Chocolate Layer Cake
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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).
See Also:
- Layered with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream this vanilla sponge cake is a beautiful cake to make any time of year!
- If you’re looking for a showstopping cake, this Milk Bar cake is the perfect dessert to make for a birthday!
- Calling all peanut butter lovers with this super easy peanut butter cream cheese frosting to use on all your favorite cake recipes!
- This easy vanilla cupcake recipe uses melted butter so it comes together in minutes and no mixer is needed!
- When it’s summertime then you have to make these S’mores cupcakes with toasted meringue frosting and graham cracker bottom!
- Get a mixing bowl and make the easiest cake ever! This Tornado cake recipe (aka do nothing cake) made with crushed pineapple, coconut, and pecans!
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.
Heather’s Baking Tip
Be sure to measure your flour correctly. I recommend measuring by weight for best accuracy. But if measuring by volume, then be sure to spoon the flour into your cup and level it off. Do NOT pack it down or shake the cup which will cause more flour to settle into the cup.
Combine wet ingredients.
In a second mixing bowl whisk together oil, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and sour cream.
Heather’s Baking Tip
You want room temperature ingredients so your ingredients blend together easily and create a smooth batter. For the eggs, I place mine in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before baking and they are ready to go!
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,
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the heavy cream, and vanilla. Beat to combine on low speed.
- 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
Store the cake in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 5 days.
Yes you can divide the cake batter between 3 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans.
Yes you can bake the cake into a 9×13 pan or into a bundt pan. The baking times will increase. For the 9×13 baking pan, the cake will bake for about 35-40 minutes, and the bundt pan will take about 50-60 minutes.
I haven’t tried, but if you want to try I would fill the cupcake tins about 2/3 full and bake about 18-20 minutes. Or try my Easy Chocolate Cupcake recipe!
Yes you can freeze the baked chocolate layers after they have cooled. Wrap completely in plastic wrap and then again in tin-foil
More Cake Recipes To Try
If you love making layer cakes, then you have to try some of my other favorite recipes! Like my Chantilly cake (better than Whole Foods!) with lots of sweet berries. Or my Funfetti cake that is loaded with sprinkles and perfect for a birthday party.
And don’t forget to also try my perfect vanilla cake!
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Chocolate Layer Cake Recipe
Equipment
- Cake Pans
Ingredients
For the chocolate cake:
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour * spooned and leveled
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (419 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (63 g) Dutch processed cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (180 mL) vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup (57 g) sour cream
- 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) boiling water
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
For the chocolate buttercream frosting:
- 2 ½ cups (5 sticks, 565 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 5 cups (565 g) powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (126 g) cocoa powder
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the chocolate cake:
- Preheat and prepare the pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line the bottom of two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Combine wet ingredients. In a second mixing bowl whisk together oil, vanilla, eggs, and sour cream.
- Add dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture just until incorporated.
- Add espresso/hot water. Stir the espresso powder into the boiling water. Carefully stir in the boiling water into the chocolate batter.
- Bake. Divide batter between the two pans. 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.
Make the chocolate buttercream frosting:
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the heavy cream, and vanilla. Beat to combine on low speed.
- 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.
- Frost cake. When cakes are cooled, frost the cake. If cakes are domed on top, use a serrated knife and cut the tops off. Place one layer onto cake serving platter. Frost the layer with an offset spatula. Top with second layer. Frost top and sides of cake.
Video
Notes
- Storage: Store the cake in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 5 days.
- Three layer cake: Yes you can divide the cake batter between 3 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans.
- Different pans: Yes you can bake the cake into a 9×13 pan or into a bundt pan. The baking times will increase. For the 9×13 baking pan, the cake will bake for about 35-40 minutes, and the bundt pan will take about 50-60 minutes.
- Cupcakes: I haven’t tried, but if you want to try I would fill the cupcake tins about 2/3 full and bake about 18-20 minutes. Or try my Easy Chocolate Cupcake recipe!
- Freezing: Yes you can freeze the baked chocolate layers after they have cooled. Wrap completely in plastic wrap and then again in tin-foil
Is the cake batter suppose to be very liquidy after adding the boiling water?
Hi Mackenzie, yes, batter will be thin!
This was really yummy, I’ll be making it again soon! Thank you!
So glad to hear that you enjoyed it, thank you!
How many layers will this make in 9×13 pan?
This will fill one 9×13 pan.
your post is great
How amazing this chocolate layer cake, the addition of sour cream makes all the difference! Turned out so good and vanished in no time 🙂
The sour cream keeps the cake from drying out. I’m glad you and those you shared it with enjoyed the recipe!
This is the best looking chocolate cake I have ever seen and I am so excited to try this out over the weekend! Thank you for sharing this recipe it looks amazing!
It’s my pleasure. I hope you love it!
OMG, I really need this right now with a glass of cold milk! It looks so moist and that frosting amazing. Yum!😋🥰
Yes, a glass of ice-cold milk is most def needed!
The sour cream and Dutch processed cocoa make such a difference! This is such a delicious, indulgent chocolate cake!
I truly appreciate that this cake didn’t require a mixer! It was wonderful.
If I can avoid dirtying up any equipment, that’s what I’ll do. 😆
This classic chocolate layer cake recipe is a must make! My daughter asked for a chocolate cake for her birthday party and this recipe was easy to follow and came out perfectly.
How wonderful! Happy Birthday to your daughter! I hope you can make the Chocolate Layer Cake again and again for all your family celebrations.
I am not the biggest chocolate fan but oh my god this cake looks incredible! Your photography is impeccable I love the photos.
Thank you! ❤️
Chocolate cake is a family favorite and this is an easy recipe. I love adding the espresso for that boost of chocolate flavor. Love the creamy buttercream frosting for complete chocolate on chocolate cake.
The espresso really enhances the flavor of the chocolate, doesn’t it?
This chocolate cake was delicious! And I love the buttercream frosting. It was so rich and creamy.
Is the frosting recipe here a single batch? You mentioned you double it, so 5 cups of butter?? Or is it already doubled as written?
Looking forward to making this chocolatey goodness!
The recipe is written as the double batch that I used. So it’s 5 sticks of butter or 2 1/2 cups 🙂 let me know how it turns out!
I do love lots of chocolate lovers in the family. This is the perfect celebration cake for them. I know I will be making this for my daughter in July. Thanks for the recipe.