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This homemade buttermilk chocolate cake is rich, fudgy, and very moist

This homemade buttermilk chocolate cake is rich, fudgy, and very moist. It is topped with a shiny chocolate frosting. You can make this old-fashioned chocolate cake in one bowl with a whisk. This is the perfect chocolate cake for holidays, birthdays, family get-togethers, or just as a simple but delicious dessert.

Texture and Ingredients

It has the perfect texture: rich, moist, and soft. This chocolate cake with buttermilk is very moist and almost fudgy, but it still has some fluffiness. The buttermilk chocolate frosting is smooth, rich, and shiny, and it goes perfectly with this cake made from scratch.

Easy to make with simple ingredients. You only need a few things from your cupboard to make this buttermilk cake: flour, cocoa powder, sugar, eggs, oil, butter, and of course, buttermilk. The best thing about this homemade cake is that you only need one bowl to make it.

Prep Time 10minutes mins
Cook Time 30minutes mins
1 hour of cooling time
Total Time 1hour hr 40minutes mins
American food
16 servings

Required utensils:
1 9X13 baking dish
1 parchment paper
1 large mixing bowl
1 whisk

Making the Cake

Making this luscious chocolate cake is easy. All you have to do is mix the ingredients in a bowl, pour the batter into a cake pan, and bake it.

Chocolate Cake with Buttermilk

Dry ingredients: Flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt are all dry ingredients.
Wet ingredients: Oil, melted butter, sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and hot water or coffee are all wet ingredients.

Buttermilk Chocolate Cake Ingredients

2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
½ cup (40 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons of baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs (US), room temperature
½ cup (118 ml) melted butter
½ cup (118 ml) canola oil
1 cup (237 ml) buttermilk, room temperature
1 cup (237 ml) hot water (very warm, but not boiling)

Frosting with buttermilk and chocolate

Get together some butter, cocoa powder, buttermilk, vanilla essence, and powdered sugar.

Buttermilk Chocolate Frosting Ingredients

¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter
½ cup (40 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
⅓ cup (79 ml) buttermilk, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2½ – 3 cups (300 – 360 g) powdered sugar, sifted

Preparation Steps

Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Lightly grease and line the bottom and long sides of a 9 x 13 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the all purpose flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt until well combined.
Whisk in the oil, melted butter, eggs, and buttermilk until well combined. Carefully whisk in the warm water until well combined. Pour the chocolate buttermilk cake into the prepared cake pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Cool the buttermilk cake in the cake pan for 15-20 minutes. Using the parchment paper, gently lift the cake out of the pan to continue cooling on a cooling rack. While the cake cools, make the chocolate buttermilk frosting.
Melt the butter in a sauce pan over low heat. Once the butter has melted, whisk in the cocoa powder and cook over low heat for about 1 minute. This helps to bloom the cocoa powder for even more chocolate flavor. Remove the pan from the heat.
Whisk in the buttermilk, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.
Transfer the cooled chocolate buttermilk cake back into the cake pan or onto a serving dish. Pour and spread the buttermilk chocolate frosting onto the cooled cake. Allow the frosting to set, slice the moist chocolate cake and enjoy!

Recipe Tips and Variations

This chocolate buttermilk cake is supposed to be quick, easy, and taste great. If you need to change something in this recipe, here are my suggestions:

This buttermilk cake recipe calls for unsweetened cocoa powder.
I like to use canola oil when I bake. However, any neutral baking oil will work well in this chocolate cake recipe.
Butter that has melted: Use salted butter if you need to. Just don’t add any extra salt. You can also use vegan, dairy-free butter or additional oil if you need to.
Sugar: This recipe hasn’t been tested with any other kinds of sugar.
Eggs: This recipe hasn’t been tried without eggs yet.
Buttermilk: This is a must-have for chocolate buttermilk cake. If you don’t have buttermilk, mix 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar with enough milk to make 1 cup. Mix well and let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes so it can curdle.
Use the same amount of warm coffee as warm water.

Buttermilk Chocolate Layer Cake

To make this chocolate cake into a 2 layer cake, simply prepare the recipe as written and bake in, (2) 8-inch pans or (2) 9-inch pans. The 8- or 9-inch layer cakes will take about 25 to 35 minutes. Chill each cake layer before frosting, right after assembling and applying the crumb coat. You can use my favorite chocolate frosting to cover this cake, or you can buy some. I don’t think you should layer this cake with the chocolate buttermilk frosting because it has a glaze or ganache-like texture.

8- or 9-Inch Chocolate Cake

To make a smaller, single-layer cake, cut the buttermilk chocolate cake recipe in half. Put the cake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few wet crumbs.

Additional Notes

Use buttermilk with all the fat. This gives the cake more flavor, moisture, and a little bit of a tangy taste that goes so well with the chocolate. You can use a homemade version of buttermilk instead if you need to (see the substitution section).
Let cold ingredients sit out for a while. This helps the ingredients combine together better, which makes the cake softer.
Don’t bake the cake too long. Check the cake for doneness on the early side of the baking range. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. A few moist crumbs should come out on the toothpick. The sides of the cake should also slightly pull away from the sides of the pan.
Put the powdered sugar through a sifter. To keep the buttermilk frosting from getting lumpy, I strongly suggest sifting the cocoa powder and powdered sugar. You don’t need to sift the cocoa powder as much because it will be whisked into the warm butter. But the powdered sugar will make the frosting a little lumpy. Sifting the sugar makes sure that the chocolate frosting is smooth and has no lumps.

Storage

If you want to keep this chocolate cake with buttermilk fresh, put it in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days or in the fridge for about a week.
Freeze the buttermilk cake: Prepare, bake, and chill the cake to room temperature. You can keep an unfrosted chocolate cake in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to two months. You can thaw the moist chocolate cake by leaving it out at room temperature for a few hours or in the fridge overnight.
Serve the nicest chocolate cake with a glass of cold milk or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

If you try this Buttermilk Chocolate Cake recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. This helps other people decide if this is a good dish to make. Please remember to tag me on Instagram with @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re making!