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Buttermilk chocolate cake made with my mama’s amazing fudgy frosting! This chocolate cake recipe is so simple, so moist, and bursting with chocolate goodness.
I have a confession to make: I’m a terrible cake decorator.
I mean, TERRIBLE.
I tend to avoid layer cakes unless my daughter is around to do the decorating for me.
I think it’s a lack of patience more than a lack of decorating skill, but either way it’s a terrible sight to see.
Which is why you’ll generally only see me serving up a cake in a 9×13 pan. This buttermilk chocolate cake is one of those cakes – so easy to prepare, no need to go crazy decorating it, and it’s perfect for a birthday cake or any other cake-like situation.
This cake is so moist thanks to the buttermilk! It has a nice depth of flavor thanks to the buttermilk too!
This easy chocolate cake recipe is my go to these days. I think you’re going to love it!
Moist chocolate cake recipe:
This buttermilk chocolate cake recipe actually starts out on the stove top! You’ll want to add some butter to a sauce pan and let it melt, along with some cocoa powder, espresso powder, and water.
Don’t worry about the espresso powder – it won’t give this cake a coffee flavor. It just deepens the chocolate flavor. If you don’t have any, I highly recommend grabbing some, but you can also leave it out if you prefer.
Add all that to a large mixing bowl and then whisk together some eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until well combined.
Stir the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture and then add in your flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir together to get your moist chocolate cake batter. So good.
Pop this into a greased 9×13 baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes.
This cake comes out SO moist.
Chocolate Fudge Frosting:
This recipe makes the best chocolate frosting and it’s so easy. It’ll make a thin layer of frosting that gets a bit crackly on top. The texture and flavor is very much like fudge, but it’s just a thin layer so it’s not overwhelmingly sweet or rich. It’s basically perfect.
This is my mama’s recipe and it goes like this:
Add butter, sugar, and milk to a sauce pan and stir until the butter has melted.
Bring to a boil over medium heat and let boil for 1 minute exactly.
Remove from the heat and stir in chocolate chips. I pretty much always use semi-sweet chips for this, but you can experiment and try this out with milk or dark chocolate too.
The chocolate chips will melt quickly as you stir.
Pour the hot frosting over the cooled cake. The frosting sets fairly quickly in just about 20 minutes.
That’s it! Your chocolate fudge frosting and buttermilk chocolate cake are ready to devour! I think you’re going to love this easy cake recipe.
More cake recipes to try:
Pumpkin Crunch Cake: This starts with a cake mix and it couldn’t be tastier.
Eclair Cake: Pudding, graham crackers, and chocolate frosting!
Applesauce Cake: I can’t get enough of this bundt cake.
Chocolate Dump Cake: There’s pudding mix, so you know it’s good.
Peanut Butter Sheet Cake: I put peanut butter in everything. 😉
Buttermilk Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 cup butter
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the frosting
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Add the butter, cocoa powder, water, and espresso powder to a sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring often.
- Remove from the heat and carefully pour cocoa mixture into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the flour, sugar, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and salt to the bowl. Use an electric mix to beat together the ingredients until well combined.
- Pour batter into prepared dish and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Allow cake to cool before frosting.
For the frosting
- Add the sugar, butter, and milk to a small sauce pan over medium heat and stir often until the butter has fully melted and the mixture come to a boil.
- Boil for 60 seconds exactly and remove from the heat.
- Add the chocolate chips to the pan and stir until the chocolate has melted and the frosting is smooth.
- Pour the frosting over the chocolate cake evenly and allow to set for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Carol says
This was soooo delicious. I had some buttermilk I needed to use and needed to make a dessert. Took it to my Dadโs for a family lunch and everyone loved it especially my husband
Karly says
So glad to hear that!
janet says
It’s my birthday tomorrow; I think I’ll make this delicious looking cake! Just wondered if it matters if I use an aluminum baking pan or should you use a baking dish like you say to use? And do you mean like a Pyrex baking dish (glass)? Thank you very much!
Karly says
It shouldn’t matter what type of dish you use. Just keep an eye on the cake and pull it when done – different pans will bake a bit differently. ๐
Gay says
I made this cake this week for a group at my church. Not a crumb left!! It was super moist and the icing was like eating fudge on top of chocolate cake! I had never used espresso powder before, but it really added a rich flavor to the cake, bringing out the chocolate. Didn’t change anything. Perfect recipe!
Karly says
Thanks for the review, Gay! Appreciate it!
Jamie says
Do you think this would work in a bundt pan?
Karly says
I haven’t tried it in a bundt pan, but I imagine it would work fine. You will need to adjust the baking time though.
Shira says
Hello
Can you please advise cocoa, flour, sugar and butter in grams?
Thank you
Karly says
There are lots of online converters out there, if you’d like those measurements. ๐
Angelia Arnold says
Is white sugar confectionery sugar?
Karly says
It’s granulated sugar.
S parlo says
I used conf. Sugar.. in the cake we pie you said sugar..in the frosting you said white sugar!ย
Seems good..
Actually the whole cake is awesome!
Karly says
Sorry about that, I wrote that a bit confusing. It should be granulated sugar in both. ๐
Alyx says
I suggest using confectioners sugar in the icing go avoid the grainy texture others have mentioned. It dissolves better.
PAMELA ANDERSON says
Hi Karly: My husband prefers layer cakes. I make a cake very much like this one (could be this one) and I simply made a cup of coffee since I can’t keep powdered espresso (I add it to pump up my pod coffee ) and anyway, he just raved about the flavor of the cake! I’ve known about this technique for years but never have espresso powder on hand. It really does improve the flavor + I love buttermilk in chocolate cake! Anyhoo, would this be too tender to layer? And I need help adjusting the timing. I love your recipes and hey, you can teach an old dog new tricke
Karly says
I haven’t tried this as a layer cake, but I imagine it would hold up fine. I’d keep an eye on it around the 25 minute mark and use a tester to check to see when done. Hope it works out for you!
Mary says
Pamela. Do you add a cup of coffee to the butter and coca mixture instead of water/ and or espresso powder. ย Thanksย
Pam says
I just made the cake using a cup of strong regular coffee not using the espresso powder.
I had an old old recipe that called for the coffee. It baked up fine.ย
Barbara Ellis says
Do you cool the hot ingredients before adding flour et. al.?
Karly says
I don’t. The addition of the flour and buttermilk cool it down enough to where the eggs don’t scramble, if that’s what you’re worried about. ๐
Kitchen Tom says
This is a very good cake, super easy to make. We added a 2nd frosting white over the first.
Suzanne says
I’m going to make this tonight for a co-worker’s birthday tomorrow! Quick question- does it need to stay refrigerated?
Karly says
I don’t refrigerate this one. ๐
Suzanne says
Thank you! ?
Kevin | Kevin Is Cooking says
Oh my! Be still my heart! ๐
Adina says
Oh my God, this cake looks too good to be allowed. And the way the topping looks reminds me of a chocolate cake I used to eat during my childhood in Romania, it was a special treat only to be had in a cake shop, I can still remember the taste and the feel of it on the tongue, it felt different than other kinds of frostings. I wonder if yours is the same as that? I should try this!
Karly says
I hope you give it a try!! ๐
Noona says
Hi there.. Can i bake this gorgeous cake in loaf pan??
Marie says
Oh that perfect crumb. It looks so light and fluffy and I’m fairly sure I would drink that frosting before it made it to the cake.
Karly says
When I was first married and was learning to cook but had no idea how to bake, I would regularly make the frosting and just eat it with a spoon. Easier than making a cake and SO GOOD. Hahaha! Haven’t done that in a while, but yes…drink the frosting. Live your life.
Noona says
Hi there.. Can i bake this gorgeous cake in loaf pan??
Jessica says
My family don’t use coffee, is the espresso powder necessary?
Karly says
You can leave it out.
jude says
hmmmm……………no recipe – ??
Karly says
Sorry about that! It’s showing up now! ๐
KC says
Cake was wonderful. Baked in convection oven minimum time and was perfectly done. Husband, who is not a cake fan, loved it. I did not like the frosting though. (Reason for 4 stars instead of 5 stars) White sugar left grainy texture. Ended up scraping off frosting and enjoying cake without frosting.
Julia says
Hi, is 11/2 tsp baking soda correct? ย Eleven half teaspoons? ย Seems like an odd number. ย
Karly says
Hi Julia. That 1 1/2…1 and 1/2.