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!
PrintDeliciously 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
Would love to receive your delicious recipes thank you
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How can cake flour be ‘turned’ into All Purpose flour? Cake flour is readily available in my country and not AP flour.
Where do I find instructions on exactly how to make the cake with sour cream. How much do I reduce the liquids? Do I still use some buttermilk?
See recipe notes for all the details!
OMG… too many pop-up ads. As I am trying to make the recipe, another ad pops up and pulls me into the comment section. Please fix this as this is not a good user experience.
Hi Michelle, I don’t allow pop-up ads on my website, so thank you for letting me know they were appearing over the weekend. I’ve put in a request with the ad network to have them blocked. So sorry for the inconvenience!
This may be a stupid question, but can this recipe be used for cupcakes? Approximately how many cupcakes would this make?
Hi Ali, Here is our favorite chocolate cupcakes recipe. Same unbelievable texture as this cake! The recipe yields 12-14 cupcakes.
Can the 1 cup coffee be missed out? I’d like to try this recipe for my nephews 3rd birthday but my sister would not like to have any sort of espresso in the cake?
Hi Shelley, see the Recipe Notes – you can leave out the espresso powder and use decaf hot coffee or extra hot water in its place. Hope the cake is a hit for your nephew’s birthday!
Hi Jane, would the sour cream sponge version be sturdy enough to cut to make a heart shaped cake?
Hi Louise, that should work just fine! Depending on the size of your heart shaped pan, this Cake Pan Sizes & Conversions post might be a good resource. Happy baking!
This cake is delicious but please don’t make the same mistake I did. If you have springform pans you have to put a whole sheet of baking paper in there, no gaps. I just lost half the batter to the worksurface!!!!!
Better than Hershey’s chocolate cake!
Would olive oil work as a substitute for the vegetable oil, or would that affect the flavor too much? Also, I am hoping to make a small cake that is just a few servings as it will be transported on a trip for a few hours, so it is not ideal to have leftovers. Do you think halving the recipe and baking in a loaf pan would work well with this recipe, or might there be a textural issue then?
Hi Jay, olive oil would work, but would change the flavor. We haven’t tested this exact recipe in a loaf pan, but it may be better to halve and bake in one 9-inch round (instead of 2). Here’s everything you need to know about cake pan sizes and conversions.
This is a delicious cake! I made it for my son’s birthday last year. It was so popular that I made it for my husband’s birthday a few months later. I just made it again, by request, for my son’s birthday. I don’t care for buttercream, so I made a chocolate whipped cream frosting. Whipped cream isn’t sturdy enough between layers, so I used a homemade custard filling. But the cake is the star of the show. I bake a lot, and your website is my favorite!
I have an urgent question. I am making the chocolate cake and I have a surplus of buttermilk. Can I use 2 cups of buttermilk and not the 1 cup of coffee? This is for Saturday night.
Hi Margie, no, we do not recommend swapping the hot water/coffee with more buttermilk.
I have made this cake for so many birthdays- everybody LOVES it!
I have a question. I have some leftover black cocoa, could I use it for part of the cocoa in this recipe? Or will it greatly affect the texture?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Leanne, we wouldn’t replace all of the unsweetened natural cocoa powder with black cocoa. It’s heavily alkalized, like dutch-process cocoa. And you need the acidity of natural cocoa instead. You can absolutely try using half and half though. Let us know how it goes!
Great recipe. I made today for my wife’s birthday and everyone loved it! Tried the sour cream version and it was super moist!
H! I’d love to try this recipe using a chocolate fudge filling. Do you have a recipe for that?
Hi Jen, chocolate ganache would be great between the layers. Just make sure to pipe a dam of frosting around the edges to make sure it does not come out the sides of the cake when stacked. Enjoy!
Sally this is my most favorite recipe for chocolate cake. It never fails. Thank you!!
This was perfect, rich but not too rich, deep chocolate flavor and perfectly moist. I made it exactly as described, using buttermilk, espresso powder and dark coffee. I used part dark cocoa because I had it. It took 26 minutes in my nine inch pans. I didn’t bother with the chocolate chips as it was a “house cake”, just going to be eaten at home by family. Delicious and easy too.
For anyone who’s curious, my mix of this cake resulted in 5 1/2 cups of batter. I measured it because I am going to try to make a true sheet cake in a 13x18x1 half sheet pan, and I needed to know how many cups of batter to do the conversion from a standard cake pan.
I was a little worried about how it would come out. I opted for this configuration because the birthday boy wants a rich chocolate cake, and the party for about 50 people is a 7 hour drive from my house.
My test cake came out great! And also highlighted the need to level my oven! I’m going to make the icing & transport separately, then ice & decorate once I get there. I’ve got a couple of weeks yet, but I didn’t want to be freaking out about this too close to the event. Thanks for a great cake recipe!
I baked this cake today and it is extremely moist and I am sure delicious. I am concerned about wrapping it anything because it is sticky. The birthday party is tomorrow- would you recommend making the frosting and putting the frosted cake in the refrigerator or putting the unfrosted cake in the refrigerator without wrapping it in anything? Help!!!
Hi Monica, as it cools down it should become less sticky. Do you have a cake carrier that you could put it in and then refrigerate?
Michelle – it has become even stickier now that it is cooled down. Should I frost it and put it in a cake carrier overnight and take it out of the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature before the party or will refrigerating the cake and frosting have a negative impact on flavor and texture – typically I bake cakes the day before I need them and frost them the day of the event. Thank you again!
Made this, and added peppermint extract instead of vanille in the frosting, it was great!
Making it again with black cacao for a birthday party today! hope it works out just as nicely
Hi! I am making a marbled 8-inch 3 layered cake, and if I used this recipe and your white cake recipe, if that would be not enough, too much, or a good amount for the size cake I am making. Hope this makes sense!
Hi Addie, the best way to do that would be to use this zebra cake recipe. You can use your 8-inch pans instead of the 9-inch (bake time may be a minute or so longer since the layers will be thicker) and use a marbling technique instead of the zebra. Hope you enjoy it!
This cake with chocolate ganache filling is amazing. It is genuinely one of the richest most decadent cake I have ever made, the texture is perfect and the addition of coffee adds so much to the chocolate flavor. My family loves it and I will definitely be making this recipe again.
Glad to read this. Thank you!
I want to use your favourite vanilla buttercream (dyed red) to make this into a 2-layer spiderman cake – would you recommend doing a crumb coat of frosting, or not necessary?
Yes, I would do a crumb coat of frosting. It’s always helpful, especially when putting vanilla frosting on a chocolate cake.
Hello Sally, can I make this on a rectangular sheet cake pan?
Hi Swat, see recipe notes for 9×13-inch instructions. Or, here is our handy cake pan sizes and conversions guide.
You say this recipe makes 6 cups of batter. Is this correct. Doesn’t seem like enough for 3 8″ pans.
Hi Rita, that is correct – this recipe (and the sour cream version) yields about 6 cups of batter. For a 3 layer cake, you’ll divide it between the 3 pans, using about 2 cups in each.
Hello Sally.
Can I bake this in a bundt pan?
Hi MamaD, See recipe notes for Bundt Cake details.
Quick question. Would this recipe be sturdy enough for a two tiered wedding cake with three layers per tier? Thanks!
Hi Bekah, 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.
very yummy and the first cake I have made.
I’ve made this recipe twice, the first time I followed the recipe as directed. I had some lumps of cocoa in the cake, so perhaps I didn’t whisk the dry mixture enough. (I understand whisking the sugar in the dry mix will assist incorporating the cocoa evenly, but I would recommend sifting the dry ingredients.) The second time I made this, I followed a more traditional method, creaming the sugar with the egg/oil/vanilla. I then alternated the dry ingredients with the buttermilk, then added the coffee last. Both results were about the same, although I ended up with a higher cake using the second method.
Help! This recipe went all over my oven! I used 2 – 9″ x 1.5″ round pans, filled 2/3 full, if that. I used water, not coffee and used no sour cream.
Hi Julia, the pans that we use are two inches high. Did you you all of the batter divided between two pans? If you’d like to try making this again in your shorter pans you can fill them only half way full and then use the extra batter to make a few cupcakes on the side. Thank you for trying this recipe!
Great recipe, very moist and super delicious,
Your recipes are always so delicous.
You explain everything so well and use ingredients that I always have. If using the espresso powder (I never have) is there alot of caffeine in it? I use hot coffee for several of my recipes but want to try this cake. i saw you use both the espresso powder and the coffee. Thank you!
Hi Donna, espresso powder typically has about 60mg of caffeine in 1 teaspoon. So if you use 2 teaspoons in it, that’s 120mg caffeine, or roughly 1 cup of coffee, divided among 12-16 slices of cake. And I always use decaf coffee for the brewed coffee–it makes no difference to the taste.
This cake is amazing! I used the recipe that included sour cream. Everyone loved it. I just took up baking about 6 months ago. Your site is awesome. Your recipes are great and the tips you offer have made baking a fun experience.