Ina Garten’s Chocolate Cake recipe ~ it’s a classic! When I hear the word dessert, this homey, rich, chocolatey cake is what springs to mind. Everybody should make it at least once.
Ina Garten’s chocolate cake is hands-down one of my favorite chocolate cakes I’ve ever baked, (or tasted!)
It will take a lot for me to look for another chocolate cake recipe in the near future. The texture and flavor of Ina Garten’s chocolate cake is just my style — it’s very moist without being dense or heavy at all, and has just the right balance of sweetness with rich chocolate flavor. I can see why this is a beloved recipe, and will be my go-to from now on.
This easy chocolate cake has the light, even texture of a boxed cake mix
The chocolate cake itself is similar to my Chocolate Cake with Cranberry Buttercream, but even a little bit simpler to put together as it calls for oil and cocoa powder rather than melted butter and chocolate. You can feel confident going with either one, depending on whether you’re in a butter creaming mood or not. They both bake up perfectly with a nice deep rich color and fabulous chocolate flavor.
A pinch of salt and some silky sour cream makes chocolate frosting even better!
I did make a couple of changes to the original frosting recipe to suit my preferences ~ I added a pinch of salt, a bit of sour cream, and increased the amount of powdered sugar. These changes help to bulk up the frosting a bit so that there’s plenty to generously frost a double layer cake (I’m paranoid about running out!)
I feel that the salt and sour cream help offset the added sugar a little bit. The added sour cream also makes for a slightly softer frosting that doesn’t go quite as crusty over time as a plain buttercream frosting tends to do.
I kept my cake as plain and simple as can be, but of course this is a wonderful base for all kinds of variations and decorations. The cake would be amazing with a vanilla frosting, a peanut butter frosting, a blackberry buttercream, whatever you like!
Suggestions for decorating a chocolate layer cake
If your occasion calls for a little more frippery, here are some ideas…
- One of my favorite ways to decorate any chocolate surface is with chocolate shavings: just take a bar of chocolate and a vegetable peeler and peel off little curls. If your chocolate is dry you can microwave it for a few seconds to soften it so that you can get it to curl beautifully.
- Chocolate sprinkles look pretty on a chocolate cake, you can decorate the top, or press them into the sides.
- If it’s the season, pop some berries on top, strawberries and raspberries are perfect. Intersperse some green mint leaves.
- Arrange malted milk balls or other chocolate candy around the perimeter of the cake.
How to crumb coat a layer cake
The moist, delicate texture of this cake mean that it is a little bit trickier to frost without getting crumbs in your frosting, so I recommend doing a quick “crumb coat,” which, if you’ve never bothered with one in the past, really isn’t as complicated or annoying as it might sound!
- To make a “crumb coat,” simply frost the top and sids of the cake with a thin layer of frosting, getting everything as smooth as you can. Don’t worry if there are crumbs showing.
- Then, refrigerate the cake for at least 15 minutes. This sets the frosting and effectively locks all those crumbs in place before you move on to your next coat of frosting, so they won’t be floating around and getting in your way! That’s it!
I think this cake is the perfect celebratory cake for any and all occasions ~ it’s a great recipe to have in your back pocket for birthdays, anniversaries, graduation parties, you name it.
More luscious layer cakes ~
- Banana Cake with Spiced Vanilla Buttercream
- Orange Creamsicle Cake
- Raspberry Lemon Cake
- Blueberry Lemon Layer Cake
Ina Garten’s Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- Two 8-inch round cake pans Note: this cake is thick, so make sure your cake pans are at least 2 inches tall to accomodate the batter.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk (I used half-and-half, which worked fine, too!)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot coffee
For the frosting
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat oven to 350F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper discs.
- Whisk all the dry ingredients together well in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients EXCEPT the coffee.
- Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing as you go. Once incorporated, add the hot coffee, and mix everything until there are no pockets of dry flour left. The batter will be very thin.
- Divide the batter between the two cake pans, and bake for 35 minutes until risen and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out without wet batter clinging to it.
- Allow the cakes to partially cool in the pans, then turn out onto a cooling rack to completely cool before frosting. The cakes can be made a day or two ahead and kept in the refrigerator before frosting.
For the frosting
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave using short bursts. Stir until smooth and set aside to cool slightly.
- Beat the room temperature butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for a couple minutes until smooth and noticeably paler in color. Slowly add the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla, beating on a low-medium speed until everything is smooth.
- Whisk the sour cream into the partially cooled melted chocolate. This both cools down the chocolate and warms up the sour cream so that both are more-or-less room temperature before adding to the butter mixture.
- Add the chocolate and sour cream mixture to the mixer bowl and beat on low speed until everything is smooth and combined.
- If your frosting seems a little too loose, you can refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes to allow it to firm up a little bit. Then give it a good stir before frosting the cake.
Notes
Nutrition
I love your recipes. I have a question as I feel that the kind of cocoa powder you use can make or break a good cake. I’ve tried expensive cocoa powder etc and the basic ones. What brand do you use ? Do you use Dutch processed cocoa for this recipe ? Thank you ps did you know you can’t press more than three stars to rate this recipe? Was trying to give it 5 stars and your site won’t allow me to.
This cake recipe is top notch. The cake is delicious and moist. However, I would say the icing is too sweet for me. Next time I make the icing I’ll try 2 cups opposed to 3 cups since powdered sugar tends to be really sweet for my taste. Otherwise, 100% will be making this again. Family enjoyed the cake.
hi there for the frosting can I use greek yogurt instead of sourcream
thanks Joanne
I’m super confused because I’m SURE I followed the recipe exactly, and my cakes are soup. I thought the batter seemed especially liquidy, but I have no idea what went wrong. Cakes are currently still in the oven for longer.
It sounds like an oven temp problem Cara, I suggest checking with an oven thermometer, they’re inexpensive and so useful in cases like this.
My new go-to chocolate cake recipe! This is perfect in every way. The addition of the sour cream in the frosting is brilliant. Addictive!
Would this be okay if I made this as a Bundt cake?? (Not with the frosting) my mom wants a plain chocolate cake for her birthday with whipped cream on top. If so, how long in the oven do you think?
can i bake this and make it an ice cream cake ? Add a thin layer of ice cream in the middle?
The cake is sturdy, so that should be fine Alex.
is there a sub for vegetable oil?
You might try melted butter.
I have tried twice now to bake this cake. Everything seems perfect until I open the oven door and then the cake starts sinking in the center. I thought it was the baking powder, but I purchased new powder and I had the same result. The cake still tastes good but I can’t figure it out. Please help, what am I doing wrong?
It sounds like it isn’t cooking long enough, so I suggest checking your oven temperature with an oven thermometer. It hangs on one of the racks and you can see if, when you set it to 350F is actually gets to that temp. I suspect your oven is cooking low, and so your cake isn’t getting enough time. (The very center is always the last to get done.) I always check by gently touching the center of the cake, it should spring back when done, and I will check with a toothpick as well, if I’m not sure.
I will get an oven thermometer and check the temp. . I never thought of the oven being the issue. Thank you..
You’d be surprised…I don’t think I’ve ever had an oven that cooked at an accurate temperature, I’ve always relied on my thermometers.
Cindy, were you able to confirm it was actually the temperature issue? I had the same problem today where my cakes sank in the middle (both ways- so when I turned it out it sank right back the other way lol). Same as you though they were super delicious. I have no idea what went wrong though!
Would the icing work well if I make the cake in a Bundt pan?
I don’t normally frost bundt cakes with thick frostings like this one, it would be a little tricky, but I guess you could.
Thanks! This’ll be my weekend baking activity.
I’m not a coffee drinker; therefore no coffee in the house. Anything you could use to substitute?
You can use hot water.
Does the coffee bring a mocha flavor or just a more rich flavor? I’m trying to decide between coffee and hot water. I don’t like mocha flavor at all.
It really just enriches the chocolate flavor, so feel free to use hot water.
I’m not a coffee drinker either, I used Pero, which is an instant natural beverage, made with barley, malted barley, chicory and rye. I know it sounds weird but its a great substitute for coffee and it is naturally caffeine free. I found it provides a richness to the cake, similar to what coffee would provide, while also providing that dark coloring of the cake. I hope this helps. Pero can usually be found in most grocery stores near the coffee.