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It is cake time!! Specifically simple chocolate birthday cake with whipped chocolate buttercream frosting…YES.
Yay!!
So…..
My power went out while writing this post and ALL the words were lost. Ugh. I am actually re-writing this via candlelight and the hotspot on my phone!
I had written so much!
Things like how this big three-layer cake was for my mom’s birthday.
And how for all birthdays around here, two layers simply won’t do.
Nope, not two.
Three.
Because when cake is involved… three layers are always better than two.
More layers mean more frosting, which is just all around awesomeness.
This is my all time favorite chocolate cake.
I know the ingredients by heart and could probably make this cake in my sleep. It is that easy.
This cake never fails and the frosting will forever be my family’s favorite.
It is almost mousse-like. So light and fluffy. My mom could not stop saying how incredibly moist and delicious it was.
She even did the roll the eyes to the back of her head thing. I LOVE when she does that!
Well, I have to cut this one short, sorry for the very quick post. As I said before, our power is completely out and I only have limited time on my phone’s hotspot before my battery dies.
Ten percent to be exact, gotta wrap it up!
Hopefully the photos will do the talking.
Oh, and did you notice? The gotta little love from the amazing WoodenSpoons Kitchen! What do think? I will be talking about it more soon, but the battery is now at 3%.
Watch the How-To Video here:
(2 LAYER CAKE) Simple Chocolate Birthday Cake with Whipped Chocolate Buttercream.
Servings: 16 servings
Calories Per Serving: 539 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Cake For 2 Layers
- 2 eggs (at room temperature)
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup hot black coffee
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Whipped Chocolate Buttercream
- 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) salted butter (softened to room temperature)
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3-4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter/spray with cooking spray.
- 2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, greek yogurt, canola oil, and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until there are no longer any clumps of flour. Add the hot coffee and mix until combined. The batter should be pourable, but not super thin. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using.
- 3. Pour the batter among the 2 cake pans and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool five minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan. Invert the cakes onto a cooling rack. Cover and let the cakes cool completely before frosting.
Whipped Chocolate Buttercream
- 1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until the butter is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and beat, scraping down the sides as needed, another 2 minutes or so, until there are no streaks of white. Add 3 tablespoons of the heavy cream and whip the frosting for 2-4 minutes or until light and fluffy. If desired add the remaining tablespoon of the heavy cream (I normally do) and whip until combined. Taste the frosting and add more powdered sugar if you like a sweeter or thicker frosting.
- 2. Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a plate or cake stand. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with sprinkles, chocolate curls, or whatever your heart desires.
Notes
*To quickly bring eggs to room temperature place them in a bowl and fill with warm water. Let them sit five minutes.
(3 LAYER CAKE) Simple Chocolate Birthday Cake with Whipped Chocolate Buttercream.
Servings: 30 servings
Calories Per Serving: 385 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Cake For 3 Layers
- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup canola oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons hot black coffee
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Whipped Chocolate Buttercream
- 4 sticks (2 cups) salted butter softened to room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4-5 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease 3 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter/spray with cooking spray.2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, greek yogurt, canola oil, and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until there are no longer any clumps of flour. Add the hot coffee and mix until combined. The batter should be pourable, but not super thin. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using.3. Pour the batter among the cake pans and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool five minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan. Invert the cakes onto a cooling rack. Cover and let the cakes cool completely before frosting.
Whipped Chocolate Buttercream
- 1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until the butter is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and beat, scraping down the sides as needed, another 2 minutes or so, until there are no streaks of white. Add 3 tablespoons of the heavy cream and whip the frosting for 2-4 minutes or until light and fluffy. If desired add the remaining tablespoon of the heavy cream (I normally do) and whip until combined. Taste the frosting and add more powdered sugar if you like a sweeter or thicker frosting.2. Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a plate or cake stand. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting. Add the 3rd layer and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with sprinkles, chocolate curls, or whatever your heart desires.
Notes
*To quickly bring eggs to room temperature place them in a bowl and fill with warm water. Let them sit five minutes.
Hey, I had a thought, there could be a good side to this power outage. Kinda the perfect time for cake!
Lastly, if you make this Simple Chocolate Birthday Cake with Whipped Chocolate Buttercream be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
This post was originally published on January 17, 2014
Your new site looks so great!!!
And I’m all about the three layer cake 🙂
Thanks Jackie!!
And three layers all the way!!
I’m just parroting everybody else when I say that I love your new look. That little pie is just the cutest.
Thank you so much, Annie! 🙂
The site looks so amazing, Tieghan! Gorgeous job! Um, my eyes are rolling into the back of my head, too. What a cake! That frosting looks incredible! Haha, I’ve had that happen once; a super long post all deleted like *that.* You could’ve just posted pictures and that would have been enough. What a cake.
Thank you so much, Mary Frances!
Have a great weekend!
LOVE the new look!! And that cake…..OMG! It looks sooooo good! Cake is my all time fav….especially for breakfast!
Thank you so much, Helen!! Have a great weekend!
This cake looks beyond incredible! So much chocolate, three layers, mousse frosting. Yes. 🙂
Thank you so much, Beth!
By the way, I love your new digs! The site loads so much faster now, too. 🙂
The site loads faster? Nice! I have been trying to get that to happen forever!
Thanks so much, Stacy!
Hi Tieghan! This recipe looks so delicious! I was just wondering if there are any chocolate chips in this recipe? I didn’t see it in the ingredient list but one of the pictures showed chocolate chips so I wasn’t sure. BTW your site looks great!
Hey Jackie!
Yes, there are! I forgot to add them in the recipe. I will now, thanks for catching that! Hope you love the cake! 🙂
Well obviously the chocolate cake looks amaze! But more importantly look how fab your blog looks!?!!!! I just love the new look!
Thank you, Heather!!
Have a great weekend!
The site looks amaaazing Tieghan! I totally love it and I’m a little jealous. 😉 And that cake… Holy moly! Chocolate on chocolate… My kind of cake exactly!
Thank you so much, Alexandra! Happy you like site!
And the cake too! 🙂
Oh, my Lord! Tieghan, your cake is gorgeous! I have been working with this same recipe variation since the New Year. (I kid you not! Post coming soon to the blog.) It is my favorite all-time chocolate cake recipe and I, too, do the 3 layered version and prefer it. (There’s more frosting to cake ratio and servings seem more balanced that way, don’t you think?) Meanwhile, I hope your power is back up and that you have a great weekend. Cheers to you for working without electricity, girl. I think you are Wonder Woman! xo
No way!! I go my recipe from a card of my moms, but I have not a clue were see got the recipe from. I adapted it to make it much more chocolatey and moist and yes, 3 layers is a MUST!!
Thanks Stacy!
oh and yes, the powder is back up!
Tieghan!! Your website looks amazing!! I always leave your site with such a smile on my face. I don’t mean to make light of your situation (with the power being out and all) but just trying to imagine you sitting there in the dark with a candle and a huge cake typing away just made my morning. Plus, this cake looks freakin perfect..
Haha! Thank you so much, Todd! I am so happy you leave my site with a smile. That makes my day! 🙂
And the dark + cake was not all that bad of a thing!
Oh my goodness! I love your revamp! It’s perfect. The fonts and colors blend so well together – perfect choice!
And this cake looks so freaking good.
Thanks so much, Abbie! Glad you like the new design!
Oh my gosh, your design? Gorgeous. This cake? Stunning. YERRRRM.
Thanks Sophie!!
Love the blog! I’m looking to shnaz mine up soon, so I am going to give your designer a look. I really want a piece of that yummy cake NOW! And it’s only 7am 🙁
Thanks Liz!! Have a great weekend!
I LOVE the new site! Congrats, it all looks so great! And this birthday cake looks and sounds incredible, I can never get enough chocolate!!
Thank you so much, Chelsea! Never enough chocolate!