Description
This Best Chocolate Cake recipe creates a moist, rich, and deeply chocolatey cake perfect for any celebration or dessert craving. It combines cocoa powder, melted dark chocolate, espresso powder, and a blend of sour cream and buttermilk for tenderness and depth of flavor. The cake is baked in two pans for easy layering and serves 12 generously sized slices.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (NOT Dutch-processed)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder (instant coffee granules or ½ teaspoon chai spice mix)
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup hot coffee
- 2 oz melted dark chocolate
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds. If the parchment paper is not nonstick, spray it lightly with nonstick cooking spray to ensure easy release.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, fine sea salt, and espresso powder (or chai spice mix) until thoroughly combined.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the sour cream, buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract into the dry ingredients. Mix on medium-high speed until everything is fully incorporated and smooth.
- Incorporate Coffee and Chocolate: In a heatproof cup, whisk together the hot coffee and melted dark chocolate until smooth. Slowly pour this chocolate-coffee mixture into the batter while mixing on low speed or whisking gently until fully combined. The resulting batter will be thin, which is expected for this cake.
- Bake: Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the preheated oven and bake for 23 to 26 minutes. Test doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center; it should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Note that like similar chocolate cakes, these may slightly collapse in the center when cooled.
- Cool: Remove the cakes from the oven and set them on wire racks to cool for about 30 minutes. Then carefully remove the cakes from the pans and allow them to cool completely on the racks before frosting or serving.
Notes
- Using room temperature eggs helps ensure smooth batter and better texture.
- Make sure the coffee is hot when mixed with melted chocolate to help it blend seamlessly.
- If you don’t have espresso powder, regular instant coffee or chai spice can be used, but flavor will vary slightly.
- Do not overmix the batter once the flour is added to avoid a dense cake.
- The cake layers may sink slightly in the middle due to the thin batter; this is normal and does not affect flavor.
- Allow cakes to cool completely before layering or frosting to prevent melting.
