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Home / Recipes

Buttermilk Chocolate Layer Cake

3.67
/5
55 minutes minutes
21 Comments
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By: The Chunky Chefpublished: 03/03/2016

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.


The ULTIMATE soft and fluffy chocolate layer cake.  Made from scratch with buttermilk, and slathered in an ultra creamy buttercream frosting!


Gone are the days of dry, boring cakes… this buttermilk chocolate layer cake is SO rich, fluffy and moist, you’ll be amazed it came out of your oven and not a fancy bakery!  Standing two generous layers high, it’s coated with a silky smooth chocolate buttercream and has a sinfully good coffee syrup drizzled in between the layers…

**I was compensated by Nielsen-Massey Vanillas for my time in developing this recipe and post. All opinions are my own.**

Buttermilk-Chocolate-Layer-Cake | The ULTIMATE soft and fluffy chocolate layer cake. Made from scratch with buttermilk, and slathered in an ultra creamy buttercream frosting! | http://thechunkychef.comI’ve made a few chocolate cakes in my time, (okay more than a few), and a lot of them were just dry and kind of boring.  It didn’t matter how closely I paid attention to the baking time, or what ingredients I added, they were just “blah”.  So when I saw some awesome Nielsen-Massey products in the grocery store, I knew I had to try one more time, using only the finest ingredients.

Buttermilk-Chocolate-Layer-Cake | The ULTIMATE soft and fluffy chocolate layer cake. Made from scratch with buttermilk, and slathered in an ultra creamy buttercream frosting! | http://thechunkychef.com

Armed with some great extracts, I went to one of my favorite baking blogs for some inspiration, I am Baker.  Amanda makes some of the most amazing things, and her photos are just stunning!  I found that she had a recipe for chocolate cake that looked just about perfect… so this is my version of her cake!

I’m certainly no professional cake decorator… my frosting is a bit “rustic“, and my cake is even slightly off center, but hey, it’s made with love 🙂

Buttermilk-Chocolate-Layer-Cake | The ULTIMATE soft and fluffy chocolate layer cake. Made from scratch with buttermilk, and slathered in an ultra creamy buttercream frosting! | http://thechunkychef.com

This cake would pair well with just about any frosting you’d like!  For a fun boozy twist, try my Bailey’s buttercream!  I went with a light and airy chocolate buttercream, as I thought the cake was already so decadent, and didn’t want to over-do it on the richness factor.

You might be wondering what those little balls are all around the top and bottom of the cake… they’re chocolate covered espresso beans!  Ohhhhhh man, are they ever GOOD!  Not just on the cake, but as a little snack… whew.  I *might* be snacking on a few now…

Buttermilk-Chocolate-Layer-Cake | The ULTIMATE soft and fluffy chocolate layer cake. Made from scratch with buttermilk, and slathered in an ultra creamy buttercream frosting! | http://thechunkychef.com

There are three secret weapons for the best chocolate layer cake…

First is…. drumroll please…. coffee.  There’s one cup of brewed coffee in the cake and it emphasizes the chocolate flavor.  It’s essential and adds a unique richness and depth to the cake!  I used decaf (finally finding a use for that bag of decaf coffee we bought by accident lol).  It’s that something that makes the difference between a good cake and a fantastic one!

The second secret weapon is the buttermilk.  I keep a jug of buttermilk in our fridge nearly all the time, mostly for baking!  Or for whipping up an excellent batch of homemade pancakes 😉  It really makes the cake so incredibly soft, tender, and moist.

The last secret weapon is in using quality ingredients, like Nielsen-Massey vanilla products!  They use a unique cold extraction process for their vanillas, which takes 3-5 weeks, but preserves the delicate flavor notes that a faster heat extraction would damage.

Buttermilk-Chocolate-Layer-Cake | The ULTIMATE soft and fluffy chocolate layer cake. Made from scratch with buttermilk, and slathered in an ultra creamy buttercream frosting! | http://thechunkychef.com

I mentioned that there’s a surprise inside this cake… and ohhhh it’s a good one!!  I made a coffee syrup to drizzle in between the layers…. it’s so decadent, and adds a little something extra to take this cake over the top!  I didn’t have any coffee left from the cup I brewed for the cake itself, so I used something just as awesome… Nielsen-Massey coffee extract.  Just a teaspoon gives a rich coffee flavor to the simple syrup.

Buttermilk-Chocolate-Layer-Cake | The ULTIMATE soft and fluffy chocolate layer cake. Made from scratch with buttermilk, and slathered in an ultra creamy buttercream frosting! | http://thechunkychef.com

You need this cake in your life… I promise you!

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!

Buttermilk-Chocolate-Layer-Cake | The ULTIMATE soft and fluffy chocolate layer cake. Made from scratch with buttermilk, and slathered in an ultra creamy buttercream frosting! | http://thechunkychef.com

Buttermilk Chocolate Layer Cake

3.67 from 3 votes
Author: The Chunky Chef
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes minutes
Servings: 8 servings
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The ULTIMATE soft and fluffy chocolate layer cake. Made from scratch with buttermilk, and slathered in an ultra creamy buttercream frosting!

Ingredients

  • CAKE:
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup quality unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 2 tsp Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee cooled to warm, can use decaf
  • COFFEE SYRUP:
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Pure Coffee Extract
  • CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM:
  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 4 - 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 5 Tbsp heavy cream
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

  • MAKE THE CAKE:
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottoms of 2 8" cake pans with parchment paper and spray pans lightly with baking spray. Set aside.
  • To the bowl of a stand mixer, add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine and remove any lumps.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, add buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla, and whisk to combine.
  • Turn stand mixer on LOW speed and slowly pour in wet ingredients, until just combined, scraping sides of the mixing bowl if necessary.
  • Keep mixer on LOW speed and carefully pour in brewed coffee. Mix until just combined, scraping the sides of bowl again if needed.
  • Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Remove cakes from oven and let cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn out gently onto cooling racks to continue cooling. Cool completely.
  • MAKE THE SYRUP:
  • Heat a small saucepan over MED heat, and add water and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Let simmer about 3 minutes or so, until thickened slightly. Stir in coffee extract and set aside to cool slightly.
  • MAKE THE FROSTING:
  • Add butter to bowl of a stand mixer and cream on MED-HIGH speed until butter is light and fluffy. Butter will be almost white in color.
  • In a mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt, until no lumps remain.
  • Add 1/2 of the sugar mixture to butter and beat until combined. Add half the cream and beat.
  • Repeat with remaining sugar mixture and cream.
  • Increase mixing speed to MED-HIGH and beat for 3-5 minutes until fluffy.
  • ASSEMBLE CAKE:
  • Add bottom layer of cake to cake stand, drizzle with half of the coffee syrup.
  • Let stand a minute, then spread a layer of buttercream frosting over the top.
  • Top with second cake layer. Drizzle with remaining coffee syrup and let stand a minute.
  • Frost top and sides of the cake.
  • Decorate with chocolate covered espresso beans if desired.
  • Refrigerate cake until ready to serve. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before eating.

Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!

Chef Tips

1. Recipe inspired and slightly adapted from I am Baker

Nutrition Disclaimer

The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

Did You Make This?Tag @the_chunky_chef on Instagram and hashtag it #thechunkychef so I can see what you made!
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Buttermilk Chocolate Layer Cake | The ULTIMATE soft and fluffy chocolate layer cake.  Made from scratch with buttermilk, and slathered in an ultra creamy buttercream frosting! | http://thechunkychef.com

Buttermilk-Chocolate-Layer-Cake | The ULTIMATE soft and fluffy chocolate layer cake. Made from scratch with buttermilk, and slathered in an ultra creamy buttercream frosting! | http://thechunkychef.com

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Meet The Chunky Chef

Hey there! I'm Amanda. Wife, mother, photography nerd, and bacon lover! I believe that delicious meals should be easy to make. Now that you’re here, stay a bit, browse a few recipes, and let’s get cookin’!

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3.67 from 3 votes

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Recipe Rating




  1. Terri says

    Posted on 11/12 at 1:00 pm

    Hi! If I make cupcakes, would I double the batch to get 24? Thank you!

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 11/12 at 2:37 pm

      I did not test this recipe as cupcakes, so I can’t speak with any certainty as to how many cupcakes you’ll get. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂

      Reply
  2. Devyn says

    Posted on 2/14 at 4:03 pm

    Delicious cake and super easy!! We did the coffee syrup last time which wasn’t my favorite (just my preference), but the cake and icing are 5/5!! Going to try it this next time with a cherry syrup 🙂

    Reply
  3. Pat says

    Posted on 1/30 at 1:51 am

    Hi! Is there something I can use to substitute the coffee extract?

    Reply
  4. Ms. Rainbow says

    Posted on 5/16 at 9:35 am

    This cake was so good! It was so moist and chocolatey. I had no problems with the baking process. The frosting was really good too. I thought that it had a nice level of salt and was a perfect texture for decorating! My grandmother said it was one of the best cakes she ever had! 😀

    Reply
  5. Jan says

    Posted on 1/1 at 5:33 pm

    I made this cake using the 8” cake pans as directed.  The cake rose up and spilled out into my oven making a huge mess.  Could it be that the baking soda and baking powder quantities were interchanged?  I thought 2 tsp. of soda seemed like a lot when I was mixing the cake.  Should have followed my instincts! Not only do I have to clean up a big mess, but the cake is inedible.  After rising so high, the layers fell and are now about 1/2” high. What a disappointment. 

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 1/1 at 9:40 pm

      Hi Jan, oh I’m so sorry to hear about this! We make this cake all the time, and the ingredient amounts are correct. Whenever I’ve had a cake overflow like that, it was because I ended up overmixing the batter (usually from trying to multitask), which incorporates too much air into the batter and causes the cake to rise really quickly, which generally makes it overflow. Also, are you sure you used all purpose flour, and not self-rising? I had another reader accidentally use self rising flour on a different recipe and then the leavening proportions were off and it didn’t work right.

      Reply
  6. Danielle says

    Posted on 5/27 at 9:53 pm

    I’m interested in using this recipe for a bigger birthday cake. Thinking of doing a two layer 9×13, I was going to double cake batter and frosting recipe. Do you think that would be okay? 

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 5/27 at 11:03 pm

      Hi Danielle 🙂 I’ve never made it that way before, so I can’t say for certain, but I think doubling the batter and frosting should work great!

      Reply
  7. Zomick's says

    Posted on 4/13 at 7:34 am

    Loving the chocolateliness! Delightful

    Reply
  8. Zomick's Challah says

    Posted on 3/8 at 9:55 am

    I made this cake for my son’s birthday, I cut down the super by half and it was delicious and so moist. I also made 24 cupcake for his classmates on his birthday. It was very good. I am sure I will make it again.
    Zomick’s

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 3/8 at 4:20 pm

      I’m SO happy to hear you loved the cake!! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Cyndi - My Kitchen Craze says

    Posted on 3/6 at 1:13 am

    This is one gorgeous cake!! I wish I could have a big slice!! 🙂

    Reply
  10. Matthew From Nomageddon says

    Posted on 3/4 at 1:12 pm

    Amanda, such a beautiful cake! I’d try this but i’m not sure I could match your cake decorating skills!

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 3/5 at 10:48 pm

      Thank you Matthew!! Oh I’m sure you could do a better job than I did… my decorating skills are mediocre at best 🙂

      Reply
  11. Andi @ The Weary Chef says

    Posted on 3/4 at 9:30 am

    This cake sounds fantastic! Coffee and chocolate are my all-time favorite! I can’t wait to try this!

    Reply
  12. Michelle | A Dish of Daily Life says

    Posted on 3/4 at 12:09 am

    I am in awe! Your cake sounds incredible. I love coffee paired with chocolate…I haven’t made a cake, only cookies, but I do love the flavor. Your cake sounds above and beyond magnificent. I am wishing a slice would magically appear in front of me right now!

    Reply
  13. Katalina @ Peas & Peonies says

    Posted on 3/3 at 10:27 pm

    ok this cake is all I want now, just ship it to me please!

    Reply
  14. Lauren @ Hall Nesting says

    Posted on 3/3 at 8:18 pm

    Coffee + Chocolate + Bourbon Vanilla Extract = Game on!!

    Reply
  15. Tonia from TheGunnySack says

    Posted on 3/3 at 1:18 pm

    Whoa! That is beyond amazing! Chocolate cake AND chocolate frosting is the BEST!

    Reply
  16. Bintu | Recipes from a Pantry says

    Posted on 3/3 at 12:25 pm

    I’ve never made a cake with buttermilk before but I can totally see how it would make it super fluffy and moist. Thanks for the tip!

    Reply

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