: The cake can be kept, covered, at room temperature for up to 4 days.
• Frosted Cake Freezing Directions: Wrap well in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

• Yield: 10 to 12 servings
• Prep: 35 minutes
• Cook: 35 minutes
• Total: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 2½ cups ( 312.5 g ) + 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 3 cups ( 600 g ) granulated sugar
• 1 cup ( 86 g ) + 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1½ teaspoons ( 1.5 teaspoons ) baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons ( 1.5 teaspoons ) salt
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 1½ cups ( 360 ml ) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1½ cups ( 355.5 ml ) strong black coffee, hot
• ¾ cup ( 163.5 ml ) vegetable oil
• 4½ teaspoons ( 4.5 teaspoons ) vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Frosting

• 8 ounces ( 226.8 g ) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 cups ( 454 g ) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 5 cups ( 600 g ) powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Special Equipment

• Three 8-inch cake pans

Method

1. Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper, grease the parchment, then flour the insides of the pans, tapping out excess; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer (or large mixing bowl if you're using a hand mixer), sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix for an additional 20 seconds (the batter will be thin).
4. Divide the batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake for 20 minutes and rotate the pans in the oven. Continue to bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out almost clean (with a few plush crumbs), about 12 more minutes. Cool the cakes (in the pans) on wire racks for 20 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto cooling racks to cool completely. [ Make-Ahead Tip! At this point you can wrap the layers in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 1 day, or refrigerate for up to 3 days before frosting and serving. You can also wrap in aluminum foil and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before frosting and serving.]
5. Make the Chocolate Frosting: Place the chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments on 50% power, stirring after each, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
6. Meanwhile, using the whisk attachment of your stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice.
7. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated. Add the melted chocolate and whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed to incorporate all of the chocolate.
8. Assemble the Cake: Place one of the cake layers on a serving platter or cake stand and spread 1 cup of the frosting over the top in an even layer. Place another cake layer on top of the frosting and spread with another 1 cup of the frosting. Place the last cake layer on top of the frosting upside-down, then frost the top and sides of the cake and decorate as desired. The cake can be kept, covered, at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also freeze the cake, well-wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, for up to 1 month.

Notes

Equipment: 8-inch round cake pans

You can substitute 9-inch cake pans, but will need to reduce the baking time. Rotate the pans after 15 minutes, then start checking for doneness after 10 additional minutes.

Dutch-Process Cocoa: Available from Costco and Amazon. You can use regular unsweetened cocoa powder, but please note that the color and texture of the cake will not be the same.

Coffee Substitute: If you cannot consume coffee, substitute hot water.

Buttermilk Substitute: Add 1½ tablespoons of lemon juice or white vinegar to a 2-cup measuring cup, then add enough milk to make 1½ cups. Stir together, then use as directed in the recipe.

Cupcakes: we have not been successful at converting this recipe to cupcakes, despite multiple attempts. We recommend our Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes if you need a chocolate cupcake recipe.

9×13-inch Cake: we recommend using this chocolate cake recipe for the base of any 9×13-inch chocolate cakes. It bakes up evenly!

Storage (Baked, Unfrosted Cake Layers): Store baked wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for 1 day. You can also store the cake wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. For longer storage, keep the cake layers wrapped in plastic wrap and then wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in a resealable freezer bag for up to 1 month in the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before frosting and serving.

Storage (Frosted Cake): The cake can be kept, covered, at room temperature for up to 4 days. To freeze (the whole cake or slices), wrap well in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Photography by Dee Frances.