Black Cocoa Chocolate Espresso Cake. Deep, dark, delicate crumbed chocolate cake enrobed in a blanket of rich, creamy espresso cream cheese frosting.
Now this my friends is how you start a Tuesday (Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun or Mon)! This has become my most favorite cake and I don’t say that lightly because I love my cake, all of them but this one I cannot get enough of. Its super moist, has a tender crumb and a deep, rich chocolate flavor and color. The frosting is super creamy and espresso flavor pairs perfectly with the chocolate cake and the cream cheese in the icing brings a light tang that balances all the sweet.
Secret ingredient.. Black Cocoa! Well maybe not so secret since it’s in the title 😉 . This cocoa lives up to its name, its black and I think it adds a good depth to this chocolate cake in flavor and color. I adjusted my cake recipe to 50/50 regular cocoa powder and Black Cocoa! Perfection!
Each bite of this cake melts in your mouth, its hard to tell where the cake starts and where the frosting begins but since they all work together like a glorious symphony it doesn’t really matter because like a symphony you wouldn’t separate the instruments from each other or they just wouldn’t sound the same. So what I am trying to say is that this Black Cocoa Chocolate Cake needs the Espresso Cream Cheese frosting!!
I hate to admit it but I ate enough of this cake this past weekend that I am now officially paying for it by eating salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner but it was worth it!
You won’t be able to stop at one slice!
Enjoy!
Stacey
*************************************************************************************************************
Here are some of the products that helped me create this amazing cake, they could help you to!
King Arthurs Black Cocoa – Talk about adding luxury and richness to any cocoa related dessert. I recently found this black cocoa and am obsessed with it. Just look at the color of this cake!
King Arthur Espresso Powder – This is my preferred espresso powder.
Wilton Gold Sugar Pearls – these are so classy on any dessert and I love that their gold color is on the darker side.
Wilton Piping Bag – I like the 16 inch piping bags, I don’t have to refill them as often as the smaller.
Wilton Piping Tip 2D – This is the tip I used on this cake.
Please note some of the links above are affiliate links which means if you purchase from the link I get a small commission. I use these products and stand behind them which is why I chose to tell you about them. Thank you for your support.
FORGOT TO PIN IT? Here you go! Thanks!
Yum
Black Cocoa Chocolate Espresso Cake
Ingredients
- CAKE:
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp black cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp vanilla paste
- 1 1/4 cup brewed coffee cooled.
- FROSTING:
- 12 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 1/2 cup butter softened
- 4 1/2 tsp espresso powder
- 3 Tbsp Kahlua coffee liqueur
- 3 lb powdered sugar
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F
- Lightly grease 2 - 7 inch cake pans and line bottoms with parchment.
- In bowl of mixer add the flour, sugar, cocoas, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a medium bowl add the eggs, oil, vanilla and coffee, stir to combine.
- With mixer on low slowly pour the liquids into the dry ingredients.
- Switch up to medium speed, mix until well combined.
- Pour evenly into prepared pans.
- Bake 38-42 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool completely.
- FROSTING:
- Cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.
- Add the espresso powder, continue mixing.
- Slowly add in the powdered sugar one spoonful at a time.
- Add in the Kahlua, continue mixing for about 2-3 minutes until frosting is creamy and smooth.
- ASSEMBLY:
- Cut off the round tops of cakes if need be.
- Cut each cake horizontally to make a total of 4 layers.
- Lay first cake layer on cake plate/board (add a bit of frosting underneath to hold the cake in place).
- Spread or pipe a layer of frosting making sure to go to the edges, repeat with the remaining 3 layers.
- With remaining frosting coat the sides of the cake using offset spatula.
- Pipe shell border around the bottom, I used piping tip Wilton 2D.
- Pipe decoration on the top, I used piping tip Wilton 2D. I did a shell border around the outside perimeter, then repeated by alternating the direction working my way inward toward the center of the cake.
- Sprinkled with Wilton gold sugar pearls.
- Keep cake in cool dry place until serving, can be refrigerated.
This is BEAUTIFUL Stacey! I daresay your most gorgeous recipe yet. You’ve decorated this cake so well! And the 4 layers!? Nailed it. I’ve never seen black cocoa but I’m completely intrigued. Chocolate and coffee is one of the most perfect flavour combinations. Seriously amazing!
Hi Katherine! Thank you very much! I have a soft spot for cake or should I say obsession. Chocolate and coffee is one of my favorites to. Take care.
That is the prettiest Chocolate Cake I have seen in a while!! The Espresso cream cheese frosting sounds so yummy! Haven’t tried Black cocoa before! I definitely need to lay my hands on that sooner to create this gorgeous cake!
Hi Deepika! Thank you! It was a lot of fun to make, I love layering. Black cocoa is a neat little ingredient to try, I can’t imagine my pantry without it. Take care.
Wait, this looks spectacular. NEEEED this cake in my life!!
Hi Karly! Thanks so much! You’re right you do need this cake in your life 😉 . Its a special one! Take care.
It’s no surprise that you ate enough that salads were called for! I would too! This is gorgeous, my friend! And its flavor has me feeling all sorts of hungry! Pinned!
Hi Annie! Thank you. This is a special cake indeed, worth every bite of lettuce lol. So glad you like it. Take care.
Well I can TOTALLY see why this is your favorite cake, Stacey! I mean, it is GORGEOUS! And it sounds seriously delicious! As you know I’m allergic to chocolate, but my husband would flip his lid over this! I’m thinking I need to make his this cake, but double the frosting, because I want to eat that espresso cream cheese frosting with a spoon!!! Cheers, friend!
Hi Cheyanne! Thank you, it is a special one and super good! Your hubby would love it and you the frosting, good plan to double the icing 😉 . Take care.
I had to visit this beauty! This is tempting me to buy some black cocoa and get going! your piping skills are amazing Stacey!
Hi Jenny! You definitely should go get some black cocoa! Thanks, I’ve had a lot of practice. Take care.
What a beautiful cake, Stacey!! The dark chocolate gives it such an intense color, and the frosting looks sublime!
Hi Thao! Thank you, this cake is really amazing! So glad you like it. Take care.
Wow! Your layers are so perfect! I need to get my hands on some black cocoa pronto – it makes the cake layers look so lucious and rich 🙂
Hi Ruby! Thank you and you’re spot on, the black cocoa adds a great richness to this cake. Take care.
What a gorgeous cake!! I love this black cocoa! I must get it!!
Thanks Kim! She is a beaut! I think you will love the black cocoa, its a great enhancer. Take care.
Hello, I am in process of making this recipe and noticed you don’t have the 2C sugar listed in the directions, but listed in the ingredients. Im assuming to add it with the dry mixture. Thanks
Hi Darren! Yes, exactly, the sugar is part of the dry ingredients. So sorry I missed being specific on that one. Enjoy the cake 😉 .
Do you use 3 pounds of confectioners sugar or should it be 3 cups?
Hi Janet! It is indeed 3 lbs. The lbs will be listed on the bag of powdered sugar. Usually you can buy 2 lb or 4 lb bags. Thank you for the inquiry. Take care. 🙂
Thanks!
Hi, is the cocoa powder 1/4tsp + 2T or 1/4 cup + 2T? And can I substitute Dutch cocoa for the black cocoa? Thanks!
Hi Dana! Thanks for asking, it is 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. Upon receiving your comment I updated it to be clearer, thank you. Yes, if you don’t have black cocoa you can substitute with Dutch Cocoa, the color may not be as deep but it should be delicious. Take care.
Does this black cocoa have a more intense, chocolaty flavor than Hershey’s special dark. I like dark chocolate more than milk? I bought black cocoa from Bulk Foods and it didn’t even taste of chocolate, don’t know the brand, not King Arthur though.
Hi M, I apologize that this comment/question went into my SPAM folder and I just noticed it now. The King Arthur Black Cocoa is a more intense flavor. I have not used Hersheys Special Dark to be able to provide a comparison, the King Arthur bag specifically lists “Black Cocoa (Processed with Alkali)” for the ingredients and it looks like the special dark is a mix of standard cocoa powders (I looked online). Regarding your bulk purchase, it should taste like very strong, bitter cocoa powder. If you do not have luck finding the right black cocoa, you can certainly substitute the black cocoa for the special dark cocoa. It will be more of a traditional chocolate cake, the color may be a bit lighter and the flavor a little less intense but still delicious! Take care.
I was anxious to try this as I’m getting ready to do a grooms cake for my son. I already have one recipe that never fails but was curious about this. I wasn’t as thrilled as I wanted to be with texture. Not sure why. It rose beautifully and batter tasted very good. I baked till toothpick came out clean. Two pans. I found it to be dryer than I expected. It will be good with ice cream. I may try again some time and see if I get a different result. Only difference I made was the cocoa. I did half regular and other half special dark. Flavor great! Color dark!
Hi Deb! I’m so glad you tried this cake and found the flavor to be great. Ice cream can definitely help if the cake turned out on the dry side 😉 . Thanks for sharing your experience! Take care.
Vanilla paste and black cocoa… things I can find in a grocery store’s baking department or do I need to go to a specialty store?
Hi Natasha! I live in a small town and have similar issues. I have been able to find the vanilla paste at Sur La Table and Williams and Sonoma. The Black Cocoa I have found at Sur La Table as well. If you do not have these stores available to you Amazon carries both, I have a link to the Black Cocoa Powder in the post itself. For the vanilla paste, if you cannot find it at all and do not want to order it, you substitute it for vanilla extract, same measurement. Good luck! Take care.
I found mine on Amazon.
Thank you Holly 🙂 Amazon solves a multitude of problems. Stay healthy.
Hi, just made this and realized that the sugar wasn’t in it when I followed the instructions. Where do you usually add it? I dumped it in at the end in mixer hope it works out…
Hi Alicia, the sugar should have been part of the dry ingredients for this particular recipe. Thanks for alerting me, its been updated. I believe adding it at the end would work out just fine as long as mixed well into batter :-). Take care.
HI Stacey, just made this awesome cake for a second time and found that it takes about 15 minutes longer to really cook thru in the middle thus making it dried around the outside. Tried it in 2 different stoves. Any ideas?
Hi Elaine, so glad you made the cake (twice!) but sorry to hear it was dry on the sides. I would say that maybe your oven runs hotter but since you tried it in two different ovens that is unlikely that both would run too hot. 1. My next thought would be the egg temp, were they room temp? If the 4 eggs were chilled it will effect the over all temp of the batter contributing to the extra time needed to bake to the center therefore contributing to the dry sides. 2. Next possibility, if the cake pans are over greased this can cause the outer edge to cook faster and hotter (fry almost), I wipe my oil around the pan with a paper towel to avoid this. 3. The type of cake pan, I use aluminum pans, darker pans can bake a darker/harder crust (not sure why this happens to be honest) the solution is to bake at lower temp. I’m thankful you reached out and I hope some of the above is helpful 🙂 . Take care.
Have you ever made it with just all black cocoa? Also, I don’t have 7 inch pans, I have 6 and 8. Have you tied this recipe in either of those sizes?
Hi Candi, I have not but from what I read on the packing I wouldn’t want to. Per King Arthur Flour, “Very Strong, use as an accent in combination with natural or Dutched-Process cocoa.” I followed their guidance. It is a very strong cocoa powder and I believe to use all the black cocoa would require a change in sugar measurements which will effect then effect the measurements of the other ingredients and so on. Happy baking. Take care.
Hi Candi, sorry I missed the pan size question. You can certainly use either of the pans you mentioned. Just adjust the baking time accordingly as the sizes differ. Take care.
Cake itself is amazing – have made this twice now! I checked on my cakes at 35mins and they were perfectly done. The buttercream itself is delicious IF you don’t use the full amount of powdered sugar. I used .5 lb the first time around and it was prefect! The second time I used almost a full pound of powered sugar and it was far too sweet. I can’t imagine what 3 lbs would taste like.
Hi Lianne! Im so happy you like this cake and have made it twice 🙂 . Thank you for your input regarding the buttercream. Happy baking. Take care.
Just made this. I should mention that I’ve just very recently started making cake from scratch, so that might me why it didn’t come out so great!
The cake came out dry for me, and it was toothpick ready 15 minutes before the time in the recipe said it would be. The cake itself is good, with a very unique flavor, so i just used simple syrup to give it some moisture. However, my frosting was a disaster. It’s runny, gritty, and far too sweet. I think if I pop it in the fridge it might firm up a bit, but I’m not sure how to fix the gritty texture or tone down the sweetness. It also made an absurd amount, probably enough to cover a whole other cake, and I can’t begin to understand how I managed that. I’m still learning though, so hopefully with more practive I can successfully make this cake in the future. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Marina! I’m happy hear you made this cake but sad to hear it turned out on the dry side. Snafu’s in the kitchen are frustrating to say the least and new or experienced they happen to us all.
I have a couple ideas why this may have happened but without being there it is hard to say exactly. 1. How the flour is measured can affect the cake texture, spoon and level is the proper way to get the right amount of flour (if you scoop into the flour bag with the measuring cup you will get a more packed down flour measurement which will actually be more flour than needed which can cause the cake to dry out). 2. The type of cake pan, I use aluminum pans, darker pans can bake a darker/harder crust the solution is to bake at lower temp.
Now onto the frosting – This recipe makes a lot of frosting. I piped a very generous portion in between each layer. I then used a large tip for piping around the base and then piped the entire top with a generous portion using the same larger tip. I’m sorry it turned out runny and gritty. Ideally owdered sugar should not be gritty once creamed with the cream cheese and butter. As long as the butter and cream cheese were at room temp it should yield the right consistency. I’m sorry I could not provide suggestions on this one without being there. Normally I would say add more powdered sugar but if you find the frosting too sweet for you liking as is then this solution would not work for you.
I hope some of this was helpful. Take care.
Pls can u make in gream too.I alway I have problem with cup.tank
Hi! Your directions state to mix on medium speed until well combined. Can you please specify an approximation for time needed? Thanks!
Hi Dana! About 2 minutes should do it. You may need to scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl in between to make sure nothing sticks and all gets incorporated. Happy Baking. Take care 😉 .
I don’t like cream cheese. Can I substitute for buttercream
Hi Maria! Yes, if you have a favorite buttercream recipe go for it! Happy Baking! 🙂
I made this cake for a friends birthday party. Other then the coffee haters, everyone loved it, or at least they said they did. It tasted better to me the second day. One question, how do you pipe those shells? I used the tip you suggested, but could not get anything that looked like a shell. Can you take a picture of the tip you used? I tried the D2
Hi Laurie! I am so happy you like this cake and yes, the second day probably is better as those coffee and chocolate flavors marinate ;-). Ok, your piping question. I created a video for you, its not great quality but its easier to show you how I do it then just tell you. The 2D tip is more ruffly in appearance and sometimes when those ruffles ruffle they can also collapse, especially if your buttercream is softer. Also, as you watch the video you will see I have a rhythm, as I am piping I am also repeating, “1,2,pull” in my head with each shell I pipe. This helps me stay consistent in size with each shell. So I apply pressure to start the shell, let it build a little and then pull away, repeat. For the second row I did the same thing but I went in the opposite direction for some visual intrigue 🙂 . Please let me know if you have any other questions. Take care.
https://www.thesugarcoatedcottage.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/piping-video.mov
What coffee did you use for this cake?
Hi Brittany, for the cake I used brewed and cooled Dunkin Donuts medium roast coffee. For the frosting I used King Arthur espresso powder but any brand espresso powder will work. Happy baking 🙂
This is my family’s new favorite go to cake!!! Literally we can’t wait for special occasions so I can make this. So stinking good it never gets old. I love the espresso powder in the buttercream that makes it for me!
Hi Sarah, what a wonderful compliment, thank you! I am so happy it is a hit with your family. Happy baking! Take care. 🙂
This looks so good! What a fun treat to make for friends!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?