Layers of made-from-scratch chocolate cake meet the easiest ever 5-minute chocolate frosting in this irresistible, two-layer cake. Both parts are easy, can be made ahead, travel well, and are a total crowd-pleaser!
Cake batter with oil
There are never too many chocolate cake recipes, and I come bearing another one.
This is a simple recipe with great flavor and good moistness (thanks also to the sour cream) that delivers.
A well-rounded type of chocolate cake that comes together easily since it uses oil instead of the classic butter, so it's quick to make.
Testing Notes
Coffee or water: I strongly encourage you to use coffee as it brings out the chocolate flavor. The cake will be richer, with a deeper chocolate taste and no coffee flavor. But water works, too.
Hot liquid: It's necessary to bloom the cocoa powder (intensifying its flavor) and melt the chocolate pieces. So make sure it's very, very hot.
Will it have a good flavor without butter? When you use melted chocolate and cocoa powder, the flavor is intensified. Add to that coffee, and the intense chocolate taste will be there.
Ingredient Notes
Quantities are listed in the recipe card toward the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands I use.
- Chocolate: Use your favorite dark semisweet chocolate.
- Cocoa powder: Always use unsweetened. In my experience, the dark ones are the best (this does not apply to the super dark used for making homemade oreo cookies known as dark cocoa powder).
- Coffee: I strongly encourage you to use prepared coffee. The cake will be richer, with a deeper chocolate flavor. But water works, too. Just make sure it's very hot to melt the chocolate pieces and 'bloom' the cocoa powder, intensifying the flavor.
- Oil: I like sunflower, but coconut, canola, or even olive oil work.
- Brown sugar: Light or dark.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Make sure they aren't expired.
- Sour cream: the regular type, full-fat sour cream that adds richness and creaminess.
Steps to make chocolate cake
- Coffee: It's essential to add it very hot and let it stand for a bit, giving the chocolate time to melt. It enhances the chocolate flavor, but the cake won't taste like coffee.
- Chocolate mixture: This part is similar to a devil's food cake, where the cocoa powder is mixed with liquid to make it 'bloom' and open the flavors. This will be the liquid part of the cake.
- Since this recipe uses oil, the mixture won't look as creamy as when you use butter.
- Sift the dry ingredients before incorporating them to avoid clumps and impurities. Beat well, but don't overmix as this will make the cake tougher.
Filling and frosting
I love using our super easy 5-minute easy chocolate frosting both as a filling and frosting for this cake.
It's easy to make and can be made ahead of time, making this an intense chocolate cake, the type we all love!
This frosting recipe makes enough to fill and frost a 9-inch two-layer cake. And you can use it as soon as it's mixed; no need to wait until it thickens.
I frost it with a metal spatula and swirl it. Nothing fancy. But you can use a piping bag and make any pattern or drawing you want.
- Spread the filling, leaving half an inch or so of unfilled cake around the edges. So, when you cover it with the top round and press slightly, the filling will spread out. An offset spatula is a great tool for this.
- Cover the whole cake with the chocolate frosting. I put pieces of paper beneath the cake on the cake stand I plan to serve it. Then simply remove them when the frosting starts to set.
Filling alternatives
- Dulce de leche: If you never tried a simple chocolate cake filled with this amazing sweet milk jam, you're missing out, big time! Make sure you buy dulce de leche repostero, which is thicker than regular.
- White chocolate ganache: this filling can be used by itself or with some peppermint extract for a more festive cake. The recipe can be found in the Triple Brownie Cake post.
- Whipped cream: another simple filling that can be whipped in a few minutes. Find the recipe in the Black Forest Tart post.
Storing
As with most cake layers, this one can be refrigerated for several days or frozen for a month or more.
Always ensure the layers are well wrapped and placed on a flat surface in the freezer so they don't lose their shape.
You can find more info in the post about Freezer Baking & Desserts.
Eat it at room temperature. The flavors are mellower and have more depth. Cold can numb some flavors, including chocolate.
Before you go
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Double Chocolate Cake (with 5-minute frosting)
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup coffee , very hot
- ½ cup sunflower oil, or other neutral vegetable oil
- 1 cup brown sugar, light or dark, packed
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup sour cream, at room temperature
For the frosting:
- 1 recipe for Easy 5-minute Chocolate Frosting
Instructions
For the cake:
- Mix 3 ounces semisweet chocolate and 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder in a medium bowl.
- Add hot ½ cup coffee (or boiling water if not using coffee) all at once, leave for 30 seconds and then stir until the chocolate is completely dissolved. It might seem at first that it won’t, but it will. That’s why we add almost boiling coffee or water to bloom the cocoa and soften the chocolate.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Butter or spray an 8 or 9-inch (22 or 24cm) round cake pan with a removable bottom. Sprinkle with flour, shake off excess and reserve.
- Beat ½ cup sunflower oil with 1 cup brown sugar and ¼ cup white sugar for 1 minute in a large bowl.
- Add 2 eggs one at a time, and beat well each time. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix.
- Sift 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda and ½ teaspoon baking powder.
- Add to the oil mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the chocolate mixture and ¼ cup sour cream in 2 parts. That means that you start and end with flour. Mix very well, but do not overbeat the batter at this point.
- Pour into the prepared pan.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a tester comes out dry. If you use 2 pans it will take between 30-35 minutes.
- Let it cool on a wire rack.
- Carefully remove from the pan and let it cool completely before filling (even better if you do it the next day).
- If not using immediately, wrap well and either refrigerate for a few days or freeze for a month or more.
For the filling:
- Make 1 recipe for Easy 5-minute Chocolate Frosting as directed.
- Cut the cold cake in two and put the bottom layer on a flat surface.
- Fill with about half the chocolate mixture and spread, leaving about half an inch without filling near the edges.
- Top with the remaining cake round and press lightly. The filling will squish to the edges.
- Frost sides and top with a metal spatula or knife. Let dry until it develops a harder outer layer.
Zoritsa says
I trialed this recipe for an upcoming layer cake and found a winner. 🙂 It turned out amazingly moist, so much so that I had to switch to an instant-read thermometer as the 'toothpick method' kept bringing up damp crumb...Paula - another brilliant combination of ingredients!!!
With all of the brown sugar, it created a spectacularly divine 'crust' on the top & sides of the cakes (I used two 6" cake pans)...it is almost a travesty to 'frost it', however promised them a layer cake (next time I will make muffins/cupcakes and leave them unadorned, to enjoy that amazing top layer).
Thanks again - and again, KUDOS CHEF!!!
Paula Montenegro says
SO happy to know it turned out so well Zoritsa! Have a great week.
Ilovecooking says
Love it! my go to recipe
Paula Montenegro says
So happy to know that!