Coffee Chocolate Cake

A slice of chocolate cake with coffee frosting being lifted up with a cake server.

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Coffee Chocolate Cake

This super moist chocolate cake is topped with the best coffee buttercream! This is a serious match made in heaven. The chocolate cake is an oil-based cake which means it stays soft for days. This is a really simple cake recipe to make!

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Total Time55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: slices

Calories: 591kcal

Author: Ella Gilbert

Equipment

2 8" round cake pans

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

¾ cup cocoa powder dutch processed
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
2 eggs room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup buttermilk room temperature
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup very hot water

Espresso Buttercream

2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons espresso powder
¼ cup heavy cream

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Make Cake

Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C. Butter or grease two 8-inch cake pans and line it with parchment paper.
Combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl with a whisk.
¾ cup cocoa powder, 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar, 2 cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
In a large jug, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract.
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup buttermilk, ½ cup vegetable oil, 2 eggs
Slowly pour in the ingredients from the large jug and mix until just combined.
Slowly add the hot water and mix. Your batter will be very thin and it makes a lot of cake batter!
1 cup very hot water
Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted
Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pans. Let them cool completely on a cooling rack.

Make Frosting

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar together on low speed until well combined.
2 sticks unsalted butter, 3 cups confectioners' sugar
Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes until it becomes very thick.
Stop the mixer and add the salt, vanilla, and espresso into the bowl. Beat on medium-high speed for another 2 minutes.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoons espresso powder
Turn the mixer to your lowest speed and pour in the heavy cream. Beat until it becomes very creamy and spreadable.
¼ cup heavy cream
Assemble your cake and enjoy!

Notes

My recipes have been developed and tested in metric grams. I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. I have provided a conversion to US cups but please note that I haven’t tested the recipe with this method. Just click on ‘US Customary’ above the ingredients to see the cup measurements.

I make sure that all of my ingredients are at room temperature before I start the recipe, so pull out all of the ingredients before you start baking.

Butter: I use European-style butter in my recipes. This will make your frosting much creamier and richer.

Salt: If you don’t have kosher salt, halve the amount of salt called for in the recipe. 1 teaspoon kosher salt = ½ teaspoon fine salt.

Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, replace it with an equal amount of sour cream or full fat yogurt. You can also make your buttermilk, for every cup of buttermilk add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of milk and let sit for 5 minutes.

Vegetable Oil: Use an unflavoured oil like canola oil if you don’t have vegetable oil.

Storage: Keep tightly wrapped in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature before eating.

Espresso Powder: make sure you're using fine espresso powder and not coffee granules, that'll be too gritty in the frosting.

Making Ahead: You can make the cake layers ahead of time. Bake them and then once completely cooled, wrap in plastic wrap tightly. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. If frozen, allow to defrost and come to room temperature before frosting the cake.

Nutrition