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Best Ever Chocolate Cake

Smooth, moist chocolate cake filled with a Chocolate-Cream Cheese Buttercream. This Best Ever Chocolate Cake is the only recipe you'll ever need!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Course: Dessert
Keyword: chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate layer cake
Author: Sarah Crawford

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Cake

  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 cup sour cream at room temperature
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 3 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp instant coffee powder

For the Chocolate-Cream Cheese Buttercream

  • 2 batches Chocolate-Cream Cheese Buttercream Recipe linked above

For the Chocolate Ganache Drizzle

  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

For the Chocolate Cake

  • Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease 3 (6-inch) round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and grease and flour again. Set aside.*
  • Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until combined.
  • In a separate bowl combine sour cream, water, oil, eggs, vanilla, and instant coffee powder. Stir to combine.
  • With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, scraping the bottom of the bowl as needed.
  • Evenly divide the batter between prepared pans; bake 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
  • Cool in the pans 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack and allowing to cool completely. Wrap in plastive wrap and chill 15 to 30 minutes before frosting.

For the Chocolate Ganache Drizzle

  • Heat cream in microwave in 30-second intervals for 90 seconds or until bubbles begin to form on top and cream is hot to the touch.
  • Place chocolate chips in a bowl; pour cream over chocolate chips and let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.

To Assemble

  • Place the first cake layer, top side up, in the center of a cake board or cake stand. Evenly spread 3/4 cup buttercream over cake layer.
  • Place second cake layer, top side down, on top of the buttercream. Evenly spread 3/4 cup buttercream over cake layer.
  • Place third cake layer, top side up, on top of the buttercream. Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of buttercream. Freeze cake 10 to 15 minutes to set crumb coat.
  • Finish frosting the cake with remaining buttercream.
  • Gently drizzle ganache down the sides of the cake using a plastic bag with the corner tip trimmed off, or a plastic bottle with a nozzle tip**

Notes

  • If you don't have 6-inch pans, feel free to make 2 (8-inch) cake layers.
  • If adding a chocolate drizzle, do the drizzle before you decorate the top of the cake with additional buttercream.