Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe
The only chocolate cake recipe you'll ever need!
Servings: 16 Slices
Calories: 380kcal
Equipment
- Stand/hand held mixer
- 3 9 inch Baking pans
- 2 Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups cocoa powder (I used special dark, unsweetened)
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs (large, room temperature)
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- 1 ½ cups warm water (mixed with 2 teaspoon instant coffee, optional, but highly recomended)
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsps pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Frosting
- 1 cup butter (softened to room temperature)
- 1 ⅓ cup cocoa powder (unsweetened, natural)
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- ⅔ cup milk
- 2 tsps pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans. Set them aside.
- Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl and set it aside too.
- In a stand mixer/hand held mixer using whisk attachment, mix eggs, buttermilk, warm water, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl. Add all the sifted dry ingredients into wet. Meanwhile add coffee into water and heat it for a minute.
- Beat on medium speed until the batter is well combined and smooth. Add hot coffee in the batter and give it a quick mix. Take care not to overmix it. Divide the batter amongst three pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Every oven is different. So I suggest to keep an close eye on your cakes after 30 minutes have passed. You don't want to serve a dry cake! Cakes are done baking as soon as they pass toothpick test.
- Cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes then turn out the cakes onto the racks and allow to cool completely.
- Layer and frost with your favorite frosting and enjoy!
For Chocolate Frosting
- Melt butter. Stir in sifted cocoa powder. Alternatingly add powdered sugar and milk and beat to a smooth, spreading consistency.
- Add a small amount of milk, if needed to reach desired consistency. Stir in vanilla.
Assembling and Frosting:
- If you notice a bulge on your cakes on top, slice a thin layer of that top off to obtain flat top cakes. This process is called as leveling the cakes. You can discard that thin layer or you can crumble it and use it decorate your cake.
- Now place one layer of cake over cake stand or any serving plate. Top with frosting and spread it evenly. Now place second layer of cake over the frosting. Repeat this step one more time. Once you have all the three cakes on stand, frost with remaining frosting on top and sides. Then use either a bench scraper or icing spatula to level the cake or create swirls. Pipe on top as desired and decorate with sprinkles if desired.
- Allow the cake to set in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes before slicing for neat slices. After 30 minutes either serve the cake or you can continue to refrigerator it for 4-5 hours before serving. Serve either cold or at room temperature.
Notes
Bake your cakes ahead of time:
The cake will stay fresh on counter for a 1-2 days however, if you want to store the cakes for later, it is best to cover them in plastic wrap and freeze them in freezer safe bags.
Coffee: The easiest way to accentuate chocolate flavor in a cake is to add instant coffee to it. Always opt for high quality cocoa and chocolate for best taste and flavor. Adding coffee is totally optional and is a personal preference though!
Buttermilk: Add a tablespoon of vinegar/lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Fill rest of the cup with whole milk till it reaches one cup measurement. You can easily substitute whole milk with 2% milk. But the cake won't bake as rich in that case.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 380kcal | Carbohydrates: 94g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 16g | Sodium: 263mg | Sugar: 84g