This black velvet buttermilk 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!
This is the best black velvet cake because it's rich, chocolately, and has that classic velvet texture and flavor. Velvet cakes have a very soft and tender crumb (hence the name) and is different than a traditional chocolate cake. Thanks to a little buttermilk that tenderizes the cake, every bite is full of delicious chocolate flavor.
What's in this blog post?
Black velvet cake ingredients
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.
Did you know not all cocoa powder is created equally? You might read our blog post on cocoa powder to find out more about how using dutched or natural cocoa powder can really affect the final cake!
How to make the cake layers
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 350ºF/176ºC.
- Grease three 8" cake pans with cake goop or your preferred brand of pan release.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the melted chocolate, cocoa powder, hot coffee, vanilla, and oil until combined (it will look lumpy).
- Then mix in the warm buttermilk until everything is combined. Set it aside for now.
- Add the softened butter to bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment attached 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 3-5 minutes.
- While mixing on low, add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing in fully before adding the next egg.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- While mixing on low, add in ⅓ of the flour mixture, then ⅓ of the chocolate mixture. Repeat two more times.
- Stop to scrape the bowl after all the ingredients have been added and mix them 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 the cakes until they feel firm in the center and a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs on it, about 30-35 minutes.
- Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let them cool for 20 minutes.
- Invert the cakes onto the rack and pop the cakes out of the pans. I freeze my layers for about 1 hour before frosting them, which helps lock in the moisture.
How to decorate your first cake
How to make the frosting
- Cream your softened butter until smooth with the whisk attachment (by hand or in the stand mixer is fine)
- Add in the vegetable shortening to the butter and cream it until it's smooth.
- While mixing on low, start adding in your sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time until it's all combined with the butter mixture.
- Add in your salt, vanilla, and, milk and whip on medium for 10-15 minutes until the buttercream is very light and fluffy.
- If your frosting is too thick, you can add in 1-2 more Tablespoons of water or milk to thin it down to your desired consistency.
- You can now add in your desired food coloring if you prefer your frosting to be colored. I used electric pink, electric green, and electric yellow food coloring. Remember, the frosting color will deepen after 24 hours. You can also make the frosting black if you want by using super black food coloring instead and using chocolate frosting as your base.
Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator
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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.
Recipe
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 (110ºF)
- 4 ounces vegetable oil
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Buttercream Frosting
- 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
For the cake
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 350ºF/176ºC.
- Grease three 8" cake pans with cake goop or your preferred brand of pan release.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the melted chocolate, cocoa powder, hot coffee, vanilla, and oil until combined (it will look lumpy).
- Then mix in the warm buttermilk until everything is combined. Set it aside for now.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Add the softened butter to bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment attached 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 3-5 minutes.
- While mixing on low, add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing in fully before adding the next egg.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- While mixing on low, add in ⅓ of the flour mixture, then ⅓ of the chocolate mixture. Repeat two more times.
- Stop to scrape the bowl after all the ingredients have been added and mix them 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 the cakes until they feel firm in the center and a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs on it, about 30-35 minutes.
- Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let them cool for 20 minutes.
- Invert the cakes onto the rack and pop the cakes out of the pans. I freeze my layers for about 1 hour before frosting them, which helps lock in the moisture.
Buttercream Frosting
- Cream your softened butter until smooth with the whisk attachment (by hand or in the stand mixer is fine)
- Add in the vegetable shortening to the butter and cream it until it's smooth.
- While mixing on low, start adding in your sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time until it's all combined with the butter mixture.
- Add in your salt, vanilla, and, milk and whip on medium for 10-15 minutes until the buttercream is very light and fluffy.
- If your frosting is too thick, you can add in 1-2 more Tablespoons of water or milk to thin it down to your desired consistency.
- You can now add in your desired food coloring if you prefer your frosting to be colored. I used electric pink, electric green, and electric yellow food coloring. Remember, the frosting color will deepen after 24 hours. You can also make the frosting black if you want by using super black food coloring instead and using chocolate frosting as your base.
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.
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes you can but the cakes will be thinner (not as tall)
Jennifer says
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!
Paige Anderson says
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!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Thank you so much!
Paige Anderson says
Hi! For the melted chocolate - what kind? Baking, dark, semi-sweet, milk? Thanks for continuing to share your recipes with us!
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 🙂
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??
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.
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!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes, it's the same weight
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! 🙂
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.
Shannon says
Thank you so much, I’ll give the buttermilk a try!
katherine marriott says
Can you use butternilk instead of milk in this recipe?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you can, I need to update this recipe 🙂
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
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
The Sugar Geek Show says
6 ounces is correct for the cake recipe