Midnight Chocolate Cake
Indulge in our decadent Midnight Chocolate Cake recipe featuring rich cocoa, coffee, and silky ganache. Perfect moist texture with bittersweet chocolate frosting.
Equipment
- oven
- 9-inch round cake pans
- stand mixer
- paddle attachment
- whisk
- mixing bowl
- spatula
- wire rack
- heatproof bowl
- small saucepan
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder Dutch-process preferred
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup buttermilk at room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
Ganache Frosting
- 8 oz bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Generously grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper circles.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt on low speed until fully combined.
- Add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until the batter is completely smooth and well-blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Carefully pour the hot coffee into the batter and mix on low speed until just incorporated; the batter will be very thin. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes before inverting them onto the rack to cool completely.
- For the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to simmer. Immediately pour the hot cream over the chocolate, let it sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth and glossy.
- Once the cakes are completely cool, place one layer on a serving plate. Spread a thin layer of ganache over the top. Place the second layer on top and frost the top and sides of the entire cake with the remaining ganache.
Notes
Let cakes cool completely before frosting to prevent the ganache from melting.