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This black magic cake is a dark, fudgy chocolate cake recipe made with strong brewed coffee, cocoa, and buttermilk. It’s covered with fudgy chocolate ganache and the flavors are totally bewitching!
Get your chocolate fix with this rich chocolate olive oil cake, next! You might also like this chocolate cherry cake and my fudgy flourless chocolate cake.
I know there are plenty of contenders out there for the title of “Best Chocolate Cake”, but trust me when I say that this black magic cake is the most incredible chocolate cake EVER! It’s a rich and fudgy, super-moist chocolate cake made with black brewed coffee, cocoa, and buttermilk, frosted with creamy ganache frosting. But words don’t do this cake enough justice. You NEED to bake it for yourself.
Why I Love This Black Magic Cake
- Dark brewed coffee. Black coffee puts the “black” in this black magic cake! This type of cake is known for its amazingly rich, deep chocolate flavor enhanced by the coffee and buttermilk.
- Easy to make. You need one bowl and a baking pan! This cake isn’t just the best chocolate cake you’ll ever have, it’s the easiest to clean up after, too.
- Customizable. It’s easy to add crushed nuts or chocolate chips to the cake batter, or you can layer your cake with different fillings. The rich, dark chocolate layers are just the beginning!
Cake Ingredients
These are some notes on the ingredients that make the magic happen in this chocolate cake! For the full list and recipe details, make sure to scroll down to the printable recipe card after the post.
- Dry Ingredients – These are your usual baking suspects, including flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Cocoa Powder – Make sure to use unsweetened, natural cocoa powder.
- Eggs – Bring these to room temperature.
- Buttermilk – If you don’t have any buttermilk in the fridge, it’s very easy to make a homemade buttermilk substitute from regular milk and lemon juice (or white vinegar).
- Brewed Black Coffee – This can be a strong batch of regular brewed coffee (use a dark roast if you can), or freshly brewed espresso. Feel free to use instant coffee.
- Oil – Instead of butter, I bake this black magic cake with vegetable oil and the results are ultra-moist and tender. Any neutral-flavored oil will work here.
- Vanilla – You’ll want to use real vanilla extract for the best flavor.
For the Frosting
- Chocolate Chips – I use semi-sweet chocolate chips and chop them into fine pieces. You could also do the same with a bar of baking chocolate.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – For the creamiest frosting, make sure it’s full-fat heavy whipping cream.
- Butter – Unsalted is best.
How To Make Black Magic Chocolate Cake
Who’s ready to bake the most decadent chocolate cake of their life? Good. Because we’re about to get started with the steps below:
- Mix the cake batter. First, take out a large bowl and whisk together the dry ingredients. Next, beat in the eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil, and vanilla on medium speed for about 2 minutes to form a thin batter.
- Fill the pan. Now, pour the batter into two greased and floured 9-inch cake pans.
- Bake. Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Afterward, let the cakes cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the pans.
- Make the frosting. While the cakes are cooling, bring the heavy cream and butter to a boil on the stovetop. Then, pour the hot cream mixture over a bowl of chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth. Chill the frosting for 2 hours, stirring after the first hour.
- Frost the cake. Once the cakes and frosting are cool, assemble the cakes, frost, and serve!
Tips and Variations
- Don’t skip the coffee! While it doesn’t make this black magic cake taste like coffee, it adds depth and richness to the chocolate flavor, making it taste even more decadent.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Take fridge-cold cake ingredients like buttermilk and eggs out of the fridge ahead of time, so they come to room temperature. This way, they’ll combine more easily with the other batter ingredients.
- Sift the cocoa powder. A quick sift of the dry ingredients never hurts, to prevent any clumps in the final cake batter.
- Don’t overmix. Be careful not to overmix your batter, as this can make the cake tough. Mix just until the ingredients are combined.
- Cool completely. Allow your chocolate cakes to cool completely to room temperature before frosting. Frosting a warm cake will cause the frosting to melt and slide off.
- Add nuts. Add chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter for a crunchy texture.
- Flavor variations. Experiment with different flavors by adding liqueur or extracts, like brandy, almond extract, or peppermint extract.
- Fruit fillings. Consider adding a layer of fruit preserves or compote between the cake layers for an extra pop of flavor. Raspberry preserves would taste great here, or you can try cherry preserves for some black forest cake vibes.
How to Store
- At room temperature. Store the frosted black magic cake airtight at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freeze. You can freeze the frosted cake or the unfrosted cake layers for up to 2 months. Wrap the cake in a double layer of plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn. Thaw the cake at room temperature and then frost and/or serve.
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Black Magic Chocolate Cake
This black magic cake is a decadent chocolate cake recipe with strong brewed coffee and buttermilk. It's dark, fudgy, and the flavors are totally bewitching!
Ingredients
For The Cake
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 whole eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup strong brewed black coffee
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For The Frosting
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, finely chopped
- 1½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup unsalted butter
Instructions
For The Cake
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. Set aside.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the wet ingredients. To the mixing bowl, add the eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil, and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. You should have a thin batter.
- Fill the pans and bake. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the pans for 10 minutes; remove cakes from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
For The Frosting
- Prepare the chocolate. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium mixing bowl; set aside.
- Heat the heavy cream. Place whipping cream and butter in a saucepan and cook over medium heat to just a boil.
- Combine. Remove from the heat and pour the cream mixture over the chopped chocolate; whisk vigorously until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Chill. Cover and refrigerate for one hour. Remove the frosting from the fridge and stir. Refrigerate for 1 more hour or until spreading consistency.
- Frost the cake. Spread about ¼ to ⅓ of the frosting on one cake layer; top with the other cake layer and spread the frosting on top and sides of the cake. Cut and serve.
Video
Notes
- Measure the ingredients correctly for best results.
- Have the eggs, butter, and buttermilk at room temp for better mixing and baking.
- Mix just until combined to avoid a dense cake.
- Use a toothpick to check if the cake is done.
- Let the cake cool thoroughly before frosting to avoid a messy, crumbly melt.
- Mix in chopped nuts for some crunch.
- Try new tastes with different flavored extracts or liqueurs.
- Use coffee in the frosting for a mocha twist.
- Store at room temperature for 1 to 2 days, covered. Store in the refrigerator, covered, for 5 to 7 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 476kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 309mg | Potassium: 273mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 541IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Did you make a recipe? Leave a rating
Can i use instant coffee instead of brewing it?
Hi Jennifer! Yes, as long as it’s still in liquid form and not just coffee granules. Is that what you mean?
Do you mean the liquid whipping cream?
Hi Lilly! Yes, that’s right, the liquid stuff. The heavy whipping cream that is in those milk cartons, and not cool whip! ๐
Can this be made into cupcakes? And what differences in recipe or bake time would there be??
I made cupcakes! I filled the cups with 1/4c. batter.
One batch was in a dark pan and baked for 16 minutes, the second was in a light colored pan and baked for 20 minutes.
They came out perfect. Good luck!
Truly the most soft and chocolaty cake! Love it! Made it for my hubby’s birthday and everyone loved the cake especially my eight months old baby! ๐
My cake didn’t rise well. Still tasted great though.i’m thinking it might be the eggs. What’s the size of the egg you used? Eggs in the Philippines are a bit smaller than in other countries.
Hi Joy! Very happy to know that you enjoyed the cake! Too bad it didn’t rise much, though. :-/
The cake is with large eggs, which weigh around 60 to 63 grams each. I hope that helps. Have a great week ahead!
Hi! I’m new to your site and am slowly getting acquainted with many of your recipes :). I ran across your Black Magic Cake and would love to make it for this year’s Christmas gatherings. Do you have any tips on how I would adapt this to a 9×13 sheet cake, especially cooking time? I’m a little intimidated by layer cakes! Plus I will be transporting it to someone else’s home.
Thanks,
Kelley
Hi Kelley! I haven’t made this cake in a sheet pan, so I’m not 100% sure… buuuut, according to my experience, since the original cakes are baked in two separate round pans, but you want to make both in one 9×13 pan, you shouldn’t have to change a thing in as far as cooking time and temp is involved. Also, most sheet cakes are baked for 35 minutes at 350, so it should definitely work. Let me know how it goes!! Have a very Merry Christmas!
I made this with special dark cocoa and split it into 3 8inch pans reduced cooking time to 26 min. I also added 1/4 c cocoa and some powdered sugar to thicken frosting because I didn’t have time for the chilling process, turned out amazing!
No one mentioned that this cake rises like crazy. I put mine into two pans and both spilt over and so much got wasted. And so much clean up too! Whatever was left of the cake tasted good though. Beware, this is a super soft cake and may be a headache to unmould. Unfortunately, mine got stuck to the pans despite the buttering and flouring. Maybe better luck next time.
I attempted this for my son’s birthday and the same.thing.happened. Cake ALL over my oven, the pans, everything smelled terribly burned. The cake (I cleaned up as best I could) tasted really good (in the chunks I got out of the pan) but the end result was a disaster. A huge mess and a house that smelled like *it* caught fire. I don’t know how to resolve the issue for next time.
Hi Jennifer! I’m so sorry you had difficulties with this recipe. ๐ Did you use 9 inch cake pans? Or were they smaller? Anything smaller than 9 inches should be split between at least 3 pans. Nevertheless, I really am so, so sorry that it didn’t turn out for you.
Was it due to high altitude? You have to make a few adjustments in baked goods when water boils at a lower temperature. When I lived in NM, we ruined many family recipes before we got the adjustments figured out. Baking really is a science!
this sounds like Hershey’s Black Magic cake which I’ve been making for years. It’s always a hit
Hi Nancy! So this is Hershey’s recipe? I had no idea! I found it on All Recipes years ago and have been making it ever since. The best chocolate cake of EVER! ๐
I have made this cake for over 45 years- loved to bake started in my teens- and yes it is Hershey’s recipe. It is a super easy cake and good with any type of frosting. The good thing is that it’s super moist and almost gets more moist as it ages- but it never lasts more than a day or two!
I have friends request this for every occasion!
Can I make the frosting the night before, refrigerate it and use it the next day?
First, I always follow the recipe before I make any kind of adjustments. With that being said, I really loved the cake. However, I did try get a deeper, darker chocolate out of the cake. I made only a few adjustments:
2 teaspoons of vanilla instead of 1
Special dark cocoa instead of regular cocoa
I made the coffee a little stronger by adding more dark roast
I used sea salt instead of regular salt
This recipe was definitely a keeper! Thank you!