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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
Beautiful cake! Making it today to “practice” for my birthday in a couple of weeks. So, today it is a Super Bowl cake. I’m curious what you use to cover the cakes while they are cooling completely. Thanks!
I use a tea towel or plastic wrap. Hope you love the cake!! 🙂
I need to make chocolate cupcakes and would love to use this recipe. How many cupcakes do you think the 2 layer recipe would make…and how long would you bake them? It looks DELICIOUS!!
Hey Cindy!
This will make 20-24 cupcakes and I would bake them for about 18-22 minutes. Hope that helps and I hope you love these!
Hi…. This looks delicious – thank you for sharing. I’d like to make it for my son’s bday, but we aren’t coffee drinkers…. do you think this would turn out ok… minus the coffee? I am not a big baker so your advice is much appreciated. 🙂 Thanks so much!!
Hey Cris!
Just swap the coffee for hot water, no big deal at all! Hope you love this cake and happy B-day to your son!
Beautiful, beautiful cake, and the new site looks lovely!
Thanks Winnie!
Such dedication to bring us this amazing-looking cake! I love whipped frostings–everything else in my experience is just too heavy, too sugary. This looks absolutely perfect. Pinning!
You made this cake for me, didn’t you? My birthday is on Friday and I love chocolate + coffee soooo 😉
LOVE the new look!! I love redesigns!!
Happy earlier Birthday!! I so wish I could send you this cake and if I had your address (and if it was not creepy) I would 100% send a big old cake!
Oh and I love redesigns too. Did I see you are working on one too?
Is the coffee a very noticeable taste in the end result? This cake looks fantastic, but my little brother is adamant in his hatred for coffee, so I wondered if I could sneak it in there without him really noticing 🙂
I think you can totally sneak it in there and I am pretty positive he would never know, but if you do not want to take any chances you swap water. Coffee is better and highlights the chocolate, but hot water will work too.
Hope you guys all love this!
So I made this cake for birthday. First of all the 3 layer cake is the TALLEST cake I have ever made and it’s BEAUTIFUL! A few things I will do differently, 2 layers so the some can fit cover the cake and not add all the powdered sugar initially-just a little too sweet for us. It was an easy cake to make and very tasty-so try it people!
Ha! It is pretty tall!
Thanks so much and I am so happy you loved this cake!!
Just made the cake today. Oh my word! Just so darn yummy! We all loved it and it is a “keeper”. My only modification was to use mini choc chips instead of regular ones. Was just a perfect cake. Thanks!
SO happy you loved it!! Thanks Cherrie!!
I am all about cake time! Especially when it is this big, beautiful cake! Beautiful pictures!
Thank you so much, Paula!
OMG Tieghan, This new look is wonderful!! Woodenspoon are great! Congrats, I’m so happy for you! With your food and photos you really deserved something that matches your skills!!
On a side note, I love the cake! It’s like a classic but still amazing!!
Thanks Layla!! The girls over at WoodenSpoons did and incredible job!
the blog is looking gorgeous, really! Happy birthday to your mama 🙂
Thank you!
What a great birthday cake! I’m glad you were comitted to posting even though your power was out!
Thank you, Laura!
Thanks Laura!
Oh my stars! This cake looks SO soft, moist and fluffy… I want to dive right in with double forks! What a fabulous dessert. Absolutely love your redesign, too!
I LOVE YOUR NEW LOOK! Blog design can be a serious pain, but just know that it looks AWESOME and I love everything about it. Very clean and modern, but still sweet and fun like you 🙂
I also LOVE this cake! Normally I’m not a big choco cake girl (I’m more Funfetti– sue me) but this looks so irresistible that I doubt I could turn down a slice… or uh, five slices.