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
Hi Sally,
long time follower of your fabulous recipe’s.
I would like to make your deliciously moist choc layer cake for 30 guest.I have a few questions before I take this job on.
Can I double the ingredients to serve 30?
Can I make this into a 4 layer cake then? or what is your advice? Will it sink in the middle?
Do you have another chocolate cake recipe that can handle a 4 layer cake?
I have a 9 inch round cake tins.
All I want to make is a layers choc cake to serve 30 guest.
Looking forward to hearing from you
Rhea from Melbourne,Australia
Hi Rhea, you can make two separate batches (rather than doubling) for 4 layers, or you could 1.5x the recipe for 4 slightly thinner layers. We’d recommend making the sour cream version outlined in the recipe Notes for a bit of extra structure. This is a light and delicate cake, so using cake dowels to support that many layers is recommended. Hope the cake is a hit!
First try came out FLAWLESSLY! It was surprisingly quick and easy. I love the richer flavour the coffee added to it without actually making it taste like coffee. I made it for my dad who isn’t a big dessert guy, and it got probably the highest compliment he’s ever given me
My only “complaint” if you could call it that, is that the frosting ended up being double what we needed, although I didn’t frost the edges. I’ll cut it in half next time for my purposes.
Ok, the cake part of this was amazin- fluffy, light, super chocolately…exactly what a cake should be. I forgot to buy vegetable oil when I ran out last week, so I subbed avocado oil, otherwise I made it exactly as written. The frosting was too thick so I thinned it out with more heavy cream. Good for an American buttercream, I just hate butter cream lol next time I’ll make a chocolate ermine, which I think will really compliment the lightness of the crumb.
Hi
Thank you for this recipe. Every time I try it the cake sinks slightly in the middle. Any ideas where I maybe going wrong? I’m a baker so measure everything properly and use correct oven settings and timings. It still tastes delicious but wondered why it seems to sink slightly?
Hi Nourie, a little sinking is completely normal with chocolate cakes, cupcakes, etc. However, it can also be due to under baking. You can try extending your bake time by just a minute or two to see if that helps a bit. Hope this is helpful!
Hey Sally,
I really love baking, through the years I’ve made a lot of really tasty cakes of all kinds, and I have to say that this cake is BY FAR the best cake I’ve ever made!!!
I combined the cake of this recipe and the chocolate mousse of another recipe of yours.
Both my kids said that this cake is no doubt number 1 on the list!
Thank you very much for this amazing recipe!!
Made this once and absolutely loved the cake! The frosting was a little on the sweet side for me. Do you have any other frosting you might recommend? Maybe a chocolate cream cheese?
Hi Ana, we do have a Chocolate Cream Cheese recipe!
I made this and love it. It’s moist with a deep chocolate flavour. It’s a keeper.
I plan to make this recipe and wondered if avocado oil would work without changing the taste? Would it be the equivalent of using canola oil, taste-wise?
Hi Diane, while you could use avocado oil in place of the vegetable oil, the taste will be slightly different. We don’t recommend reducing the oil at all, or the cake could become dry. Let us know how it goes for you!
I really like the taste of chocolate mixed with orange. Do you think it would work to add some orange liquor to the recipe or would the espresso and coffee in the recipe not work with this addition?
Hi Diane! We haven’t tested it ourselves, but you can try adding orange zest to this cake batter and try replacing *some* of the buttermilk with freshly squeezed orange juice or orange liqueur. You could also try adding some orange extract in addition to the vanilla extract (don’t leave out the vanilla completely). Let us know what you try!
This was fantastic! Exactly what I wanted. Fudgy, moist, chocolaty and delicious! I will thin out the frosting just a bit next time as it was a little too dense but absolutely delicious. I must save this recipe for the future. And the coffee additions hit the spot!
Hi! I have baked this cake a few times before and we love it. Can I use olive oil instead of vegetable oil or canola oil? Thanks!
Hi Lisa, olive oil would work, but would change the flavor.
I would love to make this recipe into a 18×24 sheet cake. Would it be okay if I were to double the recipe?
Hi Maria, instead of doubling, we’d make 2 separate batches.
Can I use chocolate ganache instead of buttercream? Looks good!
Hi Chloe, yes, you can absolutely use chocolate ganache instead of buttercream. Hope it’s a hit!
Can this cake be stored on the counter??
How would you recommend modifying this for an eggless version (we have an egg allergy in our family but we LOVE chocolate cake!)
Hi Marian, We haven’t tested any egg substitutes in this cake recipe, but let us know if you do!
Hi going to try this recipe, however I’ve only got 1 x 3 inch deep 8 inch round pan can you please confirm quantities to use
Hi Molly Rose! Here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes.
I’m unsure of making this with coffee in it as we don’t like coffee does it have a coffee taste at all?
Hi Lisa, Espresso powder and coffee will not make the cake taste like coffee. Instead, they deepen the chocolate flavor. If coffee isn’t your thing, you can leave out the espresso powder and use extra hot water or hot chai tea.
It was an easy recipe and the cake came out great. I put 2 cups of sugar instead of 3.5 in the frosting and it wasn’t like a sugary food. It came out like a dark chocolate cake and was very dark. The frosting was darker than the cake. Highly recommended.
Hi, I am looking at using this recipe to make a birthday cake for someone. Is this chocolate cake one that would be stable enough to have decoration on top? I plan on decorating with various Lindt chocolates.
Hi Charlie! This cake would be plenty stable to be decorated with Lindt chocolates. The sour cream version detailed in the recipe notes yields a slightly sturdier crumb, so we would advise to make those adjustments. Happy baking!
I realized I skipped part of the reading and decided not to use the cake flour. Thank you for the helpful notes!
Hi Sally, I’m making this cake for my mother-in-law’s birthday tomorrow. I had intended to use cake flour. Will this cause any issues? I plan to convert to the appropriate measurement of the cake flour, if so.
Hi Amanda! Cake flour is much too light to use in this recipe, since we also use cocoa powder (another very light ingredient). For best results, we recommend sticking with all-purpose flour.
I have made this as a 2-layer cake too many times to count! It is my father-in-law’s most requested dessert 🙂 I’m making it for him this weekend for father’s day, and I was wondering if I could 1.5x the recipe to make three layers, instead of just splitting the same amount of batter into 3 pans. I want the layers to be nice and thick. What do you think?
Hi Holly! We’re so happy to read that this cake is a hit! Yes, we think it should be fine to make a three layer cake that way. Let us know how it goes!
I make this cake exactly as the recipe states about once a month, and it’s always perfect. Super moist, very chocolaty, and not too sweet. I use Bulgarian buttermilk and I think that makes it even more moist.
I love mixing up the frostings on your site with this, too. The chocolate buttercream listed with this recipe is delicious, but I actually prefer your cream cheese chocolate frosting on it. Ganache also goes great with it. When I make it in a 9X13 pan, the baking time is closer to 30 minutes than 35.
Hi! If I double this recipe, can I make this cake into a two layer cake, 9×13 size? Would it hold up?
Hi Julie, instead of doubling, we’d make 2 separate batches for 2, 9×13-inch cakes. See recipe Notes for baking details. Enjoy!
Thanks! One question- would you recommend cutting a 9×13 cake into two layers for this cake or making two separate layers? Will it be too tall if I make two batches?
Hi Julie, it really depends on how thick/tall you’d like the cake. 2 full 9×13-inch cakes would make for a very tall cake. If you want to make only 1 9×13-inch cake and cut horizontally, we’d recommend using the sour cream version (outlined in the recipe notes) for a slightly sturdier cake to cut. Hope this helps!
This recipe is great! I did it for my brother’s birthday and everyone loved it. I used half the amount of sugar. Consistency and flavor were good so, it could be an option for people who prefer desserts a little less sweet.
I’m trying to recreate a cake my mom used to make for me. It was a chocolate banana cake. I’d like to base it on this recipe but trying to figure out what I need to adjust to incorporate the bananas and accommodate the extra moisture. Any ideas?
Hi Gino, you may want to check out our Double Chocolate Banana Bread.
I have been making this recipe for a hundred times! I made layer cakes, cupcakes, it’s extremely moist because of oil (no butter), sooo easy to make and doesn’t take much time to make it.
I have been making this recipe for a hundred times!
Best. Chocolate. Cake. Ever. I will never make anything but this!
Can I use low fat sour cream for this? I can’t wait to make it!!!
Hi Beth, that should be fine! Enjoy.
Excited to make this!
Very lovely receipe. Made it and every one enjoyed it. I am making it again can’t resist. Thank you.
Hello Sally and Team! I made this chocolate cake using Bob’s Red Mill GF 1 to 1 baking flour and it came out fantastic…you would never know it was a GF cake. My family loved it.
Hi, is this recipe the right amount for making a 9 x 13 inch cake in a glass pyrex?
Hi Julie, yes, you can bake this cake in a 9×13-inch baking pan. Same oven temperature, about 35-40 minutes bake time.