Simple coffee chocolate cake recipe that’s covered in chocolate buttercream and topped off with espresso ganache and chocolate chips. Perfect for birthdays!
If you are fond of chocolate and coffee and love a caffeine-kick, stop what you are doing and make this chocolate coffee cake!
It’s SOOOOO good, super rich, moist and tastes absolutely heavenly!
The coffee flavor in this cake is coming from strong black coffee that was used in the cake and espresso powder that was used in the ganache. I didn’t add any coffee or espresso in the frosting because it became a bit too over-whelming.
I know there are lots of components to this cake and it may seem intimidating but honestly, all the steps are simple and straight-forward.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Don’t skip any component of this cake because everything is needed to create the best overall flavor.
- Espresso powder is not the same as coffee granules. Espresso granules dissolve in liquid whereas coffee granules do not. You can find espresso powder in the coffee aisle at most grocery stores.
- Don’t replace buttermilk with whole milk because buttermilk is key to creating that ultra soft and moist texture of this cake.
- Don’t worry if the batter is thin. You have done nothing wrong! That’s just the way it is supposed to be.
- Use good quality vanilla extract. Trust me, it makes a difference in your baked goods!
- As always, don’t over-mix the batter because that yields tough cakes.
If you are fond of cakes, you should also check out some of these other recipes:
How to Make Box Cake Better (Taste Homemade)
The Most Amazing Chocolate Cake Recipe
I used just 4 cups of powdered sugar in the frosting after tasting it…5 would make it way too sweet. I skipped the ganache and put the espresso powder in the frosting instead. It’s a new family favorite cake.
The cake was so good my family loved it I loved it it was just so heavenly like you said. I could taste the coffee. It wasn’t too sweet or it wasn’t too bitter too either just the right amount of sugar and coffee mixed together. I did this for my dad’s birthday and he loved it. my mom even bought a lemon cake just in case my cake went wrong. but it didn’t turn out wrong or ugly I did a good job decorating it. It didn’t look like Rachel’s but it was my own unique way. We all tried both lemon cake and coffee cake. And my coffee chocolate cake won! I was so proud of myself and thanks to you Rachel my Dad loved it! store bought cake or cake mix I guess it’s not perfect but from scratch it is so good! I give this five stars even 10 Stars. when my second family wanted to take this home they didn’t take the lemon cake home they took the coffee cake home. and the lemon cake was in the fridge for 2 weeks. Your cake was there for Just 2 days thank you Rachel thank you it was so good. It was fluffy and moist.