Best Classic Chocolate Cake
Indulge in a slice of heaven with this Ultimate Classic Chocolate Cake! Bursting with luscious cocoa and made irresistibly moist with a touch of buttermilk, every mouthful is a delightful chocolate experience. Whip it up using simple ingredients and a quick mixing technique, and watch your friends and family come back for seconds!
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
12
people
Level
intermediate
📝 Ingredients
Serves 12🥛Dairy & Eggs(4)
- Salted Butter
- Buttermilk
- Heavy Cream
- Cream Cheese
🫙Pantry Staples(8)
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Unsweetened Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder
- All-Purpose Flour
- Avocado Oil
- Granulated Sugar
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Bean Paste or Extract
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- Salt
📦Other(2)
- Hot Brewed Coffeecan substitute with hot water
- Eggs
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Prep the pans properly: Grease, flour, and line the cake pans with parchment.
- 2
Mix dry ingredients first: Whisk the dry ingredients together.
- 3
Expect a thick-then-thin batter: The batter will be thick before adding the hot coffee.
- 4
Use hot coffee: Hot coffee blooms the cocoa powder.
- 5
Weigh the batter for even layers: Dividing the batter by weight ensures uniform layers.
- 6
Don’t overbake: Bake until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs.
- 7
Cool completely before frosting: Fully cooled layers prevent the frosting from melting.
- 8
Chill layers for easier assembly: Refrigerate the layers overnight.
- 9
Whip frosting until fluffy: Beating the frosting well creates a light texture.
- 10
Level the cake layers: Trimming the domed tops helps the cake stack evenly.
- 11
Crumb coat if needed: A thin initial layer of frosting helps trap crumbs.
- 12
Use an offset spatula and bench scraper: These tools help create smooth sides.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Bloom cocoa powder with coffee heated to 200-212°F (just off boil) rather than hot tap water, because the higher temperature dissolves more cocoa solids and extracts fat-soluble flavor compounds, deepening chocolate flavor without adding bitterness.ingredient200-212°F
- ✓Weigh your total batter and divide it by the number of pans (e.g., 1200g total ÷ 3 pans = 400g each) rather than eyeballing it, since even a 10% difference in layer weight causes uneven baking times and a lopsided cake.technique400g per pan (example)
- ✓Pull the cakes when a toothpick shows moist crumbs at 200-205°F internal temperature, not fully clean, because carryover heat continues cooking the crumb for another 1-2 minutes and residual starch gelatinization finishes off the heat.timing200-205°F internal
- ✓Cool layers completely to 70°F or below before frosting, since butter-based frostings begin to soften and slide at around 75°F, causing your layers to shift and the frosting to weep.timing70°F or below
- ✓Chill assembled layers overnight at 35-38°F before final frosting and decorating, because firm, cold cake resists crumbing and tearing when you apply the crumb coat, giving you cleaner edges.equipment35-38°F, 8-12 hours
Share this recipe
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
12
people
Level
intermediate
Share this recipe
Best Classic Chocolate Cake
Indulge in a slice of heaven with this Ultimate Classic Chocolate Cake! Bursting with luscious cocoa and made irresistibly moist with a touch of buttermilk, every mouthful is a delightful chocolate experience. Whip it up using simple ingredients and a quick mixing technique, and watch your friends and family come back for seconds!
📝 Ingredients
Serves 12🥛Dairy & Eggs(4)
- Salted Butter
- Buttermilk
- Heavy Cream
- Cream Cheese
🫙Pantry Staples(8)
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Unsweetened Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder
- All-Purpose Flour
- Avocado Oil
- Granulated Sugar
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Bean Paste or Extract
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- Salt
📦Other(2)
- Hot Brewed Coffeecan substitute with hot water
- Eggs
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Prep the pans properly: Grease, flour, and line the cake pans with parchment.
- 2
Mix dry ingredients first: Whisk the dry ingredients together.
- 3
Expect a thick-then-thin batter: The batter will be thick before adding the hot coffee.
- 4
Use hot coffee: Hot coffee blooms the cocoa powder.
- 5
Weigh the batter for even layers: Dividing the batter by weight ensures uniform layers.
- 6
Don’t overbake: Bake until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs.
- 7
Cool completely before frosting: Fully cooled layers prevent the frosting from melting.
- 8
Chill layers for easier assembly: Refrigerate the layers overnight.
- 9
Whip frosting until fluffy: Beating the frosting well creates a light texture.
- 10
Level the cake layers: Trimming the domed tops helps the cake stack evenly.
- 11
Crumb coat if needed: A thin initial layer of frosting helps trap crumbs.
- 12
Use an offset spatula and bench scraper: These tools help create smooth sides.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Bloom cocoa powder with coffee heated to 200-212°F (just off boil) rather than hot tap water, because the higher temperature dissolves more cocoa solids and extracts fat-soluble flavor compounds, deepening chocolate flavor without adding bitterness.ingredient200-212°F
- ✓Weigh your total batter and divide it by the number of pans (e.g., 1200g total ÷ 3 pans = 400g each) rather than eyeballing it, since even a 10% difference in layer weight causes uneven baking times and a lopsided cake.technique400g per pan (example)
- ✓Pull the cakes when a toothpick shows moist crumbs at 200-205°F internal temperature, not fully clean, because carryover heat continues cooking the crumb for another 1-2 minutes and residual starch gelatinization finishes off the heat.timing200-205°F internal
- ✓Cool layers completely to 70°F or below before frosting, since butter-based frostings begin to soften and slide at around 75°F, causing your layers to shift and the frosting to weep.timing70°F or below
- ✓Chill assembled layers overnight at 35-38°F before final frosting and decorating, because firm, cold cake resists crumbing and tearing when you apply the crumb coat, giving you cleaner edges.equipment35-38°F, 8-12 hours