I’ve been making a lot of cakes and desserts using fresh fruit. There has been quite a bounty at the market, and I love a seasonal treat. That being said, I heard the siren’s song of chocolate calling my name. At first, it was a whisper, then it became more of a drum beat; urging me to make the most decadent dessert possible!
I don’t use the term ultimate lightly so if you are a chocolate lover I HIGHLY encourage you to make this cake!!
For those of you who have not been exposed to these little delights, they’re pure, unprocessed chocolate aka they’re very crunchy and chocolatey (vaguely bitter). They contrast the buttercream nicely and prevent the cake from cloying.
A Few Tips and Pointers
- If you find cake decorating to be a bit intimidating then check out my How to Decorate a Cake post, it has lots of helpful tips and a full how to video.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set on the shop page or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
- The batter is very liquidy so while it will be AMAZINGLY MOIST the cook time will be longer than your average chocolate cake.
Ingredient Substitutions
- If you are not a coffee fan then sub in milk, or water. The coffee, which you really don’t taste, helps bring the chocolate taste out but I know lots of people either can’t stand it or have dietary restrictions.
- If you don’t have sour cream handy then plain whole milk yogurt will work just fine!
- Buttermilk can be annoying to keep on hand as it expires quickly and most recipes use very little. I often use powdered buttermilk reconstituted with water or add a tablespoon of lemon juice into some whole milk to curdle it.
- I’m OBSESSED with cacao nibs but you can totally skip them, or sub in chopped nuts. Use your favorite and never forget to toast them!!
On a personal note — I have to share that my husband and I ate EVERY PIECE OF THIS CAKE and have NO REGRETS! Let me know if you have as much difficulty keeping your hands off this cake as we did!
Steps to Make this Chocolate Cake
- Butter and flour three 8-inch cake pans. I highly recommend using cake strips for a more even bake. Sift together the dry ingredients (including the sugar) into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together.
- Add the wet ingredients the dry ingredients. Whisk to combine then mix on level 2 for two minutes. Distribute batter evenly to the three pans and bake for about 35-40 minutes at 350F or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I recommend rotating the pans halfway through the bake. Allow time to cool for 10 minutes then invert onto wire racks to cool fully.
- In a small bowl combine the semi-sweet chocolate with 2 tbs of cream then microwave for 40 secs on half power. Stir to combine then set aside. Whip the butter for about 5 minutes using a paddle attachment (in a stand-up mixer). Beat in the confectioner’s sugar slowly. Add the cream.
- Slowly mix in the ¼ cup of cocoa powder. Add the salt, as well. You may add the optional vanilla and espresso at this step. Mix until you have a fluffy, even consistency. Beat in the melted and cooled chocolate ganache.
- Pipe chocolate buttercream between each layer.
- Pipe the buttercream on the outside of the cake. Smooth with a bench scraper and offset spatula.
- Press cocoa nibs to the bottom of the cake (or the entire side, if desired).
- Use an 869 tip to pipe dollops on top.
If you’ve tried this recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Best Chocolate Cake
Simply the best chocolate cake I've ever had. Rich, ultra moist, fluffy and that chocolate buttercream is just divine!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1/2 cup sour cream (120mL)
- 1 cup buttermilk (236mL)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cup strong hot coffee (355mL) (Use a Moka pot so it's basically espresso)
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil (177mL)
- 1 tbs vanilla extract (13mL)
- 3 cup all-purpose flour (360g)
- 2 2/3 cup granulated sugar (533g)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (50g)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder (4.8g)
- 1 tbs baking soda (14.3g)
- 1 tsp kosher salt (5.7g)
For the Chocolate Buttercream:
- 1 1/2 lb confectioner's sugar
- 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter (338g) room temperature
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (60mL)
- 1/4 cup Cocoa powder (25g)
- 1 tsp vanilla (5mL) optional
- 1 tsp espresso (5ml) optional
- 1/4 tsp salt (1.5g)
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate (60mL)
For the Decoration:
- 1/4 cup cacao nibs (about 60 grams)
Instructions
For the Cake:
Butter and flour 3 eight inch cake pans. I highly recommend using cake strips for a more even bake.
Sift together the dry ingredients (including the sugar) into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk to combine.
Add the wet ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together.
Add the wet ingredients the dry ingredients.
Whisk to combine then mix on level 2 for two minutes.
Distribute batter evenly to the three pans and bake for about 35-40 minutes at 350F (176C) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I recommend rotating the pans halfway through the bake.
Allow time to cool for 10 minutes then invert onto wire racks to cool fully.
For the Chocolate Buttercream:
In a small bowl combine the semi-sweet chocolate with 2 tbs of cream then microwave for 40 secs on half power. Stir to combine then set aside.
Whip the butter for about 5 minutes using a paddle attachment (in a stand-up mixer).
Beat in the confectioner’s sugar slowly.
Add the cream.
Slowly mix in the ¼ cup of cocoa powder. Add the salt, as well.
You may add the optional vanilla and espresso at this step.
Mix until you have a fluffy, even consistency.
Beat in the melted and cooled chocolate ganache.
For the Assembly:
Pipe chocolate buttercream between each layer.
Pipe the buttercream on the outside of the cake. Smooth with a bench scraper and offset spatula.
Add a smooth coat of chocolate buttercream to the surface of the cake.
Use an 869 tip to pipe dollops on top.
Press cocoa nibs to the bottom of the cake (or the entire side, if desired).
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- If you find cake decorating to be a bit intimidating then check out my How to Decorate a Cake post, it has lots of helpful tips and a full how to video.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set on the shop page or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
- The batter is very liquidy so while it will be AMAZINGLY MOIST the cook time will be longer than your average chocolate cake.
If you love this recipe try these out!
Lemon Lavender Poppy Seed Pound Cake
Made this cake for a 4th of July where they asked for a “fudge cake”. I didn’t know what that meant so I made this cake and filled it with a dark chocolate buttercream. I got the cake to turn even darker by using Hershey Special Dark Cocoa. I really do like this cake. It has a moist crumb, nice chocolate flavor to it. I am still searching for a chocolate cake that uses butter not oil and that isn’t dry. But for now I’m going to use this recipe for my chocolate cake. I have a tiered cake end of July that I will use this cake as the 1/2 sheet base cake with three tiers of your Elderflower/lemon cake with the lemon curd. Can’t wait to try that one.
Michelle,
It’s a delicious cake! I know you’ll love the royal wedding cake as well!
John
Best chocolate cake receive and the icing is great too. We did not put coffee. My family devour the cake as soon as I finished spreading the icing. I half the receipt for the cake and it turn out really good.
Claudia,
I’m so happy you liked the cake! I love making it for parties!
John
Hi,
I’m planning on baking this cake and I was wondering if you use cultured or traditional buttermilk? Thank you!
Nini,
I use traditional buttermilk when I bake! Hope you love the cake!
John
I made this cake recipe the other day for a 6 inch layered cake (only 2 layers) and used the rest of the batter for cupcakes-it was delicious!! Thank you for a great recipe! The cupcakes came out wonderful as well!
Jen,
So glad you liked the cake! It’s one of my favorites!
John
Hi John,
I live in Rotterdam and I made your ultimate chocolate cake yesterday. It was like a dream come true. I used 26cm pans and the layers were thinner than I hoped, next time I’ll double the recipe. Thanks for sharing and keep posting, I watch almost every video.
Hi Soraya,
That is a good idea. I would recommend the same thing! That is also so nice to hear! I’m really glad you enjoy them.
Best,
John
Great Choxolate cake recipe! I addrdsuoer soft licorice between each layer with chocolate buttercream to add a different dimension. Hubby absolutely loved it for his birthday cake! Thank you!!
Hello Dominique,
Thank you so much!
I’m not a huge licorice fan but i’m all about adding different dimensions!
Best,
John
i am one more your new fan include me in your list
Hey Simran,
I’m glad you enjoy Preppy Kitchen! You can subscribe and receive updates for all my new recipes!
Happy baking!
-John
John, as usual, I LOVE YOUR RECIPES, and adore your vids. You are so relatable. I love how you can continue to talk but must still be keeping an eye on what your kids are doing on occasion! I see those glances off camera once in a while! In this recipe, you intend us to use liquid expresso rather than expresso powder in the icing, yes?
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Thank you for sharing your talents with the world. All the best to you and your fam! Big fan, Carolyn
Hi Carolyn,
Thank you so much, that is so sweet and I’m happy you enjoy preppy kitchen!!
You are correct with the liquid coffee! I’m excited for you to try this cake, if you love chocolate, then you’re going to love it!
Happy baking!
John
Omg thank you soooo much for giving me a recipe for the moistest cake in the worldd!!! And I cannot thank you enough for making my life easier by introducing me to the use of cake strips! I made my own with the tin foil as you showed in one of your videos and i was utterly surprised by how flat and moist from all the sides my cake turned out!!!
♥️
Hi Namra,
You’re welcome! I am so glad to hear that.
They really are amazing and make a huge difference!
Happy baking!
-John
I definitely will be making this cake for my son’s birthday but for now I made just this icing to go over vanilla cupcakes for my daughter’s daycare OMG seriously the frosting is delicious. I licked the bowl clean🙂 Thanks John, love watching your videos!
I so enjoy your site and conveniently my husband wants chocolate cake for his birthday next week. I want to bake the cake in 2 or 3, six inch pans, how much do I fill each one? Thanks!
Hey Patricia,
I would just make sure to eye it out so they all look even, probably about an inch of batter each.
I hope this helps!
Best,
John
Thank you so much for this recipe!! It’s so super easy to make and oh my gosh the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made!! I made it for my partner for Father’s Day and we all loved it! It’s so so moist and the great thing is it’s not super sweet! I replaced the cocoa with caoco which was also great 🙂
I made this for my grandsons birthday! Our little chocoholic loved it, as did everyone else. I was a little worried about the buttercream because it seemed softer than what I am use to, but it smoothed beautifully. Thanks so much for this!
Hey Melissa,
Im so glad the birthday boy and everyone else loved it! As for the buttercream, I would just add in a little more confectioners sugar if you want it a bit more thick.
Best,
John
Actually I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the buttercream went on the cake and how easy it was to work with, it ended up being a perfect consistency. And the taste was so good I don’t even have words!
Hey Melissa,
That’s good to hear! I’m so glad you liked it and it was easy to assemble! What will you bake next?
Best,
John
This past weekend I made this cake into cupcakes for a bridal shower. I also made your vanilla cupcakes and added a swirl of strawberry puree to them with your strawberry buttercream. More than once we were asked who made the cupcakes because they were the best they had ever had! Of course I gave you the honors for your recipe’s! I am now converted from a doctored cake mix girl to scratch only! You are such a talented man and I am so grateful I found your YouTube channel!
Hi John..I made your cake yesterday and it was sooo good! I brought some to work and my co-workers loved it also!!! My only comment would be the confectioners sugar measurement. It would have been easier if it said how many cups to use but it’s no big deal. The frosting was just as good as the cake. I use a brand of butter from France called “President” butter so it made a great frosting. (I live in Florida) So Thank You so much John..I agree with another persons comment that “it is almost too good to share”
Hi Barbara,
Thank you, I’m so glad you and everyone who tried the cake, enjoyed it! I use pounds for the confectioners sugar because the bags are usually labeled by the pound. I will keep it in mind though!
Happy baking!
John
Hi John,
I would like to try baking this ultimate chocolate cake. Can I ask if I can omit the sourcream from this recipe? will it affect the texture of the cake totally?
Thank you
Hi John
This chocolate cake does look amazing bug I have two questions. I’m guessing you use vegetable oil for tenderness. I try not to use vegetable or as little as possible since it’s not the healthiest. Are you using it for the tenderness it provides instead of using butter in your cake recipes? Second question is when using smaller cake pans than is called for in recipes how far up should you fill the smaller pans? Is there a rule of thumb?
You are the best in making videos as everything is very clear and easy to understand.
Many thanks
Hi John,
I’m so lucky found your blog. I tried this recipe and it’s amazing! Awsome recipe! Simple to make and the cake is very good.
But it’s too sweet for me. How much sugar I can reduce? Thanks a lot ^^
Hello Ria,
It makes me so glad to hear you enjoy Preppy Kitchen!! One of my moms favorite things is reducing sugar in recipes! You can comfortably take out 1/3 of the sugar. This will work for the American Flag Cake too! 🙂
If you really want to make it less sweet, MAKE AN ITALIAN OR SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM! Just fold in semi melted and cooled, semi sweet chocolate until you are happy with the flavor profile.
Happy Baking, Ria!
John
Made this cake for a birthday party. I frosted it with a vanilla Swiss Buttercream frosting and I really liked the results. The icing was not overly sweet. Because I have family members who are celiac sensitive I also made a second cake using Gluten Free flour from King Arthur Flour (GF flour is available from other vendors, but I used King Arthur). They have a GF flour which is a substitute for all purpose flour. The cake came out with practically no difference in taste than the cake baked with AP flour. The GF cake seemed a little more dense but practically speaking no one saw a difference between the two cakes.
Great recipe.
Hey Beck,
That is very good to hear! I’m glad you and your family and friends enjoyed it!!
Happy baking!
John
Hi John! I can’t thank you enough for this recipe!
I made it for mu boyfriend’s birthday and it was amazing! Everyone can’t stop praising how delicious this cake is. This is totally going to be my go to chocolate cake recipe.
I actually cut down the sugar to 490g, added a touch of rum and covered it with rich chocolate ganache and it was perfect!
Thank you so much! Will definitely try another cake recipe of yours 🙂
Have a good day!
Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you! I’m so glad to hear everyone enjoyed it! It really is THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE!! The way you finished off the cake sounded great! What will you bake next?!
A good day to you too!
Best,
John
I would love to try dulce de leche!
Anyway I am wondering if the chocolate cake recipe can be use for other cake flavor, like replacing the cocoa powder with flour and change the liquid coffee to earl grey tea? Will that work?
Please share another recipe for earl grey cake or lemon poppy seed cake next time!
Did you adjust the recipe for this cake? I made it once and I thought the recipe was previously for 9-inch pans and it now says 8-inch or am I crazy?
Hi Ashley,
You are not crazy but I did not adjust this recipe! LOL
You can always adjust the recipe though and use larger pans! How was the cake when you made it!?!
Best,
John
Hi John,
I am so happy I found you on Pinterest! I have been pinning so many of your recipes and I love your videos- you have a contagious happiness that I’ve enjoyed. I made this chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream for my daughter’s birthday. I used 3 layers of 8″ rounds. I messed up and forgot the melted chocolate – but you certainly couldn’t tell. This cake was rich, chocolatey, moist, and a huge hit. It weighed 5 pounds!! Enormous and beautiful. I had a bit of difficulty getting the cakes to release. On my second round of baking the third layer, I used a parchment circle and Voila! perfect release. It might have something to do with the crazy humidity in Florida. I can’t wait to try the Royal Wedding cake one day. Thank you for sharing your kitchen expertise and flair with the world!!
Hi Michelle,
Im so glad to hear how much you enjoy Preppy Kitchen!! For the release issues, try cake strips!! They are heaven sent and also give you the most perfect flat layers with extremely moist sides! Using a parchment circle is a good idea too. Did you prep your other pans with butter and flour?
What will you bake next!?!
Best,
John
I prepped the pans with butter and flour and used cake strips that I purchased. Thanks for the strip tip, you’re the reason I finally got them. I will be making a birthday cake for my husband next month and after this chocolate cake, he says I’ve set the bar high. How can I top this? What’s your favorite cake?
Hi John
I made this cake for one of my customers and she loved it
Thank you
Hi Leila,
I love this cake! It’s also my husbands absolute favorite! I’m happy you made it and to hear it was enjoyed!!
Happy baking!
John
I prepped the pans with butter and flour and used cake strips that I purchased. Thanks for the strip tip, you’re the reason I finally got them. I will be making a birthday cake for my husband next month and after this chocolate cake, he says I’ve set the bar high. How can I top this? What’s your favorite cake?