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I made this for my wife. It was her birthday and she wanted a chocolate cake. SO glad I found this recipe! It worked wonderfully! 👌🏼
Stefan
Oh, friends. Wow wow wow.
Chocolate cake on the loooooose!
This weekend I was gifted with a super-fun birthday surprise: Bjork whisked me away to Austin for a weekend of TACOS! And other things. But honestly, mostly tacos.
We packed in about twenty minutes – and by packed, I mean we ripped into my box of summer clothes that was still sealed up tight in the basement, washed, unwashed, wrinkled, ill-fitting, out-of-date, you know how it is, and tossed everything into a bag. And one 15-minute Lyft ride later, we were checked in at the airport, preparing to hop a flight to Texas.
This has been a hard season of life for us, and this birthday is a strange one for me. Okay, strange is a total euphemism. It’s sad. It’s lonely. It’s hard to feel like Happy Birthday when the birthday slash entire life I imagined was supposed to be so different.
But it’s still a birthday, and even sad birthdays still deserve cake.
As the only one in our house who bakes, I am usually the maker of my own birthday cake. And this year, I went ALL OUT. I showed my birthday who was boss.
No store boughts, no box mixes, not this year. I went with real, amazing, homemade Blackout Chocolate Cake, emphasis on the blackout. I’m coping, okay? I’m coping.
We’re talking about life-changing cake, with whole milk yogurt for moisture and espresso powder for depth, cream cheese chocolate frosting (CHALLENGE ME, I DARE YOU) for the layers, and a chocolate chip exterior that gets pressed into the frosted cake by way of a little regular-people-make-fancy-cakes hack involving cardboard. No, I’m serious. CARDBOARD. We take our cake-ing very seriously, aka not very seriously at all.
This is the coolest. Check out this cakespo:
There is no denying. Birthday or no birthday, painful year or good year: chocolate cake helps. Like, blackout-level helps.
And sharing this blackout chocolate cake with friends really, really, really helps. Chocolate blackouts are better when shared. S/o to our POY team for eating this with me one million times and to Melissa for letting me crash her own bday celebration super spontaneously with this madness.
So – a birthday? an anniversary? a chocolate cake and red wine night in pajamas alone? (GIRL YES.)
Whatever it is, I’m writing this chocolate cake as a love letter to your life. 😍
Blackout Chocolate Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 big slices 1x
Description
This is the cake for chocolate lovers! Ultramoist chocolate cake, layers of cream cheese chocolate frosting, and an awesome chocolate chip + chocolate drizzle exterior. Recipe based off of this solid Chocolate Blackout Cake from Life Made Simple.
Ingredients
For the chocolate cake:
- 3 cups flour
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (we use DeLallo)
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt (we use Chobani whole milk yogurt)
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- a pinch of salt
- 7 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 3–4 cups of chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 9-inch round cake pans. Whisk the dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Divide evenly between the three cake pans. Bake for 35 minutes or until the cakes are set. Let the cakes cool for a while.
- Frosting: Cream the ingredients (except chocolate chips) until smooth.
- Assembly: Cut two 9-inch round circles from cardboard. Cover with foil. Spread just a little bit of frosting on one of the cardboards and stick the first cake on it (this helps it hold). Stack the cakes up, frosting between each layer, around the outside, and on top. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Chocolate Chipping: Spread the chocolate chips in a wide jelly roll pan. Place the other cardboard on top of the chilled cake. Holding the cardboard ends, roll the cake into the chocolate chips, pressing gently to get them to stick (see video).
Notes
I like to melt a little extra chocolate and drizzle it over the top. WHY THE HECK NOT, this is chocolate blackout cake!
This cake can be served chilled or at room temperature, but it’s easier to cut at room temperature or before the chocolate drizzle sets.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: chocolate cake, blackout chocolate cake, cake recipe, chocolate recipe
Why does this recipe call for 2 cups of water in the cake batter but the video doesn’t show that? I’m an experienced baker and have never seen a cake recipe with 2 cups of water unless it’s boiling water.
Can you freeze this please?
We’re guessing that should work!
One tip for making a delicious blackout chocolate cake is to use high-quality chocolate in both the cake and the ganache. This will make a significant difference in the overall flavor and richness of the cake. Additionally, make sure to chill the cake and the ganache before assembling the layers to make the cake easier to work with and to ensure that the layers set properly. Finally, be sure not to over-bake the cake layers, as this can cause them to become dry and crumbly.
This cake was good . . . but it was too much chocolate. I feel like it could have a better flavor. The frosting is great. I made my cake without espresso because I am not a coffee drinker.
This has to be the most vague recipe I’ve ever seen.
Just incredible! I’m not a huge fan of chocolate cakes (I know. What’s wrong with me?) but this is a cake I will make AND EAT whenever I do make it! I started making this years ago for my daughter’s birthday. It’s back on the birthday request list again this year. My absolute favorite and always requested deliciously decadent chocolate blackout cake will be a hit again this year. Thank you for sharing this recipe and making my family smile huge chocolatey smiles!
What size cups are you using? I need to convert to grams.
US Australia UK?
We’re using standard measuring cups used in the US. The amounts are listed next to the ingredients, but let me know if you need additional info!
this particular birthday cake looks so so SO perfect.
I just made this cake.
I used cake flout instead with additional flour. And I just fage Greek yogurt.
My batter was very liquidy. And when baked it drew together in the center and kinda sunk.
What did I do wrong? Should it be so liquidy?
Sorry to hear that, Kate! It’s so hard to say what may have happened since we weren’t there with you. The chart on this page might help you determine the reason. https://delishably.com/desserts/Baking-Tips-Why-a-Cake-Sinks-in-the-Middle-and-How-to-Stop-It
I’m always looking for a new chocolate cake to try and as a long-time reader, I have no idea how I’ve never seen this recipe. But BAM – it’s now at the top of my “must bake” list!!
If I wanted to make a smaller version of this cake how would I do it?
Hi Jaciera! I think it depends on the size of cake you’re looking to make. We’ve only tested this cake with the ingredient amounts listed so it’s hard to say. You could try cutting everything in half and make it a sheet cake.
Could I use vanilla Greek yogurt instead of plain Greek yogurt?
Yes, that will work!
Hi Lindsay! I was wondering if this cake would work as cupcakes and if so, if you have suggestions for baking time? Thanks!
Hi Makaela! We haven’t tried converting this recipe to cupcakes. If you want to give it a try, here’s a guide that may help you!
This cake is the BEST! Always turns out delicious! I have made this cake in a half batches and cupcakes and turns out wonderful every time!
So happy to hear this, Elizabeth! Thanks for the comment!
I think this one will have to remain in my dreams.
oh those calories….can’t do it!
This was the first chocolate cake that I’d ever made (not from a box) and now the chocolate cake that I use to compare all other chocolate cakes. It’s was amazing!
Thanks for the recipe
Thanks so much for making the recipe! We’re so glad you’ve enjoyed the cake!
Hi! I only want to use the frosting to frost the outside of the cake, I’ll be using a different filling for the layers. Any guess how I would cut the frosting recipe down as I won’t need as much? Thanks!
P.S. I’ve made this cake before, delish!
Great question, Erika! So hard to say. We’ve never measured the amount of frosting used for just the layers. We’d try reducing the ingredient amounts by 1/4.
Wow. This was just what I needed to see 2020 out!
That looks delicious 😋
Hi, love your blog and your amazing food! Your recipes have never steered me wrong. I decided to make this cake for my friend’s bachelorette party. It was SO GOOD!!! She loved it! I had to use 2 cups of coffee instead of water since I didn’t have any instant espresso. And I made chocolate ganache for the filling because I need some more structural support.
So happy to hear this, Rachel!
Should we use salted or unsalted butter for the frosting?
We use salted butter!
Hi! My frosting didn’t set like the one in the video. It was not as thick but not also like runny, and it was melting after awhile. Any tips? The cake though is so good!
Thanks for the comment! Sounds like your frosting may have needed more powdered sugar if it wasn’t as thick. The frosting may have melted due to the cake still being a little warm.
This looks amazing!! Can I bake it in 3-8inch pans? If so what would be the baking time? Also my son doesn’t like cream cheese so how do u think a classic chocolate butter cream frosting would be?
Hi Cynthia! We haven’t tried the recipe using 8-inch pans, but according to the link below, it sounds like it could work! As for the baking time, I’d suggest using the times listed in the recipe and adding more time in 2-3 minute increments if needed. https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-swap-baking-pans-tips-article
This looks amazing!! Making it for my sisters birthday tonight. Do you use cake flour or all-purpose? Thank you!!