This Chocolate Layer Cake recipe is a result of a request from my husband every year. For his birthday, he wanted me to replicate a cake he had tasted at a local bakery called the Spotted Cow. This is year 6 since we first posted in 2014.
I had not experienced the cake with him so I went on the bakery’s website and found the Spotted Cow was a Chocolate Cake recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting. This is a combination I have not tried before so I was definitely intrigued by the challenge.
Chocolate Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
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For the chocolate cake part, you can not go wrong with Ina Garten’s Aunt Beatty’s chocolate cake recipe. It is moist almost too moist it can be hard to layer into 3 cakes.
WHAT KIND OF PANS DO I USE FOR A LAYERED CAKE?
The original recipe calls for 2 layers, but since it was the big 50 Birthday, we wanted to make a bang with three amazing layers. I love these Wilton cake pans for being easy to clean and their affordability.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO PREPARE CAKE PANS FOR A LAYERED CAKE?
When making cakes I prefer to grease the pans and then put a parchment paper liner down to guarantee the cake recipe will come out of the pan. Some prefer to use non-stick spray, while others may like the grease and flour method.
Use whichever method you prefer and know works well with your cake pans. Just make sure you can easily remove the cake from the pan without cracking.
HOW LONG TO BAKE 3 Layered Cake?
The layers for this chocolate layer cake took only 10-12 minutes in three 8-inch pans and that might have been a bit too much. It will depend on how your oven cooks, but if dividing the batter into 3 pans.
If making a three-layer cake, I would recommend checking a the10-12 minute mark then again every 2-3 minutes until you see they are done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
HOW TO MAKE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Once they started to cool, I dug into the Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe. I really have only used Cream Cheese Frosting for Carrot Cake and Red Velvet Cakes and knew I needed a recipe that made a lot since I would be covering a 3 layer cake.
The hardest part of Cream Cheese Frosting for this chocolate layer cake, is remembering to take out the ingredients to reach room temperature but you can always heat them slightly in the microwave.
It is also important to sift the powdered sugar so you don’t get lumps. A flour sifter can make this a much easier task, and keep the mess to a minimum.
Check out all this cream cheese frosting decadence and it is such an easy frosting recipe, no cooking required, just up my alley!
HOW TO FROST A THREE LAYER CAKE
I wasn’t sure how much frosting to put in the middle as I was nervous I would not have enough to cover the chocolate layer cake, so I used just a small amount between layers.
You could easily increase this and use a crumble of cookie crumbs, or the chocolate sprinkles I used on the outside like I did on the top, or even make a larger batch of the icing.
Making a crumb layer on a chocolate cake is important so take the time and put the lightly frosted cake in the fridge to harden before adding the final layer of cream cheese frosting.
I am not a talented cake decorator and fortunately, my husband only wanted chocolate sprinkles on top. DONE! I also added some malted milk balls and truffles.
Now for a slice. I think it was plenty of frosting in between the layers, but you may want more. Again, you can adjust and double the icing recipe if you prefer, or use it as I did with just a bit to hold the layers together.
This chocolate layer cake did not last long in our house! It was a great dessert, but I confess, it was equally as yummy for breakfast the next day!
This chocolate layer cake recipe is a great choice for any event. Birthday, anniversary, or even just because. The cream cheese icing makes it unique and really compliments the chocolate well!
Other great cake recipes:
- Chocolate Strawberry Cake Recipe
- Streusal Filled Coffee Cake Recipe
- Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes
- Oreo Ice Cream Cake Recipe
How to Decorate for a 50th Birthday Party.
Check out Canary and King for great paper accessories for your party like this paper table runner and unique decorations.
Delicious Chocolate Layer Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting
A moist chocolate cake with a cream cheese frosting for a spotted cow cake.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cups cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans. Or use baking spray
- Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 10-15, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 318Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 32mgSodium 478mgCarbohydrates 51gFiber 1gSugar 34gProtein 5g
All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on stayingclosetohome.com should only be used as a general guideline.
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