Black Velvet Cake

4.80 from 29 votes

The best black velvet cake! Made with black cocoa powder, buttermilk, and hot coffee, then frosted with a silky smooth buttercream.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 259kcal

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.

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.

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.

For more instructions on how to frost and decorate a cake you can follow this tutorial.
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.
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.
The cake uses 6 ounces of butter. An older version of this recipe said 16 ounces, which was a typo.
Melted chocolate: I use semi-sweet, but any real chocolate works. Don't use chocolate bark.
You can swap the hot coffee for hot water.
Pan sizes: for three 9-inch pans, increase the recipe by half. For a quarter sheet cake, make a double batch and a half.
For cupcakes, use my chocolate cupcake recipe instead.
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.
Nutrition is calculated for 1 of 24 servings, including the buttercream.