I have the most amazing chocolate cake recipe for you that is rich and moist and has absolutely the most incredible chocolate flavor.
Not only is the cake itself a mouthwatering creation, but the homemade chocolate cream cheese frosting we top it with is a creamy, one-of-a-kind icing. Get a glass of milk, and let’s make some dessert.
Best Chocolate Cake Recipe
It takes a lot of confidence in a recipe to believe you can call it the best. We have all of that confidence and more in this chocolate cake. When we say it’s the best we have ever made, we mean it! The bonus? It’s easy to make.
Chocolate Cake Ingredients
- Flour – All-Purpose flour is key to this cake. Cake flour is too fine and self-rising already has salt and baking powder.
- Sugar – A crucial part of any sweet treat!
- Cocoa Powder – Use unsweetened – we will add the sweetness in ourselves.
- Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt – These are the ingredients to help lift the cake.
- Eggs – One of our top baking hacks is to use room temperature eggs because they mix more evenly.
- Buttermilk
- Black Coffee – You can read more below about why this hidden ingredient is so essential.
- Vanilla – Real vanilla always has a superior taste to imitation vanilla, so try to use the real stuff if you can.
- Vegetable Oil – Some people like to substitute oil for butter, but for this recipe, stick with oil.
- Pans – 3 9″ round cake pans.
How To Make Chocolate Cake
- Pan prep. Preheat the oven to 350 , spray the pans and put a round piece of parchment paper on the bottom.
- Dry ingredients. Whisk together all your dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Mix. Add the five wet ingredients and use a mixer to beat them all together. (Note: this is a lot of batter! Because of that, you will need to scrape the sides and mix again at least a couple of times to make sure you’ve got everything combined.)
- Bake. Pour the batter evenly between the 3 cake pans and bake for about 25-30 minutes. To check their doneness, the cake should spring back when touched. Let the cakes cool and move onto making the frosting.
Why We Add Coffee To Chocolate Desserts
This cake recipe we’re so obsessed with has a secret ingredient: coffee. This may or may not be your first time adding coffee to a chocolate dessert. If it’s new to you, let me explain why.
First of all, if you are wondering if it makes your cake taste like coffee the answer is absolutely no. What it does do, is enhances the flavor of the chocolate. Plain and simple, your chocolate tastes more, well, chocolatey!
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
This is an icing recipe you may find yourself using over and over. It’s simple to make and is super creamy. Definitely hang onto this one!
- Unsalted Butter
- Cream Cheese (Give this plenty of time to rise to room temperature.)
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Vanilla
- Powdered Sugar
- Milk
To make this, use a mixer to cream together the cheese and butter. When those two ingredients are all mixed up, you can slowly add in the cocoa, vanilla and milk.
Slowly add in the powdered sugar next and when that is all mixed, add a tablespoon of milk at a time until it’s the thickness that you want. See? easy peasy!
Now that you’ve made it, I think you will agree with us that this is absolutely the best chocolate cake recipe. Come show us a photo of yours over on Facebook or tag us on Instagram.
More Desserts To Try Next
Swiss Cake Roll Cheesecake (No-Bake)
Best Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- 1 ½ cups black coffee
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature (I used an 8oz package)
- 1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 7 cups powdered sugar
- 4-6 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Cake Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly spray the sides of three 9 inch round pans, and place a round piece of parchment paper in the bottom of each pan. You can also lightly butter or grease and then flour each pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and powder, and salt until combined.
- Add in the eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil, and vanilla. Beat the ingredients until they are well combined, on medium speed.
- Evenly divide batter and pour into the prepared pans.
- Place the three pans in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cakes will be done when it springs back to the touch.
- Remove from the oven and let cool while you prepare the frosting.
Frosting Directions:
- In a large bowl, mix together the butter and cream cheese until it is smooth and creamy.
- Add in the cocoa powder, vanilla, and milk. Continue to beat until the ingredients form into a thick chocolate batter.
- Gradually add in the powdered sugar, allowing it to combine with the chocolate mixture.
- Add additional milk one tablespoon at a time, if the frosting is too thick to spread onto the cake.
Last Step:
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Notes
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