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.
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!
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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!