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It is cake time!! Specifically simple chocolate birthday cake with whipped chocolate buttercream frosting…YES.
Yay!!
So…..
My power went out while writing this post and ALL the words were lost. Ugh. I am actually re-writing this via candlelight and the hotspot on my phone!
I had written so much!
Things like how this big three-layer cake was for my mom’s birthday.
And how for all birthdays around here, two layers simply won’t do.
Nope, not two.
Three.
Because when cake is involved… three layers are always better than two.
More layers mean more frosting, which is just all around awesomeness.
This is my all time favorite chocolate cake.
I know the ingredients by heart and could probably make this cake in my sleep. It is that easy.
This cake never fails and the frosting will forever be my family’s favorite.
It is almost mousse-like. So light and fluffy. My mom could not stop saying how incredibly moist and delicious it was.
She even did the roll the eyes to the back of her head thing. I LOVE when she does that!
Well, I have to cut this one short, sorry for the very quick post. As I said before, our power is completely out and I only have limited time on my phone’s hotspot before my battery dies.
Ten percent to be exact, gotta wrap it up!
Hopefully the photos will do the talking.
Oh, and did you notice? The gotta little love from the amazing WoodenSpoons Kitchen! What do think? I will be talking about it more soon, but the battery is now at 3%.
Watch the How-To Video here:
(2 LAYER CAKE) Simple Chocolate Birthday Cake with Whipped Chocolate Buttercream.
Servings: 16 servings
Calories Per Serving: 539 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Cake For 2 Layers
- 2 eggs (at room temperature)
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup hot black coffee
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Whipped Chocolate Buttercream
- 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) salted butter (softened to room temperature)
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3-4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter/spray with cooking spray.
- 2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, greek yogurt, canola oil, and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until there are no longer any clumps of flour. Add the hot coffee and mix until combined. The batter should be pourable, but not super thin. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using.
- 3. Pour the batter among the 2 cake pans and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool five minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan. Invert the cakes onto a cooling rack. Cover and let the cakes cool completely before frosting.
Whipped Chocolate Buttercream
- 1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until the butter is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and beat, scraping down the sides as needed, another 2 minutes or so, until there are no streaks of white. Add 3 tablespoons of the heavy cream and whip the frosting for 2-4 minutes or until light and fluffy. If desired add the remaining tablespoon of the heavy cream (I normally do) and whip until combined. Taste the frosting and add more powdered sugar if you like a sweeter or thicker frosting.
- 2. Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a plate or cake stand. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with sprinkles, chocolate curls, or whatever your heart desires.
Notes
*To quickly bring eggs to room temperature place them in a bowl and fill with warm water. Let them sit five minutes.
(3 LAYER CAKE) Simple Chocolate Birthday Cake with Whipped Chocolate Buttercream.
Servings: 30 servings
Calories Per Serving: 385 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Cake For 3 Layers
- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup canola oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons hot black coffee
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Whipped Chocolate Buttercream
- 4 sticks (2 cups) salted butter softened to room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4-5 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease 3 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter/spray with cooking spray.2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk, greek yogurt, canola oil, and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until there are no longer any clumps of flour. Add the hot coffee and mix until combined. The batter should be pourable, but not super thin. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using.3. Pour the batter among the cake pans and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool five minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the pan. Invert the cakes onto a cooling rack. Cover and let the cakes cool completely before frosting.
Whipped Chocolate Buttercream
- 1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until the butter is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and beat, scraping down the sides as needed, another 2 minutes or so, until there are no streaks of white. Add 3 tablespoons of the heavy cream and whip the frosting for 2-4 minutes or until light and fluffy. If desired add the remaining tablespoon of the heavy cream (I normally do) and whip until combined. Taste the frosting and add more powdered sugar if you like a sweeter or thicker frosting.2. Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a plate or cake stand. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting. Add the 3rd layer and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with sprinkles, chocolate curls, or whatever your heart desires.
Notes
*To quickly bring eggs to room temperature place them in a bowl and fill with warm water. Let them sit five minutes.
Hey, I had a thought, there could be a good side to this power outage. Kinda the perfect time for cake!
Lastly, if you make this Simple Chocolate Birthday Cake with Whipped Chocolate Buttercream be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
What a Wonderful cake!!! its contains all those INGREDIENTS which are full of Protiens.
Thanks by heart!!!
Thank you!
nevermind about my comment above.. I just watched your video. YUM!
I am really glad the video helped you Carey! Let me know if you have any other questions! Thank you!
Hi, I have been wanting to try to make a chocolate cake from scratch but want it moist and rich – this seem to be it to try!!
I am confused about your directions.. I thought we are supposed to slowly add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the mixed wet. So – we just dump the dry ingredients and then mix them all together?? I know cake is funny like science, plmk 🙂
I rarely post comments but love to give credit where credit is due. Been searching for a good chocolate cake recipe…looking no further, this is it! made it today, Wonderful ! Thanks for sharing will be my go to recipe.
Awh wow well thank you for commenting it means so much. SO happy you liked the cake (:
Thank you Delaine!
Great cake!! Was craving a chocolate cake and this was perfect! Love the videos, thanks tieghan
Awh, I am so happy this cake went perfectly for you Jenna! Thank you!!
I tried this cake last night, it sunk in the middle for both layers? What went wrong??
Hi Leah, I am so sorry for the trouble. It is really hard to say what went wrong without knowing how you made the recipe. Can you give me any more details? Did you do anything differently?
Hi. Can you substitute Dutch cocoa for unsweetened and vegetable oil for the canola oil? This is for your chocolate birthday cake with whipped buttercream frosting.
Hi! Yes, dutch cocoa and vegetable ail for the canola. Let me know if you have questions. Hope you love this!
This cake was fantastic! I used “homemade” buttermilk and it was fine. Super miost and fluffy. Had to bribe my husband with choclate chip cookies so he wouldn’t eat that last piece!
So happy you liked it Gina! Haha bribe him thats awesome (:
Did I read this wrong but the 3 layer cake only calls for 2 pans….a typo?
Wonderful recipe and I am looking forward to baking my own birthday cake
Using your recipe!
Thank you!
Ty
Hey Ty! yup, just a typo. So sorry about that! recipe is all fixed. Hope you love the cake! 🙂
I used two 8″ pans and it was perfect. Glad to know either will work.
Ooo! Awesome so good to know!
Great recipe and easy to follow for someone who is not an experienced baker. It was actually fun to make and delicious. My family loved it!
So happy you enjoyed making it (: Thank you Vicky!
Woah! This looks amazing!
Thank you!
They turned out great! We had them both! This next Sunday we are having Million Dollar Spaghetti (after I raved and raved about it) …and the choc cake again! For the Choc Cake I will leave out the salt, just use a pinch in cake and frosting since I am not used to salt so much – and I am going to make a Marshmallo – Buttercream frosting between the cakes, then frost over all with choc frosting! My Sis is loving this!
HI!! So happy your loving the pasta and making it again!!
That cake is one of my favs! Actually just posted a video of it!
Frosting sounds insanely good!
So…we (my sis and I) have had to postpone our CharredZucchinniEnchiladaPasta salad two days in a row because of issues, and believe me my sister’s husb is really really wanting what comes at the end of the Pasta/Salad – Your Chocolate Cake, to be exact. So we are going to try both today…cross fingers.
Woo! I hope the two turn out amazing for you, Reni! Thank you + let me know how it is!
Been researching on the adding more choc-chips, and yes, it would be to much. So I will keep it at 1/2 cup for the two-layer. Making this today for my brother-in-law, but I get to eat it too – can’t wait!
sorry about the double question