Vanderbilt Wife: “Extra Slice” Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

If I had to pick one podcast above all others, it would have to be Sorta Awesome. I would deeply mourn for The Popcast and What Should I Read Next?, but Sorta Awesome has built the most incredible community. As much as I love to listen to Knox and Jamie’s things that entertain but do not matter, sometimes I need to hear about something that matters – in the same way I’d talk about it with my girlfriends. And that’s where Sorta Awesome falls.

This year Meg, the main host of SA, has been emphasizing the Awesome Manifesto and making this year The Year of the Awesome.

When the world – or at least our corner of it – seems to have lost its ever-loving mind, I am glad there other women out there committed to “extending grace, taking action, getting rest, and being excellent.”

Whenever the part about the extra slice of chocolate cake comes up, I can’t help thinking about my own divine chocolate cake. I fell in love with chocolate buttercream recently. Normally I am a vanilla fan, but this cake definitely fills all my requirements of not being overly sweet (seriously!), having great depth of flavor, and being not too difficult to make.

This same chocolate cake recipe is in my Peppermint Patty Cake; it’s pretty much the only chocolate cake recipe I use, and I’ve made it dozens of times.

So if you’re searching for the perfect chocolate cake that might make you reach for an extra slice – here you go. And thanks, Meg and team, and all the Awesomes, for giving me that permission and making my life a lot more Awesome.

Extra Slice Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

Easy one-bowl chocolate cake with delicious chocolate buttercream made with cocoa.

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COURSEDessert

INGREDIENTS

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake

2 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. sugar
¾ c. dark or regular cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 c. milk
½ c. canola oil or melted coconut oil
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 c. hot, strong-brewed coffee

Chocolate Buttercream

1 c. butter room temperature
4 ½ to 5 c. powdered sugar
¼ c. cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
5 T. whole milk or cream
¼ teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350F.
Spray two 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray, then line with parchment paper and grease again.
In a big (really big!) mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla, and mix together well. Pour in coffee and stir carefully until the mixture is uniform. It will be a thin batter.
Pour batter into pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Let cool in pans 10 minutes, then remove cake from pans to a wire rack and cool completely. (I leave the parchment paper on the bottoms so the cake doesn’t stick to the rack.
For the frosting, add all ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium-high for 5-7 minutes, scraping the sides as needed. Add more powdered sugar or milk/cream if the frosting seems too runny or too stiff. Frost cake.

NOTES

More tips:

This makes plenty of icing – I think you could easily make a 3-layer 8-inch cake if you prefer those.
Use a really big mixing bowl so you aren’t splashing coffee all over your counter. I have a huge Pyrex glass bowl that is great.
Did you know pre-cut parchment papers were a thing? I got some for Christmas and they are SO WONDERFUL. 8-inch ones; 9-inch ones

Cake recipe adapted from Sips and Spoonfuls; frosting is from Chef in Training.

Do you have a favorite chocolate cake?