Black Velvet Chocolate Cake Recipe

close up of a slice of black velvet cake

4.93 from 28 votes

Black Velvet Chocolate Cake Recipe

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

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: cups

Calories: 517kcal

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 (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

US Customary - Metric

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.

Video

Notes

For more instructions on how to frost and decorate a cake you can follow this tutorial.

NOTE: 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.

Nutrition