Dark Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

Dark Chocolate Buttermilk Cake with Dark Chocolate Buttermilk Frosting! It is truly EVERYTHING Chocolate Cake should be: super-moist, fluffy, easy to make, and most importantly: A mouthful of Chocolatey Flavor! You won’t believe how awesome this is!

I’ve been baking a lot these days! Really, most days of late, I’m either baking, or trying to decide what to bake next. Takes my mind off all the other things for a time. Because baking is distracting in the best way(!). The whole process of baking focuses me in a zen sort of way – my own meditation – a defined process of measuring, mixing, waiting, and ultimately, enjoying the fruits (or cakes!) of your own labor. It’s a skill that, if you can follow the directions, you can improve your skill level. So if you happen to have the time….

And, really, there’s nothing like watching a pile of seemingly ordinary ingredients come together to make something special. Anyway, lately, chocolate baked goods have won the bake-off that swirls in my brain. But such is my life. Chocolate always wins.

When I was a kid, there was absolutely NOTHING better than coming home from school to the aromas that told me that baking had been happening that day. I feel like my Mom must have felt that same zen of baking and that satisfying sense of accomplishment we all get from creating something. Or, maybe she just needed a MOMENT after sending 6 kids off to school! 

But we knew immediately whether she had made Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Oatmeal, or Snickerdoodle Cookies. Or we knew if it was Brownies, or a Cake! She would always package them to put in our lunches AND fill the cookie jar! Not surprisingly, my favorites were always the ones that were chocolate.

And, in my constant search for the best chocolate treats, this Dark Chocolate Buttermilk Cake with Dark Chocolate Buttermilk Frosting is right up there with my favorites. The cake batter is made in a saucepan by melting a few basic ingredients then mixing in a few others. Just a few minutes is all it takes. And the buttermilk in the cake makes it both moist and tender, so fluffy, so chocolatey without being too sweet.

The frosting is also made with buttermilk, which complements the rich dark chocolate with and cuts the sweetness while keeping it smooth as silk. Just 4 ingredients. Knock your socks off delicious!

So, if you, like me, have been searching for a chocolate cake that is as decadently fudgy and chocolatey as can be, this one is for you! 

And, let me know, I’m curious – are you baking as much as I am? And are you baking chocolate goods, too? Just asking…for a friend.

Take care, everyone!

Enjoy!

Want to find some other chocolate treats? I have so many on my site, you might want to just type “chocolate” into the search bar to the right or check out my “RECIPES” page. But some of my faves are this No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream with Pretzels and Popcorn, or this 3 -ingredient Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte or these awesome Chocolate Cherry Bread Rolls.

How to make Chocolate Buttermilk Cake ->

(Note: As I am an Amazon affiliate, this post may contain Affiliate links. These are links to items, which, if you were to purchase, I would receive a small commission, at no cost to you.)

Ok, I know I mentioned this before, but this cake is astoundingly delicious – so moist and truly chocolatey without being overly dense. And that frosting – my new favorite chocolate frosting!

I always begin a baking recipe by preheating my oven and preparing my baking pans. So preheat a convection oven to 300F, or a conventional oven to 320F. And butter (and parchment-line if you want to remove the cake from the pan for serving) an 8×8 or 9×9 pan.

So, to make this cake batter, you’ll want a medium-sized saucepan, 3-4 quart size. This is because you make the entire cake batter in that saucepan. First you’ll want to add the sugar, water, chopped chocolate and butter to the saucepan and melt over low heat. Once it all melts it, since you have it on low heat, it should be just above your own body temperature. This is because chocolate and butter both melt in the 98-100 degree range. So at this point, remove the  pan from the heat, to finish the batter.

Then, sift in the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt. I’ve found the best way to measure dry ingredients is by weight. If you have a scale, then you don’t need measuring cups or spoons. It’s so easy! You just put the bowl on your scale, set the scale to “grams”, and spoon the ingredients in until they measure the number of grams you need. Then, hit the “tare” button, which re-sets the weight to “0”, so you can spoon in your next ingredient. I usually give both the number of grams, and cups or spoons in a recipe, so you can use traditional measuring or measure-by-weight. This is the scale I use. 

Anyway, after sifting in the dry ingredients, you’ll then add the eggs and buttermilk. Stir until everything is incoporated, pour in your pan, and bake! I noticed, in my oven, that the top of the cake is a little crispy, so carefully note when it is done, it will spring back a bit when touched, or if you insert a toothpick or skewer, it should come out cleanly. I like to note when the cake just begins to pull away from the sides of the pan is when it is definitely done, as well. And, please, be sure to let the cake cool completely before frosting!

Here are some questions you might have about the recipe –

I noticed you used Bittersweet Chocolate. I prefer Semi-Sweet Chocolate. You can use either Bittersweet, Semi-sweet, or “dark” chocolate. But please use Baking bars as opposed to chocolate chips. Chocolate chips contain stabilizers that don’t melt at lower temperatures. That is why the chocolate chips in cookies maintain their shape. And, for a cake, you want the chocolate to fully melt and stay melty. Bon Apetit Gives a good explanation for this. Or, if you’re interested in substituting different forms of chocolate,  this chart details how and when to use various chocolate substitutes. Trader Joe’s has some nice large baking bars at good prices – I like the Bittersweet one the best!

Why did you include espresso powder? This is a trick I learned long ago. When making a chocolate recipe, a teaspoon or two of Instant Espresso Powder totally amps up the chocolate flavor! It’s optional, of course if you don’t have any espresso powder or just want to omit it. But it’s a good trick to have. To be sure, this cake is fully chocolatey without it, but a simple ingredient to amp it up? I’m all in!

I don’t have buttermilk. Can I use regular milk? The best way to use “regular” milk as a substitute, is to measure out 1 cup of milk (2% or whole milk is best), and add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to it. Then wait 5-10 minutes for it to get “curdly”. Then, stir it up and measure as you would the buttermilk.

While the cake cools, make the frosting. This is the part you will need an electric mixer, either a stand mixer (I’m a little crazy for this Candy Apple Red one!)  or a Hand Mixer. You’ll want to first chop the chocolate into small pieces. Then place in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once they are melted, they shouldn’t be hot, just barely above body temperature. Let it cool a bit – 5-10 minutes would be good.

Scrape the melted chocolate into the bowl of a stand mixer, or the bowl in which you’ll use with your hand mixer. Add the soft butter and then mix on high speed for 6-10 minutes until it looks fluffy. It may look like it’s not going to get fluffy, but trust, it will. Time. Mine took 10 minutes. 

Then add in the sugar, buttermilk and a pinch of salt. Continue mixing until perfectly smooth. Then spread across your completely cooled cake. I sprinkled mine with some sea salt flakes (I use Maldon sea salt, it may be a little more than you pay for regular sea salt, but a tiny pinch of these makes anything taste awesome! Pinky swear!) and freeze dried strawberries.

I couldn’t wait to cut into it – omg so so good!

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