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    Home » Cakes » Hot Chocolate Cake

    Hot Chocolate Cake

    Published: Dec 3, 2019 · Modified: Aug 3, 2021 by Kate · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Moist homemade chocolate layer cake recipe! Hot chocolate cake is an easy, no-mixer-necessary chocolate cake. Great with chocolate buttercream!

    Slice of hot chocolate cake with a piece of it on a fork

    A lot of great cake recipes have a secret ingredient. There are red velvet cakes that are made with beets, chocolate cakes made with ingredients like mashed potatoes or mayonnaise, and more!

    This hot chocolate cake is made with hot chocolate. It helps to add a deep, rich chocolate flavor and makes the cake super moist.

    It's also an easy recipe to mix up. Most of the cake is mixed in one bowl, and there's no mixer necessary to make the cake.  It also only takes a few minutes to mix up, so it's a great choice whenever you get a craving for chocolate cake!

    How To Make Hot Chocolate Cake

    Bowl with hot chocolate cocoa mixture

    Begin by mixing the cocoa powder and hot chocolate in a small bowl. Set aside.

    In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, melted butter, buttermilk, and vanilla together until well-combined. It's important that the eggs and buttermilk be at room temperature.

    Hot chocolate cake batter in a glass mixing bowl

    Whisk the hot chocolate mixture in until combined. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk in just until combined.

    Baked hot chocolate cake in a silver pan

    Divide the batter between the cake pans. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-35 minutes.

    Fork with a piece of hot chocolate cake next to a slice of cakeTips For Making Hot Chocolate Cake

    • Hot Chocolate: I use a standard-sized packet of hot chocolate mixed with 1 cup of hot water. However, feel free to make hot chocolate however you prefer.
    • Hot Chocolate Temperature: I use hot hot chocolate. The hot hot chocolate combined with the cocoa powder helps to give this cake it's ultra chocolaty flavor.
    • Temperature: It's important that the eggs and buttermilk are at room temperature. Mixing cold eggs and buttermilk with melted butter can cause it to solidify, and you'll end up with clumps of butter in your cake batter.
    • Frosting: Feel free to use any flavor of frosting that you like with this cake. Some delicious options are salted buttercream, chocolate buttercream, oreo frosting, and peanut butter frosting.

    Slice of hot chocolate cake on a blue plateMore Chocolate Cake Recipes!

    • Chocolate Pound Cake
    • Six Minute Chocolate Cake
    • Homemade German Chocolate Cake

    If you’ve tried this hot chocolate cake recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who've made my recipes!

    You can SUBSCRIBE to receive my latest recipe newsletters or FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for even more delicious food.

    Slice of hot chocolate cake with a piece of it on a fork

    Hot Chocolate Cake

    Super moist chocolate layer cake recipe that's made with hot chocolate.
    5 from 12 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Total Time: 35 minutes
    Servings: 10 servings
    Calories: 389kcal
    Author: Kate @ I Heart Eating

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder¹
    • 1 cup hot chocolate2
    • 2 large eggs at room temperature
    • 1 cup buttermilk at room temperature
    • ½ cup butter melted
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
    • 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
    • 2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans; set aside.
    • In a small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and hot chocolate; set aside.
    • In a large bowl, whisk eggs, butter, buttermilk, and vanilla together until well-combined. It's important that the eggs and buttermilk are at room temperature so that the melted butter doesn't clump up.
    • Add hot chocolate mixture, and whisk to combine.
    • Whisk in flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt just until incorporated.
    • Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.
    • Bake for 20-35 minutes, or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
    • Cool in pans for 10 minutes.
    • Remove cakes from pans and cool on wire rack until room temperature.
    • The cake is now ready to frost and assemble.

    Video

    Notes

    1. I use regular unsweetened baking cocoa powder, not Dutch-processed. 
    2. I use 1 cup of hot water mixed with 1.25 oz. of hot chocolate powder (standard-sized packet).
    3. Nutrition facts are estimates.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 389kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 613mg | Potassium: 203mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 342IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 3mg
    Tried this recipe? Rate it below. Mention @i_heart_eating on Instagram & tag #ihearteating!

    Originally published 9/20/13. Updated with new photos and tips 12/3/19.

    « Chicken Spaghetti
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    About Kate

    Kate got her first cookbook when she was five years old, and she hasn't stopped cooking since then! Her delicious recipes have been featured on Food Network, MSN, Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post, and more. When she's not cooking or baking, she can be found on her mini farm with her husband and her five kids.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Julia G. Ray

      December 12, 2021 at 2:30 pm

      Very delicious and moist! I highly recommend this amazing dessert recipe!

      Reply
      • Kate

        December 13, 2021 at 6:08 pm

        Thank you!

        Reply
    2. Teresa B

      April 15, 2021 at 8:52 am

      I've made this cake for many of our celebrations. It is soo good!

      I am making it again for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary. I think I've made it as a two layer 8" cake. Would this stack well for three layer 8" cake? Would I just make a recipe and a half?

      Reply
      • Kate

        April 15, 2021 at 1:39 pm

        I haven't tried it to say for certain, but I think they would stack well. Yes, I would make a recipe and a half. You can hover over the serving size just above the ingredients and adjust it to the number of servings that you would like, and the ingredient values will change accordingly. One thing that I've found that helps when I make a taller cake is to freeze the layers and then frost them. I hope that helps!

        Reply
    3. Paula

      January 05, 2021 at 10:08 pm

      5 stars
      Love love this cake! I’ve made it twice and want to try cupcakes. Should I make any adjustments and how long should I bake and at what temperature. Thanks soooo much for this yummy cake.

      Reply
      • Kate

        January 07, 2021 at 9:27 pm

        So glad you like it! I haven't tried this recipe as cupcakes, but when I make cupcakes, it usually takes about 18-25 minutes to bake them, and (usually) I don't make adjustments to the temperature. Hope that gives you a good place to start!

        Reply
    4. Earl McCombs

      July 29, 2020 at 5:00 pm

      Looks good I’m going to try it

      Reply
      • Kate

        August 01, 2020 at 2:10 pm

        Thanks! Hope you enjoy it!

        Reply
    5. Stephanie

      May 30, 2020 at 9:32 pm

      5 stars
      Made it today for my dad’s birthday and both the cake and the chocolate buttercream were delicious! I would definitely recommend this recipe, and it’s so easy too!

      Reply
      • Kate

        June 04, 2020 at 10:06 am

        Thank you so much!!

        Reply
    6. Charmaine

      May 02, 2020 at 5:28 am

      5 stars
      Full marks from the entire family!
      Thank you.

      Reply
      • Kate

        May 06, 2020 at 4:00 pm

        Thank you so much!

        Reply
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    I’m Kate Dean- mom to five young kids, recipe developer, and photographer. Here at I Heart Eating®, I share my family’s favorite tried-and-true recipes.

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