Best Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Its moist, flavorful, and the perfect way to celebrate any occasion. The vanilla buttercream frosting is light and fluffy. This cake is sure to be a hit with everyone who tries it.
Its moist, flavorful, and the perfect way to celebrate any occasion. The vanilla buttercream frosting is light and fluffy. This cake is sure to be a hit with everyone who tries it.
- 3 eggs
- frosting:
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- chocolate cake:
- 3 cups brown sugar packed
- 3/4 cup canola oil
- 2 2/3 cups flour
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/8 cups cocoa or extra dark cocoa!
- 1 pound sweet butter soft
- 4 ounces cream cheese or extra 1/2 lb of butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar sifted before measuring
- Carbohydrate 252.20254577177 g
- Cholesterol 465.430666191572 mg
- Fat 169.127478882147 g
- Fiber 0.5916000077485 g
- Protein 12.5652103407704 g
- Saturated Fat 90.2525389369315 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (703g)
- Sodium 24029.7915752699 mg
- Sugar 251.610945764022 g
- Trans Fat 10.851787828311 g
- Calories 2534 calories
Step-by-step
- To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Oil 3 (10-inch) cake pans ( or 2 regular cake pans and a cupcake pan) and line the bottom with parchment paper . Alternately, grease the pans with crisco or shortening then flour them. IMPORTANT! Do not skip the parchment paper! The cake WILL stick to the pans!
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the brown sugar and oil. Turn on the mixer to a low speed and mix in the eggs. Let the sugar, oil, and eggs mix while sifting together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Set this mixture aside.
- In another small bowl, mix the vanilla into the milk and set this aside as well. Bring the water to a boil and pour over the cocoa and whisk it until it is smooth. To the egg mixture, alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture beginning and ending with flour. With the mixer off, scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. With the mixture at a low speed add the cocoa. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pour this mixture into the prepared cake pans. Bake the cake for approximately 20 minutes or until tester comes out clean. When cake layers have cooled, remove from pans and refrigerate until cold.
- To make the frosting: In an electric mixing bowl place the soft butter/cream cheese and beat it on a low speed while adding powdered sugar. When all the sugar is mixed in, turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in the vanilla and let the mixer beat for 5 to 7 minutes on a medium speed. Fill and frost the cake and refrigerate it for 10 to 20 minutes to set up the frosting.
Brown Sugar and Moisture Control
Brown sugar contains molasses, which introduces intrinsic acidity and hygroscopic properties that actively pull moisture into the crumb, yielding a denser and more tender structure than white granulated sugar alone can achieve. When combining the wet ingredients, ensure the boiling water is thoroughly whisked into the cocoa powder until completely smooth before incorporating it into the batter; this blooming process dissolves bitter compounds and unleashes deeper cocoa aromatics.
Evaluating Doneness Without a Thermometer
Baking times serve as rough approximations because oven thermostats frequently fluctuate by twenty degrees or more. Inserting a wooden skewer into the exact center of the thickest layer provides the most reliable metric for doneness, yielding a few moist crumbs clinging to the wood rather than wet batter or a completely dry surface. Chilling the baked layers thoroughly before applying the frosting prevents the butterfat in the cream cheese and sweet butter mixture from melting and sliding off the sides.
Historical Roots of American Layer Cakes
Mass-produced baking powder emerged in the mid-nineteenth century, fundamentally transforming domestic baking by replacing laborious yeast fermentations with chemical leavening agents that allowed home cooks to achieve towering, fluffy structures quickly. This specific pastry lineage draws heavily on mid-century American comfort baking traditions, where oil and dairy products combined to produce sturdy, tall layers capable of holding heavy sugary toppings without structural collapse.
