Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream
Ready to impress with minimal effort? This triple chocolate cake is your ticket. One bowl, a whisk, and a little elbow grease are all you need to create a rich, moist, three-layer cake that tastes like it came from a fancy bakery. Use unsweetened cocoa powder for both the cake and the chocolate buttercream and dark chocolate for the ganache drip. Don't settle for anything less than chocolate perfection.
Servings: 12 to 24 servings depending on the baking pans used.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1-¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (100 grams)
- 1-¼ cup boiling water or hot coffee (300 grams)
- 2 cups granulated sugar (400 grams)
- 1 cup brown sugar (200 grams)
- ¾ cup vegetable oil (150 grams)
- 1-½ cups sour cream (337 grams)
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2-½ cups all-purpose flour (300 grams)
- 2-¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 2-¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1-½ teaspoon salt
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- 2 cups butter softened (452 grams)
- 6 to 7 cups powdered sugar* see notes (673 grams)
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (80 grams)
- 4 to 6 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Ganache (optional)
- ⅓ cup heavy cream (76 grams)
- 3 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped (87 grams) (45% to 52% See Notes)
Instructions
Easy Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray three 9-inch cake pans with non-stick spray and line with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cocoa powder and boiling water or coffee. Whisk the chocolate mixture until smooth.
- Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, and sour cream and whisk until well blended.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk until completely incorporated.
- Sift the flour baking powder, baking soda, and salt over the batter. Whisk until there are no flour streaks.
- Divide the batter among the baking pans and bake for 28 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
- Let the cakes cool for 5 to 10 minutes in the pans then run a knife around the edge of the pans to loosen the cake. Invert the cakes onto a cooling rack and let them cool completely before frosting them.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
- Place the butter in a mixing bowl and beat on medium speed for a couple of minutes until it is smooth and creamy.
- Add 6 cups of the powdered sugar a cup at a time. Add the cocoa powder slowly and blend on medium speed until incorporated.
- Add 4 tablespoons of the milk (or cream), salt, and vanilla extract. Increase the speed and beat for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stop the beater and check the consistency of the buttercream. Add additional powdered sugar if it is too thin or add 16extra milk if it is too thick.
Frost the Cake
- Spread 1-¼ cups of buttercream between each of the cake layers and cover the cake with the rest of the buttercream (save a small amount of frosting if you want to pipe swirls on the top). Chill the cake for 15 minutes before adding the chocolate ganache drip.
For the Chocolate Ganache
- Place the cream in a microwavable bowl and zap it in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds or until it almost boils. Don't let it boil over.
- Add the chopped chocolate to the hot cream. Cover the bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. If the chocolate isn't completely melted, zap the mixture in the microwave in 15 second intervals until melted. Set aside to cool slightly. If it sits too long, it will thicken and won't drip down the cake so keep an eye on it.
- Add the ganache to a plastic bag and cut a small hole in the corner of the bag. Pipe the ganache around the top edge of the cake and let it drizzle down the sides. Spread the rest of the ganache over the top. Let the ganache firm up completely before piping rosettes on top.
Video
Notes
For the buttercream:
- Powdered sugar (confectioners sugar) is also called icing sugar in some countries. It has a very fine, powdery texture that dissolves instantly. Do not use granulated sugar that has a sand-like texture.
- When you add the powdered sugar and the cocoa powder to the mixer, just add a little at a time so the powder does not fly all over the kitchen.
- The chocolate buttercream recipe makes about 4-1/2 cups which is enough buttercream to frost a 3 layer round cake.
For the chocolate ganache:
- Use a dark chocolate that is between 45% to 52% chocolate. If you use a bar with a higher percentage of chocolate, you will need a smidge more cream.
- Hershey's Special Dark candy bar has 45% chocolate. Toll House and Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate chips also run in this range.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 410kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 271mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 46g
