Black Magic Cake

For those who had problems with the cake rising, I found this explanation of Dutch process cocoa which can make difference in the results: When it comes to baking, be sure to use the type of cocoa specified in the recipe. Those that are leavened with baking soda require natural (non-Dutch processed) cocoa so that the alkalinity of the baking soda can neutralize the acidic cocoa. Recipes leavened with baking powder require Dutch-process cocoa to maintain the neutral pH of both. I used parchment paper in the bottom of the cake pan and up the sides to lift out the cake (8x8pan). The rest I made as cupcakes. The cupcakes cooked more evenly in less time.

Ok, I have made this a few times and it is truly one of the best chocolate cakes ever. It is so moist. So moist in fact, you may have a bit of a hard time "working" with it, so I do recommend placing the cooled layers in the freezer for a bit (20 min. or so) before frosting and filling. This will make it much easier!

I decided to make this into a bundt. I used a silicone bundt pan & baked the cake for 45 min. I also added a 1/4 cup of Kirsch (cherry liqueur) to the batter instead of the vanilla extract. My husband (who is rather picky about cakes) loved this. I'll be making this one again! UPDATE: I have made this one dozens of times since & I've added pretty much every liqueur to it. I've also made this into a two layer w/ seedless raspberry jam in the middle and a buttercream frosting. Heaven!

This cake is so, so moist and tasty. I frosted the cake with yellow frosting (I used food coloring) and then made black sugar bats all over the cake. I have a bat cookie cutter, so I placed it on the cake in several postions, and sprinkled black sugar within the cutter. I used little, round, red candies for the eyes. It looks like black bats flying in front of a full moon!

For those that have given this a low rating i have to ask...are you sure its not just you. this is absolutely fabulous. I made it for my son's 8th bday with the chocolate icing found on the berry glazed chocolate cake recipe on this site. Everyone at the party (the adults especially) asked for the recipe. Most are not cake fans but even my dad said it was so good he finished the cake before his ice cream. I will make this over and over again--in fact I am making cupcakes today. MMMM! ***I forgot to add that we don't drink coffee so I used Mexican Stephens Hot Cocoa instead and it gave it a nice flavor- I imagine you could use any flavored hot chocolate and it would add a nice flavor. I also used 2 tsp of vanilla - I am sure you could use different flavoring too. I love this recipe. ADDITIONAL COMMENT: I have made this several times since my first time and was even asked to bring it to my sisters 30th birthday-her request. It is the best cake recipe- I make bundt cakes and sprinkle powdered sugar and I make mini bundts and cupcakes- time is a little over half the time as a cake- 20-25 minutes. they melt in your mouth. This time I didn't have milk so I added powdered with the dry and water with 1 tbsp vinegar. It was fabulous I won't make another. UPDATE: ok so I have made this again for the umteenth time and it turns out great everytime. I have used Pero in place of coffee and the satiny chocolate glaze is amazing...

I made this cake for a birthday and it was a huge hit! Everyone loved it. It does require the entire 40 minutes to bake even though the toothpick came out clean after 30 min. It was a little hard to get out of the pan and did fall apart easily, but it was so good that if you are gentle with it, its well worth it. VERY TASTY!!!

Wow! Amazing recipe! I used the batter to make cupcakes, and they turned out wonderfully; so moist and chocolatey. I followed the recipe exactly, and took another reviewer's tip to put the batter in a spouted measuring cup, which made filling the cupcake cups easier. The recipe yielded 24 medium-sized cupcakes, and took exactly 22 minutes at 350F to bake. I watched them closely, and even though they looked a little shiny on top, they were cooked through - so they can be deceiving! If making cupcakes, do not fill the cups more the 2/3rds, as they rise pretty well. They kept well in an air-tight container for at least 3 days. Overall, a delicious, wonderful recipe that I am sure I will use again and again!

Okay, this is definately a "throw together and toss in oven" success! Very easy, very moist, very popular!!! I made coffee butter frosting to go with but, you almost don't need frosting at all. Needed to cook for the whole 40 minutes.

This cake is so moist and tastes soooooo good. I would recommend anyone and everyone make this cake.

I rarely EVER write reviews on any recipes but felt this was the BEST cake I've ever made or have eaten! Have been a professional baker/cake decorator for 14 years and have made my share of cakes. Don't substitute anything in the ingredients! DO either use parchment, or generously grease your pans. Also the suggestion of placing the cake in the freezer for a bit for ease of handling is recommended. I've always "worked" with a partially frozen cake to make decorating easier. I used bakers one bowl frosting to which I added about 2 TBSP cocoa for a more intense chocolate flavor but this cake stands chocolaty enough on it's own and NEEDS nothing!

I made the Black Magic Cake last night and was happy with the results. Now, for the bakers who posted & had miserable results with "raw" batter, impossibly stuck cake bottoms - there is nothing more frustrating than following a new recipe exactly and having it NOT turn out! Two suggestions: 1) coat pans with flour/grease AND cover bottom of pans with good ol' wax paper to eliminate sticking. 2) For the batter that never bakes (raw), the culprit is your oven temperature. The oven temp. display might read "350 degrees", but inside the oven might only be 300 degrees (my case). Even though my oven is new, I bought an inside oven thermometer - for inside temp to be at 350, I must set the outside display at 375. . . I do hope this helps. Keep Baking!

My youngest son and I used this recipe to make chocolate cupcakes together. We made no changes or substitutions. We didn't actually get 24 cupcakes out of this recipe, we got 18. We baked our cupcakes in greased cupcake liners at 350* and they were done at exactly 22 minutes. The cupcakes really baked up beautifully. High and they looked like bakery cupcakes right out of the oven and they kept their shape even as they cooled--NO FALLING! I was quite impressed with that. We frosted them with a canned frosting (I know, but it was his request). My husband, kids, aunt and cousin all give double thumbs up. GREAT recipe.......even for cupcakes. My oldest boy says "just the right amount of chocolate goodness!" I'm SO using this recipe again.

No idea how anyone can fail to be impressed with this easy, perfect cake. It's the standard by which all should be judged, the quintessential American-style chocolate cake. The flavor is robust, with a depth and complexity owing to the coffee. Just as an aside, I detest coffee, but no problem, because you never taste it in this cake. The taste does not even have so much as a hint of mocha, only chocolate. If you are a chocolate fanatic, Dutch process cocoa increases that quotient. When doing so, you can cut back the soda to 1-1/2 tsp, because Dutch process cocoa is pre-alkalized. Success is ensured by sifting your flour to aerate, and mixing as little as possible, just to incorporate everything until smooth. Remember that the more you work your batter after adding the flour, the greater gluten formation you encourage. Gluten is the protein in the flour that gives baked goods structure. It contributes the opposite of tenderness. As an example, it's what gives yeast doughs their elasticity. That's something you don't want here, so mix as little as possible after adding the flour, and the result will be an exquisitely soft cake that just melts in your mouth. I find the best complement to this cake to be Italian meringue buttercream that just increases that meltingly soft quality. Truly the best you can make.

This is a pretty good chocolate cake. It's moist and flavorful. Very similar to the "One Bowl Chocolate Cake III" on this site. I didn't have buttermilk so I soured regular milk by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to the milk. I made this into a "candy barrel" cake for Halloween. I baked the cake in two 9-inch round pans for 35 minutes and cut off the tops to make them even. I put a very thin layer of frosting between the layers and then frosted the outside and top. I placed 22.5 (45 wafers) snack size Kit Kat bars around the outside and poured a 10.5 oz. bag of Reese's Pieces on top. I finished it off by tying a ribbon around the outside.

Meh, I was a little disappointed because this was rated so highly. Moist, but not chocolatey... Good basic recipe, but I wasn't blown away.

WOW! This cake is deliciously moist, and full of chocolate flavor. My kids and I are self-admitted cake snobs, but this cake meets our high standards. The cake is "sticky" once baked, so I can imagine that it wouldn't make the best cupcakes (if using liners) as most of it would be wasted by sticking to the liners. However, it makes a scrumptious cake. I always use Wilton cake magic to grease my pan, and have never had a problem with a cake sticking. However, this cake stuck slightly even with that. Therefore, grease your pan liberally, and dust with cocoa (this way your cake doesn't have a white powder film). We ate the cake without frosting and enjoyed every bite. I am not a coffee drinker and can taste the "strength" of the coffee coming through. I think next time I will just use boiling water, as I think coffee leaves a slight bitter aftertaste for non-coffee drinkers like me (I didn't notice this on the first day). One last note, it's been 4 days since baking the cake, it has not been frosted but stored in Tupperware, and it's as moist and fresh as the first day we baked it.

Soooo good and surprisingly easy. Cake was moist and super satisfying. Baked in a greased and "floured" (I used cocoa) bundt cake pan for 45 mins and it came out perfect. For the frosting I melted semi-sweet chocolate with a little butter and drizzled it over the top then placed it in the fridge to cool. Fantstic cake, adding a picture :)

This was really good but quite frankly, not the best I've ever had. Moist yes, tasty yes, but a recipe I will mention to friends and family? Nope. I didn't have buttermilk so I just made my own by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar to my liquid measuring cup, then added milk until I had the specific amount of milk called for. Let it sit for 10 minutes, stirred, and voila! Homemade buttermilk. To make strong coffee I added 1 c of water (measured in a liquid measuring cup) to my coffeemaker (which is 2 cups according to the coffeemaker) and added 3 Tbls of coffee. I let it cool, then added it to the ingredients. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl while beating so everything is mixed well. You will need to bake the full 40 minutes, and the batter will be very thin, thin like water so don't be alarmed. When you remove from the pans, be SURE to line the racks with parchment paper or you will lose half of your cake on the rack! I frosted with a chocolate buttercream.

Well I feel the extreme need to find whoever posted this and shake their hand because after making this cake I am sure I will never use another chocolate cake recipe ever again. It was almost like a giant moist brownie, it was absolutely perfect. I have been avoiding making desserts with chocolate cake in them because I have never been a fan (always too dry, not chocolatey enough, etc) but this recipe has changed everything. I iced it with a coffee icing and it was just to die for. Thank you so very much for posting this recipe, it was fabulous.

Super good moist cake!!!! I did use hazelnut cream strong brew coffee and followed the "rules" of high altitude baking, shhhhhhhhhhhh took a few bites out of the bottom of one of the layers for granpas bday cake, taste tested this and its AWESOME and sooooo moist!!!! The crumb and texture is amazing!!! I always make my cakes the night before (in silicone pans) I need them, cool, then put in the freezer overnight. That way they are easy to remove from the pan and also do not require such a meticulous crumb coat (learned this from working in a bakery where all of our cakes were decorated while still frozen). I had no issues with my cakes falling in the middle as I do with some other recipes.

Fabulous cake! I followed the recipe exactly! It was moist, delicious, and full of chocolate - there was none left!

I have this recipe and it's one of my favorites! One day I didn't have any buttermilk nor vinegar to make sour milk to substitute. Instead I used yogart and it was even better if you can believe that!!

I also got this recipe off the Hershey's cocoa can, around 1970-1972. I got a blue ribbon at the fair with this cake! I recommend if your hands are shakey that you put your pan on the oven rack, then pour in the cake batter. It's thin, and if you're not steady it can slop on the sides.

I used French Roast from Starbucks Coffee for the one cup of strong brewed coffee called for in the recipe. I followed the recipe to a “T”. The batter was easy to make and I noticed that it appeared runny and liquidy. I filled each cupcake 2/3 full and baked 21 cupcakes at 350 degrees for 22 minutes. The cupcakes rose up forming a nice round top while a chocolate-y aroma filled up my house. I let them cool completely for about an hour. It was wonderfully moist, spongy, dark colored with a rich chocolate flavor. The coffee enhances the chocolate flavor nicely. I couldn’t taste the coffee at all and would have never known it was in there. I love that this recipe includes buttermilk as it almost always guarantees a tender cake and veg oil helps produce the signature moistness. I frosted these with, “Rich Chocolate Frosting,” also from this website. It was a perfect match! I even topped the frosting with Halloween icing decorations (See my picture). I made these for my teenager and his friends to share at the Halloween school dance tonight. Needless to say it was a hit.

Made this for my friend's birthday with mocha frosting ... RAVE reviews. Did not change one thing about this recipe. I'd recommend not using a mixer, though ... the cake batter is so thin that it sloshed everywhere and got all over my shirt. A whisk would be fine. So, so good. Magical, in fact.

What a great pleasure to find this recipe posted, true to the original ingredients! In 1985 I first found this recipe on the old fashioned cans of Hershey's Cocoa, back when one had to use a screwdriver to pop off the lid. The can was in the pantry of an older woman who had saved the empty container from years back. How times have changed. This is an excellent cake that is unbelievably moist. I've made it on many occasions over the years, turning out so well each time that several people have doubted I actually made it. It is that delicious. For those experiencing difficulties such as sinking and sticking, I would be curious to find, perhaps in a poll, how many used true buttermilk vs. vinegar + milk, as well as results for anyone who used chilled coffee, room temperature coffee, or hot coffee. Just a thought. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

When I read the reviews for this recipe one thing I saw over and over was how moist this cake is...boy are they right this cake is MOIST in a big way. I now have a new favorite chocolate cake recipe, I can't say how many compliments I got on this cake. The coffee amplifies the chocolate flavor nicely while the buttermilk tenderizes and veg oil helps produce the signature moistness. I did have to bake it longer than suggested though so do keep an eye out for that and tip to anyone who doesn't happen to have buttermilk in the fridge or doesn't want to purchase it just for one recipe, just add 1 tbs of lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup milk or plain yogurt and voila!

What a great pleasure to find this recipe posted, true to the original ingredients! In 1985 I first found this recipe on the old fashioned cans of Hershey's Cocoa, back when one had to use a screwdriver to pop off the lid. The can was in the pantry of an older woman who had saved the empty container from years back. How times have changed. This is an excellent cake that is unbelievably moist. I've made it on many occasions over the years, turning out so well each time that several people have doubted I actually made it. It is that delicious. For those experiencing difficulties such as sinking and sticking, I would be curious to find, perhaps in a poll, how many used true buttermilk vs. vinegar + milk, as well as results for anyone who used chilled coffee, room temperature coffee, or hot coffee. Just a thought. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

After reading all the great reviews for this cake, I wanted to make some cupcakes for a bridesmaid party, and they were a catastrophe. About 20 mins into baking, they puffed up and overspilled all over the cupcake sheet, and then deflated. I ended up with a cake in the shape of a cupcake sheet, and the cake had a bitter after taste. I didn't substitute any ingredients and everything was within expiration date. Not sure what happened with this one...

I have been making this cake for over 25 years and this by far is the best chocolate cake I have ever had. But, you must follow the recipe exactly. Do not make any substitutions. Also, sift the dry ingredients before adding to mixture. If you do this, you will have a great cake. It is the cake my husband requests every year for his birthday. And it is gone by the next day. :) !!!!

I've searched and searched for a scratch chocolate cake that actually tasted good! And yes, this cake is SUPER soft and hard to work with, but it is also de-freakin-licious!

I am gluten intollerant and I have used this recie for years to make the BEST chocolate cake. I cut the sugar to 1 1/2 cups. I use ONLY the gluten free pantry flour (french bread and pizza mix flour).I also switch the baking soda to 1 tsp and the baking powder to 2 tsp. People who can eat wheat even gobble this cake up when I make it! My favorite chocolate frosting recipe came from this site. It's your chocolate fudge buttercream. I use Dove's dark chocolate ice cream topping in the Rx to make it really sinfull!

I baked this last night. Am only giving it a one star because guys at work said it tasted good. I followed the recipe EXACTLY. It sank in the middle and was very crisp around the edges. Definitely will never make again! Actually threw the recipe away that I printed.

OMG!!! This is wonderful! It's light, flavorful, and perfectly moist. The hubby has pronounced it his favorite cake ever. I used Hershey's special dark cocoa for the cocoa (the cake is really rich and black). I also used a packet of instant Columbian Starbucks in a cup of hot water for the coffee. I've made both cake and cupcakes which have turned out wonderful with this recipe. For cupcakes, bake about 22 minutes (but still do the toothpick test to be sure). I'm so happy that I'll never have to resort to the box again. We're still debating frosting options (even though we both agreed we can eat the cake by itself)... Which frosting did the rest of you use?

This recipe is heaven sent! Followed it exactly except i did not have buttermilk or regular milk so i put 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in a cup of soy milk and 5 minutes later i had dairy free buttermilk! This cake was extremely moist and didn't have a bitter coffee taste. The coffee only enhanced the chocolate so you wouldn't even know it was in there which i was thankful for! I can never get a cake out successfully with my old cake pans so i foiled them & buttered and flowered them and the baked cakes came out with out the slightest of problem. This cake was amazing and i was so proud to bring my dad (the chocolate cake king) over a huge hunk of it! He said he's never tried a cake so moist! Not even store bought =] Thank you so much for this recipe! Will definitely make again & again.

I’m sorry to say, but this is was one of the worst cakes that I have ever made The cake stuck to bottom ad sides, and took an extra 20 minutes to cook. The center was still goo, yet the outsides had been burned. It was a complete waste of the ingredients

A nice, moist chocolate cake. Flavor was a bit bland. I cut the sugar to 1.5 cups and used soy milk with 1 T. vinegar instead of the buttermilk. It bakes quickly so keep an eye on it.

So moist!!! I used spring form pans after I read the reviews about how delicate the cake was. I used the coffee butter cream frosting, one reviewer recommended it and it was a delicious combo!!

Whenever I need a cake chocolate cake, this is always my go to recipe!!! No changes need, fantastic recipe! The cake doesnt taste of coffee, the coffee simply intensifies the chocolate! Amazing! I always cover with a butter cream icing and call it done!!

Loved this cake! I have made it twice now. It has such a rich dark chocolate flavor. My only suggestions is to use a good quality cocoa because it really makes a difference and line your pan with parchment paper. The cake is so moist it falls apart easily and is hard to get out of the pan. But by far the best homemade chocolate cake I've had!

Excellent cake! No tweaking, just as it is written. I made this twice now, once for my daughter's teacher for her going away maternity party and the teachers kept the leftovers for the teacher's room, we didn't get it back, lol. I tripled the recipe and made three tiers, it was divine. After that I had to make it for my family because we knew how well it went at our local school. You must try it. Moist and tasty, it's really good. Just make sure the coffee is strong, that's where the magic is.

This is a super cake that really comes out perfect and full of great flavor. My only suggestion is NOT to beat for 2 minutes as you could over beat and the cake will sink when baking...I have made it a few times and I mix only until all is blended then I stop, pour the mixture into the pans and pop them into the oven...they rise perfectly and fluffy. As for cupcakes they also come out great;)

Seriously the best cake I have ever made. Delicious, rich chocolate flavor, perfect for birthdays, holidays, any occasion! I use a chocolate fudge buttercream or a simple store-bought cream cheese frosting - yum! Thanks!

Super moist. I'm so happy with this recipe. I didn't have buttermilk so I substituted it with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and filled it up to one cup with milk. I was a bit nervous about adding coffee, but my fears proved unfounded as the coffee was unnoticeable.

This cake came out very good- Not super sweet, a good "grown-up" chocolate cake. I made a whipped peanut butter frosting and it was quite good. All it needed was a glass of milk!

What I can I say? This cake has got me flabbergasted!! It was moist, had the perfect sweetness, and it was SCRUMDIDLYUMPCIOUS. It was really cool to make something this wonderful. I made 12 cupcakes with 1/2 the recipe. Since I don't really drink a lot of coffee, I simply microwaved 1/2 a cup of water and a little bit over a teaspoon of instant coffee for a minute and a half. It only took 15 minutes to bake it in the oven and it was astounding to see the quick, beautiful, and tasty results. I paired it with some dark chocolate ganache and my whole family absolutely LOVED it.

Although the cake looks dark chocolate, it was not as rich as I thought it would be. But it was very moist and easy, and still tasted great! I had no issues with sticking because I greased and floured the pan. I used ganache to top my cake. **I had given this a 4 start last night. But I had a slice today and it is so good! Not sure if it made a difference from having the slice warm vs cold. But the chocolate flavor was much more rich the next day with a cold slice. I will be making this cake for a birthday cake I am doing soon.

I have tried soooo many chocolate cakes from Allrecipes.com--and now I can stop looking! This is the best chocolate cake EVER! Rave reviews from everyone who eats it. It has also become the standard cake for each of my kids on their birthdays. Thank you so much for listing this recipe. It is one I will keep, pass on and make forever!

This cake was absolutely amazing, perfectly moist and the coffee seems to really have brought out the taste of the chocolate.Everyone thought it was a dark chocolate cake even though it was just cocoa powder. The changes I made were: 1. Used 1.5 cups of sugar- 1 cup white and 0.5 cup brown sugar. 2. Used 3 tsps of instant coffee dissolved in 1 cup water. 3. Used 2% milk and vinegar instead of the buttermilk. I filled and topped the cake with a dark chocolate ganache using the recipe for this site. Absolutely divine, this cake goes down well with some vanilla ice cream.

sank flat; weird texture (gummy); dull flavor

A note to anyone wanting to use 9-inch cake pans--this recipe makes THREE pans, not two. Thankfully I read the reviews, noting the multiple complaints about the pans overflowing when they baked, hence I divided the batter between three 9-inch cake pans lined with parchment paper. They baked beautifully to the top of the pan. Make sure you do the toothpick test to test for doneness--if the cake isn't baked all the way through, the center will collapse. Mine were ready at 27 minutes. I measured carefully, and while the batter was slightly thinner than boxed cake batter, it wasn't overly runny. The cake is moist, the flavor is perfectly chocolate, and if anything it gets better the next day! This will be my go-to cake recipe from now on.

after seeing so many beautiful pictures and comments , i decided to go make this recipe, but at the end , i am so disappointed, the texture of the cake is so bad, it's a little spongy , and have so much holes in it , this is the first time on my life to folow the recipe exactly step by step , and it came so aweful, am sorry but i hate it, nothing extraordinary at all

This cake came out great for me. Baked up perfectly in 30 minutes. It's moist and has a great texture. I used strawberry jam between the layers and coffee buttercream for the top. It's fantastic.

I really liked this cake - it was super moist and tasty. My only complaint is that it was so moist the the bottom stuck to the pan and I was forced to make a thinner layer cake. I'm not sure if cooking it longer like other reviews said would have helped or not...

Really, really good! Watch the baking time closely, because it doesn't take long to go from "almost there" to "done". This cake is a little bit denser than some cakes, such as a boxed mix, but quite nice and moist. Made this with the Rich Chocolate Frosting recipe from Amy Via on this site (I halved the frosting recipe). No changes needed for the cake recipe!

This was a pretty good, rich chocolate cake. I used a good baking soda, but it could still be tasted, so I will scale that back a bit next time. I sprayed my pans like crazy and put a circle of baking paper on the bottom and had no trouble with sticking. I did not frost this cake as it was rich enough, just filled with some caramel fudge and dusted with icing sugar. My mom group loved this and didn't believe me that it wasn't super high in fat.

A perfect cake for a novice baker. Easy & stright forward. I didn't have buttermilk so I added a tbsp vingar to the cup of milk and let it sour for 5min. It didnt puff up in the middle, making it easy to shape. I used a square tin and a glass round pan(was making a heart shaped cake) the tin pan was done in 30 min, while the glass was done in 40min. Make sure to cool in pans for 10min or longer if not it will fall part. A piece broke off the bottom but with a spatula and some care, was able to fit it back and it formed together while on the cooling rack.

This cake was super easy as well as super yummy. Me and a couple of friends (all very basic cookers) were able to pull this off. Between my three friends and I and two parents this cake was gone within two hours. It is a very moist and rich cake so remember to serve with a big glass of milk.

This was good, but not as moist as I wanted it to be. The only thing I did differently was to sub milk & a touch of vinegar for the buttermilk, as I realized I did not have buttermilk. I usually love chocolate cakes made w/coffee, so I was looking forward to trying it (plus, PJ on the RE is a fan of this cake, so that's an endorsement I respect!). It's a good cake and I'll try it again to see if it was user error that made it not quite as moist as I'd like it to be.

Identical to the recipe on the Barefoot Contessa site.

this was just a disappointment. someone else mentioned that when they bake a cake from scratch, it should taste like it, and i agree. this didn't even really taste like a cake mix; it lacked a rich flavor and had a very spongy texture. i even took the cake from my house to my parents, and in the end, we just threw it away with 3/4 of it left. i consider myself a good cook, and i am pretty surprised so many people have enjoyed it, honestly. i won't make this again.

ok, I make packaged cakes all the time and am never really please with the lack of the chocolate taste in the cake. I made this cake in a 9x13 loaf pan, cut it down the middle (after freezing it for a while, this cake is so moist it falls apart). I spread chocolate mousse in the center (1 small chocolate instant pudding, 1 cup milk, 1 cup heavy cream, mix, chill and then spread evenly on cake center). And then added the cream cheese frosting from this site and had the most incredible chocolate cake that I have ever tasted. Not the easiest cake to decorate since it is so moist, but well worth it cause the taste is out this world. I

Made this as a cake, exactly as directed. Cake would not leave pan, and made an ugly mess. Thankfully the frosting hid most of it, but it didn't come out anything like any other from-scratch cake I've ever made. Tried again a month later with cupcakes, and they sunk. There's something not quite 100% right with this recipe. No matter how good it tastes, this is too much hassle for not enough "magic". I'll be going back to my old cake recipe.

My adult daughter made this at my suggestion when we were expecting a special guest. What a disaster! The cake overflowed the pan all over the oven. We ended up making a trifle type dessert with what we could salvage. She insists she followed the recipe exactly. My advice - try this one out first before you try it on company.

I've been searching for this recipe MY WHOLE LIFE, I'm so happy I finally found a perfect chocolate cake, perfect moisture, perfect taste, just perfect.

This cake turned out GREAT! I made it for a Potluck and everyone loved it! It was gone before really fast. I used an Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting (Cream Cheese Frosting mixed with Oreo Cookie Crumbs) on it and it turned out great. Everyone said that it tasted like a bakery cake! It was just right! :D I would ABSOLUTELY recommend it to anyone! It was SO easy to make! I will post a picture.

Looks good, but had a bad aftertaste. Followed the recipe. Did'nt bother me that the cake was nice and dark....practically black. Unusual that the middle was sunken after baking. Most store bought cake mixes don't do this. My son tasted the cake and found it displeasing. I tried it, and didn't care for it, some very weird aftertaste. I don't recommend this recipe.

I was so excited to make this cake after reading all the positive reviews &with such a great rating! &I thought "Oh, surely a homeade cake has to be better than a box cake". I hate box cake. Yet, I found box cakes to be better, somehow. I thought I left something, but nope. I followed these to a tee. It tasted almost sour like.

I loved this cake. Makes WONDERFUL cupcakes. I used 2 packs of Starbucks Via instant coffee in 1 cup hot water and it gave a very nice 'mocha' flavor, and I also added cinnamon to half the batch. We then added the Cinnamon Coffee Frosting to the top and it was perfect :) Made 24 perfect cupcakes using my large pampered chef scooper.

I read most of the reviews and was a little scared by some who didn't like it. But since it came so highly recommended i tried it anyways. It was PERFECTION! I topped it with whipped chocolate ganache and then poured about a cup of liquid ganache. I also used a strawberry filling between the layers. So moist and the chocolate flavor was mild and not to overpowering. The combo of strawberry, chocolate ganache and this cake was amazing... i have friends telling me to open a bakery now! lol Don't be scared to try this recipe!!! it was so easy and it turned out moist and just overall AMAZING!!! LOVE LOVE LOOOOOVE!!! Happy baking!! ^_^

It didn't turn out the way I expected, maybe because I used espresso coffee as the strong coffee. That ruined the recipe.

Tasted really good. Frosted with chocolate cream frosting like another reviewer did. I didn't have buttermilk so I substituted 1 cup milk with a tablespoon of white vinegar. Let sit for about five minutes so it can curdle and you're good.

Absolutely delicious! This cake is so moist and chocolatey. I do not recommend using this cake for stacking. I made a 6 tiered cake and this cake was way too soft.

This is THE cake recipe I use for all events. My grandmother handed it down to me and I've been using it ever sense! The only difference is I use 2tsp instant coffe in 1c. boiling water. This way you don't have to make a whole pot of coffee and you get the same strength coffee each time!

I thought this was a great cake. Dark and moist with a slight coffee flavor. I say slight because I made some STRONG coffee :-) Frosted it with coffee frosting and a dulce de leches filling. Was a bit much batter for 2 9-inch pans so I will probably use 3 next time. But there WILL be a next time!

This recipe was no good at all. It didn't taste anything like chocolate, and it stuck to the pan, even though I had greased and floured it. It was a big dissapointment. I had to serve all these broken pieces of cake with a glaze over them. It looked awful.

The most perfect chocolate cake I have ever tasted. Pleased all of the chocolate lovers in the crowd and even the ones who don't love it!

Very good chocolate cake, one of the best out there. Make sure your pans are greased and floured well or your cake will stick, also make sure they are cool before removing from the pan. I tend to make this and then refrigerate overnight before removing from the pans. For the coffee, I'll save a cup from my morning pot and then add 4 TBSP of instant to the 1 cup or regular strength coffee.

This is really similar to my mom's chocolate cake recipe that she's been making since I was about 5. The difference is that her recipe calls for water, and this one calls for brewed coffee. This recipe with the coffee has a much richer flavor! Sshhh....don't tell mom, but I like this one better. For those of you concerned, you cannot taste the coffee AT ALL. It simply makes the chocolate flavor stand out more. I use a cream cheese frosting on top (one brick of cream cheese, 1/2-3/4 stick of softened butter, and at least half a 16oz bag of powdered sugar (stop when it's sweet enough for your taste). if you need any liquid add vanilla by the drop! you don't need much liquid). Anyway, I am making this cake from now on. :)

I really wish I could give this more stars, but it didn't live up to expectations. I do, however, believe that I can share some things NOT to do. First, don't cut the sugar. I almost always use less sugar than is called for in a recipe because they're often too sweet. Not the case here. I used about 5/6 cup organic cane sugar and a cup of brown sugar, but not hard packed. The recipe needs the full 2 cups of sugar. I cooked the cake for 40 minutes, but didn't check it at 30 (which I should have done) - the texture was ok, but not as moist as some other reviewers have indicated. I recommend checking the cake at 30 minutes because every oven is different. The saving grace of the cake was the Coffee Butter Frosting (also from this site), which added the missing sweetness. And the frosting complemented the cake very well. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to make this again and update my review.

I assembled the cake properly, just as the recipe specified. This recipe called for 2 9-inch cake pans, mine ended up filling 3 pans and overflowing in the oven. We had to buy a new oven due to smoke damage. When I pulled the cakes (3!!!!!) out of the oven, they looked perfect except for falling in the center; I wasn't too worried about this given that I am an experienced baker in a working kitchen and was planning on frosting the cake later. When I attempted to remove the cakes from their pans, all 3!!!!!!! cakes fell apart almost completely. Again, being an experienced baker, I thought I could still manage this issue with covering the crumbs in frosting. After making the frosting, I stacked the cakes with frosting in between. Within 2 minutes, the cakes had split down the middle and collapsed completely. Crying, I tried to shove the cakes back to a recognizable shape, but they only disintegrated at the touch of my spatula. At this point, I was sobbing, as the cake was to be served within an hour. I was forced to dump the chocolatey mess into the mixing bowl and I am about to serve this concoction to a crowd of my closest friends. How will my reputation be damaged? Only time will tell.

Awesome cake. And so easy to make. No electric mixer needed. I love this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing. I made this now several times and today I didn't have buttermilk so I just used sour cream. And they (I made cupcakes) turned out soooo good.

it has this cake box flavor you cannot get rid of.

I don't think I will ever make a cake from a box again! This was the best chocolate cake I've ever had! I frosted it with a toasted coconut icing and decorated with additional toasted coconut. I made this for my boyfriend's birthday and he loved it! I brought some to work with me the next day and now they want me to make another one to bring in! The cake alone is really good - and with the toasted coconut icing it is heavenly!!!

PERFECT! The cake was so moist and delicious. I filled it with caramel frosting and topped it with a chocolate ganache. I loved that my family hates coffee, but they all raved about the cake... hahaha their faces were priceless when i informed them about the coffee. Thanks for a great recipe. :)

I've made this cake several times, and it's always turned out great. It's really moist and keeps well for a few days. The last time I made it, I added a dash of cinnamon and that was good, but it's great just the way it is. Definitely my go-to recipe for chocolate cake.

came out perfect! Thanks for the recipe

MINE STUCK TO THE PAN AND CRUMBLE A LOT, I HAD A REALLY BAD TIME ASSEMBLING IT NICELY, I MADE IT FOR A BIRTHDAY PARTY, I FINALLY MANAGED TO MAKE IT A NICE CAKE, AND THE FLAVOR WAS GREAT, MOIST, JUST A VERY GOOD CAKE, EVEN WITH ITS LITTLE PROBLEMS.

I have made this cake since I was a small child. Definitely a fave! Usually I use 1 tsp of vinegar and 1 cup of milk combined instead of the buttermilk. I also recommend adding almond extract for a deeper flavor.

SO good, SO moist! I didn't do a thing differently except to use milk + lemon juice in place of buttermilk. Other than that, made it exactly as written (except maybe adding a scootch more vanilla). I was hoping for a coffee taste to come through in the finished product, and even though there wasn't, there was a very nice, rich chocolate flavour and that's certainly nothing to complain about! Will probably be my go-to chocolate cake recipe from now on, thanks!

This cake was awesome. Hands down the most moist cake I ever made. My only advice would be is to bake on parchment paper because even though I greased the pans well, the cake is very delicate and it stuck to the bottom. I actually put it in the freezer for about an hour so I could ice it. I used the creamy chocolate frosting (my favorite) from this site, and it was perfect. Also I have always steered away from cakes with coffee because I don't drink it, and now I realize I have been missing out. It didn't taste like coffee, just the richest chocolate. Thanks for a great recipe.

This cake is amazing...simply amazing. We have made stacked cakes, cupcakes, etc. and all turn out moist and delicious. I cover with either chocolate or vanilla butter cream. Yum! I would never by a mix again.

Fantastic recipe. I dislike coffee but it made the cake the perfect consistency. Everyone asked for the recipe afterwards. Went perfect with a chocolate frosting and I added milano cookies on top as gravestones and iced "RIP" over the face of each one. Perfect for Halloween!

My family loved this cake! it was all you want in a cake very moist and chocolatey :)

Easy to prepare. Extremely chocolaty and strong. Very filling and energizing - good for kick-starting the day in the morning. My new favourite "go-to" cake recipe. It's magical indeed!

This cake tasted excellent and was very moist for days, but it fell apart very easily. Even though I followed the directions to a tee, i had to let it cool for an extra half an hour before the cakes would even come out of the pans. When they did come out they cracked, crumbled, and fell apart. So, make it when you want a yummy treat... not when you're trying to impress anyone. For an icing i used Bakery Shop Icing which tasted very good, but of course didn't look the greatest with all the crumbled bits in it. Overall a very tastey dessert.

This is the best cake EVER. The fact that I made it makes it more amazing. Rich, moist, perfect amount of sweet and chocolate, very complex symphony of flavors.

such a great and easy recipe! i baked it last night and took it to the office today. everybody loved it and wanted to have the recipe. the cake is moist and rich of chocolate flavor. thank you for sharing your recipe. it's definitly a keeper and i will make this cake again!

OH MY GOODNESS!! A chocolate lovers dream cake!! Used these frostings to top the cake: Satiny Chocolate Glaze & Rick's Buttercream Frosting.