This easy recipe makes a moist and fluffy chocolate cake covered with chocolate frosting, then finished with chocolate ganache. The ganache is dripped down the sides of the cake, then topped with sprinkles and swirls of frosting. This cake is impressive and yet simple to put together!
Homemade Chocolate Drip Cake
This chocolate cake is everything you could ever want in a cake. Fluffy and moist chocolate cake covered with whipped chocolate frosting then finished with a chocolate ganache that is dripped down the sides and topped with even more frosting. This cake is perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, you name it! And the best part is that while the finished cake looks super impressive, it’s actually simple to put together. I’ve included step-by-step instructions below along with photos to help you make the best cake ever.
They say the proof is in the pudding, but in this case, the proof is in the cake. My husband hardly ever eats any of my desserts. He is the most particular person when it comes to chocolate cake. But I’m a little embarrassed to tell you that the two of us actually ate this entire cake over 4-5 days. Yes, it is that good. Try it. You’re welcome.
What is a Drip Cake?
A drip cake is a cake that has ganache across the top and dripped down its sides. The base can be any kind of cake – vanilla, chocolate, you name it. The ganache is usually made with either regular or white chocolate. For this recipe, we are using dark chocolate to make a rich ganache that is spread over the top of the cake and then dripped down the sides. It’s easy to do and it looks fancy too!
What You’ll Need
Even though this chocolate cake looks all kinds of fancy, the truth is that you only need a few simple ingredients to make it. Here’s what you’ll need. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for specific amounts.
- Granulated sugar
- Vegetable oil – Oil tends to make cakes more moist than butter. It also makes the crumb and texture a bit more tender.
- Eggs
- Pure vanilla extract – Be sure you get a high-quality REAL vanilla extract.
- Sour cream – Sour cream helps keep this cake moist.
- Dry Ingredients – All-purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda, salt.
- Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Espresso powder (optional) – Sometimes I like to add espresso powder to chocolate cakes, it helps intensify the chocolate flavor. The espresso powder is optional, or can be substituted for a fine ground coffee or omitted.
- Brewed Coffee – Coffee helps bring out the chocolate flavor, but don’t worry, the cake don’t taste like coffee at all. I recommend using hot coffee.
Ingredient Substitutions
I don’t recommend ingredient substitutions whenever possible, but know that sometimes they are necessary. Here are some suggestions:
- Sour cream – If you don’t have sour cream. I recommend substituting with non-fat Greek yogurt. The recipe calls for light sour cream, but you can also use full-fat sour cream.
- Brewed Coffee – If you don’t want to use coffee you can also use milk.
Can I use a Dutch processed cocoa powder for this recipe?
Yes, you can! I have tested this recipe with my favorite Dutch-processed cocoa powder from Rodelle. In order to make this chocolate cake with dutch processed cocoa, adjust the baking powder to 2 teaspoons and then ADD 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (so 1 teaspoon total). The amount of cocoa powder is 1 to 1 with a regular unsweetened cocoa powder.
How to Make Chocolate Drip Cake
Are you ready to make the best chocolate cake ever? Here’s how to do it:
Prepare Your Pans for Baking
Believe it or not, how you prepare your cake pans can have a huge impact on the finished product. Why? Because a properly prepped cake pan allows your cake to bake throughout and also makes it easier for you to remove the cake from the pan after it’s cooled. Here is how I prep my pans for this chocolate cake recipe:
- Line the pans. I recommend lining the bottom of my pans with parchment paper or a Silpat silicone baking mat. This helps the cake easily release from the pan.
- Grease the sides of the pan with Crisco vegetable spread
- Add flour.Coat the grease with a mixture of flour and cocoa powder. Lightly dust and then empty any remaining flour out of the pans
- For flat cake tops. I recommend using bake even stripes to help make these cake flatter on top, which means less of a dome and less wasted cake!
Make the Chocolate Cake
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 350F. Prep your cake pans.
2. Mix wet ingredients: Start by combing the granulated sugar with the, eggs, oil and vanilla extract and beat them together until fluffy. Then add sour cream and beat until well combined.
3. Combine dry ingredients. Then alternate adding half the coffee and half of the dry ingredients to the batter at a time and beat until incorporated. Slowly adding the coffee and the dry ingredients will prevent you from overmixing the batter.
4. Pour the batter into prepared pans. Divide the batter evenly among the cake pans.
5. Bake.These cakes bake at 350F for 20-24 minutes. Rotate your pans in the oven halfway through baking to allow for even baking. Cool to room temperature before frosting.
Make the Frosting
For this cake, I made my traditional chocolate frosting with Rodelle Baking Cocoa. It’s a Dutch-processed cocoa powder with one of the highest concentrations of cocoa butter on the market. It gives this frosting an extra rich and deep chocolate flavor. You can make this buttercream with any type of cocoa powder, but Rodelle is a high-quality ingredient and it really comes through in the taste.
My secret for making my frosting recipe is that I start with cold butter, not room-temperature butter. I spend several minutes beating the frosting in the beginning. Essentially, the mixer is softening the butter for you, but this base gives you perfect whipped and fluffy frosting.
Whip the butter Finished frosting
- Whip the cold butter. Cut the butter into pieces. Using the paddle attachment, whip butter for 3-4 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Beat until the butter is very soft and whipped.
- Add cocoa powder and beat until combine.
- Add powdered sugar, whipping cream and vanilla extract. Alternate adding 2-3 cups of powdered sugar at a time with the liquid ingredients. Add a pinch of salt if needed. With each addition of powdered sugar, be sure to beat the frosting really well.
- Beat until fluffy Once all ingredients have been added, whip for 3-4 minutes until the frosting is light and airy. If the frosting is too thick, add additional heavy whipping cream 1/2 tablespoon at a time.
Make the Chocolate Ganache
- Melt the chocolate. Microwave the chocolate together with the heavy cream in 30 second increments, stirring as needed.
- Allow the chocolate to cool. I like to drizzle the ganache on the side of a glass to see how far it will fall down the glass, if it’s too fast, the ganache is probably too hot still.
Assemble Your Chocolate Drip Cake
If you’re new to making layer cakes, I have a full cake tutorial from start to finish. I’ve also included a video of this recipe which might help.
- Level your cakes. Remove any domes with a serrated knife. Place a dollop of frosting on your cake board and place the bottom layer of cake over that.
- Add frosting between the layers. Pipe the first layer of frosting, pipe in circles working outside edge to the middle. Spread evenly with an offset spatula. Repeat for second and third layers.
- Frost the cake. Use your offset spatula to press any excess frosting onto the edges of the cake to create a crumb coating. To finish, pipe the frosting along the outside edge of the cake using a large open round tip or a cake icer tip. Then use an offset spatula or icing smoother to create a smooth edge.
- Chill the cake. Refrigerate the cake for 15-20 minutes. Be sure that your cake is completely cold before drizzling the ganache.
- Drizzle the ganache. Use a small squirt bottle, holding it directly over the edge of your cake. Squeeze out more ganache for a longer or thicker drizzle. Add sprinkles if desired. Let it set.
- Add sprinkles and rosettes. To pipe the rosettes on top, use a large piping bag fitted with a large open star, fill the piping bag with the remaining frosting and pipe the boarder of the cake.
Need to Use Different Pan Sizes?
I’m frequently asked how to make recipes in pan sizes other than what is in the recipe. Here is how to make this chocolate cake in some of the most common alternate pan sizes:
- For two 9-inch cakes: Bake for 28-32 minutes. Baking times will vary due to how full the pans are, type of pans and true oven temperature. Please note these did “crust” a little more on the outside edge due to extended baking times and they rose quite a bite in the middle, so you’ll lose more of the “dome” of the cake.
- For two 8-inch cakes: This should be baked for approximately 25-30 minutes, and about 2 1/4 cups of batter per pan.
- For 6-inch pans: A full recipe will make four 6-inch layers, filling each one with about 1 1/3 cup of batter and baking for approximately 22-28 minutes.
- For 10 inch pans: I’ve never tested this with 10 inch pans, but I would recommend a 2 layer cake so you still have nice thick layers. Try baking for 18-20 minutes and assessing additional time needed from there.
How to Store a Frosted Cake
This cake is best stored at room temperature in an airtight container such as a cake carrier. If you live in a hot or humid environment, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and serve at room temperature.
Can I Make this Ahead?
You can prepare the cake layers up to 2 days in advance. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap with a piece of parchment paper on the top and bottom of the cake layer. Or these can also be stored in an airtight container. Cake layers can also be frozen, double wrapped in plastic wrap.
The frosting can also be prepared 1-2 days in advance and kept in an airtight container at room temperature. You’ll need to remix it prior to using it.
Print
Easy Chocolate Drip Cake
- Prep Time: 90 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Chocolate Cake Recipe truly is the BEST EVER! You HAVE TO try it! It’s a 3-layer, super moist chocolate cake with a rich, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate buttercream frosting. And to top it all off, this cake is covered with a chocolate ganache drip. It’s chocolate overload and you won’t regret it.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 ½ cups (285g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (118 ml) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (118 ml) sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour, sifted
- ½ cup (40 g) cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 tablespoon (5g) espresso powder (optional)
- 2 ½ teaspoons (9 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) salt
- 1 ¼ cup (296 ml) hot brewed coffee
For the frosting:
- 3 cups (689g) unsalted butter, cold
- 1 ½ cups (167g) cocoa powder (natural unsweetened or dutch processed)
- 9–10 (1171 g) cups powdered sugar
- 3–4 tablespoons (44-58ml) eavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Chocolate sprinkles (optional)
For the ganache:
- 2 ounces (56g) dark chocolate
- 6 tablespoons (88ml) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch round baking pans, line the bottom with parchment paper and grease the sides. Prepare the bake even stripes if desired.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Next mix in the sour cream and beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. To the batter, alternate adding half the dry ingredients followed by half of the coffee and mix just until the flour starts to incorporate. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure it’s well mixed.
- Divide the batter evenly between the three pans, about 1 2/3 cups of batter per pan. Bake at 350°F for 20-24 minutes. Rotate your pans in the oven halfway through baking. Test the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is done. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
For the frosting:
- Cut the butter into pieces. Using the paddle attachment, whip butter for 3-4 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Beat until the butter looks light in color. Next, beat the cocoa powder into the butter until well mixed.
- Alternate adding 2-3 cups of powdered sugar at a time with the liquid ingredients: vanilla extract & heavy cream. Add a pinch of salt as needed. Ensure all the powdered sugar is well combined and beat for 2-3 minutes before adding additional powdered sugar.
- Once all ingredients have been added, whip for 3-4 minutes until the frosting is light and airy. If the frosting is too thick, add additional heavy whipping cream 1/2 tablespoon at a time.
For the chocolate ganache:
- In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate and heavy whipping cream. Melt the chocolate in the microwave at 50% power in 30-second increments and stir until completely combined. Allow to cool.
To assemble this cake:
- Level the cake layer by removing any domes. Place a dollop of frosting on your cake board and place the bottom layer of cake over that.
- Pipe the first layer of frosting, pipe in circles working outside edge to the middle. Spread evenly with an offset spatula. Add the second layer of cake and add the remaining frosting. Place the third layer of cake on top.
- Use your offset spatula to press any excess frosting onto the edges of the cake. To finish, pipe the frosting along the outside edge of the cake using a large open round tip or a cake icer tip. Then use an offset spatula or icing smoother to create a smooth edge. Refrigerate the cake for 15-20 minutes.
- Use a spoon or piping bag to drizzle the ganache along the edges of the cake. Allow the ganache to set completely. To pipe, the rosettes on top, use a large piping bag, fill the piping bag with the remaining frosting, and pipe the border of the cake. Garnish with chocolate sprinkles.
Notes
Ingredient substitutions:
- Sour cream I recommend substituting with non-fat Greek yogurt. The recipe calls for light sour cream, but you can also use full-fat sour cream.
- Brewed Coffee: I recommend using milk instead, but only if needed.
- Cocoa powder: I prefer to use Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder for the cake and regular or dutch processed cocoa powder for the frosting.
Storing a finished cake: This cake is best stored at room temperature in an airtight container such as a cake carrier. If you live in a hot or humid environment, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and serve at room temperature. This cake can be made up to 2 days in advance if stored properly.
Preparing in advance: Prepare the cake layers up to 2 days in advance. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap with a piece of parchment paper on the top and bottom of the cake layer. Or these can also be stored in an airtight container. Cake layers can also be frozen, double wrap in plastic wrap. The frosting can also be prepared 1-2 days in advance, and kept in an airtight container at room temperature. You’ll need to remix it prior to using it.
Cake Pan Sizes:
- For two 9-inch cakes, they baked from 28-32 minutes. Baking times will vary due to how full the pans are, type of pans and true oven temperature. Please note these did “crust” a little more on the outside edge due to extended baking times and they rose quite a bite in the middle, so you’ll lose more of the “dome” of the cake.
- For two 8-inch cakes, this should be baked for approximately 25-30 minutes, and about 2 1/4 cups of batter per pan and 1 batch of my best chocolate frosting.
- For 6-inch pans: a full recipe will make four 6-inch layers, filling each one with about 1 1/3 cup of batter and baking for approximately 22-28 minutes.
- For 10 inch pans: I’ve never tested this with 10 inch pans, but I would recommend a 2 layer cake so you still have nice, thick layers. Trying baking for 18-20 minutes and assessing additional time needed from there
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 1178
- Sugar: 123.2g
- Sodium: 391.9mg
- Fat: 65.7g
- Saturated Fat: 42.1g
- Carbohydrates: 151g
- Fiber: 5.2g
- Protein: 7.9g
- Cholesterol: 186.3mg
We have made this truly delicious cake for four years now, we are making it tonight for an extremely special birthday. We love everything about this cake. We do cut the ingredients to make a smaller cake since we have a small family, and it still comes out perfect. Thank you for this special cake. We love it.
I love that so much Kathleen, thank you! I love making the mini chocolate cake, the 6-inch version!
Love this recipe. I substituted 1 shot of espresso instead of powder or coffee and it was still delicious! Although the batter was only enough for 2-8” pans.
Hi Erika, I followed up with you with additional questions.
Hi! I love your vanilla cake recipe and use it alllllll the time. My question is, does this cake come to about the same size/height? I’d like to have one consistent vanilla recipe and one chocolate one but would like them to be the same size (roughly). Thank you!!
Yes, this is roughly the same size!
Thank you!
Does the butter need to be cold or softened for the buttercream?
I use cold butter for my frosting
the batter came out really thick and the coffee made it gritty.
Hi Kate, the batter should have been quite thin, if it was really thick, something would have been off. I’ve never experienced a gritty texture, the whole thing sounds like it was right.
Hi,
I have never tried Espresso powder before. Do I use it in the dry form or mix it in with the coffee?
Thank you, Diane
Hi Diane, it should be used as a dry powder
Is it okay to use buttermilk instead of coffee? (1 to 1 ratio?) And should it be warm?
Thanks!!
Hi Katia, here is the buttermilk version of this cake. Some minor adjustment to baking powder and baking soda. I would use room temperature buttermilk
Great cake really moist. Had fun decorating it.
That’s wonderful!! Thank you so much Dan!
BEST homemade cake I’ve ever tried! Usually the homemade recipes end up dense and dry. This one is light and fluffy just like a cake mix–yep, they are pretty awesome that way–perfectly moist and easy to make. No more cake mixes for me.
Thank you for sharing your recipes! I’ve also made the 6 inch mini cake which is basically the same as this one, just a smaller amount. Again, it is excellent!
Wow Becky, thank you so much, that’s incredible!
what can I use to substitute the coffee
The answer to this is included in the blog post under the heading “Ingredients substitutions” and also noted in the recipe card under substitutions. Milk is the suggested substitute
Thank you very much for your reply, love the recipe
Happy to hear that! Thank you!
Hi, was wondering if you’ve made this recipe into cupcakes instead of the 8in cake?
Yes, here is the recipe for chocolate cupcakes (the frosting isn’t the same) but you can use my basic chocolate buttercream if you want the same frosting as this cake.
The cake was great, super light and fluffy. There was a slight taste of coffee. The frosting was too much for my hand mixer. I ended up mixing it less because my mixer kept dying. It tasted good but was too thick. I would recommend this cake with the caveat that you might want to consider a different frosting if you don’t have a stand mixer.
Hi Christine, thanks for much for sharing you experience. You are correct, the amount of frosting for this cake does not suit using a hand mixer, and I usually don’t recommend starting with the coldest butter for a hand mixer, for the reason that it can take so much longer, and is more difficult to achieve the proper consistency of the butter and frosting. For a hand mixer, I’d consider trying a chocolate cream cheese frosting maybe.
I was wondering if used CAKE FLOUR instead of all- purposes would I need to change the amount of flour used.
Have never made a cake from scratch with all purpose flour… Thank you
* Love your recipes *
Thanks Kristie! This recipe is not designed as is to be used with cake flour. Since it’s not a 1:1 ratio, I don’t have a recommendation to swap them out. I can tell you that this cake is super good with all-purpose flour!