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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
Can I add a cup of choc chips to the 2-layer recipe – or would that be too much liquid…or something?
Can I add a cup of choc chips – or would that be too much liquid…or something?
That sounds like a great idea!
Great cake, I love it!
(Tonight I randomly decided to make it again at 10pm, because it’s the best cake to make at 10pm. Unfortunatelly, I got the salt and sugar jars wrong. Gotta say, it doesn’t improve the recipe 😀 😀 😀 )
Love your blog, keep up the good work! <3
Glad it was still good!! Thanks Maria!
Can you explain the butter amounts for the frosting?
Sorry for the confusion. You need 3 sticks butter. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love the cake! 🙂
Thank you for this great recipe 🙂 I tried it and it was amazing ! Please see my instagram page @chirichoo to see how the cake came out.
Checking it out now! Looks amazing!! Thank you Saru!
Hi, just wondering what the Canola Oil does? And if there is a similar replacement that I might already have.
Also, do you reckon it would be possible to make cupcakes out of this recipe?
Cat
Hi1 The canola oil keeps them extra moist. You could try using melted butter, but I like canola oil. And yes, this will make about 2 cupcakes. Hope you love these!
The frosting was great but the cake batter is way too thin. I’m glad I decided to take the recipe for a test run before serving it for my husband’s b-day party. I tried letting it cool after an extended cook time but all I have is a tasty blob of cake-like pudding. I double checked all the ingredients and measurements before adding. I’m not sure why it turned out so thin. I can keep the frosting but I’m going to have to find a difference recipe for the chocolate cake.
Hi Kara, I am sorry for the trouble. It is hard to say what when wrong with out knowing how you made this. It’s my go-to recipe and works every time, so I am so sorry it didn’t work out for you. Glad the frosting turned out!
Hi. I’m making this cake right now. I’ve cooked for 45mins till now but the center doesn’t seem to cook at all. What do I do?
Hi! 45 minutes seems like a very long time. I think it’s probably done, just let it sit in the pan and chill, then turn it out. Let me know how it goes!
We’re not big coffee fans. I know – crazy – right? Would i be ok if we left out the coffee? And should we substitute with water? I’m ok with a little coffee – just not too much. I’m making this for my granddaughter’s birthday party as a sheet cake with Pokemon decorations. 🙂 Thanks!
Hey Hilary! Yes, just us water in place of the coffee. Hope the cake is a hit! 🙂
About how many people would you say a three layer cake serves?
Hey Becka! About 12
I Googled choco cake and found your recipe. I like that you add less sugar in your recipe-so I tried it out today, for no reason other than to spoil ourselves with cake. My family and I LOVED the cake and icing! So moist and just delicious! It wasn’t too sweet or overly rich. Thank you! I did not add the choco chips and used melted coconut oil instead of canola. Just wonderful and simple to make.
That sounds amazing Amy!! And why need a reason for a nice treat? lol! So happy you and your family enjoyed this!! ?
Hi! I see so many positive comments on the outcome of this beautiful piece of luscious cake and I am really keen on baking it already! However would you kindly provide the measurements in scale for the benefit of accuracy?
Hope you will please provide it!! Thanks!
Hi Cathleen!! I am really sorry that I do not cook in scale measurements.. I tried to get the measurements for you by using a converter online, but I am not too familiar with these measurements so if you want to double check I just looked up on google a converter from cups to grams. I really hope this helps you!! Let me know if you need anything else!
Chocolate Cake:
192g all purpose flour
301.5g granulated sugar
128g unsweetened cocoa powder
1.5 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs at room temp
6 US fluid ounces buttermilk
2 US fluid ounces plain Greek yogurt
4 US fluid ounces canola oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
6 us fluid ounces brewed coffee, hot
118.3g semi-sweet chocolate
BUTTERCREAM for two layers:
340.5g salted butter, softened to room temp
384g powdered sugar
96g unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 tbsp heavy whipping cream
This cake look delicious, I wonder if it will keep well in the freezer without the frosting. Can you tell me your opinion about that? Thanks
Hey Sophie! This cake freezes great! I have done it a few times with good results. Let me know if you have any other questions, thanks!
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This cake is so decadent chocolatey delicious! Triple Layer is a bit much unless you are making a statement! You need Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla to balance it. I served it for my niece’s 21st birthday. She loved it!
Thanks Laurie, that sounds delicious! I might have to try that!!