I’ve made several tiered cakes over the last few years (you can see them all here), but a friend’s surprise 40th birthday party last November was my first opportunity to do a really decadent chocolate one. Needless to say, I was extremely excited to try something new!
With my husband, left, and the birthday boy at his party
If I had to pick a single type of cake to eat for the rest of my life, it would be white with cream cheese wedding frosting, but if you are a chocolate lover, this is the cake for you. I know I tend to be quite effusive over most of my cake recipes (I’m effusive by nature, and I can’t help it–my cakes are the bomb! I kid, but really. They are. :) ), but I can tell you that this is the cake that I have gotten the most positive feedback for. That may be in part due to the number of people I served it to, since most of my cakes are only made for groups of about 10 people, but I do think this is probably the best chocolate cake I have in my repertoire, and I have made it several times since the birthday party to great reviews as well. It is my husband’s all-time favorite cake, and although it isn’t my favorite cake, it is my favorite chocolate cake.
If you are thinking about making a tiered cake in the future, but are intimidated, I highly recommend the method I used for this particular cake. If you frost each cake on top of a thick, foil covered cake board that is at least 2″ larger in diameter than the cake itself, then insert four hidden pillars into the bottom two tiers, all you have to do is transport the cake in three tiers to the location where the cake will be set up, and plop each cake on top of the pillars. And you’re done! With the usual way I do it (you can read about that process here), the stress level is considerably higher and there is more chance of messing up the cake. It is almost impossible to mess it up using hidden pillars.
*Hidden pillars aren’t actually invisible, as you can see, but since they are tall you can insert them down into the cake so that each tier is supported from the base of the cake below it. It is the part of the pillar inserted to the cake that is hidden.
Another tip is that once the cakes have been removed from the refrigerator to come to room temperature, make sure they have a way to breathe. After inserting the pillars in the bottom two, you don’t have to worry about them. But you should insert a hole with a skewer through the top of the top tier as well, or choose a place on the least attractive side of the cake (the one you’ll face to the back of the room) to poke a hole into each layer of the cake. This is to prevent air pockets from forming underneath the icing. This is a problem that cake decorators face across the world, and according to the professionals I have consulted, no one knows why it happens. When I make real buttercream with eggs and no powdered sugar, this never happens. So I suspect it has something to do with a reaction between the cake and the powdered sugar frosting on the surface. So if you are using a powdered sugar frosting (aka American buttercream), please make sure there is a place for air to escape so that your frosting job will not be ruined. (I used to be concerned this would make the cake dry out, but an entire day with a hole poked in the cake does not seem to affect it at all. If I’m making the cake 2 or more days in advance, I keep it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh and to keep air bubbles from forming beneath the frosting, and then poke it before I take it out to come to room temperature.)
UPDATE: It has now been explained to me that when you frost a cake cold and refrigerate it, once you bring it to room temperature the air inside the cake expands, causing the icing bulge, aka “icing budge.” While this is the most likely explanation, I have actually had the bulge happen when frosting room temperature cakes and never refrigerating them. So weird!
Here are some pictures of icing eruptions that have happened to my cakes before I figured out I needed to poke them so they could breathe:
You can see the bump on the left side where air or gas is trying to escape.
And this is the view straight on. The bottom two tiers of this cake never gave me any trouble, but the top tier didn’t have dowel rods in it so there was no way for it to breathe and I had to fix probably 10 of these eruptions!
This has been such a pain for me, that I even caught one of the incidents on video! This was before I figured out I needed to poke the cake to prevent the air pockets.
A tip for getting your frosting perfectly smooth is to spray the cake with water after smoothing it out as much as you can with an offset spatula, then going over it again with a clean spatula. The water helps your spatula to glide over the surface and make it very smooth. You can also dip your spatula in water, but I find using a squirt bottle to apply it makes the job much faster.
OK, let’s get to my favorite chocolate cake recipe! I took a bunch of photos of my latest one so I included a few extra for you at the end of the post. You’re welcome. :)
Favorite Chocolate Cake
This recipe makes one 9″ two-layer cake. To make a tiered cake the size pictured above, you’ll need to make about 7 batches of the cake recipe (2 batches for each 14″ layer, 1 batch for each 10″ layer and less than 1 recipe for both 6″ layers combined), 5 batches of the frosting, and 5 batches of the glaze.
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
Printable recipe for cake only
Favorite Chocolate Cake
1 ¼ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 ½ cups sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
1 ¼ cups warm water
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Favorite Chocolate Frosting
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup vegetable shortening
2 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup dutch-process cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 lbs (8 cups) powdered sugar
¾ cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
Favorite Chocolate Glaze
½ cup heavy cream
4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 teaspoons corn syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla
Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, making sure the baking rack is in the middle of the oven. Prepare two 9” round cake pans by cutting out a piece of parchment or wax paper to line the bottom of them. Grease the pans, place the parchment or wax paper in the bottoms and lightly grease again. Dust the pans with flour (or cocoa powder if you don’t want the white dusting on the finished cakes). Set the pans aside.
Sift together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add the eggs, yolk, warm water, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Mix on low speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake the cakes for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Do not overbake! Remove the pans from the oven and set the pans on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Gently run a thin knife around the edges of the pans and unmold the cakes, removing the parchment paper liners from the bottom of the cakes. Let them cool completely, top sides ups, on a wire rack. Trim the tops of the cake layers with a long serrated knife to make them level.
*Veronica’s notes: Although I have never had a problem with this cake recipe overflowing in my pans, many people have left comments on Melanie’s blog (and once on mine when I used it before for THE Mocha Crunch Cake) that they did, so I recommend either making sure the batter is no more than 2/3 full in your pans or placing a baking sheet below the pans to catch any overflow, just in case. If you have extra batter, make a few cupcakes! Also, please do not skip lining the pans with parchment or waxed paper. This cake is sticky and I learned the hard way that it will stick to the pan even if you grease and flour it.
Make the frosting: Cream butter and shortening together until smooth. Beat in melted chocolate until smooth. Add the cocoa powders, salt, sugar and milk to the bowl and turn the mixer to a very low setting until it’s combined enough to increase the speed. Continue increasing the speed and scraping the sides of the bowl until everything is incorporated, then add the vanilla and continue beating until fluffy. Frost cooled cake and freeze leftovers. This makes a large batch so unless you lay the frosting on super thick, you should have enough leftover to frost a dozen cupcakes, but the batch isn’t quite large enough to cut in half. I know, I make things difficult, but you won’t regret having some extra on hand.
Make the glaze: Gently heat the cream and chocolate together in the microwave or in a double boiler, stirring often until smooth and shiny. Stir in the corn syrup and vanilla. Allow to come to room temperature before pouring over the top of the cake and spreading to the edge with a spatula so that it drips over the sides. If the glaze gets too thick, heat it again for a few seconds (it won’t take long) and stir before pouring over the cake. Serve the cake at room temperature.
Recipe source: cake recipe from My Kitchen Cafe, frosting and glaze by Veronica Miller.
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Your talent is amazing, Veronica! Wow, I’m completely impressed…
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Thank you! :)
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Hi,veronica! I would like to ask if I can use dutch process cocoa? because there’s a difference between unsweetened cocoa(natural) and dutch process cocoa(alkalized). I don’t know if you have tried it using alkalized cocoa in this recipe. Thank you & waiting for ur respond. I’m a first time visitor here in ur site. Love it! danssmb@yahoo.com
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I have not and I’m not sure how it would work, but I’d suggest reducing the baking soda since the Dutch process cocoa wouldn’t add any acid to activate it like regular cocoa does. Keep some, though, because you still have buttermilk to activate it. Maybe try switching the amounds of soda and powder–2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda.
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That cake blows my mind! I remember it from before, and every time I see the photo I think what a ton of work you did!
L
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Thank you, Laura! :) I tiered cake is definitely more work than a single cake, but this was the easiest tiered cake I ever made! No decorating required is a big bonus!
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Your cake looks simply amazing…
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Thanks, foodie Mama! :)
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Okay, it’s 7:30 in the morning and now I want chocolate cake! Veronica, it looks amazing! Loved the videos too – Happy Monday!
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Haha, you do that to me every day. Not with cake, but I’m always craving whatever yumminess you post each day. Gotcha back! :)
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thanks, Veronica, pretty useful tips. And your cake looks so moist!
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Thank you! I can’t take credit for the cake recipe but it’s a great one!
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Hi Veronica. I’m the birthday boy’s Mom. I’d heard all the raves about the cake, but now I regret more than ever not making it there from Georgia. It looks beyond delicious! Thanks for doing such a good job. (If he has a 41st birthday party, you can be sure we’ll be there, so start planning an encore.)
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Haha, OK, will do! :)
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I am calling the FCC because this is clearly food porn!
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LOL, guilty as charged!
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Have you tried this recipe for cupcakes? If so how many does it make it? Just curious. This recipe is making my mouth water.
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I have not, but it will make more than 2 dozen because there’s more batter than if you used a cake mix. My guess is you’ll have between 30-36 cupcakes, and they’ll only need to bake 15-17 minutes.
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Hi, Veronica!
I’ve been looking for a great chocolate cake recipe for a friend’s (rather non-traditional) wedding, and this should be perfect! I tested an 8″ cake last weekend and the DH thought it was to die for! One question, your glaze drips were wider than mine, and looked better in general. Do you roll the edge of the frosting underneath a little, to make it do that, or did I maybe have the glaze too hot when I did it?
Thanks, you’re a star!
Bethany
PS – I found that one batch did 2 layers of my 2″ high 8″ Wilton cake pans perfectly. I did need to cook it a little longer than stated since it was a bit wiggly in the middle.
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Yay! Another believer! haha! On the glaze, it should not be hot AT ALL when you use it. You need to let it come to room temp before using. Wish I could remember how long this takes! It shouldn’t be overly hot to begin with if you heated the chocolate gently, so maybe an hour would be good. You can speed things up by putting it in the fridge and stirring every five minutes until it is room temp. You don’t want it too thick, but not too thin either. I don’t do anything special with the frosting underneath, just have it flat, and then I spread out the glaze with my straight-edged metal frosting spatula, pushing it just to the edge and letting it carry itself over the sides and down. Hope that helps! I’m glad the cake didn’t run over for you–I think the people that have trouble with that are those that have the very short sided 1″ pans b/c I used 8×2 as well and never had a problem.
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Do you make ball cakes just from the cake recipe or you add frosting and glazing as well?
Thanks
Tatjana
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In my cake pops FAQ, I mention these as a recipe you can use if you want to make them without having to add any frosting to the crumbs. This cake sticks together nicely even without frosting when you crumble it and roll into balls.
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Beautiful cakes! They look so yummy too! Thank you so much for all the info!
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Hey Veronica, I made this chocolate cake for my cake pops like you suggested. They were amazing! Do you have any recipes for a yellow cake, or another flavor besides chocolate, that is as moist as this cake? I really don’t like using the can of frosting in the cake pops, it makes them too sweet! Thanks :)
-Kristina
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I’m so happy for your success with the cake pops! I do have a moist white cake recipe but it is dairy free and I have not tried making cake pops with it (with or without frosting) so I can’t necessarily recommend it for this purpose. I will let you know when I do get a few more recipes in my arsenal that will work for frosting-free pops, but it could be a while. In the meantime, I’ll send you to the first yellow cake recipe I would try for frosting-free pops because it has been recommended to me as being super moist (it’s actually cupcakes so you will have to increase the baking time if you make it in a pan): http://www.anediblemosaic.com/?p=3178
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simply divine! Thanks for sharing!
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Gorgeous!!!
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Hi,
I just started to bake and decorate.. I have an upcoming dinner at my place and want to try a tiered cake.
Is it possible to have three different cakes in layers?
Can i use your recipe for 9×13 or do i need to double it to use as base for 8″ and 6″?
Thanks a lot
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Let me clarify: you want to have three tiers, each one a different flavor? The answer is yes! Go for it! This recipe isn’t for a 9×13 so if you want to bake it that way, you’ll have to bake it longer. Not sure by how much, just keep an eye on it after 35 minutes–it might take 40 or 45. This recipe will fit well into two 8″ pans with 2″ high sides–any shorter on the sides and it will overflow. If you want to make a 6″ tier as well with it, you will have to make the recipe a second time, but you will have extra batter that you can make cupcakes with. Just make sure not to fill your pans more than half full (I actually go 2/3 full sometimes but some places that is risky as baked goods rise higher or lower depending on your sea level.)
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Hi, It’s my first time on your blog.. I was just wondering how can i halved the recipe.. I just want to make cakepops.. thanks so much..
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The measurements for this cake make it a little hard to halve but it can be done.
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 + 1/8 teaspoons baking powder (1/2 tsp is probably sufficient)
1/2 + 1/8 teaspoons salt (1/2 tsp is probably sufficient)
1 large egg plus 1/2 large egg yolk (beat up the yolk, then pour half into the batter)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoon warm water
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 +1/8 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (I’d just use 1 teaspoon or 3/4 tsp)
Then just follow the directions but use one pan instead of two.
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Thanks so much for replying.. will be working on your recipe asap.. Will update you soon..
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Hi Ms. Veronica, i made your chocolate cake.. it was so delicious even without frosting or ganache.. I follow the halved recipe, i intended it to be made into cakepop, but i think i overcooked it so it’s not that moist and i needed to put a choco ganache as frosting.. But unfortunately my cakepop failed.. the cakepop, doesn’t hold unto its stick, maybe i put too much frosting.. i’ll try to bake again your choco cake but will assure it will not be overcooked so i don’t need to put a frosting.. or maybe i’ll let it stay overnight as your advice from your blog.. thanks
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Sorry it didn’t work out! I hope it works next time.
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But Mam your recipe is so fabulous, this is gotta be my go to chocolate recipe.. Not too sweet just right if your craving for that chocolatey goodness.. Thanks again mam for sharing your chocolate recipe..
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Making this cake for the umpteenth time now…we’re doing a bake sale at the soccer tournament next week, so I’m making two of them…doing 3 8″ tiers, haven’t frosted yet, but curious how this will work out, as it is a bit much for 2 8″ tiers…just means more frosting I guess…oh what a shame!
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Glad to hear this is a regular in your kitchen! FYI, if you have leftover frosting, it freezes well in tubs–then when you want to make cake pops or maybe need some frosting for cupcakes, you can just pop it out and let it come to room temp overnight before using.
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hi veronica, i would just like to ask if i can use this chocolate cake of yours in making a fondant cake? can it hold the weight of the fondant? can it also be used in making a several tiers of fondant cake? thanks again.
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I made this cake for my sons birthday and it was amazing!!!
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hi, this looks amazing!! is there anything i can use instead of the buttermilk?
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Another reader had success substituting plain yogurt for the buttermilk.
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can this chocolate frosting be used for cake decorating? (as in with tips and a piping bag?)
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Yes, totally!
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Hello Chocolate Cake! It looks amazing. I have yet to find “the one”. Definitely going to give this a try. It looks like chocolate heaven!
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I just happened upon your site via a google search for a chocolate cake recipe. This looks amazing! I will be making the groom’s cake for my sister-in-law’s upcoming wedding…and I will definitely try this cake/frosting combo this weekend :)
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Fabulous! hope you love it.
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Oh my goodness – this was delicious! Thank you so much Veronica! I loved the taste, but I do have a few questions: When the frosting/glaze recipes call for “semisweet chocolate, chopped” what is that exactly? Can I use semisweet chocolate chips? That is what I used and it turned out pretty well, but is that what you intended? Also, when I put the room temperature glaze on top of the frosted cake it dripped all the way down to the cake plate instead of making those really pretty drips that stop halfway down the side of the cake. Some of them stopped halfway down, but most dripped all the way down to the plate. Any advice? I can’t wait to explore your website for more recipes….so fun! ~ Kim
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That’s great to hear! It’s funny you asked about the chopped chocolate b/c I’m surprised to see I wrote it that way since I always use chocolate chips. Maybe I used an old recipe I haven’t updated the language on, I have no idea. It is written that way because usually ganache is made with high quality chocolate that’s in bar form, but I’m just a real girl who uses what’s cheap and easy so it’s chocolate chips for me. You done good. :) It sounds like even though your glaze was cool, it was still maybe a bit thin and needed to rest longer before using (it will get thicker the longer it stands). I barely barely get mine warm enough to make the glaze because that way I don’t have to wait any time at all–it’s practically ready as soon as it turns shiny, but it does help to let it thicken up if it seems too thin. You just have to test the consistency–it should be pourable but have a bit of thickness to it. Anyway I’m glad you liked this one and hope you enjoy your time here. :)
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The cake looks amazing! Just have a random question, with this frosting is it necessary to keep the whole cake in the refrigerator until serving, (if it is made the day before) or is this something that can be left out for a couple days? Just unsure what the rules are for milk/butter?
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Icing is actually very stable, sugar is a powerful preservative, so yes it is OK at room temperature. Please do not ever serve a cake cold unless it’s meant to be cold, cake is best at room temperature, especially those made with butter in the cake or in the frosting (it gets hard, and the flavor isn’t as good). This cake is fine at room temperature for a few days. :)
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Perfect! Thank you :)
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Wow! This cake looks so decadent…I am a total chocoholic and I can’t wait to make this!
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I don’t get Dutch process Chocolate powder where I live. What shld I do to replace it?
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You can use regular cocoa powder. The color won’t be as dark but it won’t taste all that much different.
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I chose to use your recipe after seeing the beautiful pictures and all the wonderful advice and all the comments raving about it… Well it did not come out at all like your cake. Two 9″ round cakes, two 6″ cakes and 15 cupcakes all came out fallen in the middle. I am quite sad. :( This cake is for my daughters birthday tomorrow. I will now go to the store for boxed cake mix.
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So sorry to hear that Chele. Sometimes different climates and sea levels have different effects on the outcome of baked goods. Also, they will sink after cooling if not cooked completely. Did you check the middles with a toothpick? I never overbake, but make sure not to underbake either. And if they were done, try tasting one. There is nothing wrong with a sunken cake that is done and tastes good, it just needs a bit more frosting to hide it’s sunkenness-lol! I have a cake that ALWAYS sinks in the middle b/c it’s so high in fat and sugar but I just fill in the caved in parts with extra frosting. No one knows the difference and it’s always a hit.
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Thank you Veronica for the helpful tip. I do live at high altitude which could have been the problem. I would have filled in the cakes with frosting but my daughter wanted fruit filling. I didn’t think it would have been enough substance to keep it up in the middle. The cake did taste good. Thank you for your time.
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Smart thinking, the fruit fillings probably would have oozed out the sides if you had to fill in a big hole between the cakes with it. Hey you can always make cake pops (or cupcake bites) with the cake you couldn’t use!
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I made this in 2 – 8″ layers today for a birthday cake. The crumb on it is amazing! I added a little espresso powder to give it a kick..and was sorry I did. It didn’t need it; it doesn’t need..ANY thing! Its a beautiful cake Veronica. Thank you for sharing it. :o)
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Yay! so glad you liked it!
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Your cake looks amazing and I’m eager to try the recipe, I need a round 10inch cake. So do I make two batches separately and put one layer to bake then make another batch for the second layer or together then pour them in two 10 inch tins for each layer. What baking time would you advice
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You could just double it and divide the batter between the pans. I would start checking them after 40 minutes for doneness. If your oven cooks slower or faster than recipes you follow, that should help you determine when to start checking on them but I always try to start checking early to make sure I don’t overbake. Once your toothpick comes out clean or with just some moist crumbs clinging to it, it’s done!
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Oh and you might not need all the batter – it makes more than a usual recipe so if you double it, just fill your pans 1/2 – 2/3 full and then use the extra for cupcakes or something.
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What sugar does the recipe require? Caster or granulated? Or am I just being finnicky lol?
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LOL! I just use regular granulated sugar. I try to avoid recipes that call for special ingredients like cake flour or caster sugar – I just want to be able to use what I’ve already got. Course, I’ve been known to buy a vanilla bean or two. :)
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Hi Veronica, I’m terrified but I am going to try this for a very particular 7 year old who wants chocolate cake. I am thinking about the vegetable oil. I tend to use olive oil and let things be heavy, but don’t want to make that mistake here. Can you tell me if I can use canola oil?
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Yes, canola oil is perfect. Or vegetable oil. Any flavorless oil will work great. Don’t be scared! :)
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Had the overflow problem. Will try again tomorrow
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I found this recipe on Pinterest, and it really is the best chocolate cake ever! Normally, cake will last several days in our house, but not this one. It turned out moist, fluffy, decadent, and addicting! We were all hooked, and fighting over it. Thanks!!
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Glad to hear it! :)
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Hi, I have this cake baking in the oven right now, I’m so excited! I’m curious why you use shortening in the frosting instead of butter? Would it make a difference in the texture if I use butter? Thanks!
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Oh I see thatyou also add a cup of butter, never mind! With much butter it has tho taste great! :)
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You can use all butter, I don’t know that it would make much difference either way. The original reason I used some shortening was because I didn’t have enough butter – lol! And we liked it so much as is I just kept the recipe that way.
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i would love to add pecans to this recipe,how much would you suggest i use or would u recommend it? Im a beginner at this and i hope it turns out as good as it looks,so maybe i better just stick with the recipe.
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On the frosting recipe it doesn’t tell you how much cream to use? Just wondering how much I need?? I’m trying to make for thanksgiving?!
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I am a chocoholic and can hardly wait to try this recipe…this weekend, I hope. It sounds delicious, the reviews are so positive and your version is so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
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