Simple Chocolate Buttermilk Cake
This cake is simple yet no less delicious than a fancy layer cake. It’s a kitchen counter cake, the kind that grandma might have made to entice you to stay a bit longer when you stopped by for a visit. She knew the power of a simple Chocolate Buttermilk Cake. I do too.
I have made my fair share of chocolate cakes over the years but none of them were as delicious as this one. As an added bonus, none of them were as simple to make.
This isn’t a fancy cake. It isn’t supposed to be. It’s the kind of cake that you can whip together on a whim, in the work of less than an hour from start to cooling on the kitchen counter. I hope that the simplicity and ease of this recipe will make itself accessible to you, always at the ready to be called into service and put to delicious use.
It’s the sort of cake that you might remember being on the counter waiting for you when you visited a grandmother or aunt, someone who knew that you might stop by for a visit and loved to see the smile on your face at the discovery of your favorite cake resting on the counter. They knew that you might stay a little longer if there was a square of cake to share at the kitchen table.
I could wax poetic about how delicious this cake is. I could extol the virtue of the tender, moist cake that is filled with chocolate flavor with just enough sugar to balance it. I could describe the velvety texture of the frosting and the perfect combination of the two textures and flavors.
I certainly could. It’s not difficult to write paragraph after paragraph about a delicious cake that is simple to make and sure to put a smile on your face. But those paragraphs take time and these days it seems far more important to just move right on to the recipe and let you taste it for yourself. A global pandemic when we’re in need of joy and comfort doesn’t seem like the time to keep you hanging in suspense for a new recipe.
I hope that you’ll give this delicious cake a try and that you’ll share it with someone in your life who could use a reminder that it is the little things that have the power to brighten our days and that they are still here. I also hope that you’ll enjoy it so much that you’ll keep right on making it, even when we find ourselves in a simpler time when we can sit down and share a slice of cake around the table with anyone who drops by. I’ll be sure to have a slice of cake ready to share with you when that day arrives.
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Chocolate Buttermilk Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 cup butter
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 ½ cup All-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup buttermilk
For the Frosting:
- ½ cup butter , softened
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and position an oven rack in the middle of your oven. Apply a thin coating of Baking Pan Release Spread, pan spray, or butter to your baking pan.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the cocoa powder and espresso powder to the pan. Stir until it becomes a smooth mixture. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Use a dry whisk to mix the dry ingredients and break up any small lumps. You can also sift the dry ingredients to achieve the same result.
- Add the eggs and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Using a whisk or a mixer, beat the sugar and eggs until they are thick, smooth, and pale yellow in color. This takes about two minutes and is often called the “ribbon” stage. When you lift the whisk or beater from the bowl, the mixture clinging to it will fall to the bowl below in a smooth ribbon.
- Add the warm butter mixture to the bowl in a steady stream while mixing to temper the mixture and prevent the eggs from becoming grainy.
- Add the dry ingredients in one addition to the mixing bowl. Mix slowly just until the dry ingredients have completely integrated into the batter. This won't take long. Take great care not to overmix the dough. Mixing develops the gluten in the flour and overmixing will encourage the cake's texture to become tough.
- Add the vanilla and buttermilk to the mixing bowl and whisk until it is completely incorporated and the batter is smooth. Again, take care not to overmix.
- Transfer the dough to your prepared pan, spreading the dough to evenly cover the bottom surface of the pan evenly. This cake batter is very thin by design to create a light cake. Don’t be concerned that the batter is thin, it will bake up beautifully.
- Transfer the pan to the warm oven and bake for 30 minutes. When the cake is fully baked, the edges will begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and the top of the cake will take on a matte appearance. A toothpick inserted into the middle of the pan should come out cleanly or with small crumbs attached when the cake is finished baking.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature before frosting.
For the Frosting:
- Place the softened butter and shortening in a large mixing bowl. Beat until the mixture is completely smooth. Add the vanilla and cocoa and beat to combine. Add the powdered sugar in 1/2 cup increments, beating slowly after each addition to combine. Turn the mixer up to high and beat for 1-2 minutes. This will help create a smooth and airy buttercream. Add milk or heavy cream as needed to help achieve a smooth, spreadable consistency.
- Spread the buttercream on the surface of the cooled cake or cupcakes. If necessary, this buttercream can be thinned with the addition of more heavy cream to make it easier to spread without scarring the surface of the cake. Any leftover frosting can be stored in an airtight container for several days.
I LOVE this cake. So moist and light, with a deep dark chocolate flavor. The hot expresso and buttermilk makes the difference. Hershey has a similar one, that I’ve made for years, but love that yours is in a 9×13! Thank you for sharing, Jennifer. I did want to mention, not meaning to nitpick, but in paragraph 5, it to reads, “eggs from becoming grainy”. Is that correct? I thought you were tempering the eggs to prevent curdling, which I’ve done before. If not, please ignore 😏.
There’s never a need to apologize for questioning how I have written a recipe. Either works for me and I will revise that line in the hopes that it will be a clearer description for everyone who reads it. Thank you for helping me to make the recipe better!
This is a wonderful recipe. Made this as a Bundt cake. Super easy and quick to make. Followed your recipe using 2 cups of flour and made the chocolate frosting that you made with this cake. Only thing I did different with the frosting is zapped it in the microwave to thin it out to drizzle on the bundt cake. Fabulous. Thanks again!!
Your version sounds delicious in every way! I am so glad that you made this recipe your own and that you enjoyed it so much.
Is there a substitute for the espresso powder? Could I leave it out and have similar results?
You can absolutely omit it from the recipe with delicious results. I hope that you will give it a try!
My batter was not thin and my cake took an additional 20 minutes to bake. I also think the size/description of the pan needs to be reworked.
I surely did something wrong?
I am sorry to hear that your cake did not bake as expected. I have made this many times using the pan I link to in the recipe and it always bakes up deliciously for me. I’ve heard from so many readers who are happy with this recipe, so I am sorry that you were not. I hope that the cake tasted delicious and that you’ll give it a try again.
I made this cake today for the first time, and I was delighted with how it tasted. I baked it in a Bundt tin for 30 minutes and it was perfectly cooked.
I didn’t ice it, only because I didn’t have all the ingredients needed for the frosting. It was still delicious, but frosting would’ve taken it to the next level for sure.
I’ll be making this cake again!