I celebrated my 26th birthday this past weekend in our new town Fort Collins and wanted a dessert that was indulgent and familiar. Enter, chocolate cake! This chocolate cake is one for the books. It has a super light and moist crumb with hints of coffee and a salted chocolate buttercream of my dreams! 😍
Developing this recipe was a little tricky given the endless number of chocolate cake recipes out there. After a few test bakes, I leaned on the knowledge of a few favorite bloggers (Broma Bakery and Sally’s Baking Addiction). Their approaches to chocolate cakes had the perfect combination of texture and flavor that I look for in a chocolate cake. So I developed a recipe from their methods! Here’s the digest.
My ideal chocolate cake has…
- a light crumb – after testing three variations of cake textures (light, tight, fudgy), I landed on a cake recipe that results in a super light crumb. It pairs really nicely with the rich chocolate buttercream that is paired with it.
- super moist texture – no one likes dry cake, so ensuring this cake had good moisture was of utmost importance.
- rich, dark, and velvety buttercream – this cake is paired with an amazing chocolate buttercream that includes a touch of cream cheese for a subtle tang. I use salted butter in the frosting because I love how it balances out the super sweet buttercream!
Chocolate Cake Ingredients
- all-purpose flour – we use AP flour in this recipe instead of cake flour. When combined with ultra-light cocoa powder, AP will be strong enough to hold the structure of the cake. Otherwise, cake flour mixed with cocoa powder is way too fine.
- unsweetened natural cocoa powder – I use Ghiradelli 100% unsweetened natural cocoa powder in this recipe. If you’d like to use Dutch-process, I suggest only using half Dutch-process and half natural cocoa to minimize pH impact.
- espresso powder – coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate, so I have espresso powder in this recipe, but it is totally optional!
- buttermilk – because chocolate is a rich ingredient, it needs acidity from an ingredient like buttermilk. Buttermilk also contributes moisture to the cake. To make buttermilk at home, see the *Notes section at the end of the recipe box!
- hot coffee or hot water – hot liquids enhance the flavor of chocolate by allowing it to “bloom” and dissolve. I use hot coffee in this recipe since coffee also enhances flavor, but you could also use hot water, espresso, or even decaf.
- vegetable oil – because cocoa powder is particularly dry, we need to use oil instead of butter for this cake to ensure it has substantial moisture. You can also use melted coconut oil or canola instead of vegetable.
- eggs – we will need 2 room temperature eggs for this recipe. If you don’t have eggs just lying out at room temperature like me, warm it up really quick with this trick! Put eggs in a cup of hot water (not boiling) for about 5 minutes. The eggs will get to room temp super fast!
Super Moist Chocolate Birthday Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 8–12 servings 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Super moist and delicious chocolate cake recipe with salted chocolate buttercream. Hot brewed coffee in this cake brings out the best chocolate flavors. This recipe makes one 6″ 3-layer cake or a 9″ 2-layer cake. You could also bake into a 9″x13″ sheet cake. For best results, weigh the dry ingredients on a scale as volumetric measurements can vary widely and impact the final cake.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Chocolate Cake
- 3/4 cup (62 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder (optional)
- 1 cup (240 ml) strong hot coffee* (or espresso or hot water)
- 1 3/4 cups (219 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk*, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil (or canola or melted coconut oil)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Salted Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- 2 sticks (16 tbsp) salted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (2 tbsp) cream cheese (full fat), room temperature
- 3 cups (340 g) confectioner’s sugar, plus more if needed
- 3/4 cup (63 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup strong hot coffee (or espresso or milk if you don’t like coffee)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Baking the Cake
- Prep Pan + Preheat. Line baking pans with parchment paper, and spray with nonstick cooking spray to ensure easy release. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Pre-mix chocolate. In a medium bowl, combine 3/4 cup (62g) cocoa powder and 2 tsp espresso powder. While whisking, slowly pour 1/2 cup coffee into the bowl. When chocolate mixture is smooth, pour in the remaining 1/2 cup coffee. Let mixture cool for 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to ‘bloom’.
- Combine dry ingredients. Meanwhile, in a separate large bowl, whisk together 1 3/4 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.
- Combine wet ingredients. After the chocolate/coffee mixture has cooled, add 1 cup buttermilk, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup oil, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Whisk until well combined. Pour this wet mixture into bowl of the dry ingredients. Whisk until batter is fully incorporated – the final batter will be loose.
- Divide + Bake. Divide batter evenly among baking pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean since bake times can vary. Cool cakes completely on a wire rack before assembling.
Making the Buttercream
- Beat butter + cream cheese. Add 2 sticks room temp salted butter and 1/4 cup cream cheese to a stand mixer or bowl with a hand mixer. Mix until smooth and fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Add remaining ingredients. Sift 3 cups confectioner’s sugar and 3/4 cup cocoa powder to the bowl. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Start your mixer on low speed at first as dry ingredients come together, then slowly pour in coffee one tablespoon at a time until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated, up to 4 tablespoons or 1/4 cup. Then increase speed to medium-high and beat for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the frosting is silky smooth. Set aside.
- Assemble. When cake layers have cooled completely, frost the cake, and allow it to set for a few hours before slicing.
Notes
- *Coffee – if you don’t have brewed coffee, replace it with 1/4 cup warm milk and 2 tsp instant coffee powder or 1/4 cup warm milk or 1/4 cup hot water.
- *Buttermilk – if you don’t have buttermilk or just don’t want to buy it, you can make it at home using milk and vinegar or lemon juice! To make 1 cup of buttermilk for this recipe, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup. Then pour in milk until you have 1 cup of liquid. Voila, homemade buttermilk!
Keywords: birthday, chocolate, chocolate cake
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I found it printing and will give a try this weekend. Really looking forward to a moist chocolate cake recipe. Thank you for this