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
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
Question: I want to make this cake with a whipped ganache frosting, so how much ganache will I need to frost this cake as a three layer? Also, in the past I’ve had trouble with my cake being dry but the middle is still gooey. I’ve never used this recipe before, so I hope it won’t turn out like that. Is there anything I could do to prevent that? Also why is it happening?
Hi S.R., using our ganache recipe, whipped ganache will yield about 3 cups. Feel free to scale up as needed depending on how heavily you’d like to frost your cake.
Sally, I can always count on your recipes to be home runs!! Thanks for your dedication to always getting it RIGHT!
Hi, can I use Cream Cheese frosting with this chocolate cake?
Absolutely!
I made this cake last weekend and as usual everyone loved it. I happen to have some of the chocolate buttercream icing leftover and in my fridge. It was next to my homemade peanut butter (peanuts in a Vitamix)so…
Equal parts peanut butter and chocolate buttercream is absolutely delicious!!! I am thinking the next time I make this cake to use peanut butter in place of some or all of the butter when making the chocolate buttercream frosting.
I have been making your recipes for about 15 years now and can’t thank you enough for all of your efforts.
Hi Jason, thank you so much for making our recipes! Here’s our recipe for chocolate peanut butter frosting 🙂
Wow!!! Thank you for such an amazing recipe! Chocolate cake success has always eluded me. Until now. I tried this recipe for my daughter’s birthday and we were all so impressed with the flavor and texture of the cake and frosting. The flavor is excellent, and it is a moist cake, which is what my family prefers. Super easy too. Tasted like something you would get in a restaurant.
Notes:
I made the recipe as written.
I baked in Fat Daddio’s 10” round x 3” tall pan. Took 35 minutes in my oven. After the cake cooled, I used a cake leveler to create 2 layers. Also tested freezing the layers the weekend before, and they thawed out beautifully without affecting the taste.
I also frosted the cake completely the night before the birthday dinner, refrigerated it, then set it at room temperature 5 hours before serving.
I entered this cake in the county Fair and took best in show! Thanks for a great recipe!
Can I use this recipe if I only have two 8 inch pans. Tried the conversion chart but I’m even more confused how long would I cook if I only have 8 inch or should I just not use this recipe
Hi Adelle, 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).
Do you light or dark coated pans? I have dark and typically adjust the oven temp down if the recipe is not specific. Your thoughts?
Hi Joan, we usually use lighter (Fat Daddio’s) cake pans.
Overall, this cake turned out amazing! It was crumblier than I expected but that I think that was my fault for not letting it cool enough. (How could you when it smells so amazing) I zhuzhed it up a little by putting some mini Hershey’s bars on top. I also didn’t use espresso powder (the stuff is pricy), which was fine. The hot coffee was a great addition though, and queen Sally herself was right, it doesn’t taste like coffee! I love this website lol
I made this cake twice. The first time following the directions precisely. The second time I cream the butter sugar and oil together and the went from there. The second iteration rose better and I think was slightly moister. They were both delicious but when I make this cake again I think I’ll use my second method.
I made this yesterday with the buttermilk, instant coffee granules (powdered), and a cup of instant coffee. I didn’t have espresso powder. I added in a box of chocolate pudding to the mix. I think that may have been a mistake, because the cake layers turned out too moist and I could barely handle them after removing from round pans. And when it came time to apply the crumb coat of chocolate buttercream frosting, it was hard to get the frosting to stick well to the cake. I thought my adding a box of chocolate pudding mix would help boost the chocolate flavor (esp. because I had no espresso powder), but I learned to never do this again. However, the cake looked great after all the frosting was applied and the tiny bit of cake I tasted was superb.
Amazing recipe! Super soft and moist with the perfect crumb. I paired it with your fluffy peanut butter frosting and it came out flawless! Thank you!
Question why is the the cocoa 62g for the cake and 65g for the frosting, but both 3/4 of a cup? It doesn’t matter the cake is phenomenal! My best friends favorite! Just curious. Thanks for all the recipes Sally and team!
Thank you for pointing that out, Mya! We’ve updated the frosting recipe to the correct cocoa powder weight.
Could I bake this cake in a 9” by 4” cake pan to have a large one layer cake?
Hi Kate, Here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes.
This cake is so good I made this for a party and everyone loved it
I bless the day I found you – have baked so many cakes from your recipes and truly appreciate your explanations of “why”. You have made me a much better baker!
Came out really good. My problem with a lot of chocolate cake or muffin recipes is that it never comes out tasting chocolatey enough and kinda tastes like flour and vanilla is trying to fill the gap. This didn’t taste that way. I usually kinda suck at baking but this came out perfectly moist the first time, nice and chocolatey without being over-the-top. I’m more of a dark chocolate person and prefer things less sweet, so I used 300g sugar instead of 350g (cane sugar) and it tasted great, though I might reduce to 275g next time.
I made this for my son’s 6th birthday and everyone loved it. Nice and moist and the perfect chocolate flavor. Will definitely make this one again.
Best chocolate cake ever. Easy to make but sooooooo good you would think I spent hours picking cocoa beans to make this decadent cake. Don’t skip the espresso powder or the cup of strong coffee. These two items take this cake to the next level.
Can I make this cake with chocolate ganache frosting instead of buttercream frosting? If so, how much should I make?
Hi Dana, a chocolate ganache would lovely on this cake. That’s what we use on our 1 layer chocolate cake.
Hi! Can I substitute the coffee with espresso shots? If so, how many do you think?
Thanks!
Hi Diana, you can definitely use espresso – yum! You would need 1 cup brewed espresso.
Hello! How many tsp/tbsp of powdered (instant) coffee should I put in hot water?
Hi Iya, there should be instructions on the packaging for how much you need.
Can you tell me if I should double this recipe if I want to make one 9×13 and one 8×8 cake.
Hi Valerie, the recipe as written can be baked in one 9×13 pan (details in recipe Notes). You could try making 1.5x the batter. Here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes.
I don’t often leave reviews or comments on recipes online, but WOW! Both the cake and frosting were the best I have ever had! I used the sour cream version.
Do you have a vanilla cake recipe equivalent in texture and density as this made with sour cream?
It’s heavenly!
Hi Liz, So glad you enjoyed this recipe! You might love this white cake recipe that is also made with sour cream. Let us know if you give it a try!
Great recipe! Do not skip the skim coat before frosting.
Best Darn Chocolate cake ever ! I used the sour cream. Every that ate the cake were blown away.
Next, your German Chocalte Cake recipie. Thank you !
Wanted to know, cane sugar or traditional sugar ie beat sugar?
I used cane sugar and just reduced it a bit (300 grams instead of 350) and it came out good
Hi Sally
Can I use self raising flour instead of plain flour in this recipe
Hi Hema, I wish we could help but we haven’t tested it, and are unsure what else would need to change if you make that swap.
Can I use mayo instead of sour cream? Thinking like a Portillo’s chocolate cake?
Hi Becky, we haven’t personally tested it, but some readers have made that substitution and reported back with great results.
This turned out amazing. I made vanilla buttercream so I could colour it pink and otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I made 2 batches of batter and baked each batch in a 9×13 pan for 33 minutes and assembled them into a layered rectangular cake. It was a hit