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Updated on October 14, 2026 by · This post may contain affiliate links · 58 Comments

Black Velvet Cake

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This black velvet cake is super soft, moist, and oh-so-dark. The secret to an ultra-dark color is black cocoa powder! Similar to my incredibly popular red velvet, white velvet, green velvet, and pink velvet cake recipes!

close up of a slice of black velvet cake

This is the best black velvet cake because it's rich, chocolatey, and has that classic velvet texture and flavor. Velvet cakes have a very soft and tender crumb (hence the name) and are different than a traditional chocolate cake. Thanks to a little buttermilk that tenderizes the cake, every bite is full of delicious chocolate flavor. I frost mine with bright buttercream because the colors POP against the black cake when you slice it.

Quick Glance at the Recipe: Black Velvet Cake

  • Recipe Name: Black Velvet Cake
  • Why You'll Love It: A soft, moist chocolate cake that bakes up naturally black, with no food coloring in the batter.
  • Time and Difficulty: 20 minutes of prep and 30 to 35 minutes to bake, plus cooling. Easy to intermediate.
  • Main Ingredients: Black cocoa powder, melted chocolate, buttermilk, hot coffee, butter, and oil.
  • Method: Mix the chocolate liquids, cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs, then alternate the dry ingredients and chocolate mixture.
  • Texture and Flavor: Soft, tender, and moist with a rich chocolate flavor.
  • Quick Tip: Use 6 ounces of butter in the cake and don't over-bake it.
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What Makes This Black Velvet Cake So Good
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Here's why this one is my go-to when I want a dramatic cake.

  • It's naturally black. Black cocoa powder gives you that ultra-dark color without dumping in food coloring.
  • It stays moist. Buttermilk and oil keep the layers soft, and freezing the layers before frosting locks that moisture in.
  • Rich chocolate flavor. Black cocoa, melted chocolate, and hot coffee all go into the batter.
  • Bright frosting looks amazing on it. Pink, green, and yellow buttercream really stand out against a black cake.
  • Three 8-inch layers. Enough for a nice tall cake that serves 24.

What Is Black Cocoa Powder?

Black cocoa powder is the most important ingredient in black velvet cake. This is the same type of cocoa powder they use to make Oreo cookies and has a very distinct flavor. It's also alkalized and has less fat content than dutched cocoa powder or natural cocoa powder so we are using a little more fat (oil) in this recipe to make up for that.

If you don't have black cocoa powder, you can use dutched cocoa powder, which will perform the same way as black cocoa powder, but the color won't be as dark, and the flavor will be a bit different. You can make up the color by adding in a bit of black food coloring. Hershey's also makes a Special Dark cocoa powder that you can find at the grocery store.

Did you know not all cocoa powder is created equally? Read my blog post on dutched or natural cocoa powder to find out how it can really affect the final cake!

Black Velvet Cake Ingredients

All my recipes are by weight so that they turn out. I always recommend weighing your ingredients with a digital kitchen scale for the most accurate results.

Black velvet cake ingredients in bowls on a white countertop.
  • Black cocoa powder: Gives the cake its color and flavor. I use Guittard Cocoa Noir.
  • Melted chocolate: I use semi-sweet, but you could use any kind. I wouldn't use bark because it's not very tasty.
  • Hot coffee: Strong and hot. You can swap it for hot water if you don't want to use coffee.
  • Buttermilk: Warm. It tenderizes the cake and makes it a bit moister. No buttermilk? Use my buttermilk substitute.
  • All purpose flour: The structure of the cake.
  • Unsalted butter: Room temperature, for the cake and the frosting.
  • Granulated sugar: Yes, the amount in the recipe card is correct!
  • Eggs: Large, at room temperature.
  • Vegetable oil: A little extra fat to make up for the lower fat in black cocoa.
  • Baking powder and baking soda: Both give the cake its lift.
  • Vanilla extract and salt: For flavor in the cake and the buttercream.
  • Vegetable shortening and powdered sugar: For the buttercream. Sift your powdered sugar.
  • Milk or water: Thins the buttercream.
  • Food coloring: Optional. I used electric pink, electric green, and electric yellow food coloring.

How To Make Black Velvet Cake Step-By-Step

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat your oven to 350º F. Grease three 8-inch cake pans with cake goop or your preferred pan release, and bring your butter and eggs to room temperature.

Melted chocolate, black cocoa powder, coffee, and oil whisked together in a glass bowl.
  1. Whisk together the melted chocolate, cocoa powder, hot coffee, vanilla, and oil. It will look lumpy.
Whisking warm buttermilk into the black cocoa mixture in a glass bowl.
  1. Mix in the warm buttermilk until everything is combined, then set it aside.
Whisking flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a glass bowl.
  1. Whisk your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) in a medium bowl.
Softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer.
  1. Beat the softened butter in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds.
Pouring sugar into creamed butter in a stand mixer.
  1. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar while mixing on low, then keep mixing until fluffy and almost white, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Adding an egg to creamed butter and sugar in a stand mixer.
  1. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing each one in fully before adding the next.
Adding flour to black velvet cake batter in a stand mixer.
  1. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture, then ⅓ of the chocolate mixture, and repeat two more times.
Smooth black velvet cake batter in a stand mixer.
  1. Scrape the bowl and mix for 15 more seconds to make sure everything is combined.

PRO TIP: Don't over-mix! Over-mixing (or over-baking) is what makes the sides of a cake shrink.

Black velvet cake batter spread in a cake pan.
  1. Divide the batter evenly between your pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Baked black velvet cake layer in a cake pan on a cooling rack.
  1. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cakes feel firm in the center and a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.
Black velvet cake layer cooling on a wire rack.
  1. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then flip them out of the pans and freeze the layers for about 1 hour before frosting.
Butter creamed until smooth in the bowl of a stand mixer.
  1. Cream your softened butter with the whisk attachment until smooth.
Adding vegetable shortening to butter in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
  1. Add the shortening and cream it until smooth.
Hand adding a cup of powdered sugar to the stand mixer bowl.
  1. Add the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time while mixing on low.
american buttercream
  1. Add the salt, vanilla, and milk, then whip on medium for 10 to 15 minutes until very light and fluffy.
Yellow buttercream being mixed in a bowl.
  1. Color your buttercream if you want to. Remember, the color will deepen after 24 hours.
black velvet cake
  1. Fill, stack, and frost your chilled cake layers. New to this? Follow my how to decorate a cake tutorial.

PRO TIP: For a really deep color, melt a little of the buttercream, mix the color into the melted buttercream, then add it all back into the rest.

Click on this image to go to the how to decorate your first cake tutorial

Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator

This recipe makes enough batter for three 8-inch round cake layers and enough buttercream to fill and frost them. Use the slider in the recipe card to change the number of servings, or use the calculator below to adjust the batter and frosting for other pan sizes.


Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator

Select an option below to calculate how much batter or frosting you need. Adjust the servings slider on the recipe card to change the amounts the recipe makes.

Choose a pan type

Choose a cake pan size
(based on 2" tall cake pan)

Choose a cake pan size
(based on 2" tall cake pan)

Choose a cake pan size
(based on 2" tall cake pan)

Cupcake Tin Size

Choose number of pans

Cups of Batter Needed

8 cups

Cups of Frosting Needed

5 cups

Note: measurements are estimated based off the vanilla cake recipe using standard US cake pans and sizes. Measurements used are for 2" tall cake pans only. Your results may vary. Do not overfill cake pans above manufacturer's recommended guidelines.

Common Black Velvet Cake Problems To Avoid

  • Using too much butter: The cake uses 6 ounces of butter. An old version of this recipe said 16 ounces, and that was a typo.
  • Dry cake: You may have over-baked it. A cold cake can also seem dry because the butter in the cake is cold, so let it come to room temperature before serving.
  • Sides shrinking: Either over-baking or over-mixing causes the sides of a cake to shrink.
  • Crispy outside, undercooked middle: Your oven could be too hot. If the edges get hard before the center is set, check your oven temperature.
  • Using chocolate bark: Use real chocolate for the melted chocolate. Bark doesn't taste very good.
  • Frosting too thick: Add 1 to 2 more Tablespoons of water or milk to thin it down.
  • Flat cupcakes: This batter is made for cake layers. For cupcakes, use my chocolate cupcake recipe instead.

Final Thoughts

If you've made any of my other velvet cakes, you already know how soft they are. This one just happens to be the darkest of the bunch. It's so fun for Halloween, and it's a great excuse to play with bright buttercream colors. For an easy Halloween treat, try my Halloween brownies too.

two slices of black velvet cake on a white plate with cake in the background

Make This Recipe Your Own

  • Three 9-inch pans: Increase the recipe by half so you have a little more batter.
  • Quarter sheet cake: I usually do a double batch and a half.
  • 9x13 sheet cake: Yes, you can bake this recipe in a 9x13 pan.
  • Tiered cakes and other pan sizes: You can use any cake recipe for a tiered cake, including this one. Use the cake batter calculator above to figure out how much batter you need for other pans, like a 10-inch square.
  • No coffee: Swap the hot coffee for hot water.
  • Pink filling: The pink filling in my photos is American buttercream colored pink. My easy buttercream frosting works great for this.
  • Black frosting: Use super black food coloring and chocolate frosting as your base.
  • Cupcakes: Use my chocolate cupcake recipe for cupcakes that dome nicely.

Black Velvet Cake FAQs

Is it 6 ounces or 16 ounces of butter in the cake?

6 ounces is correct for the cake. An earlier version of the recipe said 16 ounces, which was a typo. The buttercream uses 8 ounces of butter.

Can I make cupcakes with this recipe?

The batter can be baked as cupcakes, but they tend to bake up flat. For cupcakes with a nice dome, use my chocolate cupcake recipe instead.

What kind of chocolate should I use for the melted chocolate?

I use semi-sweet chocolate, but any kind of real chocolate works. I would not use chocolate bark or candy coating because the flavor isn't very good.

Is 16 ounces of sugar correct?

Yes, 16 ounces of granulated sugar is correct. If you want to use superfine sugar, use the same weight.

How do I store black velvet cake?

Keep the frosted cake covered at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to a week. Let it come back to room temperature before serving. Wrapped, unfrosted layers can be frozen for up to 2 months.

More Velvet Cake Recipes To Try

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If you tried this Black Velvet Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments. I love hearing from you!

Recipe

close up of a slice of black velvet cake

Black Velvet Cake

The best black velvet cake! Made with black cocoa powder, buttermilk, and hot coffee, then frosted with a silky smooth buttercream.
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Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 24 servings
Calories: 259kcal
Author: Liz Marek

Equipment

  • Stand mixer with paddle attachment

Ingredients

For the black velvet cake

  • 13 ounces AP flour
  • 6 ounces unsalted butter room temperature
  • 16 ounces granulated sugar
  • 4 ounces black cocoa powder
  • 2 ounces melted chocolate
  • 4 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 4 ounces strong coffee hot
  • 8 ounces buttermilk warm (110º F)
  • 4 ounces vegetable oil
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

For the buttercream

  • 8 ounces unsalted butter softened
  • 8 ounces vegetable shortening
  • 24 ounces sifted powdered sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoons salt
  • 4 Tablespoons milk or water
  • 2 teaspoons food coloring optional

Instructions

  • Before you begin: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 350º F. Grease three 8-inch cake pans with cake goop or your preferred pan release. Bring the butter and eggs to room temperature and warm the buttermilk.

For the black velvet cake

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted chocolate, cocoa powder, hot coffee, vanilla, and oil until combined (it will look lumpy).
  • Mix in the warm buttermilk until everything is combined. Set it aside.
  • Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
  • Add the softened butter to the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat at medium-high speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds.
  • While mixing on low, gradually sprinkle in the sugar. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and almost white, about 3 to 5 minutes.
  • While mixing on low, add the eggs one at a time, mixing each in fully before adding the next.
  • While mixing on low, add ⅓ of the flour mixture, then ⅓ of the chocolate mixture. Repeat two more times.
  • Scrape the bowl and mix for 15 more seconds to make sure everything is combined. Don't over-mix.
  • Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
  • Bake until the cakes feel firm in the center and a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs on it, about 30 to 35 minutes.
  • Transfer the pans to a wire rack and cool for 20 minutes, then flip the cakes out of the pans. Freeze the layers for about 1 hour before frosting, which helps lock in the moisture.

For the buttercream

  • Cream the softened butter with the whisk attachment until smooth.
  • Add the vegetable shortening and cream until smooth.
  • While mixing on low, add the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time until combined.
  • Add the salt, vanilla, and milk and whip on medium for 10 to 15 minutes until the buttercream is very light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick, add 1 to 2 more Tablespoons of water or milk.
  • Add food coloring if you want colored frosting. I used electric pink, electric green, and electric yellow. The color will deepen after 24 hours.
  • Fill, stack, and frost the chilled cake layers.

Video

Notes

  1. For more instructions on how to frost and decorate a cake you can follow this tutorial.
  2. If you don't use black cocoa powder, your cake will not be as dark. You can supplement the color with 1 teaspoon of super black food coloring.
  3. If you want to make your buttercream black, start with a chocolate frosting first, then add in your black food coloring to make it black. It will darken over time.
  4. The cake uses 6 ounces of butter. An older version of this recipe said 16 ounces, which was a typo.
  5. Melted chocolate: I use semi-sweet, but any real chocolate works. Don't use chocolate bark.
  6. You can swap the hot coffee for hot water.
  7. Pan sizes: for three 9-inch pans, increase the recipe by half. For a quarter sheet cake, make a double batch and a half.
  8. For cupcakes, use my chocolate cupcake recipe instead.
  9. Storage: keep the frosted cake covered at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to a week. Bring it to room temperature before serving. Wrapped, unfrosted layers can be frozen for up to 2 months.
  10. Nutrition is calculated for 1 of 24 servings, including the buttercream.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 259kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 1.5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 110mg | Potassium: 46mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 242IU | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.5mg
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About Liz Marek

Liz Marek is a professional cake artist and recipe developer who has been teaching baking and cake decorating since 2008. She founded Artisan Cake Company in Portland, Oregon in 2009 and now runs Sugar Geek Show, where she publishes kitchen-tested recipes, food science explanations, and step-by-step tutorials.

Liz is best known for sculpted and hyperrealistic cakes. She won Netflix's Is It Cake? Holiday 2 in 2025 with a hyperrealistic Santa cake, and has competed on and won Food Network cake competitions. Cake Masters Magazine named her one of the top 10 cake artists in 2017. She is the author of Artisan Cake Company's Visual Guide to Cake Decorating and a graduate of the Oregon Culinary Institute.

Her focus is on explaining not just how a recipe works but why it works, so bakers can troubleshoot instead of guess. Every recipe on this site is tested before it's published.

Liz teaches full-length cake tutorials, including sculpted and hyperrealistic cakes, at Sugar Geek University.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jess says

    1 star
    I’m a pretty seasoned baker but this cake just didn’t work out for us. The outer part of the cake was hard and crispy even when the cake was still undercooked and jiggly in the oven.
    The frosting however was definitely one of the best!

    Reply

    • Liz Marek says

      I'm sorry this one didn't work out for you! It could be that your oven was too hot, which makes the outside bake faster than the center. So glad you loved the frosting though! If you want help troubleshooting, come ask in my Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks

      Reply

  2. Melissa Boos says

    Is this cake sturdy enough to use in a tiered cake? Also, if I wanted to make it in a 10 inch square, how much batter would that require?

    Reply

    • Liz Marek says

      Yes! You can use any cake recipe for a tiered cake, including this one. For the 10 inch square, use the cake batter calculator in the blog post and it will tell you how much batter you need.

      Reply

  3. Jane McDonald says

    H Liz,
    I tried this recipe for the first time for a Goth wedding cake this pst weekend.
    It was so so good and I’ll definitely use again.
    I’ve used many of your cake recipes and they are my go to for most of my cake orders.
    Always amazing taste and texture.
    Thank you so much for making them available
    Cheers
    Jane
    Fig & Flour cakes by Jane

    Reply

    • Liz Marek says

      A goth wedding cake, I love that! Thank you so much Jane, that makes my day.

      Reply

  4. Vanessa DeDe says

    Can I use the same amount of ingredients if I use 9’’ pans? That white velvet was AWESOME Ny family loves it so much I’ve made 3 in the last 2 weeks.

    Reply

    • Elizabeth Marek says

      Yes you can but the cakes will be thinner (not as tall)

      Reply

  5. Jennifer says

    5 stars
    I made this for my husbands quarantine birthday this week. Despite my scale zapping out mid-way through the prep, this cake turned out delicious. Love these recipes!

    Reply

  6. Paige Anderson says

    5 stars
    I made it this weekend, and I paired it with a whipped cream based Oreo frosting. It was absolutely incredible. I've made so many of your recipes, but I think this one is my favorite!

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      Thank you so much!

      Reply

  7. Paige Anderson says

    Hi! For the melted chocolate - what kind? Baking, dark, semi-sweet, milk? Thanks for continuing to share your recipes with us!

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      I used semi-sweet but you could use any kind. I wouldn't use bark because it's not very tasty 🙂

      Reply

  8. Sam says

    For the deep color in the frosting did you mean: take out 1/4 cup, semi-melt it and add the color to the melted butter and THEN place that butter back into the rest of the buttercream??

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      Yes, add the color to the melted buttercream, mix it and then add it all back into the regular buttercream.

      Reply

    • Ellen says

      Hi Liz.. how can I increase this recipe to fit 3x 9" pans please? do I increase by half?
      thank you!!

      Reply

      • Liz Marek says

        Yes I would increase the recipe by half so you have a little more batter.

  9. keila says

    if i wanted to use superfine sugar do i use the same amount as granulated sugar? and do you think valrhona cocoa powder is a good one to replace the cocoa noir? thank you!

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      Yes, it's the same weight

      Reply

  10. Shannon says

    I noticed you recently changed this recipe and it had always been my go to chocolate cake! It previously used ultrafine sugar and regular milk, not buttermilk. Will the outcome make a big difference? I always had rave reviews with the previous recipe! Thank you! 🙂

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      I have found the ultrafine sugar doesn't make a huge difference and the buttermilk makes the cake a bit moister. You can totally stick to the old recipe by leaving the buttermilk as regular milk and leaving out the baking soda.

      Reply

      • Shannon says

        Thank you so much, I’ll give the buttermilk a try!

  11. katherine marriott says

    Can you use butternilk instead of milk in this recipe?

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      Yes you can, I need to update this recipe 🙂

      Reply

  12. Tam says

    Trying to get this correct . In a comment last November you said 6 oz of Butter then in a September comment a few weeks ago you said 16 oz. I want to try the recipe but not sure how much butter is correct ? Thank you

    Reply

    • Cindy M. Boor says

      Can you tell me if the 6 oz. butter is correct or 16 oz.? I went to click on the cake recipe and it says 6 oz.? Thank you

      Reply

      • The Sugar Geek Show says

        6 ounces is correct for the cake recipe

      • Heidi St George says

        Can this be used in a 9x13 pan for a sheet cake? I want to cut it into a coffin shape. Thank you.

      • Liz Marek says

        Yes, you can bake this in a 9x13 pan! A coffin cake sounds so fun. If you have more questions while you're making it, come ask in my Sugar Geeks community: https://community.raptive.com/sugargeeks

4.80 from 29 votes (21 ratings without comment)

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