Hello, friends!
Another party cake? Absolutely. So what makes a cake a party cake exactly? Well, technically I think any layer cake could be considered a party cake, but maybe it’s the presence of sprinkles that warrants the name? Must be. Must be the sprinkles. Or maybe it’s the glossy swirls of frosting. Or in this case, the heaps of Belgian milk and dark chocolate transformed into a chocoholic’s dream. Come to think of it, I don’t think you need a party to enjoy a party cake.
Either way, this cake is party-ready and really all about the chocolate. We fill and frost three layers of decadent dark chocolate butter cake with the swirls of one of the most glorious chocolate fudge frostings I’ve ever tasted and let the chocolate shine.
What I love about this frosting, aside from how quick and easy it is to make, is that it really isn’t very sweet–think more fudgey and decadent–since premium chocolate is the main ingredient. I add a dollop of sour cream to add a creamy richness, and only a small bit of confectioners’ sugar to balance out the chocolate. We use mostly milk chocolate this time, though, as opposed to my much-loved dark chocolate frostings (like this intense and wonderful glossy dark chocolate frosting), which results in a dessert simple enough to please cakelets aplenty and decadent enough to please adults alike.
The cake itself if a version of this moist dark chocolate cake made with butter, dark cocoa powder, and a hit of mayonnaise for moisture, among other cakey ingredients. It takes a few moments to make than our beloved one-bowl chocolate cake recipes, but has a richness only butter can bring to the table. Smother it all in this chocolate lovers’ dreamy frosting and a medley of happy-happy sprinkles, and it’s definitely a party.
Yes, it’s official–it’s a party! And here’s a little random side-note: I cannot stop buying vintage birthday candles. Between ebay, etsy, and junk store shopping, I’m always on the lookout and each one is such a treasure. My collection is growing and just looking at these quirky little boxes makes me happy. As does this cake. So, let’s make this cake!
- 1 1/2 sticks 170 g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 3/4 cups 450 g packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons 10 ml pure vanilla extract
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups 220 g all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup 90 g Dutch-process dark cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups 320 ml buttermilk, room temperature
- 1/4 cup 60 ml mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons 10 ml white vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups 340 g unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup 60 g confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1/2 cup 60 g dark cocoa powder, sifted
- 1/3 cup 80 ml hot water
- 1/4 cup 60 ml sour cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 10 ounces 290 g milk chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled slightly
- 5 ounces 150 g dark chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled slightly
- Sprinkle medley for decorating (see Sweetapolita's Notes)
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Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and line with parchment rounds.
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In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Lower the speed to medium and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is fully incorporated before adding the next.
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Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.
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Lower the mixer speed to low, and alternate dry ingredients and the buttermilk into creamed mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients (dry, wet, dry, wet, dry). Mix until just incorporated, then fold mayonnaise into batter with a whisk, until just blended. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and baking soda (it will foam) and quickly add to batter, mixing until just combined.
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Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. If possible, weigh the batter in each cake pan for 450 g each (excluding the pans--you will want to tare the scale each time.) Smooth the batter with small offset palette knife, and bake the first 2 layers until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean, about 25 minutes (don't over-bake). Let pans cool on wire rack for 20 minutes, then invert cakes onto racks, gently, peeling away parchment rounds. Repeat with the final layer. Let cool completely.
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In a bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 6 minutes. Reduce to speed to low, and add the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, water, sour cream, vanilla, and salt and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 more minutes.
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Add the melted chocolate and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
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Put your first layer top-up on the cake board or plate, and spread about 1 cup of frosting evenly across layer. Put the second cake layer on top and repeat with another layer of frosting. Put the final cake layer top-down. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and wiggle the layers into place, if necessary. Refrigerate the cake until firm, about 30 minutes.
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Remove the cake from the refrigerator and place on a turntable, if using. Frost entire outside of cake with a thin layer of frosting to seal in the crumbs. Chill until the frosting begins to firm-up, about 15 minutes. Use the remaining frosting to create a textured finish by spreading with a medium palette knife.
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Cover the perimeter of the cake with a medley of sprinkles (see Sweetapolita's Notes) and serve. The cake will keep at room temperature for up to 2 days, refrigerated for up to 3 days. Best enjoyed at room temperature.
Sweetapolita’s Notes:
- For the chocolate cake I used, yep–you guessed it–Cacao Barry Extra Brute
cocoa powder. I keep this stuff on hand at all times and use it for everything from brownies to hot chocolate. Completely decadent and completely worth it.
- For the frosting, I used Callebaut Milk Chocolate Callets
(this chocolate is also amazing for chocolate bark and the like) and Callebaut Semi Sweet (Dark) Callets
semisweet chocolate.
- To frost and create a wide “swirl” texture, I use a medium Wilton Palette Knife
and the Ateco Revolving Cake Stand
.
- For the sprinkle medley I combined rainbow jimmies
+ confetti quins
+ jumbo confetti quins
+ star quins (found at Bulk Barn in Canada, but similar to stars found in this Wilton 6 Mix Sprinkle Assortment
) + yellow candy beads
+ blue candy beads
+ pink sugar pearls
+ white nonpareils
. These are sprinkles I had on hand, so if you have a different assortment, you would likely just use your own medley, unless you’re inspired to add these to your collection!
See you in a few days with a very special Holiday Gift Guide + Giveaway!
This looks incredibly delicious Rosie! Love your blog! Thanks for posting :)
I didn’t even know vintage birthday candles were a thing. Though, now that i think about it, it totally makes sense. This cake looks absolutely fabulous… festive, decadent. Just what a cake should be.
Oh this looks lovely, must try this..!
Love your blog Rosie and your recipes are the best, never fail.
One comment though, since I like to print the printable recipes (don’t get baking ingredients on my screen!)
Seems like the coffee for the cake is missing from the listed ingredients?
Love from Denmark xo
I just made this recipe and put 1/2 cup cooled brewed coffee in with the buttermilk and it worked great!
Thank you so much, Heiddis! xo I apologize for the coffee–as I was explaining to another reader, I decided to omit it because, while it works wonderfully, some readers are hesitant to make a cake with coffee, and this chocolate butter cake is fabulous even without it. I hope that helps! xo
What a beautiful cake! I just ate lunch but am craving a slice of this choco-licious dream! Pinned!
Thank you, Eva! xo
Wow, this cake looks sooo good! The frosting sounds insanely good, and your finished cake is so pretty! Pinned!
Holy delicious! This cake is a stunner!
You’re so right Rosie – i wouldn’t need a party to eat a slice of this! LOVE your vintage candle collection – so adorable!
You used the Sprinkles Bakery frosting recipe! It is the best!
To be honest, I’ve never seen or tried the Sprinkles Bakery frosting, but I’m sure it’s amazing! xo
Next time you are in Beverly Hills (or one of their other locations), you will have to try it. I found your blog after I moved to Quebec from LA and was cake-sick. I think I even emailed you 2 years ago about how much your blog meant to me and the recipe. You are an inspirational lady.
Anything you make is probably more delicious and amazing. xox
I definitely will, Aysha! I’ve heard much about Sprinkles, and I’d love to try their recipes. I’m so happy to hear that my blog has brought you some happiness and remedy for your cake-sickness after moving from LA. LA to Quebec is certainly a big change! Thank you so much for the kind words–I sincerely appreciate it. xo
This frosting sounds amazing! The more sprinkles the merrier. Thanks for sharing – cannot wait to try!
This cake is seriously party perfection. I am in love with it.
this is so gorgeous and looks delicious! I love it!
This is a truly beautiful cake!
Hi Rosie! Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting is the perfect combo. The color of the frosting is amazing and the consistency looks so yummy!
Another winner Cake, oh yeah!!!
Love the vintage birthday candles, beautiful photo!
Hi Rosie!
Thanks for all your beautiful recipes :) I was wondering if you could share a photo of the inside of the cake, one where I could see the different layers?
That would be great. Thank you!!
Yum! That looks delicious – so decadent! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I definitely want to try that frosting.
I loooooove the vintage birthday candles!! I love stuff like that too! And oh my goodness, this cake looks so chocolate-delicious – I love not too sweet frostings, and a tang of sour cream sounds sooo good! Also, love how you do your adorable sprinkle mixes – total fun, and INSTANT party vibe! Party cake INDEED! xoxo
This cake is PERFECTION! I am in love with all of its chocolatey goodness!
Thanks so much, Jessica! xo
Hey rosie ,
Cake sounds lovely , really want to try it ! Have a few doubts though , yesterday when i read the recipe i thought i saw coffee mentioned in the ingredients but not in the instructions. I also read in the comments today that someone added 1/2 cup of coffee .But when i re read the instructions now , i found ” buttermilk mixture ” mentioned. Is this plain buttermilk? Or am i missing something ? =)
Hi! The coffee wasn’t meant to remain in the recipe, although it does make a good addition :) The reason I decided against it is because including coffee deters a lot of people from a wonderful chocolate cake, and this recipe is fabulous without. Hope this helps!
I’m just starting out in the blogging world and your site is such an inspiration! Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful recipes and pictures!
Your desserts always are stunning and your photographies, breathtaking! LOVE this sprinkle medley SO much!!! :)
Thank you so much! :) xo
I cannot wait to try this recipe. I’m making 8 dozen cupcakes for a movie premier this weekend, and I think I’ll use this for my chocolate ones. It sounds divine!
It wouldn’t be the same without being surrounded by people who make my heart happy!
Love the cake. When u say softened butter do u mean to keep out for 20 mins or so. Not room temp , right?
Thanks
Asmita
Gorgeous cake! How do you keep your sprinkle medley in a perfect halo around the cake? It’s delightful!
Hi Rosie,
Another amazing looking cake, that I’m sure tastes just as great. I think I’m going to make this for my birthday next week. :)
Also, while I’m here I have to say I use your cake and frosting recipes all the time and all my friends just love them… especially your chocolate birthday cupcake recipe which is my go-to recipe for cupcakes as well as cakes. It’s so quick and easy to make. Looking forward to your book. I live in Australia, but definitely plan to order it soon! So excited!! :)
Hi Rosie,
This cake is a.maz.ing!
Do you think the unfrosted layers would freeze ok?
Thank you all the way from New Zealand :)
Becs
Wow, such a gorgeous cake! And the sprinkles are perfect! If I tried to do that . . . let’s just say I wish I could make beautiful cakes :-)
Adorable! So excited to try the recipe real soon. I have tried quite a number of your recipe and all taste just as good as the look itself. Thank you so much for all the recipe and baking tips and techniques. You are just an inspiration to all amateur baker like me.
Hey rosie. Gorgeous cake like always. Tried ur red velvet cake a few days back. Turned out amazing. WI’ll try this choclate cake tomorrow. However just 1 question. Sour cream is not easily available Whr I live. Any substitutes?the malt cake with marshmallow frosting turned out beautiful too. Thnx so much.
Hello fellow baker,
You can use low fat yogurt instead of sour cream. Hope that helps?
Lovely chocolate cake! I’ll try this and i’ll fill the cake with sprinkles. For sure my daughter will be happy with it.
Hi Rosie,
I love love your recipes and always looking forward to the next cake recipe to try. I made this cake for my son’s school Christmas Fair to be sold to raise money for the school and I used Christmassy sprinkles. Someone loved the look of it and offered to buy the whole cake. I also made the vanilla white chocolate cupcakes. And I got really lovely compliments. Thank you!
Not only does this cake look beautiful..but your photos are just phenomenal! I have never made a cake with mayonnaise and buttermilk, but your recipe sounds & looks delicious. :o)
Wow! I wish you had a video tutorial on how to frost this cake with the swirls.
Amazing cake! I made a gluten-free version for my brother-in-law’s surprise 50th birthday party and it was a hit! Moist, rich cakes such as this one seem to fare better when I make them gluten-free and most folks can’t tell the difference. Decorated it like your picture and folks thought it was purchased from a bakery! The frosting is a keeper too. I didn’t put it on right away and it literally turned into fudge. A splash of hot water and my mixer made it nice and fluffy again. It piped beautifully through a 1M tip to top some cupcakes too! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Hi Lisa !
Could you please explain me how do you make the gluten free version of this cake ? Thanks I’m advance for your help and time !
Hello! I use King Arthur Gluten Free All Purpose flour instead of regular flour. Did not add any xanthan gum but it wouldn’t hurt to do so. am going to make this recipe again today but in cupcake form and will add the XG. There are instructions on the XG and flour packaging re: how much XG to use. I use it in cookie recipes And typically use less than required. The XG acts like gluten to make everything stick together and be less crumbly. Hope this helps!
hey,love ur cake recipes.Can you plz tell me if i can use this recipe for fondant cakes?
Hey,
I’ve made lots of great chocolate cakes with coffee, what was the original amount you had included in the recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Rosie,
I absolutely love your Red Velvet Cake, and as this one has a similar recipe, I tried it as well, and it is probably the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made!
I had a tiny issue with the frosting though, and I thought maybe you can help me with it. After mixing everything, the frosting turned quite hard after a while. I wanted to make it extra dark, so I used 50% dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate, and additionally 70% dark chocolate. I live in Spain, and you can’t really find sour cream here, so I used quark with 6% of fat. Maybe the problem was there?
Thank you for your help!
Best regards,
Pete from Barcelona
I appreciate your work & recipe. Sure, I will try it on this valentine day for someone :)
This looks amazing! And delicious. And doable :-)
I think I might just make this for an upcoming baby shower I am co-hosting!
Thank you for sharing this, looks absolutely gorgeous! Question tho…how well does the frosting keep? ;)
This cake looks sooooo good
Just made this cake for a celebration tomorrow. Cake turned out great, but after I finished icing the cake I realized I never added the hot water to the icing. It was sitting on the counter – Argh! The icing still tastes great, but I am worried it will harden. What do you think?
Hello Rosy,
Like the rest of the people, I really like and enjoy your blog. All the recipes are amazing! Thanks for sharing with us :)
I already make this cake and it is wonderful, but I would like to make a smaller (but not so small) version just for a non special occasion. How can I adjust the quantities in order to have just a 2 layer (8 or 9″) cake ?
Thanks in advance for your help !
Really beautiful, thanks for sharing the recipe… Will try it some day….
I’d love to know how many cupcakes you think I’d be able to frost with your beautiful frosting recipe?! The frosting is so gorgeously glossy I think it’d look beautiful piled on a cupcake!
Hi Rosie
I just wanted to say thank you for your generosity in sharing recipes. I’ve tried far too many fudge chocolate frosting recipes than I care to recount. Yours is the best by a mile. The texture is fab and it doesn’t get too hard. It’s lovely.
Sheryl
The cake is gorgeous, and the frosting is wonderful! I copied the sprinkles idea (so cute!) and made the frosting for my daughter’s birthday as well as today for Mother’s Day.
1/2 cup of powdered sugar made for a fairly bitter frosting, even when I was using mostly milk chocolate. The cocoa powder is unsweetened and adds a nice depth but that’s the source of bitterness. Also, it was very soft and almost runny. I’m assuming that there is more than just 1/2 cup and that was just a typo. I ended up using 2 1/2 cups that day. For Mother’s Day I used 4 cups of powdered sugar and upped the cocoa powder to a full cup to keep the wonderful chocolate flavor. It was more pipe-able and still chocolatey.
I’m just wondering why I have such different results. I read the comments trying to see if anyone else had this problem but it seems no one has. I mean, I know I have a sweet tooth but I didn’t think it was THAT sweet.
Thank you!
Just made this frosting. It’s very runny…1/2 C Powdered Sugar? Is that correct? Did I miss something?
Yes, I just made this frosting! It is very runny I agree! Had to add extra powder, and more chocolate!
Hi Rosie, I wanted to let you know, this past week my grandma passed away, and my sister and her little family moved interstate. It’s been a tough emotional week and my heart has been heavy. This morning I woke up feeling down, and I saw your post for your double chocolate party cake, I read through the recipe and I decided that was what I was going to do today. I beat and stirred and whipped until my little broken heart was content, and my.gosh. This cake is unbelievably good. The icing…. No words…. So….. Good.
It has brought a smile to my face.
Thank you for your wonderful recipe, it has brightened up my day.
Love Andrea (an avid fan)
Hi, I’m about to make this cake and I don’t see the amount of eggs in the recipe! Please advise ASAP!
I love your cake it is so moist and good flavor I recommend to any person
Love chocolate.
i want to try the fudge frosting but i cannot get sour cream here, can i omit it or is there a substitute i can use for it?
Re: can’t find sour cream
I wonder if you can substitute plain Greek yogurt? I interchange the two all the time.
Hope that helps
Awesome recipe! I just loved making it Thank you, do post recipe of vanilla cake i love to prepare at home…
Thanks for such a delicious cake. I have a friend who says she hates mayonnaise—- can’t wait to make this for her and let her know afterwards. Evil, I know, but how can anyone hate mayo?
Yeorgo
Hi! For the frosting can i substitute water with milk?
Hi can i substitue watet with milk for the frosting?
Could I possibly leave out the dark chocolate in the frosting?
Thanks!
Love the cake! I am making it now and wondering how to make the swirl on top of the cake? Do you use a spoon?
Hi Rosie,
I love your recipe…Try to make it. :)
I made this but the chocolate fudge frosting texture was completely liquid!! I added the measurements exactly like the recipe but it’s more like chocolate soup… :(
Thank u Rosie for sharing this recipe. Im so grateful that there are people whos so willing to share their talents, skills and knowledge without hesitation. I’ve trie this frosting before on my grandmas bday and im going to try it again.
This frosting is to die for! I agree, it does need about 1.5 cups more icing sugar. Just made it to go with a vanilla cake for my daughters birthday and everyone loved it. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, Thanks.
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