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
I tied it the sour cream, and it did not rise at all. It tasted delish, but it was dense like a chocolate torte. I watched it through the oven window at it did not even start to rise.
I’ve made this cake and it’s various several times over the last few years. For a 3 layer cake with 9 in round pans I double the cake recipe and quadruple the icing. If you want to do fancy piping designs I’d recommend doing x5. Taste is amazing!
Cake smells amazing, but hate how much the center sunk! It looks awful
Hi Becky! Did you bake the cake in two 9 inch pans? This usually happened when cakes are under-baked, though some sinking is inevitable with chocolate cakes. We’d try increasing the bake time by just a minute or two next time to see if that helps. Make sure your baking soda and baking powder are fresh, too, for optimal rise—we find they start to lose their effectiveness after about 3 months, even if not technically expired. Thank you for giving this recipe a try, and we hope this helps for next time!
My all time favorite cake recipe. I always bake all my kids and family members cake for there special occasions with this amazing Triple Chocolate cake recipe. Thank you Sally for sharing such delicious recipes with us. I’m so grateful to you and wish you all the best in your baking expertise.
My daughter has been requesting a chocolate caramel cake for her birthday for months. Would this cake pair well with a caramel frosting?
Thanks!
Absolutely!
Why did mine boil over in the oven?
Hi Monica, I’m sorry this happened. Did you accidentally use smaller pans? This can happen if there is too much batter in a pan.
Hey Sally! If I make this as a bunt cake, do you reccomend using the chocolate butter cream as the topping? Or something else like a chocolate ganache?
Hi Shannon! We love ganache on top of a chocolate Bundt like we do with this Chocolate Cream Cheese Bundt Cake!
This is my go too recipe for chocolate cake. It is so deliciously moist and especially good when you use Majestic Dutch Cocoa powder. [the best!] Majestic Dutch cocoa powder is the best ever. This cake disappears at church social. And the people rave about it. I do agree that it doesn’t have the strength to do a Large double layer as I had one collapse. [Yes, I cried]. For small normal double layer cake, it is the BOMB. Pares well with coconut flakes and also straight up vanilla ice cream verses frosting.
So happy to read this, Anna!
Whenever I want to bake a new recipe, I come to Sally!
I made this cake yesterday got my daughter’s 23rd birthday. I used her Raspberry filling from another recipe for the center.
It turned out perfectly! I made the original version (without sour cream). Decorated the top with fresh raspberries. A huge hit. Took it to a restaurant for dinner with 10 people. I could slice it slim since most people request a small piece after a big dinner. gave a piece to another couple celebrating a birthday and to our waiter too. And even brought a little bit home.
I do want to say that using Natural cocoa makes a difference in how the cake rises. I’ve had trouble before with a different recipe rising correctly, and I finally figured out it was because the special dark cocoa I was using was Dutch pressed, not natural. So now I’ll save that for my buttercream.
Thank you so much for your recipe I made it perfect you are have my trust always god bless you
This cake is so good! This was my first try baking a cake from scratch and it turned out amazing. I made it for my son birthday and everyone loved it. No leftovers.
what can you use to replace the Buttermilk if you don’t have any
Hi Kate, See recipe Notes for details on the buttermilk in this recipe.
When I made my own buttermilk using whole milk and 2 tsp of white vinegar, the milk didn’t curdle. I looked online and America’s Test Kitchen recommended using 1 Tbl of white vinegar or 1 Tbl of lemon juice. When I added the 3rd tsp of white vinegar, the milk began to curdle within about 5 minutes.
I’ve been baking this for years and telling everyone that they won’t do better than this recipe..it’s spectacular (thank you!) I personally don’t like coffee so I substitute more buttermilk, it comes out amazing, incredibly moist. I guess I’m missing the hot liquid but it seems work just fine…thanks for a great recipe…
I never EVER leave reviews for recipes, but y’all leave me with no choice this time. Oh my goodness this cake is a chocolate lovers dream come true. I’ve been baking my entire adult life; but this is BY FAR the best chocolate cake recipe. I made the original recipe, but instead of chocolate chips being the “triple” of the chocolate, I did a chocolate ganache “overflow” to top it off. I wish I could post photos. I just made a 6” cake this morning by cutting both the cake recipe and buttercream in half and it was still perfection. Could not say enough good things about this recipe!
We’re so glad you loved this, Marissa!
My cakes just baked – they look and smell wonderful. I used 1 tsp Hain iodized sea salt for the cakes. Did folks use Kosher salt or another salt?
The best chocolate cake ever! The proof? After eating a full piece, folks keep coming back, often 2 or 3 times, to cut off more slivers. This cake is irresistible. Thank you, Sally’s Baking Addiction.
I don’t need to reduce the oven temp for a 9×13 glass pan, do I? Just want to double check.
Hi Maddy, no need to reduce the temperature, but bake time may be just a few minutes longer.
Hi Lexi, I have a metal 9×13 pan, is that better?
Hi Maddy, either works! Baked goods just tend to take a few minutes longer in glass pans than in metal pans.
Thank you Lexi for your help with the sheet cake version. It was a huge hit at my party. Amazing!
I only have one 9 inch round pan, and I don’t have a measuring scale. Is there any way to evenly distribute the batter to bake two separate times?
Hi Kavi! You can definitely bake half the batter first, leaving the second half covered at room temperature until your cake pan is ready to use again. This recipe yields about 6 cups of batter, so you’ll need about 3 cups in each pan.
I’m confused about these recent comments, this recipe is a layer cake and pictures a layer cake but these comments say it’s not strong enough to use as a layer cake? I’m planning on making a layered cake, can you clarify this for me? Thank you!
Hi Laurel! The comments say it shouldn’t be used as the base of a tiered cake (like a wedding cake). The recipe makes a perfect two layer cake, as pictured!
Would you recommend using this recipe for a 2-tiered cake?
Hi Tanya, Unfortunately we do not recommend this recipe as the bottom tier for a cake—even the sour cream version is a bit too light to support a top tier. You could use it for a top tier, though, with a different flavored bottom tier.
hey sally i dont like butter cream in cakes. Can i use your ganache recipe instead for frosting?
Absolutely!
Hi Sally,
I was thinking of making a sheet cake (9×13 inch) using the sour cream version of the recipe and a round cake (8inch) using the original recipe so that I could put it on top of the sheet cake.
Do you think the sheet cake will be sturdy enough to hold the round tiered cake?
Also, could I divide the cake batter in 2 even when using 2x 8inch cake pans?
Thanks a lot in advance for your help x
Hi Romi, unfortunately we do not recommend this recipe as the bottom tier for a cake—even the sour cream version is a bit too light to support a top tier. You could use it for a top tier, though, with a different flavored bottom tier. If you do use 8-inch rounds for your round cake, yes, you can divide between 2 pans, knowing that the bake time will be slightly longer for thicker layers. Hope this helps!
Thanks a lot for having got back to me.
Could you recommend a recipe for a sheet cake to use as a bottom tier by any chance?
The cake calls for 2 large eggs, is it ok to use 3 medium size eggs instead?
Hi Bernadette, 3 medium eggs will give you a bit more egg volume/weight than 2 large eggs, because medium eggs typically weigh about 50g each, and large eggs about 57g each. But it’s a relatively minor change to the recipe, so it should be ok whether you use 2 or 3 medium eggs, or you can beat 3 eggs and remove a bit before using.
Thanks so much i did exactly that and removed a little egg, the cake was a success! Lovely chocolate cake for my sons Birthday nice a f.udgey!
I’m not really the kind of person to leave reviews.
But OMG, my son and I just made this cake and it’s amazing!!!!!
I don’t really like buttercream much, but this one was sooo good!! I absolutely love your recipes. Thank you!
Yes! This is the best chocolate cake ever. I use the sour cream version. I like it without frosting. I made a loaf pan [half recipe] cake. Otherwise I’d eat too much cake!
Made this cake today but I’m not serving until after dinner. Do you recommend refrigerating uncovered until then? It’ll be about 6 hours in refrigerator uncovered.
Thank you for an amazing recipe! We cannot wait for dessert!
Hi Dianna, in this case, we’d recommend refrigerating the cake until about 1-2 hours before you plan to serve it. At that point, take it out of the fridge so it has time to come back up mostly to room temperature. Enjoy!
Can I omit the espresso powder but still use the 1 cup of hot coffee? Or do I need to use both or omit both?
Hi Heather, yes, you can omit the espresso powder but still use the hot coffee.
I made this for my daughter in-law’s birthday. Due to circumstances it did not get cut/eaten on the day and was left uncovered in the fridge until 4 days later. You would swear it had just been baked that day – it was still the most incredibly moist chocolate cake we have ever devoured! Many thanks for this and all of your other delicious recipes Sally. You are my go to for baking!
We’re so happy you enjoyed this chocolate cake, Nichole!
I noticed your chocolate cake recipes use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour. Is there a reason why? Can cake flour be substituted in this or any of the other chocolate cake recipes you have?
Hi Shannon, cake flour is much too light to use in chocolate cake, since we also use cocoa powder (another very light ingredient). For best results, we recommend sticking with all-purpose flour.
This cake came out great! I cheated and bought the frosting but will try to make that myself next time. I used strawberry jam in the middle. The cake did need another 10 mins in the oven. I used two 13” rounds for baking. Thank so much for sharing!
Hi Sally, I’m thinking of turning this chocolate cake into cupcakes. Do you know how long I should bake them?
See recipe Notes for details on baking cupcakes, April!