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Love at First Sight Chocolate Cake
5 from 1,044 votes

Love at First Sight Chocolate Cake

The Love at First Sight Chocolate Cake features a moist and tender crumb from the combination of buttermilk, hot water, and quality cocoa powder in the batter. It includes classic chocolate buttercream made from butter, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and cream. This recipe yields two 9-inch thick layers or three 8-inch thin layers and blends rich chocolate flavor with a smooth, creamy frosting that can be adapted with corn syrup for a shiny finish. It's suitable for special occasions or any time a deeply chocolatey cake is desired.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
24 mins
Total Time
34 mins
Servings: 16
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake:
  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder high quality
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup neutral cooking oil canola or coconut oil, generic cooking oil
  • 2 egg
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 cup water hot
Chocolate Buttercream:
  • 1 1/2 cups butter softened
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup cream Half n Half or Milk

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. If you have a flour sifter, sift all dry ingredients.
  3. In mixing bowl, beat oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla for 1 minute. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until combined. Pour in hot water and mix together. The batter will be liquidy but that's a good thing -- it will create a moist cake.
  4. Spray two 9-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. You can also use three 8-inch cake pans for this recipe. Pour batter evenly into each pan. Bake at 22-27 minutes. Place toothpick or cake tester in the center of the cake to check if it comes out clean.
  5. Let cool before frosting.
To make Chocolate Buttercream:
  1. In mixing bowl, cream together Butter, Cocoa, Powdered Sugar, and Cream until light and fluffy. You may want to add more cream or milk depending on consistency. Once the cake has cooled and has been removed from pans, frost each layer with frosting.
  2. Top with chocolate shavings, chocolate chips, sprinkles, M & M's or whatever your heart desires.

Notes

  • This recipe makes two 9-inch thick layers or three 8-inch thin layers; for a thick triple layer, increase ingredients by 1.5 times and use three 9-inch pans.
  • The cake tastes even better the day after baking when covered to retain moisture.
  • Adding 1-2 tablespoons of corn syrup to the frosting can create a shinier finish on the chocolate buttercream.