I can’t say the same for other high-altitude cakes I’ve prepared because this chocolate cake never collapses! Tested at 9,000 feet, this cake consistently comes out fluffy and moist. Use cream cheese and vanilla bean icing to ice this wonderful layer cake. Mocha frosting or Bailey’s buttercream are also excellent options.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Additional Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 25 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 2 9-inch cake layers |
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ cups hot coffee
- 1 ¾ cups white sugar
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
- Place cocoa into a small bowl. Pour coffee over cocoa and stir to combine. Set aside to cool.
- Combine sugar, yogurt, milk, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add olive oil and mix to combine.
- Whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a large bowl until no lumps remain. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and beat until just combined. Stir in cooled coffee mixture, then pour batter into the prepared pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. The centers may look slightly wet but will spring back lightly when touched.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges of each pan to loosen, then invert cakes carefully onto a wire rack and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- You can use vegetable oil instead of olive oil, but the olive oil gives the cake a richer flavor. Turbinado sugar can be used in place of white sugar.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 348 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 48 g |
| Cholesterol | 34 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 290 mg |
| Sugars | 30 g |
| Fat | 17 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Tastes good but mine imploded in the middle. I did not make it with the two circular pans as recommended so that may be part of the problem. Fortunately have a lot of frosting to cover the divot but hoping that the center isn’t raw. Came clean with the toothpick. Hmmm…..
Great recipe! Cake was moist and delicious. I made it for my grandson’s birthday and got two thumbs up. Made as written.
I just made this cake for my son’s second birthday. I’ve been living at about 7,000′ elevation for 13 years and love to bake bread and muffins but have never mastered cakes and cupcakes. This one was absolutely amazing! I followed the recipe exactly and added a simple vanilla frosting with crushed graham crackers around the edge. Huge hit! With adults and children. I was a little worried about putting 1.5 cups of coffee in a cake for a toddler but you can’t taste it at all. (not sure about the caffeine though…) I’m so happy I finally found a recipe that works for this elevation! Thank you!!!
Baked this cake at 7,950′. I am NOT a baker but I wanted to make a cake for my boyfriend’s birthday. I followed this recipe closely, only substituting cake flour for the all-purpose flour. It came out perfectly! I made a black cherry compote & spread that between the layers, then frosted with a store-bought buttercream frosting. The cake was moist, flavorful, & fluffy. Loved it!
This recipe saved the day! The day before my son’s first birthday, I tried baking a chocolate cake twice with disastrous results. Then I realized the fact that we live at 9,350 feet above sea level might be to blame. I found this recipe and tried it three hours before guests arrived. It turned out great! Flat, no sunken middle, no overflowing batter. The guests raved about it. I think the coffee helps enrich the flavor. The only adjustments I made were to use vanilla flavored Greek yogurt and to bake it in an approximately 9×13-inch cake pan. I topped the cake with vanilla buttercream icing and diced strawberries. Thank you for this great high-altitude recipe!
From Cheyenne, Wy, this cake is amazing! I used canola instead of olive oil, added milk chocolate chips, and topped it with a simple vanilla frosting. I also made one 9×13. It didn’t sink or mound, it was perfectly flat when all was said and done! And super delicious.
Will make again. Substituted stevia/sugar blend for sugar and worked well. Very moist, delicious cake.