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
I think I’ve just found the best chocolate cake recipe ever! It’s so lush! Love love love.
This is my go-to chocolate cake recipe! It is incredibly delicious! Can you make a vanilla version following this recipe? I haven’t found a vanilla cake recipe I like yet! I need one that is moist and fluffy like this cake!
It’s best to use our vanilla cake recipe instead. It has a very similar soft, fluffy texture as this one!
Hello Sally!
Could I make the cake layers, wrap and refrigerate on Thursday morning, make icing and assemble cake Friday night to serve for a Saturday evening party? I want to make sure the cake will still taste fresh.
*I will be leaving this same question on another recipe as well!
Thank you!
Hi Kimberly, yes, that timeline should work fine. Enjoy!
Hi! Would I be able to bake this in a bundt cake pan?
Hi Sarah, see recipe notes for Bundt Cake details – happy baking!
Hi,
I have only one pan, can I even make this cake like that? Would it be an option to bake a whole batter and then cut it with a knife into two halves?
Hi Marian, we don’t recommend baking this batter all in one cake pan. What size is your heart pan? Here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes. You may be able to use the batter from this 6 inch chocolate cake recipe, or the 9 inch chocolate cake from our chocolate cake pops recipe for a 1 layer cake.
Why did my cake come out deflated?
Hi Sandra, a little sinking is normal for chocolate cakes, especially as they cool. However, if it seems excessively sunken in, it could be that it was underbaked a bit and a few extra minutes in the oven would help. An easy fix for next time!
Ty for this recipe sally! Can you make one like this but with bread? Thanks again!
We would make these double chocolate muffins, baked as a quick bread instead! We recommend a 9×5 loaf pan. Same temperature, but we’re unsure of the exact bake time. Keep a close eye on it and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Hope you enjoy!
I love this recipe but I have a question. Can I refrigerate the batter and then bake it later.
Hi Sean, we don’t recommend that, as the leaveners are activated once the wet and dry ingredients are combined. We recommend baking as soon as possible after mixing up the batter.
This recipe did not disappoint! We are a family who loves chocolate cake and this was loved by all. I will definitely make it again!
This is by far my favorite chocolate cake I have ever baked! The espresso powder is a game changer.
I love this recipe! However, I wanted to give feedback that this website has become almost unusable due to the auto play ads and videos. It’s a horrible user experience, and I basically can’t use the website on my computer without it going crazy and making my laptop overheat. If you can do anything to fix, please do!!!
Hi Emily, we don’t allow pop-ups on our website, and any autoplay videos should be muted. Are you getting any popups or loud autoplay videos with sound? It could be there was a spammy ad campaign that somehow got through, so let us know what you’re seeing and we will let our ad network know. Sorry for any trouble, we don’t want the ads to interfere with the user experience.
I’m having the same experience with ads 🙁
Thanks for responding! It’s not that there are popups or videos playing with sound. It’s the sheer amount of different ads. It makes my browser very slow, and eventually the website freezes and I have to close the tab. Also, I’ve had the website up for 5 minutes to respond to this comment, and my laptop is already starting to overheat. I do not have this experience on other recipe sites.
Hey Sally, could I use half and half instead of buttermilk? Or what are some other replacements?
Hi Mia, Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY buttermilk substitute if needed—see Recipe Notes for details.
I didn’t realize until the end when they were already baking that I only did a half cup of buttermilk. That’s what happens when you bake when you have a 4 month old. Hoping it turns out ok! We shall see!
Hello, is there an alternative to using coffee? Would love to make this for a kids party but don’t want to add coffee. Thanks!
Hi Emily, you can use the same amount of extra hot water instead.
Hi, I have made this recipe before and loved it. Can this be adapted to a much larger square cake? Many thanks
Hi Rosie, here’s everything you need to know about cake pan sizes and conversions.
Would this recipe work if I halved the ingredients and baked it in an 8×8 pan?
Hi Brittany, here’s everything you need to know about cake pan sizes and conversions.
Hello! If I filled between the layers with a dark chocolate ganache instead and still coated with the buttercream, would that work? I was also thinking of adding some crushed nuts to the ganache but wasn’t sure if this would work – do you have any thoughts? Thanks so much.
Hi Ness, that should work just fine!
Love the recipe, if I want to do it in a 8inch pan, how should Change the quantities of ingredients?
Hi Maya, 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).
I needed a recipe for chocolate cake and this did not disappoint! The cake was soooo moist and perfectly sweet. I followed the recipe exactly and baked for 23 minutes. Used my grandmas chocolate icing recipe but the cake paired so well with it! 100% will be using this next time I need a chocolate cake
Hi Sally, I literally love this recipe I have done it so many times and it’s always been a winner for my guests! I want to do one for my daughter’s birthday cake but I was looking at making it larger using a 10 inch round cake tin, would this work if I double the ingredients? Or could you let me know what ratio I would need, as I’m planning on doing it twice so I can put the butter cream layer in between 🙂
Hi Jess! 10 inch pans would produce very thin layers with the recipe as written. Our cake pan sizes and conversions guide will be helpful for scaling the recipe as you need. Enjoy!
This recipe is WONDERFUL!!!! I would totally recommend this!
Hi Sally do I have to put hot water in this everytime I make chocolate cake it tastes like a rubbery flavour weird.
What could it be? Maybe the brewed coffee?? Thank you
Are you following our recipe for chocolate cake? It shouldn’t be rubbery. A rubbery cake can be caused by over-mixing the batter. Make sure to just mix until combined.
My grandson called me. (He is 12) and asked me if we could make this cake when
He comes over. We made it once and we loved it
I have made this cake three times and it is amazing every time. The only problem, my pans over flow during baking Everytime. I do not fill them over 1/2 full. Has anyone else had this problem.
Hi Stacey, are your pans quite short? We always use two inch tall cake pans, the ones linked in the recipe. Are you using 9 inch pans?
Incredible recipe. I used it to make an orange chocolate cake. Omg! I’ve made chocolate cake in the past and wasn’t impressed. I went back to box. This time I was determined to bake a good one and Sally has never led me wrong. This recipe is incredible. It was so moist, fudgey, perfectly dense. Big crowd pleaser! This will be my go to from now on.
Hi, if I wanted to make 4 layers (double recipe) instead of 2 and stack them, would the sour cream version hold up? Or would I need dowels and supports? Thank you, haven’t made this yet but had at a friend’s and it was delicious
Hi Mel, 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. OR, you could simply use the cake portion of this chocolate mousse cake to yield 4 chocolate cake layers. Hope it’s a hit!
Hello! If making this in a 9×13 should I do the same amount of frosting or cut it in half? Thank you!
Hi Sarah, a half batch of frosting should be enough to frost the 9×13 cake.
Hello, in the recipe says only 1 cup Buttermilk, no sour cream at all. But your video, you showed you had have sour cream. Please confirm. Thank you
Hi Julia, see the Notes after the recipe for the sour cream version of this recipe, which we often make and show in the video. It’s slightly sturdier.
I made this cake yesterday and it’s amazing! It’s the perfect texture and so wonderfully rich, but not super sweet.
Best, most professional-tasting cake I’ve ever made! Followed directions exactly. It was literally chocolate cake perfection. Will make with decaf coffee next time, as the coffee, espresso & chocolate gave me a serious caffeine buzz. PERFECT CHOCOLATE CAKE!
Well, you did it again! I undoubtedly have never baked a cake as good as this. It’s the buttermilk and hot coffee that made the difference! Thank you!
Hello! I want to make this cake but I do not have an electrical mitxer to Mae the buttercream. What alternate can I use?:)
Hi Deena, a chocolate ganache would lovely on this cake. That’s what we use on our 1 layer chocolate cake.
This was awesome! Made it the original way, had a beautiful crumb texture! It was delicious! I made it yesterday.
I made this for my son’s 4th birthday a he requested a chocolate cake, and I wanted a great recipe, not a boring & dry chocolate cake. I’m not a chocolate cake fan myself so was a bit lost – but trusted your recipe given I’ve tried others and they were so successful. The cake was amazing – thank you so much! Quantities were perfect for a two layer cake with my tins which were slightly different sizing. Now I just need a vanilla cake equivalent to this one so I can reproduce it in a different flavour!