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Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

A gorgeous one layer Chocolate Buttermilk Cake with a tender crumb. Covered in creamy real chocolate frosting and a boatload of chocolate chips, it’s THE best chocolate cake EVER. 

Chocolate buttermilk cake

This cake👆🏻is the answer.

To what, you ask? To EVERYTHING. I’m talking a one bowl, face-plant-worthy, I-must-have-seconds kind of chocolate cake.

If you’re looking for a go-to Chocolate Buttermilk Cake recipe, then this is your day.

Chocolate buttermilk cake

It took a number of tries to get this cake just right, but it was more than worth it. All I knew was that I wanted a chocolate cake that was THE chocolate cake.

You know the one. The cake that everyone requests for their birthday. The cake recipe that you print out and keep in your recipe box because it’s THAT good. The cake that when served, everyone asks for seconds.

And yes, this is THE cake.

Chocolate buttermilk cake

When I started recipe testing 👆🏻 I knew I wanted a thick one layer chocolate cake that could be made with just a bowl and spoon. My first attempt used melted butter, and while it looked great in form, it was too dense and dry. I cannot stand dry cake, so I knew we had some work to do.

I then switched to vegetable oil as the main fat, as it tends to lend itself to moist chocolate cakes, as I know from my favourite Mint Chocolate Layer Cake. However the cake rose too much in the middle and tasted vaguely of oil – ew.

Chocolate buttermilk cake

However the third time round we got lucky. ❤️ Like seriously lucky. The perfect Chocolate Buttermilk Cake was born. It’s soft and tender with a rich cocoa flavour and a gorgeous texture.

I went back to melted butter, but this time added a little more sugar, a little less buttermilk and a little more water – yes hot water is the ultimate ingredient in chocolate cake. And then and there my new favourite chocolate cake was born.

Chocolate buttermilk cake

Once you take that cake and add my favourite real chocolate frosting AND a boatload of chocolate chips, you have one downright delicious treat. It’s chocolate on chocolate on chocolate. And I love it.

It’s the ultimate chocolate lovers cake. And the fact that it can be made with a bowl and spoon, just makes it all the more tempting.

Chocolate buttermilk cake

There’s no exotic flavours. No outrageous ingredients. Just an old-fashioned, lick-the-bowl, chocolate cake. Even though the cake only uses cocoa powder for it’s chocolate flavour, it is oh-so-choco-licious.

And once you add lashes of luscious chocolate frosting, you are all set. And this frosting is next level. Made with melted dark chocolate, it’s a fluffy, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth kinda buttercream.

Chocolate buttermilk cake

Honestly, I can’t wait to make this Chocolate Buttermilk Cake again. And handy tip, if you don’t have store bought buttermilk on hand, you can make your own. Just take 1/2 cup of regular milk and add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar. Voila! Homemade buttermilk.

I really hope you enjoy this lovely chocolate cake. If you do make it, be sure to take a photo and share it with me on Instagram.

Chocolate buttermilk cake

Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.

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Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

★★★★★ 4.6 from 14 reviews
  • Author: Jessica Holmes
  • Prep Time: 60 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 12
  • Category: Cake
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

A gorgeous one layer chocolate buttermilk cake with real chocolate frosting.

Ingredients

Chocolate buttermilk cake

  • 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour
  • 40 grams (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
  • 90 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
  • 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 170 grams (3/4 cup or 1.5 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 120 ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk*
  • 120 ml (1/2 cup) hot water

Chocolate frosting

  • 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 375 grams (3 cups) icing or powder sugar
  • 100 grams (2/3 cup) dark chocolate
  • 1–2 tablespoons milk*
  • 75 grams (1/2 cup) chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180 C (360 F). Grease and line an 8 inch round cake tin with baking or parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, cocoa powder, sugars, baking powder and baking soda. Boil the kettle and pour out 1/2 cup of hot water and set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl, add butter, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk and stir briefly. Add butter mixture to dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add hot water and stir until chocolate cake batter is smooth. It will be a thin batter – that’s ok.
  3. Place in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave on a wire rack to cool completely.
  4. To make the frosting, place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy. Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a microwave, stirring in between 20 second bursts, until just melted and set aside.
  5. Add half the sugar and one tablespoon of milk and beat until combined. Add the remaining sugar and beat until smooth.
  6. Add melted chocolate, ensuring the chocolate is still smooth and melted but is not warm. Beat until the chocolate is completely mixed through. If frosting is too thick, add an extra tablespoon of milk. Generously frost the top and sides of the cake using a spatula. Sprinkle over chocolate chips.

Notes

*Make your own buttermilk by adding 1 teaspoon white vinegar to 1/2 cup milk.

*If your frosting is too thick, add an extra tablespoon or two of milk and beat until smooth.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice of cake
  • Calories: 540

Keywords: Chocolate, Cake, Frosting, Buttermilk, Dessert

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Chocolate buttermilk cake

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Made this with butter and vegetable oil ( didn’t have enough butter) and was delicious.. yum yum. Will make
    Again

    Reply

  3. Hello! I scrolled through all of the comments and didnt find anyone asking about castor sugar — would I be able to substitute castor sugar for any other sugar since I do not have that readily available? If so, how much?
    Thank you

    Reply

  4. This was my first recipe from this site but won’t be my last !’ve just made this cake as the base for my german chocolate cake. It baked up well and was light and fluffy. I made my own buttermilk with 2% and vinegar and it turned out great! Thanks. Happy baking!

    ★★★★

    Reply

    • Hi Donya! Thank you for such a lovely review! I’m so pleased you enjoyed the recipe ☺️ I always make my own buttermilk using vinegar too, such a lifesaver!

      Reply

  5. Hi there., I recently made this cake. The flavor was delicious… Not too sweet, very moist and nice and chocolatey. My cake was very dense though.. Almost like brownie texture. Is this how it should be? Just curious…. I would definitely make it again. 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Stacey! I’m so glad you enjoyed this cake! It’s one of my favourites. It is supposed to be lovely moist but not as dense as a brownie or mud cake. Perhaps yours was slightly under baked? Thanks for the lovely feedback! 💕

      Reply

      • HI, thank you for your reply! I doubled the recipe and baked in a large (12 inch) round pan. Maybe that had something to do with it….or it may be possible that I didn’t double the ingredients properly. I was just curious to know if it was supposed to be like that. I will try again as it was delicious, just very dense 🙂

        Reply

  7. Hello,
    I followed the recipe and baked the cake in an 8 inch cake tin…I took it out of the oven after 50 minutes when the skewer I inserted came out clean, but after I cut the cake the inside was very under-cooked. Would could be the problem?

    Reply

    • Hi Tina, the skewer test should work, if you insert it right into the middle of the deepest part of the cake. Look for other clues too, like if the cake springs back to the touch or starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Every oven is different. I recommend everyone get an oven thermometer to accurately see what temp your oven is. I hope that helps a little.

      Reply

  8. I followed the recipe and I think the cake turned out really well. Instead of making it in a 8 inch pan, I actually made it in two a 2-tier 7-inch and 4-inch springform pan. It came out nicely and was very cute. I think my only issue was that I tried following the frosting recipe and it didn’t really come out as well. The flavoring was good, but it just didn’t seem to want to stick to the cake and it didn’t really go on the cake too well, so I wasn’t sure where I messed up because the frosting might’ve been too thick?

    ★★★★

    Reply

    • Hi Maggie! So pleased you enjoyed this cake – a two tiered cake sounds lovely. If your frosting was too thick, next time add a little bit more milk to help loosen it up. It should be nice and creamy, and easy to spread. It can thicken over time, so it’s best to frost the cake as soon as you make the frosting too. I hope that helps!

      Reply

    • Hi Kieryne, I haven’t tried it but I would recommend trying one of my yellow or vanilla cakes instead ☺️

      Reply

  10. Hi — Just a note about using coffee when baking with chocolate, The coffee flavor does not come through or dominate, rather it is used to accentuate or deepen the taste of chocolate. I have not yet made this cake, but when I do I will replace the hot water with coffee. And, add a pinch of salt as well.

    Reply

  11. Have you tried hot coffee in place of hot water? Ccurious what it would taste like. I’m going to make it today and I love coffee but husband hates it.

    Reply

    • Hi Alice, sorry to hear that! Did you use any substitutions or change the method in any way? It should produce quite a moist cake. My suggestions: make sure you measure all your ingredients in grams to ensure you don’t add to much flour, and don’t over bake your cake – that’ll also result in a dry cake no matter what recipe you use.

      Reply

    • I followed the cake recipe to a T, but put it in a cake pan with the hole in the middle. My cake was dry too. It looked beautiful and I was really excited to try it out…but disappointed in the dry texture.

      Reply

      • Hi Patsy! I’m very sorry to hear this. It should be a lovely moist cake thanks to the buttermilk. If you used a Bundt pan, your cake may have cooked faster than the time specified. If you over cook cake it tends to dry out. Otherwise, it might be a case of adding too much flour or over mixing the batter.

        Reply

  14. Would it be possible to make it with canola oil or vegetable oil instead of butter? If so, how much would you recommend for this recipe? Looks really delicious, hoping to make it, but just ran out of butter

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  15. HI, great cake, I decided either use cup quantities or gms they are a bit different, but slightly bigger cake with gms,. Lovely flavor and texture. Needed less cooking for me but mine always do for some reason. I always use ganache icing, basically equal quantities 70% chocolate and cream, the best!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  16. This cake is now my go to for when I have any need for chocolate cake for any reason, at home after work, feel the need for great cake? THIS is the recipe, need cake for a birthday or any other occasion? THIS is the recipe! Cooked beautifully, so easy to make, and the texture is perfect, not to dense, moist and delicious …..omg!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Aww thank you Clara for such a lovely review! 💕 I’m so pleased you love this cake! It is one of my all-time favourites too ☺️

      Reply

  17. This cake looks amazing! Would it be possible to omit the baking powder and baking soda and instead whip up the egg whites for the rise? Would the recipe still work?

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Hi Michelle! Thanks for your comment. I’m actually not sure, I haven’t tried it before. If you do give it a go, let me know how you go! 😊

      Reply

  18. I have to say thank you!!! I baked this cake for my husband’s bday. So easy to make and delicious!!! Regards from Venezuela.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  20. Have tried once as a birthday cake for chocolate lover and it was superb! Very delicious. Althoug I put a different frosting – mascarpone + cocoa powder + sugar. Thanks for this recipe!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Hi Simona! Thank you for the lovely feedback, I’m so glad you enjoyed it. And your mascarpone frosting sounds delicious x

      Reply

  21. I made this and the cake was great but my frosting was a disaster. I followed the recipe exactly and added both tablespoons of milk but it was really thick, like a paste, and was tearing the top of the cake as I tried to spread it. I haven’t made buttercream frosting before, so maybe I didn’t beat it for long enough or maybe it needed more liquid than the recipe called for? We did like the dark chocolate flavor, though!

    Reply

    • Hi Erin, thanks for your comment. Make sure next time your butter is softened and you beat it until creamy and pale. If you need to thin out the frosting, you can definitely add 1-2 more tablespoons of milk! Thanks for trying one of my recipes 😊

      Reply

    • Hi! You could certainly trim the top and then slice this cake into two if you prefer a layer cake 😊

      Reply

  25. How can 1/2 cup of brown sugar weigh 45 grams, does the recipe take 45 grams or 1/2 cup which weighs about 110 grams?

    ★★★

    Reply

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