February food magazines are my favorite issues…with all their tantalizing Valentine’s Day desserts. I immediately flipped to the cocoa recipes in this month’s Bon Appetit…and there it was…the moistest looking triple layer chocolate cake I’d ever seen…with a deep, glossy chocolate frosting. I knew I couldn’t wait till February 14th to bake it!
School was canceled today…the forecast was ominous: freezing rain, sleet, more rain, then snow. The eerie sound of the wind passing through the frozen trees, and the sleet pounding the windows convinced me to stay inside and bake. We could lose power at any time, and we’d need something for sustenance! I’d say this was my best chocolate layer cake to date…the cake was as moist as I’d imagined, and the frosting just sweet enough with a hint of coffee flavor…perfect.
Ingredients
- Adapted from Bon Appetit
- For cake:
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup lukewarm water, divided
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- For frosting:
- 1 1/4 sticks butter (10 tablespoons)
- 1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Butter 3 9-inch cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment and butter top of parchment. Set aside.
- Whisk the cocoa and 1/2 cup of the warm water in small bowl or liquid measuring cup to combine. Whisk buttermilk with other 1/2 cup of warm water in small bowl or liquid measuring cup to combine. Sift the flour and baking soda into another bowl.
- With mixer, beat butter and two sugars till pale yellow and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With mixer running, add eggs and beat till combined, scraping edges of bowl as needed. Add cocoa mixture and blend. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk. Beat till just combined, stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary. Divide batter evenly between the 3 pans...about 1 1/2 cups per pan.
- Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or till cake pops back when pressed lightly with finger...rotate pans half way through baking time to ensure even baking. Cool completely on racks.
- Make frosting by melting butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in brown sugar, cocoa, and espresso powder. Gradually stir in cream, and continue stirring till mixture is hot. When cream is just about to boil, reduce heat to low and cook another minute. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into bowl and chill for about 1 1 /2 hours to thicken, stirring occasionally.
- To assemble cake, run knife around sides of cakes. Gently shake back and forth till cake loosens from bottom. Carefully flip one layer onto serving plate. Remove parchment. Spread about 1/2 cup frosting on top of cake and spread to edges. Repeat with second layer. Top with third layer and use the rest of the frosting to ice top and sides of cake.
- Yield: Serves 12.
{ 49 comments… read them below or add one }
Heaven on a plate for me, a weakness is chocolate, cant stop eating it this cake wouldnt have a chance!
Claudia, you’d fit right into our family
OMG, does that look delicious! It would be just perfect with a tall glass of cold milk!
Yum! I love chocolate cake (my favorite being German Chocolate) This looks absolutly devine! Thanks for sharing!!
wowww your cake looks so amazing! I just wanna have a slice of that
Tes
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Lizzy that frosting looks so wonderful. What kind of cocoa powder do you use? Is it a dark chocolate? I have had the worst luck trying to make a good chocolate frosting. I don’t think it turns our chocolate-y enough for me. This looks heavenly though!
Brandie
Lizzy…your cake looks amazing as usual. Great photo’s they look magazine like. I would love a piece right now with a cup of tea.
Thanks for sharing one of your beautiful desserts again.
Stay safe and warm in this weather.
Thank you, everyone! Seriously, this was the BEST cake!
Brandie, I used Ghirardelli Natural Cocoa Powder…I don’t think it was any more chocolaty than Hershey’s, but it did make a nice dark icing.
Oh, wow, Lizzy! This is absolute heaven in a cake. Great job! With the Valhrona cocoa powder I have a surplus of, I bet this cake would be over-the-moon amazing. Plus, I have a few family birthdays coming up so plenty of excuses to make this cake! Thanks for sharing.
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Mateja @Indulging Life
Lizzy,
I showed Alex this post! He said “When are you making this?” I have all the ingredients, so, thanks to you, tonight there will be chocolate cake for dessert in our house
Hugs,
Sandra
Drooling on my keyboard! Lovely, as always, Lizzy! I like the idea of brown sugar in the frosting – I’ll have to try that. Stay warm!
I am not even a cake lover but this one looks so good! You amaze me Liz!!!! Sure wish I was your next door neighbor! lol
You had me at Triple Chocolate. Holy cow! I can feel my cheeks sticky sweet just thinking about it…and I LOVE it! :-p
It looks so moist and yummy! Would love to have that piece!
Looks great Liz! I was eyeing that recipe myself!
Too busy dealing with the ice here today…no time to bake.
This looks wonderful, lizzy. I love a moist chocolate cake, and I love a touch of coffee flavoring with chocolate anything.
Lizzy, you are slowly turning me into a chocoholic! This looks absolutely decadent!
I loveeeee chocolate cake it is my favorite dessert in the world, especially when it is SUPER chocolatey like this one!! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I am definitely bookmarking thiS!
Thanks, everyone!!! Bill has already requested this as his birthday cake in April…how much better of an endorsement can you get?
Hope Alex loves it, Sandra…still laughing that he doesn’t like sweets…haha..
Linda, we’re ice bound, too, but I decided to bake instead of clean and pay bills (what I really should be doing!). I hope you try it!
I really, really appreciate you all stopping by to comment
Goodness that looks incredible. Beautiful, chocolate heaven.
Oh. My. Goodness! This looks delicous, and once again, beautifully styled.
oh yum!! this looks fantastic! thanks for sharing!
A spectacular chocolate cake, very decadent and absolutely perfect for the upcoming Valentine’s day!
This looks like the perfect cake for a snow day
And as dangerous as the ice can be, it’s definitely pretty on your bushes! Stay safe and warm!
Your so awesome! My mentor and I go to a local coffee shop to have their layered all chocolate cake with a hot cup of Joe. This makes me miss her. And want to make the cake and just have her over.
THANK YOU, all!!!! I think I’ve started a baking frenzy with this recipe…I hope you all get a chance to try this winner…ours is disappearing quickly! xoxo
This looks heavenly! I love a good chocolate cake
OMG!! This cake has my name written all over it! And don’t want to share it either
I have been craving a layer cake lately…hmmm this might be it.
OMG this looks amazing. Nothing beats layer chocolate cake. Soooo sinful.
Thank you!!! I know I’ll be making this one again and again~
Was everyone’s school canceled today? The cake looks amazing. Valiant effort!
Yes, Eliot, an unprecedented three days in a row…think he’ll have to bite the bullet and go back tomorrow. Scary thinking about teenage drivers out on the roads, but at least the ice has been cleared off the main thoroughfares!
Oh my, this cake looks fabulous! My husband also has an April birthday and he LOVES chocolate… I think I may have just found his birthday cake.
Lindsey, a friend made it yesterday and her husband has requested it again for Valentine’s Day. If he’s a chocolate lover, you’ve found your cake
No! I didn’t know the Titanic actually sank! (ok, that reference is lost via the interwebs- but I haven’t had a chance to bust my Bon Appetit out of the plastic yet)
This does look super beautiful and yummy though! I can’t wait to flip through the pages.
Lizzy, I spotted this cake a couple of days ago, but was trying to resist it calling me. I haven’t gotten mine yet, can’t wait. I really need this cake. Hope you are having a great week.
-Gina-
Wow,what a beauty!
Looks really delicious!
this is a breath taking cake – looks more than perfect.
Thanks for sharing Lizzy, have a wonderful Friday
Thanks you, my friends!!! Happy Friday to you all, too
Beautiful cake Lizzy! I would love a huge piece of this with some milk!
Thanks so much, Amy!
You are so gifted, Liz! This cake looks amazing… I would love to just sink my teeth into it.
Oh, you are too sweet, Kate. Thank you!
I have that magazine and saw the recipe. You did a fantastic job with the cake. I love your frosting application. Wow. After having done the ribbon torte, I’m staying away from anything so deeply chocolate for a while. Enjoy a piece for me.
I just came across your blog and noticed you baked this cake the same day I did – which was my birthday. We loved it too – it’s definitely for serious chocolate lovers!
Lizzy, first time dropping by and see this beautiful cocoa cake! The cake is so moist and I love the thick chocolate frosting on it!
Thank you, all!!!
Welcome, Melissa and Ah Tze!!!