A chocolate cake with three flawless layers, creamy whipped cream filling, and chocolate buttercream icing that is very delicious and luscious. In our home, this was always a favorite! Sprinkles, chocolate curls, or seasonal fresh fruit can be used as cake decorations.
| Prep Time: | 1 hr 5 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 25 mins |
| Servings: | 18 |
| Yield: | 1 9-inch (3-layer) cake |
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 ½ cups white sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Start cake: Place cocoa in a medium bowl. Gently pour boiling water over top and stir to combine; let cool, about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans.
- Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder into a mixing bowl.
- Combine sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl; beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with the cooled cocoa mixture, mixing only until combined. Pour 1/3 of the cake batter into each of the prepared pans, spreading evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean and cakes pull away from the sides of the pans, 18 to 22 minutes. Remove cakes from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Invert cakes carefully onto the wire rack and let cool completely, about 20 more minutes.
- While the cakes are cooling, make frosting and filling: Beat butter for frosting in a mixing bowl until creamy. Gradually mix in confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, and vanilla; continue to mix until light and fluffy, 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Make filling: Whip heavy cream and vanilla in a bowl until cream becomes thick. Add confectioners’ sugar and continue to whip until stiff but not too grainy.
- Fill and frost cake: Remove cooled cake layers from pans. Trim any top surfaces to make them flat. Place one layer on a nice plate and spread 1/3 of the filling over the top. Top with another layer and another 1/2 of the remaining filling. Place the remaining cake layer on top. Spread frosting around the sides of the layers, leaving a ridge that extends up over the top edge. Spread the remaining filling over the top of the cake, inside the ridge of frosting.
Reviews
this recipe is a joke . All the instructions were off . Worse recipe ever.
Didn’t even want to leave one but had too… horrible
This was delicious. My only change was to add a little to the chocolate frosting for the side. It wasn’t coming together, so I ended up using 1/2 cup of butter, added a couple of TBS of milk/cream and added extra cocoa powder because I didn’t think that it was chocolatey enough.
This cake tasted great. I would say that if you want it to look as good as it tastes, cake stakes are needed to hold the layers in place.
The best chocolate cake I’ve ever made. Some modifications: replaced one cup of hot water with decaf French roast coffee. Reduced sugar to 1.5 C. Folded in 2 egg whites beaten to soft peaks at the very end. Baked in a bundt pan for 55 min. I actually ruined my butter cream frosting by over mixing so I only used the whipped cream. It still was absolutely delicious. Moist and light, not dense because I added the egg white meringue. This is now my go to chocolate cake recipe!
I’m a baker. This. Is. The most AMAZING chocolate cake recipe I’ve ever used!! I pair it with my homemade cream cheese frosting- and usually add fruit to top it off. Delectable!
It was my first n baking a cake. A lot of work but fun. Thanks for the recipe. I had some trouble with the icing.
I just made this for my daughter’s 17th and have to say YES– it is a perfect Chocolate Cake. We used a different frosting recipe so I can not rate the frosting. The creme in between layers is exceptional.
The only change was, I put all the whipped creme between the layers . The butter chocolate icing was used on sides and top.
I swear this is the same exact recipe for Hershey’s chocolate cake. It’s a good recipe, and it comes out the same every time. The batter is a little scary because it’s very thin but everything works out.
I made this cake and I’m obsessed with it but The only problem that it was too hard you should probably add more butter to it but it’s a really good recipe I’ll definitely make it again and again thank you so much for the recipe
I made a 2 layer version of this cake – it had to bake a little longer but it was moist and delicious. Frosted it with cream cheese frosting – was a big hit!
The cake was way too moist and started to fall apart right away. Cream was very messy. Overall, I am dissatisfied. Not that it doesn’t look pretty, it also a pain to make. And I’m not an amateur to that extent. Won’t make it anymore. Though I must say, my son, my husband and my neighbour liked the cake and said it was very nice. So I can’t rate it very low, but 3 stars is my honest review.
This cake is truly delicious. Decadent enough but not too rich! I made a different frosting as the other commenters had suggested but the actual cake recipe was as given. I did replace the water for coffee to add a layer of nuance in flavor.
i have lived. so goood, perfect consitoncy
I’m giving it a 3. I’m disappointed because this cake was going to be a birthday cake. In baking one must always be precise and I was. The cakes did not rise enough and look like the size of two layer cakes instead of 3. (The 3-layer chocolate cake recipe I used last year from allrecipes worked perfectly. )I used fresh ingredients. My eggs and butter were also at room temperature. I’m going to have to buy a chocolate cake tomorrow. Also, the cakes needed 14 more minutes to get done than the recipe stated. I’m positive this cake will taste great. I’m disappointed because it is small.
This will be my go-to recipe when I need a 3 layer chocolate cake. Turned out perfect, didn’t change a thing. Very moist
My family went CRAZY for this cake. As I write this, my kids are hollering “that was DELICIOUS, MOM!” “oooooh I LOVED your cake, Mom!!” from different rooms of the house. It was a HIT. Usually, my kids (3,5,7) aren’t huge cake fans… they take a couple bites and leave the rest for the trash. Tonight, that was NOT the case. Each child asked for seconds (I had split the three layers between them.) I put some mini chocolate chips around the rim of the top and it was divine- a top coat of mini chips is not a bad route. The cream is absolutely delicious. My only problem was the chocolate frosting for the outside of the cake wouldn’t turn into a frosting….. it stayed clumpy after a looong time of beating, so I added a tablespoon or two of cream and it turned out really well. My husband loves putting his cake in milk and was raving about how well the cream incorporated into the cake. This recipe is going to be honored by making it into my cookbook–which is the highest of honors in my kitchen 🙂 My daughter, who is an avid white-cake fan, said, “THIS is the cake I want you to make for my birthday!” It’s a very good recipe. Glad I came across it and gave it a try!
Wanted a new chocolate cake recipe for “Chocolate Cake Lovers Day” last weekend and this was a great find! I made a half batch of cake for (2) 5″ cake pans but I goofed on the eggs (used 4 instead of two). The cake came out rather dense but still delicious! Middle frosting was 1 cup whipped cream, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 1/4 c. powdered sugar. I cut the cakes in half, and did the final frosting with the buttercream from this recipe and family enjoyed it very much! I enjoyed the cocoa aspect instead of chocolate chips since those tend to keep me awake. Thanks for sharing!
Doubled the chocolate frosting, recipe amount was too thin.
It was underwhelming. I wasn’t impressed with the overall flavor of the cake. It wasn’t really sweet or super chocolaty. Not a good recipe for someone with a real sweet tooth and love for chocolate. Very moist though.