The most m-0-i-s-t chocolate cake you’ll ever have. I promise! Jeffrey’s favorite combination is with the chocolate frosting recipe, and I think it’s incredible with marshmallow frosting or peanut butter frosting (all below). It’s definitely an impressive cake you’d make for company and the cake recipe everyone requests for their birthdays. VERY easy too, but you must keep an eye on it while you’re baking and follow my tips below.
SCROLL DOWN FOR CAKE AND 4 DIFFERENT FROSTING RECIPES.
For my favorite vanilla cake recipe, click HERE.
Here’s how a slice looks baked in a sheet pan- the easiest way to bake.
And here’s Jeffrey’s birthday cake from this year in 2 layer 8″ cake rounds:
Here’s what I look like when I see cake:
CAKE RECIPE
Ingredients:
Directions:
- In a large bowl with a whisk, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and mix until combined. I actually don’t like using an electric mixer with this recipe- it’s too liquidy
- In a medium bowl, take the whisk and mix together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a spatula or spoon.
- Slowly add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl.
- Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake about 20-25 minutes. Always bake for a few minutes less if you’ve never made this recipe before, so you don’t over-bake the cakes. You can always add more time, you can’t take away. When you start to smell it, it’s probably almost done. Give the pan a jiggle when you start smelling it. Keep adding 3 minutes on your time and checking it again. It should jiggle like solid pudding, not like jello. It will continue baking in your pan after you take it out of the oven. If you’re unsure, you can put a knife in the middle and it should come out with a few crumbs. The center of the cake tends to sink a little but that’s okay! It will be delicious and moist and covered with frosting anyway.
- Cool in the pans for 5 minutes (unless you’ve over-baked it*). Run a knife around the edges so the cake will come out more easily. Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack lined with greased parchment paper. It’s a gooey cake, so the parchment paper on the cooling rack is KEY to keeping things neat. If you’re baking it in a sheet pan, you’ll already have the parchment paper to just pop off and place on the cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting it or the frosting will melt.
CHOCOLATE FROSTING RECIPE
Ingredients:
Directions:
- To melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for about 5-10 minutes. Add a tiny pinch of sea salt. Stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain.
- Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
- In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy, 3 minutes
- Add the milk carefully and beat until smooth
- Add the melted chocolate and beat for 2 minutes.
- Add the vanilla and beat for 3 minutes.
- Gradually add the sugar and beat on medium until fluffy.
MARSHMALLOW FROSTING
This will make the cake taste like a s’mores! We all LOVE this combo too;
* If frosting a sheet cake, I like to halve the recipe since you’re not covering as much area.
Ingredients:
1 cup salted butter, room temp (or add 1/4 tsp salt to unsalted butter)
14 ounces Marshmallow Fluff
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon good vanilla
Directions:
Whip all of the ingredients together. Refrigerate for a bit if it’s too melty. You’ll be able to make prettier swirls if it’s cooled slightly.
PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING
Ingredients:
Directions:
GROCERY STORE BAKERY-STYLE FROSTING
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- whip together the shortening and butter
- add half of the powdered sugar gradually
- add in vanilla, salt, and milk* (read notes here)
- add the second half of the powdered sugar gradually*
- finish whipping so it’s fully mixed and fluffy
Notes:
*If you want this more spreadable and not for decorations, add a tablespoon or so more milk.
*If your mixer is a typical Kitchenaid size like mine, you will not have room in the bowl to mix this completely! After you mix the vanilla, salt, and milk in to the bowl (step 3), scoop out half of the mixture into another bowl and set aside. Add 1 lbs of powdered sugar to your Kitchenaid and mix. Transfer that finished frosting to another bowl. Place your other mixture back in your Kitchenaid and then add the remaining 1 lb of powdered sugar. Now you have 2 bowls of finished frosting.
