Chocolate Cake - slice cut

Favorite Chocolate Cake Recipe

What do all of the above cakes have in common?

My faaavorite Chocolate Cake recipe!!

One secret ingredient I think every delicious chocolate features...buttermilk! I don't know why it makes such a difference, but somehow adding buttermilk to chocolate cake really helps produce cake layers that are rich and moist without being too dense. 

I have a kitchen scale and like to just put my mixer bowl on the scale and weigh my ingredients - but I've double checked all the measurements and it'll work just fine whether you weight to measure or just use measuring cups! Happy baking; enjoy! 

Why I love this recipe - and you will too! 

  • The taste of this chocolate layer cake is divine. Richly chocolate with hints of vanilla and the richness of the butter - it's my favorite for a reason! 
  • The layers bake up fairly flat - no wasting lots of cake leveling or trimming. 
  • So many chocolate cake layers I've tried come out crumbly and super dry. The addition of buttermilk to this one seems to make a huge difference! 

(Disclosure: As an Amazon associate I may earn from qualifying purchases, and my posts often contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you!) 

Overview of making these chocolate cake layers -

  • Before you start, you'll want to soften your butter.
    • (This recipe uses the reverse creaming method (mixing the butter into the dry ingredients instead of creaming it with the butter). This usually results in a closer, denser structure to the cake layer - I use it whenever I can! But to mix in easily the butter needs to be softened / at room temperature.) 
  • Next the dry ingredients -
    • Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl - or a stand mixer bowl. 
  • Now the 'reverse creaming method' comes in -
    • add about 1 Tablespoon of softened butter at a time, mixing until no big lumps of butter are visible and the mixture looks crumbly. 
  • Now mix together the wet ingredients -
    • combine the eggs, buttermilk, and the vanilla and whisk together. 
  • Now - add wet and dry ingredients together!
    • Mix until moistened, then scrape down the bowl and beat for 20 seconds or so. 
  • Divide into pans and bake! 

(scroll past instructions for scaled recipes)

Favorite Chocolate Cake recipe

A rich, moist, chocolate cake that bakes almost completely flat and stacks well? Look no further than my Favorite Chocolate Cake Recipe!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Chocolate cake layer recipe, Chocolate Cake recipe, Chocolate Layer Cake recipe, Favorite Chocolate Cake recipe
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 315kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake layers

  • 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (350g)
  • 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar (450g)
  • 1 ¼ cup cocoa powder (100g)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks/250g; softened)
  • 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk (350mL)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Chocolate Cake layers

  • Preheat an oven to 350℉ (180℃). Prepare 3 8-inch cake pans with baker's floured spray, or grease and line pans with parchment rounds.
  • Mix together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle (or hand mixer or whisk) until well combined.
  • Add in bits of softened butter, mixing until no lumps of butter are visible and the mixture looks crumbly.
  • Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl and beat for another 20 seconds.
  • Fill the three pans evenly - I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part, and each of mine weighed out to about 550g.
  • Bake for 30-35 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans, and cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 315kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g

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Chocolate Cake (0.5x; makes 3 6-inch cake layers) 

(Use 3 6-inch cake pans; otherwise follow instructions as above) 

Chocolate Cake (0.66x; makes 2 8-inch cake layers) 

  • 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar 
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cups unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks, softened) 
  • 3 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

(Use 2 8-inch pans; otherwise follow instructions as above) 

Did you try this Chocolate cake recipe?

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