If you’re looking for the perfect dessert to serve around Halloween, this black magic chocolate cake is a great choice. It’s a rich, incredibly moist, and packed with deep chocolate flavor. One slice is never quite enough, and it’s the kind of dessert that keeps people coming back for another piece.
Intense chocolate flavor
The intense chocolate flavor comes from a combination of cocoa powder, strong brewed coffee, and buttermilk. The coffee doesn’t make the cake taste like coffee, but it does a great job of enhancing the chocolate and giving the cake a deeper, richer flavor. The buttermilk adds a slight tang and helps keep the crumb soft and tender.
Like most layer cakes, there’s a little work involved, but nothing unusual. If you’ve made a standard two-layer cake before, this one will feel very familiar. You’ll mix the batter, bake the layers, let them cool, and then finish everything off with frosting. If you’d rather keep things simple, you can skip the layers entirely and bake the batter in a 9×13-inch pan instead of two 9-inch round pans. The batter will seem thin when you mix it, but that’s normal and it bakes up beautifully.
You may also like to try this chocolate cake recipe, which has buttercream frosting.
Make the frosting your own
For the frosting, I went with a creamy and slightly tangy cream cheese frosting that pairs really well with the rich chocolate cake. If you prefer something even more chocolatey, a classic chocolate frosting would work just as well. The cake is versatile enough that you can easily swap the frosting to suit your taste.
Since I was making this around Halloween, I tried adding orange food coloring to the frosting to give the cake a festive look. It didn’t quite turn the bright orange color I had hoped for, but it still added a fun seasonal touch. You could also decorate the cake with Halloween sprinkles, candy, or a darker frosting for a more dramatic look.
If you’re planning a Halloween party or just want a rich chocolate dessert to share, this black magic cake is definitely worth trying. It’s moist, flavorful, and just the kind of indulgent treat that makes a special occasion feel even more festive. Enjoy.
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Black magic cake recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
Description
A rich and ultra-moist black magic chocolate cake made with cocoa, coffee, and buttermilk, then finished with a smooth and tangy cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups white sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup strong brewed coffee
- 1 cup buttermilk
- A 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 8–oz packages cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Do the prep. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease two 9-inch round cake pans or one 9×13-inch baking pan.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Make the batter. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the eggs, coffee, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes until well combined.
- Pour and bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pans, dividing evenly if using two round pans. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the frosting. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until the frosting reaches a smooth, spreadable consistency.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 591
- Sugar: 55.5 g
- Sodium: 559.9 mg
- Fat: 32.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 74 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 91.8 mg