The Best Chocolate Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream
The Most Delicious Life-Changing Chocolate Cake – rich, moist, and decadent chocolate cake layers with a silky smooth chocolate buttercream.
The Best Chocolate Cake of Your Life
I don’t know how on earth I’ve gone six years without putting a basic chocolate cake recipe on my blog. I mean, I have these layers and this buttercream paired with SO many different cakes, but not the two of them together by themselves. Preposterous, I know! Well, the wait is finally over! I’m so excited to share with you The Most Delicious Chocolate Cake you’ll ever eat. Seriously! It’s that good that I’m making such a bold claim.
Plus, it’s an easy chocolate cake recipe. You can whip this up in no time!
Check out how moist these layers are! We have a combination of buttermilk, hot water (or you can use coffee), oil, and eggs to thank for that.
NOTE: The cake batter in this cake recipe is thinner than many of my other cake batters. Don’t let that scare you. It’s going to rise beautifully and taste incredible. Truly the best chocolate cake ever!
Dark Chocolate vs. Milk Chocolate
It’s important to note that this recipe uses dark chocolate for a reason. Because we’re adding cream, butter, and powdered sugar to the chocolate, the flavor gets diluted just a bit. If you use milk chocolate chips instead of dark chocolate chips, you’re going to lose a lot of the chocolate flavor. Additionally, the buttercream will simply taste overly sweet. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love all things sweet, but it’s important to have balance. The dark chocolate in the layers and the buttercream help provide a balance to the sweetness because dark cocoa is bittersweet. However, the cake and buttercream frosting don’t taste bittersweet because we’ve added other ingredients to them (i.e. sugar!).
So trust me on this one. Use dark chocolate!
What Dark Chocolate Should I Buy?
It’s important to use a good quality dark chocolate for the best-tasting results. I use and recommend either Callebaut Chocolate or Guittard Chocolate. You can find both at Orson Gygi or Guittard can be found at most grocery stores.
How to Make Cake
When making the cake layers, don’t forget to follow my go-to tips for getting your cakes to rise and bake well:
- Preheat your oven for 30 minutes prior to baking.
- Use good quality pans like Fat Daddio.
- Spray your pans with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper.
- Don’t overmix your cake batter once you add the dry ingredients.
- Use room temperature wet ingredients.
- Use fresh baking powder.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it
I also shared the baking process on my Instagram the other day. Click the icon below to check it out.
Best Chocolate Buttercream
I’m making a lot of big claims today, I know. But friends, I stand by them! This is the most delicious chocolate cake and this is THE BEST chocolate buttercream. You’ll be using 10 ounces of dark chocolate, some heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar (sifted, of course), vanilla and salt. I have some tips below for making the best buttercream frosting, plus, you’ll want to click the Instagram icon below to see how I make it.
How to Make the Best Buttercream Frosting
To get this silky smooth buttercream, make sure you follow my tips: HOW TO MAKE THE BEST BUTTERCREAM
- Sift your powdered sugar
- Use slightly cold butter
- Use heavy whipping cream
- Beat for 5 minutes
- Stir by hand
You’ll want to check out the post linked above for more details on each step to make sure you get the best buttercream frosting. And remember, these steps can be used for any buttercream recipe on my blog.
IMPORTANT For chocolate buttercream specifically, remember to heat the cream and chocolate together first. You’ll then stir the mixture until it becomes a smooth ganache. Once the ganache has cooled slightly, you’ll add the mixture to the butter and continue making the buttercream according to instructions.
Other Cake Recipes You’ll Love
- Ultimate S’mores Cake
- Almond Joy Cake
- Chocolate Coconut Cake
- German Chocolate Cake
- Easy and Delicious Chocolate Sour Cream Cake
The Most Delicious Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cups (88.5 g) dark cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon (3 g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (5.6 g) salt
- 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk at room temperature
- 1 cup (236.6 g) hot water
- 1/2 cup (109 g) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- 1/3 cup ( 77 g) heavy whipping cream
- 10 oz. dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter slightly chilled
- 5 cups (625 g) powdered sugar measured then sifted
- 1 tablespoon (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping you’ll want to make an extra ½ batch.
Instructions
FOR THE CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, line with parchment paper, and spray again. Set aside.
- Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.
- In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, water, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumsb on it.
- Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to use.
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat the chocolate chips and the cream for about one minute. Stir until mixture is smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for about 2 minutes on medium-high speed.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the ganache. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and then mix on medium-high speed for about a minute, until the mixture is smooth.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, followed by the vanilla and salt.
- Buttercream can be store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week.
- When you’re ready to frost the cake, bring the frosting back to room temperature and mix by hand with a wooden spoon to push out all of the air pockets.
ASSEMBLY
- Place the first cake layer, top side up, in the center of a cake board or cake stand.
- Evenly spread 1 cup of buttercream over the cake layer.
- Place second cake layer, top side down, on top of the buttercream.
- Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of buttercream. Freeze the cake for 10 to 15 minutes to set the crumb coat.
- Once the crumb coat is set, finish frosting the cake with the remaining buttercream.
I’ve made several of your cakes, they are always a hit, and get requests for more! I turned this chocolate cake into a golf course cake, it was a hole in one! Thank You for all the wonderful recipes and tips!!
So happy you love it!
This cake was one of the best things I have ever eaten! Mine was not as pretty as yours so no picture, but it was so delicious. I used Ghirardelli 70% cocoa chocolate chips and they worked perfectly. I only used 3 cups of powder sugar in the icing and that was plenty. This has spoiled me for all other chocolate cakes. I did a happy dance when I tasted it.
Yay! So happy you loved it!
Hi, Courtney! If I wanted to make this for a 6 inch cake instead of an 8 inch, would I need to cut the recipe in half? Thanks so much!
Yes, if you only want two, 6-inch cake rounds. Otherwise, a full recipe is enough for four 6-inch cake rounds.
4 6 inch rounds or 3? I usually see cake recipes as 3 6 inch or 2 8 inch, so just clarifying since yours is written as 2 8 inch. Also can this convert to cupcakes or a sheet cake?
This one is 2- 8 inch. Yes can be cupcakes.
Made this cake today for father in law’s birthday. The house smelled wonderful while it was baking and everyone LOVED it! Especially the birthday boy. 🙂 Is this ok to stay on the counter while we enjoy it over the next couple days or should in go in the fridge?
So happy you loved it! It can be stored at room temperature for a day, if covered and it’s not warm inside. But since there’s cream in the buttercream, it’s best stored in a cool place. I like freezing my cakes to keep them fresh. the fridge works well for about a day of storage and then it seems to dry it out.
Hi Courtney, I love all your recipes! I need to make chocolate cupcakes for a wedding, will this recipe work where the batter is so thin?
Thanks,
Helen
Yeah I think so
This cake is truly the best chocolate frosted cake! So moist and delicious! An added bonus was finally using your pink piping bags! They are awesome and so easy to clean!
Hi Courtney,
My daughter loves and asks for your Black and White cake every year for her birthday. How does this differ from the Black and White cake?
Thanks!
Susan
This is my go-to chocolate cake recipe; always a crowd-pleaser! I’m curious if you’ve ever tried making it with cup-4-cup gluten free flour like your vanilla cake? I want to attempt it for a friend’s birthday and would love to know if you’ve had any experience making it gluten-free.
Yes, works wonderfully!
So excited to make this! Is there a way to alter this to be a 3-tier cake?
You could 1.5 the recipe.
If I can’t get my hands on buttermilk, can I use sour milk (as in homemade buttermilk- milk with vinegar)?
And does the type of cocoa powder matter here- unprocessed or Dutch processed?
Thanks!
Yes you can!
The marble cake recipe you posted a while ago is my favorite cake. Could you post the recipe again?
It is being updated and needs to be reposted. You can email me at [email protected] to get the recipe
How much chocolate should I use when making WHITE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM
https://cakebycourtney.com/white-chocolate-cranberry-cake/ here is a link for my white chocolate buttercream recipe.
Hi! If I want to make just a one tier 8inch cake, should I cut the recipe in half?
Yes
Absolutely love this recipe! Is it really supposed to be just 2 layers? It seems like a lot of batter for just 2 pans! Wondering if it’s a misprint because all of your other recipes that I’ve tried are made for 3 layer 8” cakes.
this one is but you could 1.5x the recipe for 3 layers.
Will this recipe work well for cupcakes?
Yes!
Do you have any recommendations on bake time or would it be the same?
Really excited to make this cake. I just noticed that this one is essentially the same as your high altitude cake, but has 2 T more flour, 2 T less sugar and a bake temp of 325 vs. 360. I was curious in particular about the temperature difference and how that impacts the final result. I did notice you have this one in two 8 inch pans vs three 8 inch pans and was wondering if the lower temperature is related to the increased thickness in batter? Would love to hear your thoughts!
I’ve improved that high altitude cake even more since living in Utah for almost 9 years. Use this. The lower temp helps prevent the cake from having a dome. You can use three pans or two pans, totally your preference for layers. If you use three pans, reduce the bake time to 20-22 minutes.
Excited to try ur recipes
Very moist and was a hit but I think I used cheap cocoa (I live in Cape Town so the brands are different). So I’m retrying with a nicer to see if I get even yummier results. Quick q: how many servings are your cakes? In doing this one in 6 inch tins this time and not sure how many it will serve
Looks yummy! Going to make this for my 7 year olds birthday party! But I’ll be using x2 6inch cake tins. Would I just need to use 1 egg for this? And then half the rest of the ingredients is that right?
When I half a recipe and there’s an odd number of eggs, I suggest rounding up. So in this case, use 2 pans.