Classic Chocolate Cake Recipe

There are times when we're in the mood to try a different kind of dessert such as cardamom churros with guava puree, and other times when a light and simple dish like fruit sorbet will do. Most of the time, though, what we really want is Dessert with a capital "D," meaning something along the lines of a classic chocolate cake.

Recipe developer Jessica Morone describes this cake as "fluffy and delicious," and says it's also easy to make as "you only need one bowl to mix up the cake batter, and the frosting comes together quickly." 

Although it's all chocolate, the cake does have a secret ingredient: coffee. This ingredient, Morone says, "makes the chocolate flavor more intense." As there's rather a lot of coffee in the cake, you might think it would wind up tasting of mocha, but Morone assures us that "The cake does not end up being mocha flavored; the coffee actually just intensifies the chocolate flavor."

To make the cake, you need your standard cake stuff. The dry ingredients are flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, while the wet ones are eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla, and coffee. For the frosting, you'll also need butter, powdered sugar, and whipping cream.

There are a couple of easy swaps you can make if you don't have all of the ingredients on hand. For one thing, it's super-easy to DIY your own buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice or plain white vinegar to regular milk. For another, you don't need to open a carton of whipping cream for the few tablespoons needed in this frosting as Morone tells us "You could use half and half or milk in the frosting, instead." In fact, one benefit of making this switch is that you'll get to use a little less (try maybe 2-3 tablespoons to start) because both of these options are thinner than heavy cream.

Begin by preheating the oven to the standard 350 F. If you want to make a layer cake as Morone does, get out a couple of 9-inch round pans and grease them up before lining the bottoms with parchment paper to facilitate removing the cooked cakes. If you'd rather not go through the bother of making a layer cake, though, Morone says 'You could definitely bake this as a sheet cake." She suggests using a 9x13-inch pan and cooking the cake for 40-45 minutes.

Beat the flour together with the sugar (the granulated, not the powdered), cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and a teaspoon of the salt. Stir in the eggs, buttermilk, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla, then add the hot coffee.

Divide the batter between the pans (unless you're going the sheet cake route), then put the pans in the oven and bake the cake for 30-35 minutes. Test to see if it's done by poking a toothpick or skewer into the middle. If it comes out clean, you're good to go.

Cool the cake in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely. This may take a lot longer than you think. Morone says "I would wait at least 2-3 hours for the cake to cool before adding the frosting." If you're impatient, you can always make like the contestants on "The Great British Baking Show" and wave a sheet pan over the top, or else you can take the quick and easy approach and just stick the cooling cake in the fridge.

At some point during the rather lengthy cooling process, you can go ahead and make the frosting. Beat the butter until it's light and creamy, then add the powdered sugar, cream (or milk), and the remaining cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla. Beat the frosting until it gets fluffy, adding more liquid if it's too thick to spread.

If you want a nice flat surface to frost, Morone says you can use a serrated knife to cut off the rounded tops of the cakes. (Save the leftover cake for later to make cake pops, or just eat it yourself when no one's looking.) Spread the frosting on the top of one layer, then put the other layer on top to make a cake sandwich. Put the cake sandwich on a plate and use the rest of the frosting to cover the top and sides. 

There's one last step before you can cut into that cake: Morone says to stick it in the fridge for half an hour, telling us this "helps to firm up the cake and the frosting before slicing it." You can skip this step, though, if you're more concerned with how the cake tastes than how it looks.