This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy.
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.
This is by far my favourite cake to make for birthdays and it turns out so well each and every time. I’ve made it my own now as I always reduce the sugar by 1/2 cup and it is still sweet enough for the ones that want a sweet cake and for those that don’t it is perfect. Delicious cake!
Han 20222 – I tried this as a gluten free option replacing flour with paleo flour exactly, adding in 2 tbsp hemp and 1 banana and the result was also amazing – crunchy on the outside and gooey in the middle – like a brownie would be.
So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much for stopping back and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
I have made this cake so many times but never commented on it, cakes, wedding cakes, cupcakes, sheet cakes. I just wanted to say thank you there is not one person that has had this that didn’t love it. Thank you for the best chocolate cake in the world.
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for stopping back and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
This is my go to chocolate cake recipe and everytime I make I always get asked for the recipe. I love how easy it is to achieve such greatness. Thank you for another fail proof recipe
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for stopping back and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
I’ve made this cake before in 8 inch round pans and it did fine. I made it today in a 13x2x9 pan and it sunk in the middle and didn’t bake properly??
Not good !
Sounds like it may not have baked long enough, Renee.
@Renee, That means that your cake flopped (I don’t know what the technical term is and that’s what my mother called it lol) the air bubbles in your cake popped and that’s why it didn’t rise like it should have. Usually a hard stomp or bumping the oven will do that.
I love your recipe
Thank you!
The smell of coffee gives me migraines, but I need a good chocolate cake recipe. Is there an alternative to the coffee?
@Samantha Hatfield, i use water to replace the coffee cuz i dont drink the stuff
Just made this, added walnuts,and frosted with your chocolate frosting, topped with fresh strawberries and walnuts….delicious
So happy to hear you enjoy the cake, Ellen! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback.
-Jamie
I am in love with this recipe. It’s never fail for me
So happy to hear you enjoy the recipe, Haleema!
Can you use a different type of oil other than vegetable? What about refined coconut or olive
I haven’t tried another oil, but if you do, please report back and let us know how it went!
-Jamie
This is my go to chocolate cake for when I want cake NOW.
It’s insanely easy to make and so very forgiving, even if you’re not the best baker. Or if you don’t have buttermilk (make sure you add something acidic to activate the baking soda), or don’t have eggs (apple sauce works fine). Or if you’re vegan, you can swap things without this cake loosing any of it’s flavour.
I’ve made it with as little as half the sugar in the recipe, and it still turned out great taste- and texture-wise (I prefer my sweets less sweet anyways).
Make sure you add the coffee (instant coffee and cold water works as well if you don’t want to wait for a hot cup to cool), it gives the chocolate an incredible pop.
I’ve baked it for too long once, and it was still very good, even if a tad crumbly. I’ve baked it slightly too short, and it was almost brownie-fudgy. And I’ve baked it for exactly the right time, and it was absolutely delicious.
I prefer to bake it in a small bundt cake pan and frost it with a yogurt-chocolate frosting, which adds a very complimentary tartness to the cake.
Honestly, this cake is THE BEST chocolate cake recipe on the internet, and I cannot be convinced otherwise.