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The most AMAZING buttermilk chocolate cake EVER
Published February 9, 2008 Cooking , Portland , recipes 170 CommentsTags: baking, buttermilk, cake, chocolate, Cooking, dessert, food, recipes
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paperseed.wordpress.com 
I was watching the movie Chocolat last night. This would have been perfect with the movie.
Wow! I Love that movie, and with that a big cup of hot monterrey chocolate!!and hojarascas(sweet mexican cookies)
anything with chocolate is amazing. My favorite is the Godiva chocolate cheese cake .. with hot chocolate syrup on top.
oh my god. that looks sooooooo amazing!! i need an excuse to make it…
my mouth is absolutely watering. i am supposd to make a low-fat dessert for dinner wtih my parents tonight. this is low-fat right? 🙂
drooooollllll
that looks so delicious – i just made a chocolate cake this weekend – and now I want to make this one!
I made this cake exactly as recipe and found it slightly to oily and lacking taste. I made another and used 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature and 3/4 cup oil. Wow! perfect with better texture, not spongy.
Really? That is so interesting, but I’m glad you were willing to try it again with your own variation. One excerpt from the article I didn’t include above was this paragraph:
So what gives this recipe such staying power? It’s the oil, says McKinney. “Oil makes a moister cake, and allows it to last a week, whereas a layer cake made with butter becomes dry the next day.”
Actually, I think I’ll include the whole paragraph in a postscript above, if you find that is any help. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
I made this tonight, just a single layer. Very soft and moist, but much paler than in the picture. It was quite good, though I had hoped it might be denser. The ganache made it better, and it would be amazing with 2 layers! Thanks for sharing!
How tall were the cake pans you used? I used 2 9″ pans and it overflowed. I had double checked all my measurements before assembling.
The reason it was paler was you probably used natural cocoa instead of Dutch-process (alkalized cocoa) like paperseed did.
Has anyone tried this with gluten free flour?
Thanks for the posting. I used to work at a restaurant where we made a this cake. It was extremely popular. We put a cream cheese frosting on it, though. To Everybody: THIS IS THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE, EVER!!!
I made this cake for my son’s 2nd birthday party, and since the comment about the butter made me start to think (fan of butter) and liked the comment about the texture improvement, I decided to do the same. half and half about. It turned out amazing and everyone loved this cake. I am so happy to have found this recipe.
Now I am possibly going to start to make this cake for a small cafe in my community, only questions now are, does it need to be refrigerated? I’m assuming since it has a ganache it does, but am not sure. Also I guess It must be only oil for it to have that lovely staying power that is mentioned in the article! Thanks for this amazing recipe!!!!!
I’m not sure why anyone would consider changing this recipe. I’ve already made it twice now and people love it! Its moist and really flavorful. I wouldn’t change anything. I used it to make cupcakes and they turned out great… as for 2 9″ cake pans, mine didn’t overflow but they were really thick layers! Next time I might make it into a three layer cake instead to cut back on the baking time to ensure its completely cooked throughout.
sick peice of chacolate that should feed a bunch
Hi,
It really looks good.
Today I had a cake that is made with layers of cookies (They’re known as Maria cookies here in Portugal and in Spain).
It’s done with a butter cream and coffee.
Kind regards,
José
Hi,
It really looks good.
Today I had a cake that is made with layers of cookies (They’re known as Maria cookies here in Portugal and in Spain).
It’s done with a butter cream and coffee.
Kind regards,
José
This is incredible. Anything with heavy whipping cream and buttermilk has to be good! I will make it. Eat your heart out Paula Dean!
This recipe looks absolutely delicious. Can’t wait to try it!
This cake looks so rich and moist, I can’t wait to make it. So decadent!
I love baking with buttermilk! It gives such a nice, tangy flavor you just can’t put your finger on…
This cake looks and sounds amazing!
Kimberly 🙂
i’m not a fan of fudgy cake.
WOW. This looks amazing. Love the combination of buttermilk and chocolate. Well done 😀
+Jessie
a.k.a. The Hungry Mouse (now even hungrier)
I’m thinking of making this cake for a birthday next week but have a couple of questions so grateful if anyone can reply – what kind of oil is canola? (I’m in the UK and we don’t have that brand here). Also, I need to decorate my cake with quite heavy icing (Spiderman theme!) – is the cake firm enough to stand up to this? Finally, does it have any taste of the coffee as I really don’t like coffee flavour? Thanks for any answers!
Hi Donna,
Canola oil is the same as rapeseed oil. That you should be able to find at local supermarkets.
cheers
Marianna
Donna –
Canola oil is basically a slightly healthier version of vegetable oil and it doesn’t have a very strong flavour. The cake is definitely firm enough to hold up a lot of icing, just make sure you cook it all the way through! I commented earlier that I was going to use 3 cake pans instead of 2, because there is a lot more batter than most cakes I’ve made, so it takes a lot longer to bake and theres a possibility the outside could burn before the inside is fully set. So I’d just make sure you don’t overfill your cake pans and you’ll be fine.
You don’t even taste the coffee. Coffee is just there to enhance the chocolate flavour. You’ll never even notice it. You’ll love the cake, though! I just made it again yesterday. I’ve probably used this recipe at least 6 times now. It freezes wonderfully!
This recipe was outstanding. I do not normally bake cakes, but it was my boyfriend’s birthday and I wanted to bake him a chocolate dinosaur cake (looked and tasted great!). I stumbled across this recipe, and it looked good – the reviews had me even more convinced. I substituted half the butter for oil just because I was making it the day before his birthday and I wanted it to stay moist and tasty.
WOW! Everyone raved about this cake, especially my boyfriend’s mother, who ALWAYS makes her cakes and cupcakes from scratch. She told everyone she knew… and then everytime I saw someone who I knew through her it was “Gracey told me you made a spectacular cake…”
Sorry for the ramble: this recipe is heavenly.
I can’t wait to try it. I love cake so much I can’t see straight. Thanks for the post!
Ummmmy. Just looking at it makes me want to make it! Great recipe, I will try to make it and tell you how it goes. 😀
I like the cake, but the frosting was not very good. The chocolate was too thin. I put the cake in the refrigerator and the whole top layer slid off. Made quite a mess in the refrigerator. I put it back together. The chocolate frosting never did get thick. I had to put skewers in the cake to keep the layers from sliding off. It did make 3 really thick layers. I can taste the coffee in it, but I don’t like coffee so it was easy for me to taste it. Don’t know why the frosting didn’t ever set like ganache.
Try chilling the icing until it is consistancy of pudding then whip it until stiff peaks form.
Will not slide then and will have a much nicer texture.
This is the second time I am making this cake. I am making it a single layer (I only have one cake tin ;-))
Its been 40 minutes and the centre is just literally as runny as it was 40 minutes ago when I put it in there. I do live in England. Could that be why?
Hi! I made this cake tonight in cupcake-form, and it was a big favorite, so I posted it on my blog and linked back to you. Thank you so much for sharing! You have a truly lovely blog.
I tried the recipe it was a total disaster!!!!!!!! Am I the only one here with such results? The whole batter was very liquidish and wobbly jus before slipping it into the oven… and i had a strong hunch that disaster is at bay… Gosh so dissapointed with the outcome.. Trying to figure where I went wrong. I followed the recipe exactly… 😦
I made this cake and it was very moist!
I have a convection oven 🙂
I found it to not be very sweet. I would add more sugar or something like maple syrup.
I bake all the time and have made plenty of chocolate cakes. I make the birthday cakes for everyone in my family. I saw this and decided to give it a go for my mom’s birthday. It was amazing and I am going to make this again, and again and again! I made it with a milk chocolate frosting which was delicious – will be making it next with a cream cheese frosting. What I like about this cake is that you don’t need butter or chocolate – just cocoa powder so it’s easy to make in a pinch. Make sure you don’t fill your pans up too much – mine overflowed!
Something is wrong with this recipe. I made it following all directions and using 2- 9 inch cake pans. Like another baker that commented the pans overflowed in my oven. The flavor was not worth the mess.
Has anyone tried cutting the fat content with applesauce (maybe half oil and half applesauce)?? I seems to have such a high fat content!
Do you have any suggestions/information on making this cake at high altitude? I live in Denver CO so I would love to make this but would need the adjustments for ingredients. Thanks!
Two round nine inch cake pans is not enough. You could probably use 4 or 5. I started using a huge rectangular cake pan about 12″ x 18″. It bakes about 3-4 inches high. My frosting finally set when I did what Janet told me….cool in fridge and whip it. Today I will make it for the 3rd time. I also do not use parchment paper for the rectangular pan. I do use wax paper when I make round cakes that I want to turn out. I also use a convection oven so it gets done quicker and more evenly.
This is sooo fantastic!!! it is really the most amzaing choclate cake ever. It is so easy to make, so moist and it comes out so well. So far I have made it twice with great reviews.
Oh, a few tips…It actullay takes much longer to cook – more like 45 – 1hr cooking time. When you start to smell the cake you know it is almost ready you can then check the cake ever 5-10 minutes to see if it cook through. The middle of the cake will be raised, the inside crumbly, anytime before then will mean that the cake is still wet in the middle. The cake mixture is really large so make sure you fill only 2/3 of the cake tin to get the best results. The first time I made the cake I used 3 loaf tins.
Hi,
I made this yummy cake for my husband’s birthday and it was an instant hit with my family and friends!
I am planning to make it for my 9years old daughter’s birthday party after 2 days and was wondering if I could dress it up a bit differently so that kids enjoy it.
thanks for the recipe,
this is a hard cake to make but it’s worth it! But I do hate the coffe and brandy taste.
-e 🙂
hope my cake turns out! I made it with one of my 3 sisters…shes 20 and I’m 11. Cross your fingers!
I made this cake today for a late Christmas celebration with my family and I have to say that it is by far, THE BEST cake I have ever made. Perfectly moist, the right amount of sweetness – I absolutely love it. I could not taste the coffee – It did have that nice dark chocolate flavor. It did provide enough batter for three large layers for me – but that is not a problem in the slightest! Thank you for posting this recipe!
I made this for Xmas Eve. Here is a link to a photo of it.
It was really amazing. So dense, moist and rich. Delicious!
Thanks!
http://mortadifame.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-2009-photo-recap.html
I made this for Xmas Eve. Here is a link to a photo of it.
It was really amazing. So dense, moist and rich. Delicious!
Thanks!
http://mortadifame.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-2009-photo-recap.html
I made this ckae last weekend, My cake did not turn out so great, I am going to give it another go this time I will use 3 cake pans instead of 2 to see if that makes difference. I want to love this cake so I will try again this weekend.
Word of warning don’t try to make this cake for a last minute dessert to take to a party – I did and it was a mistake – thank you for sharing the amazing picture and recipe
I made cupcakes out of this recipe and everybody loved it! I added 2 tsp mayo and made my own baking time estimate. The cupcake turned out to be moist,dark, shiny and yummy too.Thanks for posting this recipe 🙂
Elsie
i made this cake today, and it was totally successful. great recipe, thanks for posting and sharing!
delicious chocolate cake and i like it very much,my favorite chocolate is also Godiva chocolate and i love that chocolate
Ezine
i love to eat dark chocolate because it is very tasty and it is full of antioxidants too”:`
Just wanted to say thanks for the AMAZING recipe!!!! I made this for my dad’s birthday and it was absolutely fabulous. I have posted the recipe to my blog but made sure to include you’re site as a reference 🙂
Can you help me? I am looking for a rich chocolate cake that will go well with coconut frosting. This cake looks perfect. However, I wonder, does the coffee flavor come through strongly? I am not really looking to add more to my cake than the chocolate and coconut flavors. If you think the coffee is a strong note in this recipe, could you recommend an alternative that would suit my coconut pairing?? THANK YOU! Hope to hear from someone soon – baking for a party next week.
Hi Julie,
No, the coffee flavor is not specifically noticeable, but it does boost the richness and depth of the chocolate flavor. I think this cake would be fantastic with coconut frosting. Good luck!
Thank you for the prompt reply! I am going for it!!!
Perfect!!! I like too much this chocolate cake, thanks…;)
Hello, I tried this chocolate cake recipe some days ago but somehow couldn’t get the same result as you, my cake really wasn’t looking that good (atleast it tasted good). What kind of chocolate do you use? Maybe it’s because of the flour I used, i’m gluten intelorant so I used Rice flour instead of regular wheat flour.
I am always looking for the perfect chocolate cake recipe and this may very well be the one! I just made it for the first time and couldn’t be happier with the result…excellent texture and moistness, wonderful flavor. Being anxious to try it, I decided to use regular Hershey Cocoa Powder that was in my pantry. I’m very pleased with the flavor but will try a higher end Dutch processed cocoa the next time just for the fun of it. Having read several comments on the fact that it was a lot of batter (some even said it overflowed the pans), I decided to bake it in 3 9-inch layers. (I have 2 ovens, and happen to like the elegance of a 3 layer cake). The layers baked in exactly 30 minutes and came out perfectly even and flat. I did not try the granache as there seemed to be mixed reviews. Instead, I opted for my standard chocolate frosting. Anyway…THIS IS A DELICIOUS CAKE!
A quick easy frosting. If in a pinch for time is
1 container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy dark chocolate frosting
2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee (dry)
To make glaze, remove lid and foil cover of frosting. Microwave on High 20 to 30 seconds or until slightly
melted. Stir in 2 teaspoons coffee until blended
Yummy
Also cover your cake with plastic wrap as soon as it comes out of the over, it locks the moisture in. Then ice at your convenience. when it’s cool
Hi….Im super excited to make this cake…How do u make buttermilk to be used in the recipe..
Hi there, this cake sounds great!! I’m not a fan of coffee
in cake and want to make this for my daughters birthday so coffee
is a no no. Any ideas what I could use instead of coffee?
Emily! I’ve had this cake on my to-make list since you orginally posted it. And boy, this cake was O-MAZING! I made it this past weekend for the hubs and it is seriously the BEST chocolate cake… ever! Thank you so much for sharing… It will be a new standard in our house!
Does this recipe work well for cupcakes? And, does the frosting pipe well or is it mainly for spreading? Seems a little too liquidy from all the comments.
just curious to maake sure..do u bake it in a fan forced oven at 350 celcius..
Absolutely fantastic cake, halved the recipe and it turned out great. Making it again tonight.
I loved this cake recipe!!!!! I used melted butter instead of oil and it still turned out amazing. Although I think good quality chocolate and real buttermilk is key.
OMG! That looks so completely amazing!
Those are the best looking cakes i’ve ever seen! I want to take a bite of my computer screen!
Wow so delicious! I having a bit of an obsession with chocolate these days. . . .
Can you tel me how well this cake freezes. I’m planning a birthday party and hope to make some food in advance.
thank you.
I will be baking this cake tomorrow and posting it on my blog. I will give credit where credit is due and put a link back to your site! Hope it is as yummy for me as it was for you. Baking is such an exact science! 🙂
Thanks for the recipe!
I just had to comment late – thanks so much for this recipe, it is now my regular perfect chocolate cake. I don’t have two tins the same size so I bake the whole recipe in one 10-inch round tin. It takes a LONG time (over an hour) but miraculously comes out moist and delicious all the way through. It makes a wonderfully big and tall cake. Last time I split it and filled it with chocolate frosting and raspberry jam. I have to confess I make a sour cream chocolate frosting recipe of Nigella Lawson’s as I don’t like ganache that much. I’m sure the coffee adds much to the deep dark flavour! I use the Hershey’s “Special Dark” cocoa.
I tried this cake but it was a total flop. I cannot bake to safe my life but love choc moist cake. I’m in South Africa but don’t have access to these lovely ingredients. Is the recipe correct in putting hot coffee (not cooled first)in the mixture? Does the whip cream with choc chips go in mixture as well or is it the frosting. Sorry I really sound that I should not be on this blog, but I am so curious as I want to try this cake again. At least I want to say to my family I CAN make something eatable and amazing!
I just made this most delicious cake for my daughter’s 11th birthday party. I used it in a black forest cake. This cake is one of the most delicious chocolate cakes I have ever come across. Thank you for sharing it with our family and friends! It will now be a staple in our home!
I’m just thrilled with this cake! It’s so rich and smooth and moist. I searched a lot through the web beacuse I was making my first layer cake for a friend’s birthday and it turned out gorgeuos. Instead of chocolate frosting por between the layers I used “dulce de leche”, changed the canola oil for olive oil, I had to make my own substitute for buttermilk (as they don’t send it here) and lowered a bit the sugar quantity, but I loved it! 🙂
Thanks for sharing the recipe. I will eventually post the recipe on my blog, but don’t worry, I will definitly link you.
This cake really was so delicious. It was moist, even after days in the refrigerator. I put a chocolate mousse filling in between the layers, which was very good, and thus why I stored it in the fridge. Will definitely use this recipe again for my chocolate cake needs.
i did follow the recipe and the instructions, and so far, this is the best chocolate cake i have done. i am so made up! can’t get enough of it! thank you!
My cake was SINFUL! The recipe creates a moist, rich and decadant cake. This has now become my got to desert recipe for anything CHOCOLATE. The icing was a little thinner than I expected, but only added to the delicious flavor of the cake.
Does this cake have any coffee taste? It looks beautiful, but I do not like coffee or or coffee flavoring. Thanks!
I haven’t made this cake, but coffee just enhances the flavour of the chocolate. It adds an extra depth and normally doesn’t taste.
To make an equivalent of buttermilk you add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a cup of milk and leave it for 10-15 mins.
I made this yesterday and the cake was yummy, very moist and tasty but was not a fan of the icicing as all. I would absolutley make this cake again but with a different icicing.
I made this cake yesterday and I’m not really a fan. The frosting was much too intense and my opinion is that overall the cake is not sweet enough. Next time I would probably not use the coffee and either use a store bought icing or add powdered sugar during the cooking process
OMG we just made this cake today. Only we lowered the temp to 325 degrees and poured into a bundt pan. Cooked it an hour and it came out perfectly. Made 1/2 the amount of ganache, poured over the top, topped with chocolate chips and voila! Delicioso! Thank you so much for this recipe. I will never make a chocolate cake from a mix again.
This is my new go-to cake. Love it!!! I also baked it in a bundt pan since it’s easier than a layer cake for me and filled it about 3/4 the way up (it rose to the top but didn’t overflow) and also could make about 6 cupcakes. I love oil based cakes because they stay so moist. Every time I use a butter based recipe, they dry out quickly. The flavor got better the second and third day, in my opinion. I used a really strong coffee so if I use that again, I might cut it in 1/2 with water but it was still delish! It was a crowd favorite at the party! Didn’t make the frosting…just a simple vanilla glaze that I got from Allrecipes.com. Will make again, again, and again!
This cake looks really lush and tasty and I love the idea of using buttermilk!
Have you ever tried Watkins Vanilla? I’m not much of a baker but I just got this as a gift and thought I’d try it on something luscious. This sure looks like it fits the bill.
Thanks!
Eva
Most Amazing Chocolate cake is right!!! This delicious moist cake was perfect!! True that it was the thinnest batter ever ( thanks for warning b/c I was getting ready to add flour? Lol) anyway I followed the recipe exactly & it was delicious! The icing was more runny than I thought, my fault though I needed to let it sit longer to let it harden a bit but my 3 nieces were ready to eat!!! So we did…it was amazing!!!!
I made this cake last night (the cake only, I used a different frosting), and it was a huge hit! Incredibly moist, and a beautiful texture. It made so much batter! I ended up with two 8″ layers and three 6″ layers – two whole cakes. So just an FYI to others using the recipe.
Fantastic! I think I should have let the ganache set a little longer before putting on cake but I was too excited to eat it. My whole family loved it! For the ganache I had a lot left over so either I didn’t put enough on or maybe a smaller amount of chocolate/whipping cream would be better to avoid excess.
I made this yesterday with whole wheat pastry flour! Divine!!!
Thank you.
When does the whipping cream get used ?i did not see in the directions.
The whipping cream gets used for the chocolate ganache frosting, when melted with the chocolate chips. See #3.
This chocolate cake was just fabulous!I used olive oil instead of canola oil, brown sugar and replaced a cup of regular flour with whole flour. I also uses espresso coffee as you did. It has such a rich, soft and moist texture. Thank you for a fantastic recipe!
I finally made this cake last week. I split it into two versions: one with the chocolate ganache like you have it, the other was what I called Raspberry Forest Cake. The first one was a little too rich for me but all the chocolate lovers I know liked it. (I don’t like chocolate that much, I like it as a small part of a dessert). The cake itself was delicious and moist! For the other cake, instead of cherries I used pureed frozen raspberries and fresh raspberries on top, whipped cream for the frosting and a sprinkling of chopped chocolate. It was awesome! Thanks for the recipe!
I am wondering what i can put in instead of coffee??
thanks
cslunt@msn.com
Thia cake looks so sinful! I can’t wait to make it! I’ve been searching for YEARS for a chocolate cake recipe and someone shared this pin with me on pinterest. I think this might cause a problem with my pregnancy weight gain. Sounds perfect forum babyshower next month and I’m sure my husband will love it too!
I think I might skip the ganache, only because of the one commenters question of coconut frosting. That triggered a new craving for me and our gummy bear!
Agreed. What do you use in place of coffee. I can always taste is and so can my kids.
if I’m not mistaken you can substitute boiling water for the coffee. Some of Hershey’s recipes call for boiling water.
I made this cake last week for my nephews wedding & everyone loved it! Instead of covering it with ganache I filled it with ganache. It was a moist and delicious! A huge hit. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
way too much coffee taste- what coffee did you use? i used espresso shots from caribou and it was way too strong! Help!
I tried it out, did a few alterations of my own, but oh my goodness!
It was the best chocolate cake I ever made! Chocolate is not my favourite, still I could eat the whole thing by myself it was that good! It was soooooooo great, I just had to thank you for sharing the recipe!
Have a great day,
🙂
this looks amazing, look forward to trying it, but i guess i would add some ginger or spice it up with my favorite liqour. pinned to try.
this is not the most amazing buttermilk cake
Made it, loved it, passing out, thank you!
I made this for my sisters birthday and everyone loved it!! my mom even loved it and she never eats sweets! now everytime we have a holiday they want me to make this cake!!! everyone must make this!!
Can this batter be frozen and used later? I’ve made this cake two or three times, always the half recipe that you’ve devised, and it’s soooo good! Since it’s only my husband and me, even the half recipe can be a bit much (can’t believe I’m saying that!). So it would be nice to freeze and just make a few cupcakes at a time. Can I do this?
That is a good question. I have no idea, but I’d love to know the results if you decide to try it yourself. 🙂
What can I substitute for the coffee??
Is this cake dense enough to hold fondant (it’s for a 2 tiered cake (4 layers)? Thanks! 🙂
Hi, this may be a silly question but I haven’t made ganache before. The recipe for the cake is there, and it seems the only two ingredients not used are the chocolate chips and the cream. Do you just mix these two ingredients together after the chocolate is melted to make the ganache?
Hi Amanda, The instructions written for #3 above contain the instructions for the ganache.
I followed your recipe and made this yesterday. It turned out awesome. Have a couple of questions though…
The cake batter was in 2 9inch round pans and it ballooned up a bit. I had to cut out a lot to layer the cake on top of the other. Any tip on how to avoid this? Did I bake it for too long?
Can the cake be stored in the fridge? Or should we just leave it out till we finish it. It might be a week before it gets done.
Thanks
I’ve baked this in a bundt pan a few times now (filled it about 3/4 of the way and it rose up over the edge but did not overflow) at 325 for anywhere from 45-60 minutes depending on the oven. I’ve tried it with the chocolate ganache (milk chocolate chips), the Better Homes & Gardens caramel sauce, as well as without frosting – every time it has been delicious and a huge crowd pleaser. The cake is so moist and rich (without being too sweet) that it doesn’t really even need frosting – but it certainly doesn’t hurt!
I bake all my cakes at 325° and they don’t “dome” quite so much if at all…just made this and it is awesome 🙂
Just wondering what I could use instead of coffee??? Thanks.
Instead of coffee, I used 1 bottle of Guinness Extra Stout beer. It was A-mazing!
This cake sounds perfect for the birthday cake I need to make for a co-worker’s celebration at work this week–I asked him what kind of cake liked, and he said, “Anything chocolate.” I’m wondering, has anyone tried instant coffee instead of brewed? If not, do you think it would alter the taste?
Okay, you weren’t kidding! This IS the most amazing cake ever!!! Several of my co-workers couldn’t finish their piece because it was so rich, but they saved it for a snack for later. Wow–this was so moist and chocolately–the way you always wish cake would be while you’re eating dry cake!!! Definitely my FAVORITE cake ever. Now–just one problem that I need to fix to make it absolutely PERFECT next time: the ganache, while it tasted so smooth and chocolately and was an awesome satiny texture, was too runny when I was icing the cake. It just ran down the sides, and I had trouble keeping it around the sides of the cake. Is it okay to just use less cream next time, or would changing the proportions ruin the emulsification that makes the ganache?
Hello! I need to make this cake 3 days prior to bringing it to a party. Do you suggest I keep in in the fridge or freeze in plastic wrap? I can’t wait to try it. Thank you!!!
Dawn
I live in 5280 altitude. Do you know if this will work in high altitude?
Just keep in the frig.
This is my go to chocolate cake recipe. I have made this quite a few times now and it turns out great every time. I made and brought this to a work potluck and it has been requested by my coworkers each and every potluck since! Thanks for sharing!
hi, thank you so much for sharing this recipe. i try this today and it turned out great. So moist:) . i ave a question though, have you tried covering it with fondant ?i was planning to stack it 6in high and cover it with fondant.
The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups freshly brewed, extra-strong hot coffee. I don’t drink coffee but I love the flavor it gives chocolate. How much coffee grounds should I use to get extra-strong coffee?
I love anything with buttermilk. chocolate buttermilk cake, i’m there!
So I made this wonderful cake and WOW!! Finally a recipe that I can call my favourite chocolate ever!! Made it in a rectangular tin, cut it in half and my husband and I have just finished one half of it. Not in on day I hasten to add, but in a few days. Kept it in the fridge, covered and had a little slice every day. It has stayed so moist and hasn’t dried out, which is a problem for me with other cakes. Made a chocolate ganache and added a few toffee pieces and it’s scummy. One question, do you think I could make cake pops with the other half of the cake or is it not dry enough?
Thanks for posting a fantastic recipe.
Sorry to meant to scrummy, not scummy. Sometimes the automatic spell check can’t spell!! LOL
Can I make cake pops with this recipe or do you think that the cake is too moist?
baking soda leaves an aftertaste I can’t get use to. an I substitute baking powder and how much of it do I use?
Hi – this looks delicious!! I can’t wait to try it. I was wondering if the cake will stand up to butter cream frosting? I am making a rose swirl cake and want to make chocolate cake with vanilla butter cream frosting…
Thank you!
Allison
Yummy moist cake cake but it takes longer than 35 mins to bake….
I made this delicious cake 2 days ago. It was devoured at work in less than 1 hr. I will be making this again for Thanksgiving!!
Sidenote- It takes approx. 45-60 minutes to cook depending on your oven. Also, I was not sure if I should refrigerate it. I did any way and it was fine.
I replaced the canola oil for coconut oil ( you may need to melt it first if it is stored at a temp 76 or lower). Turned out great, and much healthier than canola oil! Great recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, I tried to bake a 1/2 portion and put in a 6″ spring pan. I found that it took a lot longer to cook and still ended up a bit splitting on top but “fudgy & damp”. It also was high when I removed it from the pan and then it fell after it cooled for a bit. Also, should the coffee be hot? We don’tdrink coffee and I purchase the single serving for recipes likes this. For this time, I mixed it with warm water. Not knowing if I should pour hot coffee into the batter incase it started to cook the eggs?
I put my cake batter in two round 9 inch cake pans like the directions, but the batter overflowed into my oven while baking. I think it would have been better in three 8 inch pans. It looks like the picture shows three layers?
Let me tell you. this is the only chocolate cake recipe I ever make! I love it! Moist, full of chocolate flavour, and holds a perfect shape. The coffee definitely does something in this cake, even though you cannot taste it.
The mix yielded enough batter to fill two 8-inch pans and two 6-inch pans, giving me an awesome double layer cake (I made a Beauty and the Beast fondant cake for my daughter’s second birthday.)
The last time I made this batter, I made an 8-inch layer cake with 15 additional cupcakes. If people are having problems, you probably filled your cake pans too high. You are only suppose to fill them to the halfway mark.
i will continue using this cake 🙂 Thanks for the awesome recipe, I shared your recipe in regards to my Wilton Course 2 Final Cake. http://www.thecookiewriter.com/2014/02/chocolate-cake-with-chocolate.html
Ps. I always cook my cakes at 325F, it seems to help the top of the cake from doming.
I used a 10″ spring form pan and it was perfect.
Made this cake today, very disappointed. All I could taste is the canola oil, way too much oil!!!! Had to smother cake in whipped cream in order to eat it. Now I’m left with this huge cake that no one will eat.
I just made this cake and it is chocolatey goodness! It’s very moist, holds it’s shape wonderfully without falling apart when cut, and was loved by everyone in the house (I love dark chocolate and nothing that’s too sweet….everyone else has a huge sweet tooth and their plates were all licked clean as well). Total bake time was 50 minutes and my 2 cake pans were pretty full when I put them in the oven….didn’t spill over though (I put a cookie sheet on the rack underneath) and all was well in the world 🙂
If you use 9″ cake pans they need to be deep. My cake just ran over and made a huge mess. It is also taking a lot longer than 35 minutes
This is a spectacularly wonderful cake. Hands down the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made. HOWEVER, I would challenge the ganache. I think it would be much better with a gorgeous buttercream, especially if you’re really going to make a two layer cake. It’s just not the best choice for a traditional two layer cake…too thin and difficult to really create a beautiful cake. Also, there is too much batter for two cake pans. I used the extra to make two small bundt cakes and drizzled them with the ganache which worked SO much better! So, when I make this again, it will be either small or large bundt cakes which are perfect for this recipe. Enjoy!
Wonderful cake! Now my go-to chocolate cake recipe. Wish people would read the directions better – it says HOT coffee, so yes, this means hot coffee….that is why you pour it down the sides of the bowl – so it doesn’t cook the eggs.
The person who tasted only canola oil – bet your oil was rancid. Canola oil is almost tasteless. You should keep it in your fridge and replace every couple of months. I too found that you had to bake it much longer than directions state.
Absolutely terrible! Something is obviously off with the directions since a cake should never have more liquid than dry ingredients and it did exactly as I expected and overflowed in the oven, thank goodness I expected it and put a sheet pan under them in the oven. Way way way to much batter for the size pans told to use!