A rich chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, this Chocolate Layer Cake is a delicious dessert your friends and family will be asking for over and over.
If you love chocolate then you are going to be obsessed with this Chocolate Layer Cake! If is filled with layers of chocolate cake and chocolate buttercream.
So when I say that it’s full of chocolate, there is no denying that. It is delicious, moist and have absolute amazing flavor in my opinion, one of my favorite cake recipes ever.
If you are a chocolate lover like myself then this is absolutely the cake for you! You won’t be able to stop at just one piece, even know you should, you can’t!
Some of my other favorite chocolate cakes that I have on my site include Dr. Pepper Black Forest Cake, Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake and Chocolate Peppermint Cake!
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- This cake is completely homemade, which makes it absolutely delicious.
- The frosting is light and fluffy which makes it great for frosting and piping.
- It serves a crowd, so you don’t have to worry about running out!
Whenever a birthday comes around someone always requests this Chocolate Layer Cake, and I can see why. Do I hesitate to make it? No absolutely not.
This is one of my favorite cakes, but I just love anything chocolate so I’ll whip this cake up whenever someone asks, this is one of the cake we always make for my birthday as well.
The moist layers of this Layer Cake Recipe really is the best part, no one likes a dry cake and I will not ever deliver you a dry cake either.
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Tools used to make this Chocolate Layer Cake:
One little secret to this Chocolate Cake Recipe is the addition of cream cheese in the cake batter. Yes, definitely different than the norm but it gives such a nice richest to the flavor!
You can totally decorate this cake however you want, I added the little chocolate bars on top because I used Hershey’s special dark cocoa powder in the mix. Feel free to use whatever cocoa powder you prefer. This is just my favorite (and, not sponsored!).
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE:
Chocolate Cake:
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
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Into the bowl of a stand mixer, sift together the cocoa powder and cake flour. Add to the bowl the sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine everything with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs, butter, cream cheese, and vanilla into the bowl until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
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Take the bowl off the mixer. Stir in the water and chocolate chips by hand until smooth. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans. Bake for 20-23 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. A few crumbs are okay, but any wet batter means it needs to bake longer.
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Place on wire rack to cool for 15 minutes in the pans. Take out cakes and let cool completely on the wire rack, at least one hour.
Whipped Chocolate Frosting:
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In the bottom of a stand mixer bowl or large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Whisk together the cocoa powder and powdered sugar in a separate bowl, slowly add the mixture into the butter a little at a time until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
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Slowly add the heavy cream one tablespoon at a time so it doesn’t splatter. Add the vanilla and whip on medium speed for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Stir in the melted chocolate until combined.
Cake Assembly:
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On the decorating surface of your choice (a plate, or a cake board), add about a tablespoon dollop of frosting on the center. Place one of the chocolate layer cakes top side up. Add 1/3 of the frosting and smooth over with a spatula.
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Next add the second cake layer, top side down so the top will be level. Then add a thin crumb coat all over the cake with the spatula. Pay attention to the sides where the cake comes together if there is a gap fill it in completely so the cake is even all over. Place in fridge for 30 minutes to set.
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Add another thicker layer of frosting to the cake, decorate as desired, cut, and enjoy!
HOW TO STORE:
This cake can be stored at room temperature, you won’t have to worry about the cream cheese in the cake itself, it won’t spoil the cake.
The best way is to be able to store in a cake carrier, they usually are able to cover a whole cake with no issues and are tightly sealed, if you don’t have one then store in an airtight container.
This Chocolate Layer Cake should last at room temperature for up to 5 days, but for maximum freshness, I would say no longer than 3 days.
This cake can also be frozen, you can freeze your cake layers if you plan on assembling the cake later. Let the layers cool then wrap in plastic wrap and then foil and they still store for up to 6 months.
You can also freeze the whole frosted cake as well, just place the cake in the freezer until frozen (about 1 hour) then wrap tightly in plastic wrap or alternatively freeze in a large airtight container, this should last for 3 months.
Remove your cake and let defrost at room temperature before serving.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Make sure that you do a crumb coat when frosting, this helps seal the cake crumbs before frosting the whole cake.
- The frosting is a whipped frosting so make sure that you beat it for at least 3 minutes after all ingredients are added so it is light and fluffy.
- I like to frost my cake on a turn-style so I can easily spin it but you can frost on a plate, or cake stand if you like.
- Make sure you cool your cake layers for at least an hour before frosting.
- Decorate to your choice, I like to add swirls and chocolate bars to the top, but the decorating is up to your imagination!
If you want a deliciously easy and tasty dessert recipe then you have to make this Chocolate Layer Cake as soon as possible, it will be come your favorite cake!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Overload Sandwich Cookies
- Baked Chocolate Chip Donut Holes
- Golden Oreo White Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
If you’ve tried this CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
Chocolate Layer Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder I use special dark
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs room temp
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup hot water hottest tap water setting is fine
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Whipped Chocolate Frosting
- 2 1/4 cups unsalted butter softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder I used special dark
- 8 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips melted
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Into the bowl of a stand mixer, sift together the cocoa powder and cake flour. Add to the bowl the sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine everything with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs, butter, cream cheese, and vanilla into the bowl until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Take the bowl off the mixer. Stir in the water and chocolate chips by hand until smooth. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans. Bake for 20-23 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. A few crumbs are okay, but any wet batter means it needs to bake longer.
- Place on wire rack to cool for 15 minutes in the pans. Take out cakes and let cool completely on the wire rack, at least one hour.
Whipped Chocolate Frosting
- In the bottom of a stand mixer bowl or large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Whisk together the cocoa powder and powdered sugar in a separate bowl, slowly add the mixture into the butter a little at a time until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Slowly add the heavy cream one tablespoon at a time so it doesn't splatter. Add the vanilla and whip on medium speed for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Stir in the melted chocolate until combined.
Cake Assembly
- On the decorating surface of your choice (a plate, or a cake board), add about a tablespoon dollop of frosting on the center. Place one of the chocolate layer cakes top side up. Add 1/3 of the frosting and smooth over with a spatula.
- Add the second cake layer, top side down so the top will be level. Add a thin crumb coat all over the cake with the spatula. Pay attention to the sides where the cake comes together if there is a gap fill it in completely so the cake is even all over. Place in fridge for 30 minutes to set.
- Add another thicker layer of frosting to the cake, decorate as desired, cut, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Make sure that you do a crumb coat when frosting, this helps seal the cake crumbs before frosting the whole cake.
- The frosting is a whipped frosting so make sure that you beat it for at least 3 minutes after all ingredients are added so it is light and fluffy.
- I like to frost my cake on a turn-style so I can easily spin it but you can frost on a plate, or cake stand if you like.
- Make sure you cool your cake layers for at least an hour before frosting.
- Decorate to your choice, I like to add swirls and chocolate bars to the top, but the decorating is up to your imagination!
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