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. 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!
- 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!)
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 (65g) 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 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
Hi Sally, I love your recipes! I’m looking for a cake recipe for my son’s birthday and I want to make a chocolate- berries type of cake. But I love this recipe! Do you think I could add some berries to the frosting in between the layers and also for decoration? Thanks! Zuzana
Absolutely! I think raspberries or strawberries would be wonderful.
This is my new go-to everything cake! It’s absolutely amazing!
Hi Sally!!! I am making my grandma’s 80th birthday cake which will have six layers. I am using 6×2″, 8×2″, and 10×2″ pans. How do you suggest I make this recipe for the 10×2″ so that it is still 2″ thick like the others? Thank you for all that you do! I can honestly say I get on your website AT LEAST once a day! Hope to meet you on your book tour!! 🙂
Hey Kristin! Here’s something I do when I’m nervous I won’t have enough cake batter for certain pans: I make two batches of the batter. So, make this cake batter and then make it again (or you can double the recipe). Then, fill your cake pans evenly. If you have extra batter, make some cupcakes (about 20 minutes bake time for cupcakes). Enjoy!
You talk at times about “fill the pans evenly” and “if you have extra batter, make cupcakes” when people ask about making a recipe in different pan sizes than you use in your recipe. How full do I fill a pan? Is there some general guide on how full or how deep to make the batter in a pan?
Hi Liz, a good practice is to only fill your pans half way full with batter. This gives it ample room to rise without overflowing, and it makes it a bit easier for the cake to bake through evenly. So, if your pans are half way full and you have leftover batter, you can use that to make some extra cupcakes on the size. Hope this helps!
OMG!!! This cake is amazing. I made it for my Mom’s Bday. Huge Hit. I should have made two cakes. Thank You!!
I don’t usually leave comments on recipes but I was compelled to this time. This chocolate cake is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten in my life. Thanks for posting this! Will never use another recipe again!
The same here Serera ! Definitely the best cake EVER!
Hi Sally! I made this cake for my brother’s birthday a couple weeks ago. And let me just say THIS CAKE IS FREAKING DELICIOUS!! This is 100% the best chocolate cake recipe on the planet. It is so rich, chocolaty, moist, fudgy, I could go on and on. It’s just incredible. Everyone loved it! You are amazing!
Much love for you (and the cake) – Grace
This looks absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I made the cake for my husband’s birthday and it was a real hit, even my gandson who normally does not eat cake loved it!
I made this cake and topped it with a 1.5 batch of your mint chocolate chip frosting and it was AWESOME! The cake is SO MOIST, probably the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had. The mint choclate frosting goes so perfectly with it. Yummmm.
Wow, this was absolutely amazing. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I am by no means an expert baker, yet the cake came out perfectly. Better than any chocolate cake I’ve had for sure. I’m still amazed that I made it 🙂
This cake was so amazing! Easy to make, delicious and moist. Perfect chocolate flavor. A lot of chocolate cakes have a weird after taste to them, NOT THIS ONE! It was quite possibly the best cake I have ever made. My family can’t seem to decide if they like the Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake you have or the Triple Chocolate better. That is a good problem to have 🙂 Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes. Can’t wait to get your cookbook for Christmas!!
Sally you have outdone yourself! WOW! Words cannot even explain how beautiful and moist your Triple Chocolate Layer cake is! The frosting is the perfect match. Thanks to your wonderful cake I have just introduced my entire workplace to your website that I’ve been keeping a secret for myself to use at all available opportunities. Can’t wait to make this for another birthday. It was a huge hit! xx
Hi Sally!
This cake looks ABSOLUTELY scrumptious and mouth-watering 😉 I can’t wait to bake it, but I have one question before I proceed. For the cocoa powder, does it matter if it’s dark or just natural(light)?
Much love,
Sarah
I always use natural. but super dark (tried that before too!) is excellent. either is fine!
Made this 2-layer cake with Nutella frosting for a “chocoholic” co-worker’s birthday. It was out of this world Sally! I have also made your Death by Choc cupcakes in the past and they amazing – the two cakes are a bit different but both are absolutely delectable. My search for choc cake recipes has officially come to an end. Honestly Sally, your recipes never disappoint and even though I browse a couple other blogs, I just don’t trust other recipes as I do your’s!!! Thank you for creating such a wonderful base of tried-and-true dishes! And for sharing them 🙂
Dear Sally, you and your recipes are ridiculously amazingly awesome! My friends and family all think I am a baking goddess… Your carrot cake recipe is such a winner with everyone I have ever made it for, and now this chocolate cake! They are fool proof, and somehow turn out devilishly delish every time! Thank you thank you, blessed be x
Hands-down the best chocolate cake ever! Never, ever buy a cake mix again. This was so easy and used everyday ingredients. Absolutely divine!!
this is the best chocolate cake recipe ever! made it for a construction cake for my nephew and was so moist and delicious! this is definitely my go to recipe from now on! Thank you so much! I even had to make it again for next family gathering because everyone loved it so much, the icing is really great for decorating as well
AH-MAZ-ING!!! This recipe is beyond a doubt the BEST chocolate cake recipe I have ever used and that frosting, just divine!!! This will be my chocolate go-to recipe from now on for sure! Thank you so much!
Just made your cake (and the death by chocolate cupcakes, also a huge success) for a birthday party and it was a HUGE success. Let me say that again a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE success!!!!! I made four thin cake layers and used the chocolate frosting and your vanilla frosting (chocolate, vanilla, chocolate frosting layers and coated the outside with vanilla frosting). It was a show stopper when we cut into those layers. The cake was sooo moist. One comment I have to share was said by a 50 year old, “this is how cakes used to taste when I was growing up.” Wow, what a compliment! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I recommend anyone thinking of trying this cake recipe to stop thinking about it and do it, it’s just that good!!!
😀
JAW DROPPING! Chocolate cake is my dad’s FAVOURITE and I HAVE to make it for his birthday every year. Usually, a birthday cake is the ONE exception where I use a mix but this year, I’m going to try it from scratch, thanks!!!
This cake was amazing! So moist and chocolatie, but not too sweet. I made it for my mother in law’s birthday anf she absolutely loved it! Hopefully I gained some brownie (or.. cake?!) points!
I simply do not have the vocabulary to describe how delicious this cake is! Could it be that the English language is lacking? My husband just kept exclaiming, ” Oh, my ,God!” with every bite he took. Sally, I have made several of your recipes, and they NEVER disappoint.
Tried this yesterday as a follow-up to Valentine’s day and it was a huge success! Thank you for this recipe 🙂
Seriously, the MOST AMAZING CAKE EVER!!!! I have a great bakery near me but their recipe for chocolate cake is not even as close to as good as this!!! Thank you for this recipe! Love your website!!
Just made this for the first time tonight for Valentine’s Day and felt compelled to comment (I never do this). I bake ALOT, and this is hands down one of the best cakes I’ve ever made! So moist, so delicious — don’t change a thing! This will definitely be my go-to chocolate cake recipe from now on. From the looks of all the comments, apparently a lot of people agree!
Sally, wow! Thank you so much for this recipe! I just finished making your cake and it is absolutely delicious! When I cut off the domes to ice the cake, I tried it (a lot of it! ;)) and it is perfect. The best chocolate cake ever. I cannot wait to give this to my Dad, I know he will love it and be impressed.
Also, I just wanted to say that I absolutely love your blog! I’m the type of baker/cook who adjusts recipes often (sometimes a success, sometimes not so much) – I love that you explain why certain ingredients are used on your blog. It made me follow your recipe to a T and I am so glad I did! The only thing I did differently was that I used a pastry brush and a little water to brush my chocolate chips after I put them on the cake because they looked a little chalky. Then I dabbled a dry paper towel over the chocolate chips to remove any excess water. This made my cake look much prettier and more like yours. Again, thanks so much for the fabulous recipe! I really enjoyed making this cake and cannot wait to make it again. Kudos to you! Happy Holidays!
OhMyGoodness! This is delicious!!! I made this on Friday for company and they couldn’t stop eating it! I loooveee it as well. It’s pretty easy to make, and I followed the way you decorated the cake and got lots of compliments. Probably the best chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten/made. Definitely something I want to make everytime someone comes over. Yum.
This is by far the absolute best chocolate cake I have ever made or tasted! I adapted it for high altitude and it was perfect!! The tops sunk very slightly but I think that was oven temperature error on my part. I never post comments, but this cake was so amazing, I had to let you know! I love your blog and the fact that you not only post about other’s recipes, but create your own as well!! I can’t wait to try your white chocolate macadamia cookies and snicker doodles!
Thank you for an AMAZING cake! 2nd time making it in a week 🙂
I made the amazing Triple chocolate cake for my husbands birthday. Everyone loved it! It was moist, rich and delicious. Thank you for your detailed instructions, i know they made all the difference. I cant wait to try more of your recipes.