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The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe
Learn how to make the best chocolate cake ever! This chocolate cake recipe makes soft, moist and super rich cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting. This cake is ultimate for parties, birthdays and holidays. This recipe is very easy to make, you need only two bowls and 2 cake pans, even if you are not an experienced baker, you can make this cake.
The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe
4.50 from 124 votes
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Prep Time 2 hours hrs
WORK TIME 20 minutes mins
DIFFICULTY Medium
Cuisine World
Servings 12 yields
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1¾ cups 220g Flour
- ¾ cup 75g Cocoa powder
- 1½ teaspoons Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1¾ cups 350g Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 2 Eggs
- 1 cup 240ml Buttermilk
- ½ cup 120ml Vegetable oil
- 1 cup 240ml Coffee
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- ¾ cup 175g Butter, softened
- 1½ cups 335g Cream cheese, room temperature
- ⅔ cup 67g Cocoa powder
- 1½ cups + 2 tbsps. 200g Powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
- DIRECTIONS
- Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180C˚). Butter two 8-inch (20cm) cake pans and line the bottoms with a parchment paper, grease the sides. Lightly dust with cocoa powder. Set aside.
- To a large bowl add flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir well and set aside.
- In a separate bowl mix buttermilk, coffee (or water), eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry, whisk until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into prepared pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
- Make the frosting: in a large bowl beat butter until light and fluffy. Add cream cheese and beat until combined and smooth. Add cocoa powder vanilla extract and salt. Beat until combined. gradually add powdered sugar, beat on low speed until combined and creamy.
- Transfer the frosting into a piping bag. Cut the top of the cakes.
- Place one cake layer with flat side down. Spread a layer of frosting, place the second layer of cake on top of the frosting, flat side up. Spread evenly the frosting on top and sides of the cake.
- Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before serving.
- Use good quality cocoa powder
- You can bake both pans at the same time. My oven is too small, so I baked it separately.
- If you don’t have buttermilk you can make homemade buttermilk: whisk 1 tablespoon of vinegar/lemon juice with 1 cup of milk and let sit for 10 minutes.
Can you use milk instead of buttermilk!?
Please read recipe notes.
Thanks for the response, but I want to know if I can substitute milk instead of buttermilk or homemade buttermilk, just simple milk!
No
No, what?!
that wat i thought
Hi ! I love this recipe but I just wanted to ask, does it matter if the coffee is hot or cold?
Hi, no. Use warn or cold coffee, but not boiling.
Is there something i can use as a substitute for cream cheese in frosting?
Hi! I also have a small oven and i was wondering what to do with the other cake batter while the first one’s baking? Do i cover it or refrigerate it?Thanks 🙂
Hi, you don’t need to cover the batter. let it sit while you baking the first cake.
Hi. Did you used dutch processed cocoa or natural?
Hi How Can I Make 1 Layer Cake.
How To Manage The Ingredients???
Hi,
Just cut the ingredients in half.
This is the second time this week that I have cooked your cake.
I must say that it is an outstanding recipe.
So moist and full of chocolate flavour.
Thank you for such a lovely recipe and also the chocolate icing is to die for.
Is it okay if you don’t skip coffee?
I made this cake for my dad’s birthday (which was yesterday 🙂 and it is an amazing recipe! We all loved it…it’s moist, full of flavour and absolutely delicious!!! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!!!
Is there any substitute for creame cheese?
Hi! what if I bake the entire cake in one tin……………….? How long shall I Bake it?
I don’t understand how a recipe with that much liquid inside is ever going to become solid… For me it was a complete flop, and I didn’t even use all of the coffee 😅
In defense of the recipe, I did add the coffee while slightly hot, which was not so smart in retrospect as it might have killed the eggs.
да ,аз увеличих брашното с 1 чаша и се получи,другото ,което промених е формата за печене с по-голям диаметър
how many teaspoons of coffee do you add to this cake recipe
1-2 teaspoons
Thank you. Would that be 2 large eggs for the recipe?
What is the size of the pans?
Did you use dutch processed cocoa or natural??
I used natural cocoa powder
Hi. I love this recipe! How many days does this cake stay moist for please? Thank you so much. Jay
Thanks! About 4-5 days if you keep it covered in the fridge.
Hi! should my buttermilk be room temperature or cold? Also did you use medium eggs or large ones?
Can I reduce the amount of sugar in both the cake and frosting? Will it reduce the consistency?
Should we use salted or unsalted butter?
regarding cocoa powder do you use , Dutch process or regular and sweetened or unseewetend?