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
One reader, Greta, commented: “This is, hands down, the best chocolate cake I have ever baked. And I’m not the only one who thinks so… because I have baked and shared this cake with many people… it’s simply the best! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. ★★★★★“
Another reader, Melanie, commented: “This has become my go-to chocolate cake! My family loves it. The directions are very clear and easy to follow. Before now, I did not consider myself a baker. I had only baked box cakes. Now, this recipe has catapulted me into a from-scratch cake baker. So glad I found this recipe and many others from this site. ★★★★★”
Another reader, Todd, commented: “Outstanding! One of the best cakes I have ever made. Moist, chocolatey, beyond delicious! ★★★★★“
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. Save it for another recipe, like these homemade brownies. 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!
You can find it in the coffee aisle at the grocery store or online. - Oil: Don’t use butter in this cake batter. Cocoa powder is a particularly drying ingredient, so this cake needs oil for suitable moisture. Same goes for my chocolate cake roll recipe, too.
- 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!) You use it in this black velvet cupcakes recipe, too.
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, chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting, 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!
Print
Deliciously 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 (62g) 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 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 (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 find espresso powder in the coffee aisle at the grocery store or online. 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
Reader Comments and Reviews
If I bake this in high elevation of about over 5,000 ft. What adjustment I need to make?
Hi Sally, LOVE the recipe, just wondering, for cupcakes how much do I need to fill the liners? I don’t want them to overfill. Thanks.
Hi Andrea, see recipe notes on chocolate cupcakes. Fill only halfway. Enjoy!
Made the sour cream version for my daughters bday cake with a ganache frosting. This was so good, wow. I’ll definitely be passing this gem along. I made two 6”x3” cakes. Put a yummy strawberry compote in between the layers. Really just a great recipe. I recommend the sour cream version if stacking. Wish I could post a pic
Hi Sally!
Can I substitute cocoa powder for cacao powder? I bought cacao i stead of cocoa and I’m just realizing that now!
Thank you!
Hi Adriana, We haven’t tested it so I’m unsure of the results. Cacao can be more drying and bitter. If possible we recommend sticking with natural cocoa powder.
Hi Sally, can the same amount of plain full fat yogurt be used in place of the sour cream?
You bet!
Hi! I used this recipe recently and it was really good .When i use sour cream as instructed the cake sink in a little after cooling but when i use the buttermilk it was fine flat tops.very moist and delicious
I used this recipe to make 20 large cupcakes with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. The cake held up with the frosting and also went well with custard (without the frosting). It was absolutely delicious. 10/10 would recommend. 🙂
Has anyone tried this with frozen raspberries in the cake? 🙂
Hi Hannah, A chocolate and raspberry cake would be delicious. We would simply include the fresh raspberries in between the layers with a raspberry buttercream (subbing freeze dried raspberries for strawberries). We fear the wet berries would change the consistency of the cake batter too much. Let us know what you try!
The cake is so good
This cake looks delicious! I want to try it out but I would like it to be not too sweet. How can I change this recipe to opt out some sweetness?
Hi Fatima! You can try reducing the sugar in this cake batter but the results will be different. We recommend reducing by only a little. Sugar not only sweetens the cake, but adds volume and tenderness. For a less sweet frosting option, you could certainly try chocolate ganache (or even whipped ganache – see the “Whipped Ganache” header in the post) or Swiss meringue buttercream. Let us know what you try.
Looks Yummy!! Would the butter cream still turn out if I just use a whisk???
Hi Korrina, it would take quite a bit of arm muscle to make the buttercream by hand — if you do decide to do so, a wooden spoon would likely work better!
This cake is fantastic!! I made it the original way and sour cream way- both awesome! So moist and delicious! SALLY!! YOU ROCK thanks!!
Can I use wheat flour instead of all purpose flour?
Hi Clara!
If you use wheat flour, it won’t have the same texture, and it might be a bit drier.
Hi Sally, can this recipe be made Gluten Free? Thanks!
I made this chocolate cake for a friends birthday once and since then it’s custom now to bake this cake for all my friends birthdays – still mastering the art of doing the frosting ( will get there soon ). the cake tastes yum in its own and also if eaten with vanilla icecream ❤️
Second time making this recipe, including the chocolate buttercream, and it is delicious. I did not use the chocolate chips this time but just shaved some chocolate on top. This is a go to for sure. Thanks so much.
Hi! I wanted to do a stacked cake with chocolate bottom, cheesecake in the middle layer and chocolate on the top layer as well. Do you think this chocolate cake will be able to hold the. Cheesecake layer? Do you have any suggestions?
Hi Neha, we haven’t tried to stack this cake with cheesecake but fear it will be far too soft to support the weight. Perhaps a more sturdy cake on the bottom and this chocolate cake on top? Let us know what you try!
So I am wanting to try my hand at this cake. However, instead of topping the outside of the cake with chocolate chips, I would like to add them to the cake themselves. Would this change the recipe at all?
Hi Sean, you can add 1 cup (180g) of chocolate chips (semi sweet or dark). Use the sour cream version detailed in the notes, which creates a slightly thicker batter to hold them up. Enjoy!
I just made this yesterday (and served it today) for my mother’s birthday cake and oh my. It’s ridiculously moist. I paired it with 2 layers of a vanilla cake from another website to give that classic birthday party 2 option cake with swiss meringue buttercream, Hasn’t even been 12 hours and there’s only 1/4 of the cake left.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. Could you tell me is it the same measurements for a 10″ square tin? And will I need to divide between two tins to cook?
Thanks
Hi Emma! Our cake pan sizes and conversions guide should help you scale this recipe for your pans. Happy baking!
I made this tonight and it was easy to make and delicious!
I made it dairy-free by subbing almond milk with vinegar for the buttermilk and Melt Organic for the butter in the frosting. I also subbed cacao powder in the given amounts with no problems or weird flavors.
It baked for 35min in a 9×13 pan, and was perfectly done. I only made half a recipe of frosting (I bake by weight so it was easy—thanks for putting all the weights in the recipe!) and it was the perfect amount for our cake. The only thing I would change is that the Melt sticks were salted, and, even after omitting the salt, the frosting was slightly too salty. I’d add more powdered sugar next time.
Otherwise, I’ll definitely be making this again in the future!
I followed the frosting recipe well and it didn’t turn out as I thought. The flavor wasn’t good. Not sure what I did wrong
Hi Lisa, happy to help! What was the issue with the buttercream? Did you make any ingredient substitutions?
Hi. I would like to make a stacked 10” wedding cake using your recipe. Can you give me quantities and should I use the denser version ? Thank you
Hi Ann! Are you making a tiered cake? At this time, we don’t have a sturdy enough chocolate cake recipe to use as a bottom tier of a wedding cake. This homemade wedding cake post may be helpful! For a 10 inch cake (not tiered), the sour cream version of this cake should hold up well, this cake pan sizes and conversions guide will help determine how much batter you’ll need.
This is the very first cake recipe I’ve tried and it’s easy and simple for a newbie baker like me! I used to be intimidated by cakes so when this turned out great, I was soooo happy! Thanks, Sally for this recipe! ❤️ I love that it’s moist and the chocolate flavor is amazing. It’s also not sweet which is great. It’s delicious but the star of the recipe for me is the chocolate buttercream frosting. It was unexpectedly yummy and it complemented the cake really well!
We’re so glad you loved this cake recipe, Sheila! Thank you so much for giving it a try.
Is it possible to bake this cake on a half sheet pan (18×13) instead of a quarter sheet pan?
Hi Kay, our cake pan sizes and conversions guide can help you scale this recipe for your needs. Happy baking!
Made this at the weekend with sour cream (didn’t have buttermilk) and only 250g sugar, and it turned out perfect and very moist. Only made half the buttercream, as I covered it with fondant, which was also easy enough to do. Adults and kids loved it and will definitely make it again.
The best chocolate cake I’ve had.
The cupboard only had dutch processed cocoa but it seems to have worked just fine. I made the sour cream version in two 9-inch pans and it was sturdy enough to frost with a thick buttercream without crumbling apart.
I’ll try it with natural cocoa next time to see if there’s a big difference in the final product, thank you for this recipe!
Yay! What a lovely cake this turned out to be. Made it over the weekend and it was an absolute hit with my 6 year old. I have tried many other recipes for chocolate cake and had almost given up. They either tasty soapy or leave a funny aftertaste forcing me to trash the entire batch which is heartbreaking in itself. This one really saved the day. Can’t thank you enough Sally!!
Really appreciate the info on the difference between the cocoa powders.
Looking forward to many more gems from you. Happy baking!! ❤
Hi Sally! My family and I just love your chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes and pie-they are divine!
We are big fans of your tasty work-keep up the palate-pleasing work!
I do have a question, though. I have a dairy free diet and sadly cannot try this amazing recipe. Is there any way I could try to replace the sour cream and buttermilk with a rich, dairy-free option? Also, what is your favorite non-dairy butter option in baking recipes?
Thank you and happy baking 🙂
Hi Anne, We have not tested this with a dairy free alternative but you can try a dairy free yogurt in place of the sour cream. For the buttermilk you can use a non dairy milk (like almond milk) to make a DIY buttermilk (see recipe note for instructions). We don’t have any experience with dairy free butter but some readers have said they enjoy the Earth Balance brand. If you are interested, here are all of our dairy free recipes.
Best chocolate cake ! Easy to make, common ingredients that are on hand. My family loved this cake. I made it without using sour cream, did add the decaf coffee, and made my own buttermilk as usual. This is now my go-to for chocolate cake! I have made others, but this one is the best! Thank you for sharing. I’ve actually made a number of your recipes and each one has been without disappointment 🙂