Key Ingredients
Hot Coffee – Intensifies chocolate flavor, similar to espresso powder, but also adds warmth and a subtle mocha undertone. The coffee taste itself is mostly neutral when combined with chocolate. Hot coffee adds moisture to the batter, keeping it tender. A thin batter is normal here, which helps produce a soft, moist crumb.
High Quality Cocoa Powder– Provides rich, deep chocolate taste. Higher-quality cocoa tastes less bitter and more aromatic, giving the cake a “premium” chocolate flavor. Cocoa powder absorbs moisture, so balancing with liquids like buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee ensures the cake stays moist instead of dry.
Sour Cream – Adds a mild tang that complements the chocolate and balances sweetness. The fat from sour cream contributes to the moisture in this cake, creating a tender, soft crumb. It helps prevent the cake from being dense and keeps it creamy inside.
Espresso Powder – Adds a subtle coffee note that enhances the chocolate flavor of the frosting, making it richer and more complex without tasting strongly of coffee. Dissolved in hot milk and whipped into the buttercream, it helps the frosting stay smooth and creamy, making it easier to spread or pipe.
About This Recipe
This chocolate cake is everything I want… in a chocolate cake! The sponge is tender, impossibly chocolatey, and perfectly moist. And because I love chocolate frosting, pudding, and mousse, I felt like we needed a couple of different frostings in this cake. I really wanted to keep things decadent, but somehow light (contradicting maybe?)- to drive that chocolate flavor home while incorporating a few different textures. The Swiss meringue buttercream is light and mousse-like, while the cream cheese frosting is rich and fudgy with just a touch of tanginess. Together, all these components create the most amazing, addictive bite!
Most chocolate cakes have that one-note, fudgy frosting, and don’t get me wrong, that’s a wonderful thing! But I wanted to add a little more complexity and airiness amidst all those rich chocolate flavors. I also wanted the perfect ratio of sponge to frosting. You know how sometimes cakes have layers that are too thick or just way too much frosting? I wanted every bite to have that perfect balance of tender chocolate sponge and creamy, decadent frosting.
And that’s how we landed on this impossibly tall, 12-layer chocolate cake! It’s rich, chocolatey, and full of different textures, but arguably still balanced. I hope you love it as much as I do!
FAQ’s
Helpful tips
Here are some important Pro tips by Maude
- Measure flour correctly: Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife—don’t scoop directly from the bag. Too much flour can make the cake dense.
- Room-temperature ingredients: To ensure your cake bakes evenly, we need our eggs, sour cream and buttermilk to be at room temperature. Additionally, for the chocolate cream cheese frosting, we need the cream cheese and butter to also be at room temperature. This will make for the most silky texture!
- Room-temperature cream cheese frosting: The chocolate cream cheese frosting should be at room temperature before spreading. If it’s been in the fridge, re-whip it for a few seconds to make it light and fluffy.
- Handle layers gently: Don’t press down on the cake layers too hard when stacking; this can push out the caramel.
- Use hot coffee in the batter: Hot coffee enhances the chocolate flavor and creates a richer, more tender cake. The batter will be thin—that’s normal.
- Test for doneness: Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs. Low-and-slow baking ensures a tender, moist crumb.
- Make ahead: Cake layers and cream cheese frosting can be made a day in advance. Freeze the layers and store the frosting in the fridge, then assemble when ready. I recommend making the Swiss meringue the day of for peak freshness and texture!
- Bring cake to room temperature before serving: Refrigerated cake tastes best if allowed to sit 30-60 minutes before slicing.
More Recipes!
Here are some more cake recipes you might enjoy!
If you try this recipe, I would love your feedback! Please leave a star rating, a comment below or on the reel in Instagram! Also please share what you made and tag @eatmaudes !! Thank you so much for stopping by and making yumminess with me!
Double Chocolate Cake (12 layers!)
SERVINGS 10 servings
**This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you
Equipment
- Offset spatula (not required)
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 + 1/2 cups (190 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (43 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (82 ml) neutral oil (vegetable, canola even extra virgin olive oil work)
- 3 oz (85 g) melted bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate I use ghiradelli chocolate chips, bars also work great!
- 3/4 cup (187 ml) buttermilk, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (64 g) sour cream, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) hot coffee
Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream (Filling)
- 77 g egg whites (about 2½ large egg whites)
- 150 g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 170 g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened and cubed (not melted)
- 85 g (about 1/2 cup) dark or semisweet chocolate (i use ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips)
- 15 g (2 tbsp) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 – 3 + 1/2 cups (360–420 g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup (45–50 g) unsweetened cocoa powder (or dutch process cocoa)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 -2 tbsp whole milk or heavy cream
Instructions
Enable Step-by-Step Mode- Note before beginning: The wait time for this cake is about 4 hours because I suggest freezing your layers after baking and cooling. I recommend it because freezing improves flavor and makes for an easier frost job, but it is totally optional.
- For the chocolate cake, Preheat your oven to 325F degrees (163C). Grease three 6 inch round cake pans and line them with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, espresso powder and salt. Set the bowl aside.
- In a large bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval. Using a rubber spatula, press and smooth the chocolate until all chunks or chips are completely melted. Add the neutral oil and whisk by hand until the mixture is smooth and fully combined.
- Then add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, whisk by hand again until everything is combined (the mixture will be thick, thats okay!). Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix again until everything is combined.
- Gradually add the dry (flour) mixture to the wet (sugar) mixture, alternating with the buttermilk and sour cream. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. Mix until almost combined, please do not overmix.
- Slowly stir in the hot coffee and gently mix until you see no more dry ingredients. It is okay if the batter is lumpy. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 29 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with wet crumbs. Note: ovens vary, the cake could take up to 30 of more minutes. Please be patient as we are baking the cake at low temperature to ensure a tender and moist crumb!
- On a wire rack, let the cakes cool completely in the pans. This will take about 1 hour. *At this stage, I like to gently run a knife along the side of the cakes, to help loosen them, to make removal easier! I like cover the cakes with plastic wrap, then foil and then freeze them for at least 3 hours (overnight preferred) before assembly. **Remove cakes from the freezer and let them rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes before assembly.
- For the chocolate swiss meringue buttercream, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring each time until smooth. Set aside to cool while we work on our egg white mixture.
- Add the egg whites, granulated sugar, and salt to a heatproof bowl (i use my standmixer bowl). Place over a saucepan of gently simmering water (low to medium heat), its okay if your bowl touches the water. Whisk the egg and sugar mixture continuously for 8–10 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches 160°F (71°C). Note: Do not walk away from the stove, keep whisking).
- Remove from the heat and let cool for 3–4 minutes. Whip on low-medium speed for 1 minute, then increase to high speed and whip for 4–5 minutes, until glossy and stiff peaks form. Continue until the bowl and meringue are no longer warm.
- Add the softened, cubed unsalted butter, 1 tbsp at a time, while mixing on medium speed. Wait about 10 seconds before adding the next tbsp.
- Sift in the unsweetened cocoa powder and add the cooled, melted chocolate. Mix on medium speed for 45 seconds, then increase to high speed for 30 seconds. Turn the mixer to low speed and add the vanilla extract. Mix until combined and smooth. Once buttercream reaches desired consistency, set to the side while we work on the chocolate cream cheese frosting.
- For the chocolate cream cheese, in a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer (standup mixer with paddle attachment works fine!) beat the softened cream cheese and unsalted butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder to remove any lumps. Then gradually add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder to the cream cheese mixture, mixing on low speed until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the vanilla extract, 1 tbsp of milk and salt. Mix on medium speed until the frosting issmooth and fully combined. Note: If the frosting is too thick, add cream or milk 1 tbsp at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Also do not whip this frosting too much or on too high of speed. Cream cheese frosting can break down easily if beaten too long or at too high of speed.
- Assembly! Carefully slice each cake layer in half horizontally to create 6 total layers. Place one cake layer on a plate or cake stand. Spread relatively thin layerof chocolate cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake layer. Add about 1/4 cup of chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream on top of the cream cheese frosting and smooth into an even layer. Repeat this process with the remaining cake layers, alternating the chocolate cream cheese frosting and chocolate swiss meringue buttercream, until all 6 layers are stacked and the cake is assembled.
- If you have any remaining chocolate swiss meringue buttercream, smooth that into the sides or on top of then cake. Then using an offset spatula, spoon or butter knife, coat and swirl the cake with the remaining chocolate cream cheese frosting.
- At this point, you can leave the cake at room temperature for 1 hour before slicing and serving. Or if planning to serve later then cover or place cake in an airtight container and store in the fridge. For best texture, remove cake from the fridge about 1-2 hours before serving.
If the buttercream looks curdled, dont worry, keep whipping until it comes together. If it looks a little soupy, chill the bowl for 10–15 minutes, then whip again.
Cake should be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days.