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The Best Chocolate Cake recipe combines cocoa and coffee to create a chocolate lover’s dream. Add your favorite buttercream frosting to make it perfect! Keep reading to find out why coffee, buttermilk, and oil play important roles in this chocolate cake recipe.
We’re a family that loves to double down on chocolate. Peanut butter is a favorite, too, and my No Bake Cookies combine both with oatmeal.
And when birthdays roll around, I always feel like I really need cake. Deep, dark, chocolate cake. The best chocolate cake.
For birthdays, we have to do it up right by making my version of cake bliss.
But, as you may have caught on at some point by reading MBA, I like to do things in excess – you know a little mound of frosting will never do in this household.
I need to swirl a pile of it on top, and then top it off with ganache just for the fun of it. So when I organize birthday parties – I of course go a little overboard.
Is there any other way to be? Not if you’re Jamie.
THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE WITH COFFEE
This cake is dark, moist, rich and incredibly decadent. Seriously, it’s the best chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted.
A little bit of coffee blends amazingly well with the cocoa to create the most intense and delicious chocolate cake that you’ll ever taste.
Don’t freak out if you don’t like the taste of coffee. You actually can’t taste it in this cake!
Coffee simply enhances the flavor of chocolate. In this cake, it deepens that rich, chocolatey flavor.
If you are really opposed to using coffee, you can swap it out for water.
You can also use espresso powder – use a teaspoon of espresso powder along with 1 cup of water in place of the 1 cup of coffee.
USE OIL AND BUTTERMILK FOR A MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE
Buttermilk plays two important roles in making the best chocolate cake.
In addition to adding an ever-so-subtle tang, the acid in the buttermilk helps keep this cake incredibly tender and makes for a moist chocolate cake recipe.
If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, simply use this buttermilk substitute and you’re golden!
This cake also uses oil instead of butter. While butter provides a lot of flavor in recipes such as 7UP Pound Cake and Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes, oil gives cakes a lovely, light texture.
Since the combo of unsweetened cocoa powder and Dutch-process cocoa give this cake so much chocolatey flavor, we don’t necessarily need the flavor of the butter to compete or overpower the chocolate.
Cocoa can also easily dry out cakes, so using a neutral-flavored oil in combination with the buttermilk makes sure both the chocolate flavor and moist texture of this cake really sing.
HOW MUCH CAKE DOES THIS RECIPE MAKE?
I most often make this recipe into a double-layered cake using two 9-inch cake pans. Occasionally I will bake it into a sheet cake in a 13×9-inch pan.
You can also bake it into chocolate cupcakes, though! You can get anywhere from 24-36 cupcakes, depending on how full you fill the tins. You’ll want to bake the cupcakes for 20-30 minutes.
I have even used this recipe to make a bundt cake. When using a bundt cake pan, I bake it between 35-40 minutes.
You might be wondering if you can bake this in 8-inch cake pans instead of 9-inch cake pans. Yes, you can, but you may have a little bit of batter leftover. Just be sure to start checking for doneness a tiny bit earlier than noted in the recipe card.
HOW TO TOP MY FAVORITE CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE
What’s a cake without some frosting?
My homemade buttercream frosting is a delicious way to top the best chocolate cake.
Rich chocolate cake paired with sweet vanilla buttercream? Sign me up.
If you are a true chocolate fanatic and want double the chocolate, I would go for chocolate buttercream frosting instead.
If you really want to play up the coffee angle, why not try using a coffee buttercream?
And who doesn’t love chocolate and strawberries together? Top your chocolate cake with sweet strawberry frosting for a play on chocolate covered strawberries!
I have even paired this cake recipe with chocolate ganache and salted caramel to make a Double Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake.
DOES HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CAKE NEED TO BE REFRIGERATED?
Can you store your chocolate cake at room temperature or does it need to be refrigerated?
The answer depends on how long you want to keep it and what kind of frosting you used.
Unfrosted cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. To make it last longer, you can tightly wrap and refrigerate the cake for up to a week or even freeze it for a few months.
Chilled cake is actually a bit easier to decorate, so a lot of cake decorators prefer to work with cold cake instead of cake that is fresh from the oven.
If you frosted your cake with buttercream, it can be stored safely at room temperature for up to 2 days. Store in the refrigerator if you want it to last longer, up to 5 days.
If you used cream cheese frosting, the cake must be stored in the refrigerator and will keep for up to 3 days.
I don’t recommend freezing frosted cakes.
And remember, frosted cakes are their best the first day or two. After that, the texture won’t be quite the same.
Here’s a little storage cheat sheet for you:
Unfrosted cake:
- Room temperature: Up to 3 days
- Refrigerator: Up to 1 week
- Freezer: Up to 3 months
Cake frosted with buttercream:
- Room temperature: Up to 2 days
- Refrigerator: Up to 5 days
Cake frosted with cream cheese frosting:
- Refrigerator: Up to 3 days
No matter how you frost and decorate it, the best chocolate cake is the perfect sort of cake for a birthday or just a Tuesday. Make sure to enjoy it with a very large glass of ice-cold milk – or coffee!
The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa optional
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup strong black coffee
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Frosting of choice, such as:
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa(s), baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix on low until dry ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for about two minutes; the batter will be thin.
- Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
- Frost as desired.
Video
Notes
- The Dutch process cocoa is optional – it simply provides a great depth of flavor and color to the chocolate cake.
- This cake also pairs beautifully with a simple chocolate ganache.
- The coffee really brings out the depth of the chocolate (you won’t even taste the coffee at all!), but if you really don’t want to use it, feel free to substitute water.
- For an egg substitute, simply add one mashed banana or 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce for each egg.
- This recipe will make about 24 to 36 cupcakes. Bake at 350 degrees between 20 and 30 minutes.
- You can also make a bundt cake with this recipe. The cake should bake for about 35 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Get tips on high altitude baking.
- Very slightly adapted from Ina Garten
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh my, Jamie! I’ve been happily baking cakes since, at the age of 12, my dad, having enjoyed a cake I made, pronounced me the official cake-baker of the family. (Not sure how that made my mom feel, but it made my heart soar.) I am now 65. I’ve baked a LOT of cakes, and with 3 chocholics in the family, a great many of them have been chocolate. THIS cake is hands down the very best chocolate cake I’ve ever made, or eaten, for that matter. I don’t have the black cocoa, so I just used an additional 2 tablespoons of good old Hershey’s cocoa. 3 days later, it’s still very moist and has great chocolate flavor. Thanks! Throwing away all my other chocolate cake recipes.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the cake, Laura! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
I have never ever done this.. but; i had to. So, i have been looking for a great chocolate cake recipe for ages. I went through everything.. the only one that i fell in love with was the Nigella Lawson Devil’s food cake.. Until now. I just made this recipe into 24 cupcakes.. i regret it now.. i want the full cake. I am going to make it tomorrow. I used the black cocoa.. sooooooo good.. i cant even explain how good. Thanks!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the cake, Serene! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
I am wondering how much expresso powder would use in place of a strong cup of coffee and would you add water to the expresso powder.
Hi Letosha – You will definitely want the liquid, so I would follow the instructions on your espresso powder to determine how much they would recommend using per cup of water. Hope this helps!
Jamie
Jamie love your site and after reading some of the questions I will be nice and say this ”
U can’t fix stupid”. Some of these questions r a hoot. One time I lost my temper and said If u can’t do something so simple ,maybe u need to stay outta the kitchen”. Yep I did it. It was me and not a word do I regret. Needless to say I was asked to leave.
Questions: Would this recipe be considered “savory”? I need to make a huge 1/2 sheet Chocolate cake. Would this recipe work for that?
Hi Robin – This is definitely a rich, sweet cake. I have not baked this recipe in a half sheet pan, so I’m not sure of the result. If you happen to try it, I’d love to know how it turns out. Happy baking!
Jamie
Can you recommend which cocoa powder to use?? I would love to try this recipe
Hi Jennifer – I like King Arthur’s black cocoa, linked above. For the unsweetened cocoa, you can use any brand. Hope this helps!
Jamie
Jennifer, I use Droste Dutch Cocoa. It’s expensive, but worth every penny. In combination with the King Arthur Black Cocoa in this recipe, it is heavenly.
So much chocolate flavor in this cake! I could eat the whole thing!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Christin! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
Help! I’ve made this cake several times now. I love the flavor and get rave reviews, but I have the darndest time getting it out of the pan. It sticks no matter what I do. I have tried cake release, crisco/flour, cake/flour + parchment and cake release + parchment. It doesn’t want to come out of the pan. I’ve waited 5 minutes and 10 minutes for it to cool. Do you have any suggestions?
Hi Kim – How old are your pans? Sometimes I find that if a pan is really old, everything sticks no matter what I do. I could also try letting the cakes cool longer in the pans; sometimes it is easier to remove them once they are cooler. Hope this helps!
Jamie
Wow, this is truly a dream come true cake! So easy and delicious!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Diane! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
It look’s yummy ,thanx for the recipes what’s
can you tell me what the different betwen butter milk and fresh milk ?????
Hello! Buttermilk is much more acidic than regular milk, which adds both tang to baked goods and helps keep them tender and makes them rise. You can make an easy buttermilk substitute using this method: https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/buttermilk-substitute/
Hope this helps!
Jamie