Coffee Chocolate Cake

This coffee chocolate cake is covered in the best coffee buttercream and perfect for both chocolate lovers and coffee lovers. Plus, you can easily make this chocolate coffee cake dairy-free so it’s great if you have food allergies.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Low Lactose, Vegetarian

Prep Time 20

Bake 22

Total Time 42

Servings slices

Calories 681

Author Gabby Kislanko

Equipment

Ingredients

Cake

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1¾ cup +2 Tablespoons cup granulated sugar
¾ tsp salt
2¼ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp baking powder
1 cup +2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 eggs
1½ cup hot brewed coffee
¾ cup canola oil (or sunflower oil)
¾ cup milk of choice (regular or dairy free)
1½ tsp vanilla extract

Coffee Buttercream

1¾ cup butter, softened (regular or dairy free) SEE NOTES
3½-4 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp instant espresso powder
1-2 Tablespoons milk of choice or brewed coffee ONLY AS NEEDED

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare three 8 inch round cake pans. Spray the inside with cooking spray, then cut round pieces of parchment paper so that they fit in the bottom of each pan (do not skip the parchment paper lining!)
Whisk flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda together in a large bowl.
Add in the eggs, vanilla, oil, and milk. Pour in the hot coffee and mix until smooth.
Divide the batter evenly between the three cake pans and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for 20 minutes, then run a butter knife around the outside of the cake to loosen it from the pan and flip upside down onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the buttercream. In the bowl of a standing mixer or handheld mixer, beat butter until smooth. If using shortening, mix with the butter until combined.
Add in the vanilla extract, espresso powder, then add the icing sugar, 1/4 cup at a time until desired consistency is reached. If the buttercream is too thick, add in milk or brewed coffee 1 tablespoon at a time to thin it out to the consistency you want. If it's too thin, add in more confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) 1/4 cup at a time.
Once the cakes have cooled completely, assemble and enjoy!

Video

Notes

PLEASE NOTE: I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your dry ingredients. Metric measurements are found above under the "Metric" tab.

PARCHMENT PAPER LINING: I highly recommend not skipping this step. It is highly likely that the cake may break when you try to remove it from the pan if you do. Lining the round pan with parchment paper will make your life so much easier when removing the cakes from the pan, trust me. To do this, trace then cut a circle in the shape of your cake pan out of the parchment paper and place it inside the pans.

COCOA POWDER: I recommend using dutch processed cocoa powder, but you can use natural if that's what you have.

MEASURING FLOUR and COCOA POWDER: Either measure your flour using a kitchen scale or use the proper scoop and level method: fluff the flour in the bag/container with a fork then use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then run the back of a knife along the top of the cup to even it out. Do the same for the cocoa powder.

VEGETABLE SHORTENING: If you are using a soft vegan butter that has a margarine-like consistency, I recommend using 1¼ cup of vegan butter and 1/2 cup of shortening. This will help the buttercream to hold its shape at room temperature. Margarine can soften too much at room temperature so using shortening will help with that.

Storage and Freezing Instructions:

The cake can be stored covered at room temperature for 3-4 days. I store mine in a cake carrier.

To freeze the cake layers, let them cool completely, then tightly wrap them in plastic wrap, then aluminium foil. Freeze in ziploc bags for up to 3 months, then let them thaw at room temperature.

Leftover buttercream can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the fridge then mix it up using a handheld or standing mixer before using it.

To make in three 9 inch round cake pans: The cake layers will be thinner and will bake quicker. Start checking on them at around 14 minutes.

Nutrition