This tasty Layered Chocolate Cake delivers a deep chocolate flavor that will have you addicted. Try this today and see how easy it is to make, it is truly the best homemade chocolate cake!
What Baking Pans To Use
I use this mixture to make two round 9 inch pans but it can also be made as a sheet cake with a 9 x 13 inch pan.
What Do You Need To Make This Chocolate Cake?
For this you don’t need a fancy stand mixer but a cake turntable would be helpful for decorating. Using a cake drum to easily transfer the cake from the turntable to the cake stand is also beneficial. My family and I absolutely LOVE strawberries on chocolate cake so it’s my must-have for all chocolate cake recipes. Decorating is the time to freestyle so where you decide to take it is completely up to you! I kept it simple with strawberries on the top and an Oreo crumble on the bottom.
This recipe brings an intensified chocolate flavor from the hot coffee added into the mixture. This causes a pleasant reaction with the unsweetened cocoa that really brings out that chocolate flavor – without tasting like coffee! If you have ever wanted to make chocolate cake from scratch, now is the time! The smell of chocolate wafting through your kitchen, the satisfaction of stacking those perfect layers, and the joy on everyone’s faces when they take that first bite – it’s all worth the effort.
Chocolate Frosting and Ganache
In efforts of making this recipe even simpler, I’d recommend just using any store bought chocolate frosting for the outside of the cake. Then to use the ganache for just the filling as I did here. When using ganache as just filling, only use 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and 1/4 cup heavy cream.
Rather Try Something Different?
If chocolate cake isn’t your thing, I have an even easier recipe on here for cinnamon roll cookies you can try! Happy Baking!
Ultimate 2 Layer Chocolate Cake: Moist and Rich Recipe
Equipment
- 2 bowls
- 2 9 inch baking pans
- Saran/Plastic Wrap
- Cake Drum
- Cake Turntable
- Piping bag or ziplock bag
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 cups Cake Flour – I use King Arthur brand
- 1 ¼ cup Cocoa
- 1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 1 ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup Milk (or Buttermilk)
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Hot Water
- 1 tsp Instant Coffee
- 1½ tsp Vanilla Extract
Ganache
- 1½ cup milk chocolate chips (or semi-sweet if you prefer)
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- In one bowl add sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
- In a separate bowl, add milk, then eggs, and lightly whisk them together. Then add in the vegetable oil.
- Add that bowl of wet ingredients into to the dry mixture and whisk.
- Warm the hot water in a tea kettle or on the stove or microwave. I prefer using an electric tea kettle.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the hot water to a mug with the instant coffee grounds, then add this to the mixture.
- Add vanilla.
- Whisk all the ingredients together.
- After placing parchment paper at the bottom of both pans, add half of mixture to one 9 inch pan and half to another 9 inch pan. Use a food scale for a more accurate measurement of how much is in each pan.
- Place on the same rack in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes. Stick a toothpick in the center after 25 minutes to check if its ready. If there is still a bunch of chocolate on the toothpick when you take it out, leave in the oven for another 5 minutes.
- Once ready, immediately wrap cake in plastic/saran wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
Ganache
- In a bowl, add the chocolate chips. Use 1½ cups if you want to this to be the filling and cover the whole cake. Use only 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/4 cup heavy cream if you only want to use this as the filling in between the cakes.
- Put the heavy cream in a small pot on the stove and let simmer.
- After it simmers, add the heavy cream to the bowl of chocolate chips and stir until the chocolate chips all melt. If this is too runny, let it sit in the fridge for a little bit to firm up.
Cake Decorating
- Place a cake drum on the cake turntable.
- Put a little bit of frosting on the center of the cake drum. Then after unwrapping the first cake, place face/top of cake down on the cake drum.
- Add the ganache on top of this first cake.
- Then unwrap the second cake and place on top.
- Then take a piping bag, or use a ziplock bag and cut the bottom corner of it for the same effect, and fill in the gap between the two cakes.
- Then finish frosting your cake from top to bottom and decorate however you like!
