anne I think stout would work just fine. I just dont have the room (or the energy!) Bonus: I saved buttermilk last time I bought it by freezing it in ice cube trays 2 tbsp per cube so that made impulse cake making that much easier. This ultra-moist chocolate cake is deep and rich in flavor and best served with whipped cream and toasted hazelnuts. Sneha If the knife isnt batter-free (i.e. No extra dish, too. Lucy Im sorry to hear that. If square, 300 to 325%. Deb, yes, I will be another one of those commenters that tells you I made this recipe and then explain how I jacked it up. THIS CAKE LOOKS SO YUMMY!!!!!! Close ad . This recipe looks fantastic!! I cant believe I forgot about it ever, and I gave a lot of catching up to do! Ive made your version of this food processor frosting a bajillion times and its amazing. This recipe is so disappointing, especially after all the other ones Ive made from your site. Seriously, $4. This is getting pawned off on my coworkers as soon as my office reopens because I cant take it anymore. Hi Deb I actually found your blog while searching for Apple Tart recipes and accidentally clicked on this Chocolate Cake recipe instead. Oh Deb. Was a bit nervous as we were having lunch at a v nice Italian restaurant and then coming back here for cake, but neednt have worried massive win and everybody demanded the recipe. Forgot to add I only put in 130 grams of sugar because of marmalade. My husband promised my kids dessert last night, and it was up to me to fulfill this promise. I.e. So glad I didnt read the few negative comments. $5.50; 200 . i did also back off on the sugar this time i didnt measure but i would guestimate about a cup vs 1.5 cups. I was convinced by your cake spiel that I, a novice baker, too could make a cake but have been let down twice. Thanks!! This worked great as cupcakes! Truly a fast cake to whip up!! I want to triple this to make a 9 inch 2 layer cake and a dozen cupcakes for a birthday party, but Id like to split up the work. My whole 10 month long pregnancy plus these 3 postpartum months have been filled with with the desire.. no OBSESSION with finding the perfect chocolate cake. Think of it as my New York Sheet Cake, intense (the impact of cocoa and unsweetened chocolate should not be underestimated), rich (butter, in all of it), tiny (one-eighth of a sheet, to be particular) and quick to make, so you can just because you want it but not have it stay long enough to cause any permanent damage. Did in a 9.5 pie pan, which alters the edge texture a bit, but that was what was on hand! The cake is dense, rich, and not super sweet and the sugary, buttery icing balances it out beautifully. I did cut the sugar and butter by about 20% (and replaced it with apple sauce), and it still turned out great! (Although Ill need to squeeze in a hamentashen session at some point as well.) Overall, absolutely delightful and delicious and will definitely enter my cake rotation. I have had this recipes saved for YEARS and finally made it. I riffed off your frosting to make rocky road frosting by adding mini marshmallows and chopped toasted pecans. Thats the tradeoff for me, at least. Hi, Quick, easy and delicious but WHY is it in the recipe list as the I want chocolate chocolate cake? Insanely perfect timing since its my boyfriends birthday in two weeks and his only request for his cake was chocolate, chocolate and chocolate. I messed up the icing (used four tbsp of butter instead of 8?! But! If it wasnt 8PM right now I would make this cake. I didnt even notice. I made the frosting and smothered it all over the cake. Deb, the best thing about this recipe is that at the drop of a hat you can make a delicious chocolate cake. This is soo going to get made tomorrow! I cant wait to get all the ingredients and bake this cake! Total bake time was over 22 min for me. How did you stacked cake turn out? Oh, and funny how I only noticed the s shapes after I read your notes on how to swirl the frosting ;), I made this last night and it is amazing. Thank you, this one will become a regular go-to recipe for sure!! I know this recipe is going to be fantastic. :D. I love all your recipes so when my 4 year old boys asked for chocolate cupcakes this morning (at breakfast none the less) I came right here. Also I only made 1/2 the frosting (good gravy, so much butter!) ;) But, I whip whipped cream by hand all of the time. and tastes great. For me, this always ends with a liquidy batter with tiny capsules of butter/sugar floating, so I assume thats the norm. Not sure if you still think this would be worthwhile, but if you were to do it, I would -totally- use it. Im reading this recipe for Emergency chocolate cake while filling my mouth with your Cocoa Brownies from a couple of years ago. Alexandra You probably can, but I think youll be surprised at how not terribly sweet this cake is, despite the seemingly large amount. Ive also just made it as square. Yield: 1 generously frosted 88-inch cake, which we cut into 16 small squares. Im buying a bunch of things on a limited budget, and here in London its all unfortunately pricey and Im trying to substitute with what I do have. It was a hit! If anyone is like me and has a Costco sized version of coconut oil theyre all too eager to use (vs expensive organic butter), use coconut oil! Make sure you use the bake setting, not the broil setting (I did that once when I was a kid!) No need to sift if you cocoa isnt lumpy; I think the brand I use just fairly consistently is. She insists on a layer cake and since we are all social distancing I don`t want to double the recipe. This cake is just gorgeous! Thank you for a spectacular cake. How this the cake so fudgy and the icing so irresistibly fluffy? are the measurements the same? Pour in chocolate, milk and vanilla, beat until combined, then one more minute to whip it further.] Can you file it under I at least? thank you deb, anne, and JP! The cake didnt look too overbaked, though. Im making these for my daughters birthday. 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) powdered sugar (sifted if lumpy) Out of buttermilk can I add a bit of vinegar to some slim milk.think I will wait until I get the buttermilk hate to tamper with a great recipe. handfulofshadows I actually continually tweak this cake, but I tend not to edit the earlier versions because they work and everyone is happy with them. So good! I want it to taste good, but the birthday girl (a 6 year old) wants a very specific design. Deb, I love you. i dont have rainbow sprinkles and am feeling a bit too lazy to run out and get them right now would it be a terrible idea to finish this with some grey sea salt? I always have cocoa on hand, but rarely unsweetened chocolate so I always go this route and it works well. The photos really drew me in mmmmm. Do you think its OK to double the recipe, and let half the batter sit while the first dozen cupcakes bake? I usually make it in an 88 square. This cake is a delight. I do have a blender (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00Y2QHY02/ref=s9_top_hm_b3rSILn_g79_i13), might that help? I added a heaping teaspoon of expresso powderDELICIOUS AND EASY. Also the fact that its delicious and practically gone doesnt hurt! No buttermilk or baking soda (and white sugar instead of brown) in the batter and less butter in the frosting. This this will work as the filling for a wedding cake? Your cake recipe is divine. It was yummy but I would like to try to follow recipe next time. Cant wait to try the finished product. As it was, I managed to stop after one so thered be plenty left when my peeps come home from school and work. only asked about the choc sub to see if i could use what i already had on hand. Used 1/2 cup strong coffe and a 1/4 cup wine instead of the buttermilk. Thanks for posting- I love your recipes, and especially enjoy the baking ones :) I keep running into the same problem with cake baking though, and I wanted to ask for your advice. Its hot and humid where I live so maybe the weather helped. I had a favourite chocolate cake for years and yearsand then I made this one! the choc. Reading this blog right now brings back so many memories. Generally, once you add your dry ingredients, only mix until its only just combined. A real end of the week treat. Weeeee! However, I did substitute a glaze of orange marmalade instead of the buttercream frosting, since I was fresh out of butter, so maybe that sugar balanced it out. Actually as a followup to Aunt Vixens post 245, I too had to extend the cooking time. Also I need the cupcakes to rise above and not be flat will these rise? In 2008, when Smitten Kitchen was still an infant in blog years, I shared a recipe for my mom's apple cake. My fiance was going to bake me a cake but he came down with an awful migraine and so I figured Id make this cake and top it with whipped cream and cherries, for an easy but pretty dessert for the dinner we were hosting. I compare sizes using the area of the bottom of the cake pan, because generally when youre doubling or scaling up a recipe, youd like the cake layers to be the same height, just bigger. Spinkle on powdered sugar if desired. So I caved in last night and started my chocolate cake-baking journey. Um, do not make this cake unless you plan to eat the whole thing. I have try this one because it look so easy and that frosting has the same bakery texture I so fondly remember. (Hmmm. Even bought the special spatula. We made this for my mothers birthday and were delighted, particularly with the beautifully light frosting. I have been really successful in recreating this recipe( without a mixer too Infact). Checked it at 22 minutes and then after 5 more and 5 more after that so next time Ill likely check it at 33 minutes. Finally made this cake for my mother-in-laws birthday last weekend. This was so delicious and easy to tweak to my weird idiosyncratic preferences. It was really easy, nice treat. Should I 1.5x the frosting recipe? Admittedly, I dont have a thermometer inside my oven, nor do I know if its perfectly calibrated, but my bake times are usually pretty close to the recipe, and it seemed like a lot of extra for a small cake. Powdered sugar frostings sometimes have an unpleasant aftertaste to them that I dont like, but this was fabulous rich, chocolatey, buttery. A perfect not too sweet cake with a cloud of fabulous frosting. 3.5 Years Ago: Naked Tomato Sauce. One year ago: Morning Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel (you should totally make it this weekend) This is definitely my go-to chocolate cake. I am not a baker and yet this turned out perfectly. Upon reading this post I immediately began craving chocolate cake. You think it might have anything to do with the 20 tabs of different chocolate cake recipes I have open on the computer? The first time, I left out half the flour, so the cupcakes arent very cake-y, but they are delicious (and there are few sins frosting wont hide). Can I frost them while they are still frozen? At 11 weeks, mine are fish (every kind except the rare tuna salad sandwich), risotto or risotto-like creations, and chocolate in most forms. Glad it was a hit! Good lord, cake. Chocolatey. You and your blog bring me great joy! This is kind of like a cross between a brownie and chocolate cake, but not like a cakey brownie, if that makes sense. This is the most reliable chocolate snack cake recipe! The outside was not dry and the cake did not collapse. Im an (unapologetic) chocoholic. Not as moist as I thought it would be or very chocolatey. Yes, I could have made it myself, but Id have had to get out of the bath tub. And she had marked so many pages with little pink tabs! This looks amazing! I mean, us. Thank you for sharing the recipe!!!!!!!!!!!! 2.5 times the recipe? Thanks, Deb. Im in week 11 and only the thought that morning sickness is about to end keeps me going! This was just what we needed tonight for a little impromptu gathering. Its a very busy page, even with my ad blocker, so itd be nice if you could put up a Print Recipe link or some other manner to make it more legible. Hubby blew the candles out, served it up, we started eating, and nobody said a word. Standard cupcakes usually bake 16 to 18 minutes, but check in a minute or two early to be safe. Guessing I posted here before as I make this cake all the time. see? How will this work in a loaf pan?! (The cake is good too, dont get me wrong.) Its a problem, I hear you loud and clear! Also, for the buttermilk, I mixed 1/2 cup black tea with 1/4 cup yogurt, and that worked really well. Deb, youve done it again! Just wondering if you use brands that are commonly available in grocery stores (US) or if you use more of a speciality chocolate. Cost to Make: $6-$8 Calories: 275 Servings: 12 cupcakes Ingredients 1 cup unsalted butter, softened 3 cups confectioners sugar 1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder 3 to 4 Tbsp heavy whipping cream 2 tsp pure vanilla extract 1/4 tsp salt US Customary - Metric Instructions Yield Serves 8 to 12 Prep time 10 minutes Cook time 25 minutes to 35 minutes Show Nutrition Ingredients 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, natural or Dutch-process 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon and its better still not as sweet as if Id made it with chocolate chip melts or something like the Green & Blacks milk chocolate and it looks smashing, once again! Thank you for your generosity and for this cake in particular it helped us support a friend who needed it. I didnt know that was even possible. 1.5 times the recipe? (See more details on how I figure this out below, but it sounds like you already know. Cant wait to try this combination. . You read my mind! (See here.) They touted it as something like WORLDS BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE so I saved it and figured wed make it this weekend for our weekly baking project. Just made this today. (I dont like super sweet cakes, so I often leave the sides unfrosted.). Thank you for this recipe. Hey Deb. I live at 5000ft, so I added an extra 2Tbs of buttermilk, cut the baking powder down by 1/8tsp (to 3/8 tsp), and baked about 10 degrees higher for more like 30 minutes. This is more of a 3/4-height layer. P.P.S I have the rainbow confetti sprinkles on order as I write because, well, rainbow confetti sprinkles.! I recently warned (threatened?) liz I have no idea! My son requested graham crackers with frosting for his lunch box treats this week, so I made a half batch of this frosting in my little mini-processor and it was the perfect amount. I read other reviews by people who found it dry; I thought it was incredibly moist for a cake thats not too dense. I was a bit worried when I added the buttermilk and it went quite lumpy, but I guess thats what you meant by uneven. I have made the recipe three times now. The cake crumb is satisfying, yet really light, and so easy to eat I could imaging scoffing a few slices before realising what had happened! Sometimes when I really need chocolate cake I cant find this recipe! I love the recipe and will have fun making this with her. Im making this for my book club tonight and wanted to time it so I could ice the thing and then hop in the car and head out, only my icing is not fluffy but oily!!! My three year old and I are going to make this cake for him. I think another eight minutes after that and the testing knife finally came out clean enough that I was prepared to take the thing out of the oven. The batter tastes amazing! BTW, I often use buttermilk powder because its easier to keep on hand; it works very well. YMMV. I just made this last night. Chocolatey, soft-textured but not crumbly, sweet but not overpowering. Does it bake well this way? Worked perfectly! P.S. It came out perfectly baked, not very risen. Just watched you make this on YouTube and immediately felt compelled to make it happen in my home. At 30 mins the top had cooked and closed over and not till about 40 mins did the skewer come out clean and the cake stop making that bubbling noise. It took about 32 minutes baking time. Hi Deb, I would halve the sugar in the frosting for next time-I havent tried the cake itself so do not know if it is equally as sweet. Thanks again for your wonderful recipes, they never cease to impress me. I feel like Im talking to a celebrity!! This cake lives up to the title! Thank-you Deb! We made this (as cupcakes) when we were quarantined for Halloween, and now were making them for Valentines Day and not in quarantine. The Best Smitten Kitchen Recipes, According to Eater Editors It reminds me of childhood parties and I can just imagine how it tastes my mouth is watering just looking at the pictures! Dear hubs just made me two flower beds where I was hoping he would so I can plant morning glories and sunflowers I started from seedhe deservs this cake! Your email address will not be published. a.) Chocolate - smitten kitchen Sorry for the late response, even after such a nice comment! I regret to tell you that this cake is nothing exactly new, and its not because Im out of ideas (I hope not, at least! Hmm, in the spirit of, I have to make this cake right nowIve just discovered I dont have unsweetened chocolate for the frosting. Ive been a lurker heresince I was in highschool? Holy smokes yall. Boyfriend is allergic to wheat, so I used brown rice flour (he found out two weeks ago so Im pretty new to this) and I couldnt tell the difference! I tried it and it turned out superbly.Im going to tell just about everyone about your recipe,its too easy and decadent not to. I will absolutely make this again. Making the coconut cake from your second book, which, like this, has one egg + one yolk. Held up great and was perfect. The Double Chocolate probably is more chocolaty, but I hardly notice. Took more like 42 minutes to cook all the way and I was worried it was going to be dry but ended up still very moist! Same timing? Would you suggest this cake or the fudgy chocolate sheet cake as the cake substitute? thanks! No one goes without at least a two layer cake for their birthday now. Hi Deb, I was hoping someone had made it in 6 rounds and had figured out the number of pans! I frosted it with a chocolate Swiss butter-cream and fresh strawberriesI even dusted it it with confectioners sugar just to make it a little more beautiful. Im making for a party and dont want to not have enough! I made this cake yesterday. I found it in March, around when quarantine started and for a couple of months, I made it every Saturday to celebrate another week of quarantine. . I add the frosting inside the cupcake and on top. i love your blog thank you for posting & for all the inspirations! I never made frosting in a food processor. i filled them about 3/4 full; next time ill do a little less as they spilled a tiny bit. I also did a messier job of splitting the egg than usual, and got a bit of the (second) egg white in there along with the yolk is that likely the source of fluffiness, and doing a cleaner job of egg-splitting next time will take care of it? Doesnt have to be a quick buttercream but I would prefer not to do a ganache. Perfect you can have two slices and one for breakfast the next day. I think you could go as far as to triple this but as quadrupled, it would be crazy tall. ( thanks to the hereditary sweet tooth). anyway I came here looking for the fudgy chocolate cake recipe, that I used for cupcakes a couple months ago. My daughter wishes for a chocolate layer cake filled with chocolate chip ice cream for her birthday next week, and 6 cakes are my familys favorite size. Life changing! Making this cake right now for my sons 16 bday. Yes, thats odd, I know, but its also good. with chocolate buttercream, but lets be real. Thoughts? First. Yum! I get impatient so I usually do both. The cake itself isnt very sweet, in hopes to provide contrast. [Dont have a food processor? Cant wait to give my kids a treat!!! Used a round pan and used homemade curd for buttermilk. So making this! Thanks! The whole house wants chocolate cake tonight! I suspect the culprit was too much flour, not enough moisture I used whole milk mixed with buttermilk powder, and my cocoa is old too. Also melted chocolate for a chocolate buttercream frosting?! I, uh, use Valrhona. Would doubling the recipe be the right amount, and how would you adjust the baking time? Frosting notes: I had super dark baking chocolate and used that instead of unsweetened for the frosting. Going to make this this weekend for my nephews birthday. Here, Ive slimmed the base and dropped a little sugar to make a thin chocolate cake layer and topped it with an unholy, unapologetic amount of frosting. So, I made the cake. I made the cake the other day for my sons birthday. My question: my daughter wants a chocolate-strawberry cake for her birthday. Sometimes it comes back for an afternoon but its not like it was. If you follow the instructions TO THE LETTER and mix in the drys just until everything is wet, you end up with a thin batter with tiny butter/sugar capsules distributed throughout. Thanks for sharing! The melted chocolate had cooled a little but was not chunky when I poured it in. but because when I found my perfect one-bowl chocolate cake (which weve made as an everyday loaf, then riffed as a fudgy layered sheet cake and red wine chocolate wonder, I promise, I can stop anytime) and ridiculously easy fudgy chocolate buttercream, there was no need to keep looking. I made this about two hours ago, substituting normal chocolate for arabica-infused chocolate in the frosting and honey Greek yogurt in the cake because it was in the fridge. So delicious and absolutely the ultimate I want cake recipe. Smitten Kitchen Chocolate Stout Cake Recipe ), as written, with great success every time! I need chocolate cakeNOW!! Oh my I need this now! I Tried Smitten Kitchen's Best Birthday Cake Recipe | Kitchn The frosting was fluffy and delicious. My friend said the word cake to me today and I could not get it out of my head. Im sorry this will sound similar to a comment I posted on another recipe (marshmallow frosting), but how does this chocolate cake compare with the other chocolate cakes on your site, especially the ones in the double chocolate layer cake and the peanut butter chocolate cake? Hi I was just wondering how much extra milk I would need to add if I added an extra 3.9oz of dry ingredients (chocolate jello pudding mix) to you recipe? I would like to send him a care package including a chocolate cake. The cake is in the oven! I tried to make this cake, but the batter curdled when I added the thinned yogurt Marble Cake - Once Upon a Chef I would have wanted and moaned until I managed to get my husband to remedy it but your solution is way better. Still, much better by then. But yes, you can always eat the frosting by itself!