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Updated on August 3, 2020 by · This post may contain affiliate links · 51 Comments

Triple Chocolate Cake Recipe

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Triple chocolate cake with chocolate ganache is a chocolate lovers dream

Triple chocolate cake was my favorite chocolate cake for a long time. I loved the little chunks of chocolate in each bite. I used to pair it with easy buttercream and it really reminded me of a Ding Dong cupcake from my childhood. Over the years I have begun pairing it with either chocolate ganache or chocolate buttercream. Maybe it's old age but I just want MORE chocolate in my triple chocolate cake. I mean... the more chocolate the better right?

triple chocolate cake

What makes this triple chocolate cake so good?

Triple chocolate cake isn't for the faint of heart! I wasn't about to skimp on any part of this delicious, decadent cake! I carefully tested this recipe so that each ingredient in the cake added to the overall moisture and tenderness of the cake. 

  1. The reverse creaming method - gives this cake a super fine and decadent crumb that melts in your mouth.
  2. Dutched cocoa powder - this cocoa powder has a stronger chocolate flavor than natural cocoa.
  3. Mayonnaise - gives the chocolate cake an added boost of moisture!

How to make triple chocolate cake

This triple chocolate cake recipe is adapted from my favorite chocolate cake recipe. This cake recipe uses the reverse creaming method

  1. Bring your water to a boil and pour over your cocoa powder. Whisk it until it's smooth. Add in your mayonnaise (straight from the fridge) so it cools the chocolate mixture a bit.
  2. Then add in your vanilla and eggs and whisk to break up the eggs. Set aside to cool. 
  3. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt) in the bowl of your stand mixer
  4. Attach the paddle attachment and blend on low. Slowly add in your softened chunks of butter and mix until it resembles coarse sand.
  5. Add about ⅓ of the chocolate mixture into the flour mixture and let mix on setting 4 on your Kitchenaid for two full minutes. Trust me, let it mix the full two minutes or your cake will collapse.
  6. Scrape the bowl and then add in the rest of your liquids and let mix for another 30 seconds or so until there aren't any streaks.
  7. Pour the batter into two 8" round cake pans prepared with cake goop or pan spray.
  8. Bake the triple chocolate cake for 30 minutes at 35oºF or until a toothpick comes out from the center with a few gooey crumbs still attached. Don't over bake!
  9. Let your cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan then turn them out onto a cooling rack. I wrap mine in plastic wrap and leave them at room temp to frost the next day because the cake is firm enough but you can also freeze them to seal in moisture.triple chocolate cake

Need more information on how to make your first cake? Check out my tutorial on how to trim your cakes, frost, fill them and decorate them. All the basics for the ultimate beginner!

What frosting goes best with triple chocolate cake?

Since this is my daughter's favorite cake, I made her favorite which is chocolate ganache. She LOVES dark chocolate but her friends prefer milk. I made a compromise and went with semi-sweet chocolate chips for the ganache. 

This ganache is a 2:1 recipe so it's a lot smoother and creamier than the traditional ganache I make for sculpted cakes or wedding cakes. 

After I make my ganache I let it cool at room temperature with plastic wrap over the surface. Yes you can leave ganache on the countertop and the cream will not spoil. Food science! 

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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

triple chocolate cake

Triple Chocolate Cake Recipe

The most amazing decadent triple chocolate cake with chocolate frosting! This cake is best served at room temperature and frosted with chocolate buttercream or ganache.
Print Recipe Rate Recipe
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 cups
Calories: 381kcal
Author: Liz Marek

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer
  • Food Scale

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

  • 3 oz Dutch cocoa powder
  • 8 oz water
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 5 oz Mayonaise
  • 14 oz Unbleached cake flour
  • 15 oz granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 6 oz unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 8 oz mini chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

  • 8 oz heavy whipping cream Heat to a simmer, do not boil
  • 16 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp salt
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cake Instructions

  • Pre-heat your oven to 335ºF. Prepare two 8" cake pans with cake goop or other pan release. I prefer to make my chocolate ganache the day before I need it so to give it time to cool down.
  • Bring the water to a boil and pour over the cocoa powder. Whisk until smooth then add in cold mayonnaise, vanilla and eggs. Whisk to break up the eggs. 
  • Weigh out all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt) and place into a stand mixer bowl and attach the paddle attachment.
  • Turn mixer on low (setting 1 on Kitchen Aid mixers). Add in your room temperature butter in small chunks. Combine on low until you achieve a sandy mixture.
  • Add ⅓ of your liquid ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix on medium for 2 minutes. If you do not do this step, your cake could collapse.
  • Turn your mixer back down to low and add in the rest of your liquids slowly. Stop once or twice to scrape the bowl as needed.
    Once they are all combined, turn back up to medium for another 30 seconds.
  • Fold in your chocolate chips or chocolate
  • Bake for 35 minutes at 335ºF depending on how big your pans are. The bigger the pan, the longer it will take for them to bake. 
    When a toothpick comes out of the center with a few sticky crumbs on it, the cake is done.
  • After the cakes have cooled for about 10 minutes, or the pans have cooled to the point they can be touched, flip the cakes over and remove from the pans onto a cooling rack to cool completely. I cover mine in plastic wrap to keep them from drying out why they cool.
  • Once the cakes are completely cool you can trim them and frost them.  

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

  • Heat your heavy whipping cream until it's just starting to simmer, do not boil.
  • Pour your hot cream over your chocolate chips, making sure they are fully submerged.
  • Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, then add in your vanilla and salt
  • Whisk until smooth. If you have any un-melted pieces of chocolate, heat the mixture for 30 seconds in the microwave and whisk again. Do not over-heat or you can break your ganache.
  • Cover the surface with plastic wrap and let cool at room temperature for 24 hours before using.

Notes

This recipe works great for carving sculpted cakes! I use the same recipe for wedding and sculpted. I always bake them, de-pan them, wrap them in plastic wrap and then chill in the fridge or freezer (depending on how much of a rush I’m in) and then carve. Chilled cakes make carving or stacking SO much easier!

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 211mg | Potassium: 236mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 359IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

More Recipe

About Liz Marek

Liz Marek is a professional cake artist, sweet and savory recipe developer, and the founder of Sugar Geek Show, where she teaches cooking, baking and cake decorating through detailed tutorials, food science explanations, and kitchen-tested recipes. She has been creating recipes and teaching baking techniques since 2008, helping bakers of all skill levels gain the confidence to make professional-quality desserts at home.

Liz is known for breaking down complex cooking and baking concepts into simple, approachable methods. Her work focuses on helping people understand not just how a recipe works, but why it works. Through Sugar Geek Show, she shares step-by-step recipes, cake decorating tutorials, and practical baking guides designed to make professional techniques accessible to everyone.

Over the years, Liz has taught thousands of students through online tutorials, classes, and educational content focused on real kitchen results. Her recipes are carefully tested and written to help people succeed the first time they make them.

When she’s not developing recipes or teaching baking techniques, Liz also hosts curated travel experiences for women through her travel brand Soul Sisters.

You can find Liz’s latest recipes, baking tutorials, and food science tips at Sugar Geek Show.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Smita says

    5 stars
    OMG!! This recipe is amazing!!!... I'm actually nibbling on a slice while I type this coz I can't seem to stop... ? it's so rich,moist and chocolatey!!! Even better than the oil based one ... Who knew mayonnaise would do such wonders on a sweet dish!!! ? I've always been nervous to try the reverse creaming method but I'm sooo thrilled to see fantastic results after following every single step especially the crucial 2 min mixing one... thank you Liz!!! ? I couldn't be happier with any other butter chocolate cake recipe... quick question, being butter based, do we have to use sugar syrup to moisten the layers? Or its best to avoid doing so for butter cakes? Thanks again!!! ??

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      I dont use simple syrup for any of my cakes but I just don't like the extra steps. You definitely can if you want

      Reply

  2. Soraya H says

    Hi Liz, can I triple this recipe? Thank you!

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      Sure can!

      Reply

  3. Keshia says

    Hi! Do you use a specific type of cocoa powder? Should it be sweetened or unsweetened?

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      I use unsweetened dutched cocoa powder

      Reply

  4. Shannon says

    Hi Liz! What type of cocoa powder do you use?
    Thank you!

    Reply

    • Zach says

      What brand of cocoa powder do you use?

      Reply

  5. Colleen Jennifer Du Plooy says

    Hi sugargeek
    How much WATER is used to pour over the cocoa powder... in this recipe Please?
    Regards
    COLLEEN DU PLOOY

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      The water that is listed in the recipe, it says to bring it to a boil and then pour it over the cocoa powder.

      Reply

  6. Ana Horan says

    How do you thicken the icing? Add more powdered sugar?

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      Yes you can

      Reply

  7. Christina says

    I made this cake this weekend and the icing is amazing!!!! My cake on the other hand came out very dry and crumbly. Any thoughts as to why? I don’t think they were over baked. I pulled them right around the 30 minute mark when the tooth pick was clean.

    Reply

  8. Christina says

    How much icing does this recipe make? It seems like a lot with 36oz of butter (9 sticks?) Can you cut the recipe in half and still have enough icing to cover the standard 8 inch cake?

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      Yes you can cut the recipe in half 🙂

      Reply

  9. kristi says

    can you use natural cocoa powder or does it have to be dutch processed?

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      For this recipe, it's dutched

      Reply

  10. Jennifer says

    5 stars
    WOW! this was the best tasting chocolate cake that I have ever made! Thank you Liz you are the best. I was able to make a dozen cupcakes, one 8 inch cake round and one 6 inch cake round (freezing for later). Thank you for this great recipe !

    Reply

  11. Jennifer P says

    5 stars
    Making this as we speak batter is in the pans but I just realized that I used bleach cake flour, instead of unbleaches DOH! . Is this going to affect the recipe ? Thanks for any help !!

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      It will be ok 🙂

      Reply

  12. Karen says

    Hi Liz ! I tried this cake recipe and it was DELISH!!!!!!!! I do have a question ! I would love to make cupcakes out of it ... will the same exact recipe work ? If not can you please let me know how it will work for cupcakes ? Thank you !

    Reply

  13. karen says

    Hi Liz where do you put the melted butter? mix it with the cocoa powder? above in your instructions you say:

    "Reserve 8 oz of your butter and melt in microwave until JUST melted, don't over heat.
    Once the meringue is light, white, and shiny, add in your butter in chunks. Add in vanilla and salt and whip on high until light.
    Add in chocolate mixture and continue whipping until mixture is combined. Scrape bowl if needed. "

    PLEASE clarify! thank you!!!

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      So sorry, I have updated the instructions. The melted butter is combined with the cocoa powder to help it incorporate into the buttercream better 🙂

      Reply

  14. Jacqui says

    Regarding the buttercream. Are you supposed to add the cocoa to the melted butter and then add to the whipped mixture?

    Reply

    • The Sugar Geek Show says

      Im not sure where you're seeing melted butter. The cocoa powder goes right into the buttercream.

      Reply

  15. Stacy c says

    Hi Liz, would you recommend this recipe for your spiderman bust cake, and how many batches would I need for a full sheet? Thank you!

    Reply
4.89 from 43 votes (34 ratings without comment)

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