Chocolate Layer Cake

A simple chocolate cake recipe frosted with a easy dreamy homemade chocolate buttercream frosting. This chocolate cake recipe comes together quickly and doesn’t require an electric mixer for the batter!

If you asked me as a kid what I wanted for my birthday it was chocolate cake ALL the way. Do not bring me a vanilla layer cake with chocolate frosting, or slather vanilla buttercream frosting on top of a chocolate cake. It had to be chocolate on chocolate please.

So yes I’m a bit particular about my chocolate layer cake. It has to be fudgy and full of chocolate flavor. No excuses. Do not bring me a dry lackluster chocolate cake, friend!

Of course as a kid I grew up with boxed cake mix, and those tubs of gross frosting. I wasn’t a huge fan and usually could be found tipping my cake slice over to ignore the frosting as I found it to be WAY too sweet. But this homemade chocolate layer cake recipe is everything I want in a chocolate cake, and the frosting I could eat with just a spoon (ok, maybe I have…don’t judge me).

What Makes This Chocolate Layer Cake The Best

• No mixer needed (for the cake part) – You will need one for the frosting, but the cake itself couldn’t be easier to mix up.
• Super Moist! – With boiling water, sour cream , and vegetable oil it makes for one moist cake.
• Lots of chocolate flavor – With cocoa powder, and espresso powder it makes for a rich, fudgy, chocolate-y cake that can’t be beat.

Ingredients Needed

• Flour
• Cocoa Powder – You want to use Dutch processed cocoa powder not natural unsweetened cocoa powder which will react differently with the baking soda and baking powder and cause a different rise in the cake. This cocoa powder is richer and more intense chocolate flavor than natural cocoa powder.
• Baking Soda
• Baking Powder
• Salt
• Vegetable Oil – I use either vegetable oil or canola oil when baking but any neutral-tasting oil will work.
• Granulated Sugar
• Vanilla Extract
• Eggs
• Sour Cream
• Boiling Water
• Espresso powder – This is an optional ingredient, but does enhance the flavor of the cocoa. You won’t taste it but it will just make your cake more “chocolate-y”.

How To Make Chocolate Layer Cake

Preheat and prepare the pan.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch cake pans. Set aside. 

Combine dry ingredients.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir in the salt.   

Combine wet ingredients.  

In a second mixing bowl whisk together oil, sugar, vanilla, eggs,  and sour cream. 

Add dry ingredients.

Using a rubber spatula, stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture just until incorporated. At this point, the cake batter will be VERY THICK like a brownie batter. It will thin out after you add the water.

Mix boiling water and espresso.

Stir together the espresso powder and boiling water in a measuring cup. You don’t have to add the espresso powder, but it will bring out the chocolate flavor of your cake. I highly recommend it!

Stir boiling water into cake batter.

Be sure to do this slowly so the hot water doesn’t splash out of the bowl. I start with my spatula at first so the batter is so thick, then switch to my whisk to get it smooth at the end.

Bake. Bake 30-35 minutes until the toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack to cool completely.

More Baking Tips

• Line the bottoms of your cake pans with parchment paper. I grease my cakes and line the bottom with parchment, and then grease again. This always ensures my cakes don’t stick.
• Freeze cake before frosting. After you leveled, it helps to frost a cold cake so the crumbs don’t get stuck in the frosting. So I recommend freezing your cake layers for 1 hour before frosting.
• Refrigerate before cutting. If you pop your cake in the fridge for about 30 minutes to an hour, you will get cleaner cuts when you go to slice your cake if the frosting has firmed up a bit.

Chocolate Buttercream

I made a double batch of my chocolate buttercream frosting. It’s super simple and creates a fudy, rich chocolate frosting. Here is what you’ll need:

• Unsalted Butter
• Confectioners Sugar
• Cocoa powder – You can use either unsweetened or Dutch process cocoa powder since this isn’t being baked. I still prefer Dutch process cocoa powder for a darker, more intense chocolate frosting.
• Heavy cream
• Vanilla extract

How To Make Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

This chocolate buttercream frosting is super easy to make! I make a double batch of my chocolate buttercream frosting recipe for this cake so there’s enough to frost this whole cake. I also love using Dutch process cocoa powder for a dark, rich frosting but natural cocoa powder also works,

1. Cream butter. In a bowl of your stand mixer, with paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes to soften. 
2. Add sugar. Add the confectioners sugar ½ cup at a time, with mixer on low, and beat to combine. Scraping down the bowl as needed.  
3. Add the heavy cream, and vanilla. Beat to combine on low speed. 
4. Add cocoa powder. Add cocoa powder, with  mixer on low speed, and beat to combine. Then increase the speed to medium-high speed and beat for 5-7 minutes until light and fluffy. Use immediately or store in a container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Re-whip again before using for spreadable consistency.

More Frosting Options

Of course you don’t have to frost this chocolate layer cake recipe with chocolate buttercream frosting! Here are some other wonderful options to frost your chocolate cake with.

• Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
• Chocolate Italian Buttercream
• Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
• The BEST Peanut Butter Frosting
• Caramel Buttercream
• Coconut Buttercream Frosting

Recipe FAQ’s

More Recipes To Try

• Vanilla Cake With Chocolate Frosting
• Homemade White Cake
• Homemade Funfetti Cake
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake