This black magic cake is a chocolate lover’s dream—a luscious chocolate flavor in a spongy and soft two-layer cake covered in a smooth ganache frosting.
This divine black magic cake is bursting with decadent and rich chocolate flavor. It is absolutely sublime and SO moist. The coffee undertones enhance the deep chocolate taste for a sinful treat you will want to make again and again.
BLACK MAGIC CAKE INGREDIENTS
You will need:
For the Cake
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk or milk
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup black coffee (or 2 shots of espresso with water added to make 1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
For the Ganache
- 12 ounces dark chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
SUBSTITUTIONS AND ADDITIONS
Buttermilk: You can make your own buttermilk using whole or 2% milk and lemon juice or distilled white vinegar. For every 1 cup of regular milk, stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar.
Cake Frosting: While this cake is traditionally iced with chocolate ganache frosting, you could choose your favorite frosting flavor to frost cake with. Vanilla frosting or even a cream cheese frosting would work well. Add some food coloring to a white frosting for a fun color if this cake is for a child’s birthday.
Dried Cherries: Cherry is such a fantastic combination with chocolate. Add some dried cherries to the cake batter for a hint of cherry in every bite.
HOW TO MAKE THIS BLACK MAGIC CAKE RECIPE
STEP ONE: Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer.
STEP TWO: Add the milk, eggs, coffee, vanilla, and oil into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Turn the electric mixer on to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway through mixing.
STEP THREE: Divide the batter between the two 8-inch round cake pans lined on the bottom with parchment paper and sprayed around the sides with non-stick cooking spray.
PRO TIP: You can buy pre-cut parchment paper rounds to make lining the round pans easier.
PRO TIP: Ideally, you should use shiny pans rather than dark pans, as the dark pans can cause your chocolate cake to brown too early around the edges.
STEP FOUR: Bake in an oven preheated to 350°F for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cakes comes out with just a few crumbs.
STEP FIVE: Cool the cakes for 10 to 15 minutes in their pans and then remove them from the pans to cool the rest of the way on wire racks.
STEP SIX: When the cake is cooled, prepare the ganache. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan or a microwave-safe container until steaming. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips in a small bowl. Cover with a plate for 2 to 3 minutes to contain the heat and allow the chocolate chips to soften. Whisk the melted chocolate until the mixture forms a smooth, glossy ganache.
STEP SEVEN: Level the tops of the cakes with a serrated knife.
STEP EIGHT: Pour about ½ cup of the ganache over the top of one cake layer and spread just to the edges to form the filling.
PRO TIP: Place the cake on a cooling rack over a baking sheet when pouring the ganache so that the drips are caught on the cookie sheet for easy cleanup.
STEP NINE: Stack the second cake layer, top-down, onto the ganache layer. Pour the extra ganache over the top of the cake.
STEP TEN: Use an offset spatula to smooth the ganache down and around the sides. For an extra smooth ganache, allow the ganache to cool for about 15 minutes and then smooth out with the offset spatula.
STORAGE
IN THE FRIDGE: Cover this black magic cake with chocolate ganache using plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
IN THE FREEZER: This rich cake freezes well for up to 3 months. Seal in an airtight container or wrap with plastic wrap before freezing.
Originally a Hershey’s cake recipe, this is the best chocolate cake recipe ever. The buttermilk gives the cake a moist texture every time, and the inclusion of coffee enhances the flavor of the chocolate. This recipe is so easy because there is no butter to cream with the sugar, and it is fast to dump all the wet ingredients at once into the dry ingredients. Throw the best black magic cake recipe together the next time you are looking for a delicious dessert to whip up.
Black Magic Cake
This black magic cake is a chocolate lover’s dream—a luscious chocolate flavor in a spongy and soft two-layer cake covered in a smooth ganache frosting.
PREP TIME 20 minutes
COOK TIME 35 minutes
TOTAL TIME 1 hour 55 minutes
SERVINGS 12
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk or buttermilk
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup black coffee or 2 shots of espresso with water added to make 1 cup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
Ganache Ingredients
- 12 ounces dark chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and spray the bottom and sides with non-stick cooking spray.Pro Tip: Ideally, you should use shiny pans rather than dark pans as the dark pans can cause your chocolate cake to brown too early around the edges.Pro Tip: You can buy pre-cut parchment paper rounds to make lining the pans easier.
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer.Pro Tip: Higher quality cocoa powder will give you an even more satisfying chocolate flavor.
- Add the milk, eggs, coffee, vanilla, and oil into the bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Turn the mixer on to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway through mixing.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cakes comes out with just a few crumbs.
- Cool the cakes for 10 to 15 minutes and then remove from pans to cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack.
- When the cake is cooled, prepare the ganache.
- Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan or a microwave-safe container until steaming. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips in a small bowl. Cover with a plate for 2 to 3 minutes to contain the heat and allow the chocolate chips to soften.
- Whisk until the mixture forms a smooth, glossy ganache.
- Level the tops of the cakes with a serrated knife.
- Pour about ½ cup of the ganache over the top of one cake layer and spread just to the edges to form the filling. Stack the second cake layer, top-down, onto the ganache layer.Pro Tip: Place cake on a cooling rack over a baking sheet when pouring the ganache over so that the drips are caught on the cookie sheet for easy cleanup.
- Pour the extra ganache over the top of the cake. Use an offset spatula to smooth the ganache down and around the sides. For the extra smooth ganache, allow the ganache to cool for about 15 minutes and then smooth out with the offset spatula.
Nutrition
Calories: 567kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 441mg | Potassium: 386mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 518IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 158mg | Iron: 2mg
