Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 175 C. Line and grease three, eight-inch cake pans, or four, seven-inch pans.

Combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups sugar, 3/4 cup baking cocoa, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp of salt in a large bowl. Whisk together until combined.

In a separate, large bowl, add 1 cup of hot water and 2 tsp instant espresso or coffee. Stir until dissolved.

Add in 1 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup oil, 2 eggs and 2 tsp vanilla extract into the instant espresso mixture. Give the mixture a quick stir to combine the ingredients.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix by hand until fully incorporated. The batter will be on the thin side, but that’s the consistency you're after!

Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans, and bake for about 24-27 minutes. I like to use a kitchen scale to weigh the pans. It makes sure each pan has the exact same amount of batter and helps the cake layers bake up to be the same height.

Remove the cake layers from the oven and let them cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Gently run an offset spatula around the rim of the cake pans to loosen them, then flip them onto wire racks to finish cooling.

Once cooled, use a serrated knife to level the top of each cake layer. If you make these in advance, wrap and freeze them at this point.

Beat the butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment until smooth. 

Add in the sifted dark cocoa, vanilla extract, and salt, and mix on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Slowly mix in the powdered sugar. Halfway through, add in the heavy cream to make the frosting easier to mix.

Mix in the cooled, melted dark chocolate on a low speed until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached. Then cover the frosting flush with plastic wrap to prevent crusting and set aside.

Stack and frost the cake layers on a greaseproof cake board using a dab of frosting to help stick the first cake layer to the board.

Add an even layer of buttercream between each cake layer with a large offset spatula.

Spread a thin coat of frosting around the cake that fully covers the cake layers.

Smooth using a bench scraper, then chill the cake in the fridge (30 minutes) or freezer (10 minutes) until the frosting is firm to the touch.

Add a second, thicker layer of frosting to the cake and smooth using a bench scraper. Then decorate as desired and enjoy! I covered this cake with mini chocolate chips and piped buttercream swirls on top with a Wilton 1M frosting tip.