Death by Dark Chocolate Cake
When you make this dark chocolate cake, you will finally understand the phrase “death by chocolate”. We’re layering dark chocolate cake with chocolate fudge frosting, covering the whole thing in a silky dark chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream, and topping this beauty off with a chocolate drip. That’s why I’m calling this my Death By Dark Chocolate Cake.
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This recipe was originally published on September 24, 2018. It was republished on June 17, 2021 with updates.
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Story Time…
I actually first made the cake part of this recipe to celebrate my 30th birthday when I launched Bakes & Blunders back in 2018. It was delicious, but I used store bought frosting because I still wasn’t comfortable with making my own.
Fast forward a few years and I finally got around to giving this dark chocolate cake the makeover it deserved. Instead of using 9 inch cake pans, I went for a hulking 3 layer 6 inch cake and added even more chocolate.
To the Dark Chocolate Cake Recipe…
Like any sane individual, I adore chocolate. If you don’t, I don’t know how to help you. Personally, the darker the better and white chocolate is ick (sorry Don). I also love coffee and espresso… though my body wishes I didn’t. Coffee makes me sick, but I can have it in small doses, or baked into a cake.
Adding coffee to a chocolate cake helps bring out the flavor notes of the cocoa, but does not leave a coffee flavor behind. You can use brewed coffee or even espresso powder. It is also completely up to you whether or not to use dark cocoa powder. Regular cocoa will work just fine and produce a slightly lighter cake.
Tips & Tricks for Perfect Cake
I would like to note how crazy EASY this dark chocolate cake was! Normally, I’m all about separate bowls for wet and dry ingredients, but that’s not necessary here. That’s right, I only used ONE bowl.
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. This will help everything blend nicely and give your cake a nice texture.
- Scrape your bowl down halfway through mixing to make sure there’s no hidden flour pockets.
- Wilton baking strips will give you a flat top and prevent the edges from caramelizing.
- Use an electronic scale to divide your cake batter into the pans.
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
I have died and gone to heaven. This chocolate fudge frosting is the bomb dot com. If you want to lean into the coffee flavor notes in chocolate, I suggest stirring in a tablespoon of espresso powder.
At first, this may look a bit curdled and gross. Don’t sweat it. After you add your last ingredients to the bowl, you’ll see it come together in one gloriously smooth chocolate fudge frosting. It makes a great filling! You could always try using it to cover a cake, but it might be a bit thick. I’ll have to try it out one day!
It’s way more than you’ll need for this dark chocolate cake. You could try scaling the recipe down, or just save your extras for later. It has this wonderful thick, peanut butter like texture, so you may just want to grab a spoon and go to town. Live your best life!
Related Reading: 9 Cake Tools Every Home Baker Needs
Dark Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Since we went heavy with the filling and intense with the dark chocolate cake, I decided to go for a lighter buttercream. You could always use my chocolate American buttercream, but I think the light, buttery flavor of this SMBC hits the right note.
I actually ran out of chocolate bars when I needed to make this buttercream. So instead of folding in melted chocolate like I do with my chocolate Italian meringue buttercream, I just used dark cocoa powder. It worked well, but the powder did leave some flecks in the frosting for a bit of a spotty look.
Watch It Come Together
Are you a visual learner? Because I made a short video showing you how to make this fluffy chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream with cocoa powder. Check it out!
It is more involved than a traditional American buttercream, but overall it is a pretty simple recipe to make. It’s less sweet and more buttery, but still incredibly delicious.
Any Blunders?
Only a small silly thing that literally no one in their right mind would care about. I piped a border around the top of the cake, but I didn’t like it. So I scraped it off and tried a new border. But that one was too small to completely cover up the marks of the previous border!
Ah! I was so annoyed with myself, the buttercream was melting in my bowl (it was a super hot day), and I needed to fix it. My husband reminded me I had considered using gold, so I slapped some gold leaf on it and loved the look!
If you ever see flaws, put some gold leaf on it and pretend you meant to do that.
Related Reading: Chocolate Rosemary Cake
Enjoy!
You will die happy after having a piece of this Death By Dark Chocolate Cake. Fluffy dark chocolate cake, creamy fudge frosting, fluffy buttercream, and that chocolate drip that brings it all together.
If you get to try this recipe out, please leave me a comment and rate this recipe. I love hearing how the recipes work out for my readers!
Death By Dark Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Dark Chocolate Cake
- 15 oz sugar 2 cups
- 4.75 oz all- purpose flour 1 cup
- 3 oz cake flour 3/4 cup
- 2.5 oz dark cocoa powder 3/4 cup
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 8 fl oz milk 1 cup
- 4 fl oz canola oil 1/2 cup
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 8 fl oz black coffee hot, 1 cup
Chocolate Ganache
- 2.5 oz heavy cream
- 4 oz semi sweet chocolate finely chopped
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- 4 oz unsalted butter
- 2 oz dark cocoa powder sifted
- 12 oz powdered sugar sifted
- 3 fl oz warm water
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp espresso powder optional
Dark Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 5 egg whites room temperature
- 12 oz sugar
- 16 oz unsalted butter softened
- 1 oz dark cocoa powder sifted
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Dark Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Spray three 6 inch cake pans with Baker's Joy and line with parchment rounds. Set aside. If using cake strips, set them in a bowl with cold water to soak.
- Sift together the sugar, flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to make sure the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer on a medium low speed for 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl down halfway through. Add hot coffee and whisk to combine.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pans. It can help to use a kitchen scale to make sure the amounts are even, about 15- 16 ounces per pan. Wring out cake strips and place them on the cake pans.
- Bake for 35- 40 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cooling racks. Make sure the cakes are completely cool before frosting and assembling.
Chocolate Ganache
- Heat cream until just shy of a simmer. Pour over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for 3 minutes. Then stir until smooth. If there are large chunks that won't melt, place over a double boiler and gently heat until all lumps are gone.
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave. Once completely melted, add cocoa powder and stir to combine.
- Transfer the chocolate mixture to a medium bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat in the powdered sugar in thirds. Between additions, add a splash of the warm water (mixed with espresso powder, if using).
- Once the sugar and water have all been added, the mixture should be thick and creamy. Beat in vanilla and 3 ounces of the ganache to combine. Let the frosting cool slightly to come to room temperature.
Dark Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Add an inch or two of water to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, combine the egg whites and sugar in a heat proof bowl and whisk until combined. Place the bowl over the simmering pot. Do not let the water touch the bowl.
- Whisk the mixture regularly until the sugar is completely dissolved. The mixture should come to 140°F- 160°F. When you rub some of it between your fingers, it should not feel grainy.
- Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on a medium speed until the meringue forms stiff, glossy peaks, and is room temperature. About 15- 20 minutes.
- With the mixer still on a medium speed, add softened butter one tablespoon at a time to the room temperature meringue. Once all of the butter has been added, scrape the bowl down and bump the speed up to a medium high speed. Whip for 5 minutes.
- Scrape the bowl down again and add the cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla. Switch to a paddle attachment and beat on low to combine. Scrape the bowl down and beat on low for 3 minutes.
Assembly
- Place a leveled cake layer on a cake board. Pipe a damn of buttercream and fill with fudge frosting. Smooth the frosting to a level layer. Top with a second cake layer and repeat the filling. Place the third cake layer upside down on top.
- Add a thin crumb coat of buttercream and chill the cake for 30 minutes. Add a final coat of buttercream and chill in the fridge for one hour.
- Bring the ganache to the right temperature/ consistency (about 90°F- 95°F) and pour into a piping bag. Snip the tip off and do a test drip at the back of the cake. If it drips to your liking, continue adding drips around the entire cake, other wise adjust the ganache as necessary. Then drizzle the rest on top of the cake and place back in the fridge to set.
- Once set, pipe your border around the top. If adding gold leaf, let the cake chill again until firm. Use a small paint brush to gently lift gold leaf and apply it to your cake.
Notes
- Alternatively, use two 9 inch cake pans and bake for 30 minutes.
Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
13 Comments
Christa
I meant to say, above, that I hate* to throw it away!
Christa J
This was a delicious frosting and all the directions were very helpful. I made it for a 2-layer, 20cm cake, and I have a LOT leftover. I had to throw it away. Is it save-able? Can it be saved in the fridge or freezer and brought back to the right consistency somehow? Please let me know! Thanks again for the recipe. I’m excited to try Italian Buttercream next!
Colleen
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! You can absolutely save this for later. Store it in an air tight container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer for a couple of months. If you need ideas on how to use leftover buttercream, I have a few right here – https://www.bakesandblunders.com/how-to-use-leftover-buttercream/.
James
I’m hoping to make this cake for a very special occasion. I have a question regarding the amount of cocoa for the buttercream. Is it only 1 oz? It seems very little.
Thank in advance,
James.
Colleen
It is just 1 oz of dark cocoa powder, but if that’s not intense enough for what you want, feel free to add a little more at a time until you’re happy with it 😀
Rachel
This cake looks so delicious! I am definitely going to try it. You mentioned that you had some bits of cocoa showing in the Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I noticed that for the chocolate fudge frosting you melted the cocoa in with the butter. Could that be done for the butter used in the Swiss Meringue Buttercream the day before making the cake so that the butter could be cooled to room temp before adding to the meringue? I am wondering if this would eliminate the cocoa bits. I also wondered if the cocoa could be put in the sugar/egg white mixture while it was being heated to melt the sugar, but I don’t know if that would burn the cocoa? May I also ask what brand of dark cocoa you use? Thank you
Colleen
You might be able to melt some of the butter with the cocoa powder, but then let it set back up. You’ll need it to be the consistency of softened butter before you add it to the meringue. Making the cocoa/ butter mix the day before is a good idea. I’ve never tried that, so I can’t say it will work, but it might. I cannot recommend adding the cocoa powder to the egg whites though. Cocoa powder contains fat which will prevent your meringue from forming.
As for the brand, I generally use Hershey’s dark cocoa powder simply because that’s what I can get my hands on in the grocery store.
Rachel
Thank you so much!
Rose Martine
This recipe looks awesome!!! Since I don’t use grain flour, do you think almond or coconut flour would work well as a substitute? Thanks!
Colleen
I wouldn’t use coconut or almond flour as a substitute. Personally, I enjoy King Arthur measure for measure gluten free flour. I used it in this gluten free marble cake – https://www.bakesandblunders.com/gluten-free-marble-cake-with-vanilla-frosting/. You can also check out my other gluten free recipes here – https://www.bakesandblunders.com/tag/gluten-free/.
Monica
PS… Happy 29th Birthday!! 🎂 I hope it was wonderful… 🎈❤🐎💐
Monica
CONGRATULATIONS!! 💘 your blog, Colleen, can’t wait for more! I posted a comment on 9\22, but it’s not appearing…. Ugh! But I wanted to ask about the ganache (sp?) I’ve never made it before, & I’d love your recipe plus what it’s commonly used for. I see it on all my favorite cooking/baking shows…
Keep it coming, you’re GREAT!! 😄💞
Colleen
Your comment on the Kryptonite Cake should be appearing. I can see it when I open that page. Thanks for the support! I’ve recently discovered ganache and it is super easy to make and tastes amazing! Pretty much, chop up some chocolate and pour hot cream over it. Let it sit for several minutes to soften the chocolate, then stir until smooth (and you can add a bit of butter too). When you mix it, it will take a little bit to come together, so don’t be worried. If it truly isn’t coming together, pop it back in the microwave for 10- 30 seconds. It should mix well after that. I could probably type a whole post about ganache. Maybe I will…