Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

How to make the best buttermilk chocolate cake with this easy and delicious recipe for a moist chocolate cake to use in all your cakes like my chocolate Oreo cake.

This chocolate cake is made with buttermilk and has a soft and moist texture and a delicious chocolate flavor, perfect for all your cake celebrations.

Jump to:

• What is a buttermilk cake?
• More Sponge Cakes
• Ingredients and substitutions
• How to make homemade buttermilk
• How to make buttermilk Chocolate Cake recipe
• Cake ideas with this sponge cake
• Storage instructions
• You will also love
• Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

What is a buttermilk cake?

This is the best chocolate cake recipe, called chocolate buttermilk cake because it is made with buttermilk, a thick milk that has fermented and has a sour taste which gives it that incredibly tender, moist texture and that delicious chocolate flavor.

And it's precisely the acid composition of the buttermilk that balances the sweetness and brings moisture and an ultra-soft texture to this buttermilk chocolate cake.

It has a dense yet soft and moist crumb and unlike chocolate genoise sponge it has a more firm texture which makes it very popular in pastry making for layered cakes and other celebration cakes.

The chocolate buttermilk cake recipe is absolutely delicious and is very easy to make at home and is really perfect for all your birthday layer cake, wedding cake, or any other occasion.

More Sponge Cakes

Ingredients and substitutions

Here is an overview of the ingredients needed and possible substitutions to make this deliciously moist chocolate cake recipe with buttermilk, scroll down to see the quantities in the recipe card.

• Flour: In France, we use wheat flour type T45 which is a cake flour without incorporated baking powder, you can also replace it with all-purpose flour.
• Cocoa powder: Only unsweetened cocoa powder. 
• Yeast: A mixture of baking powder and baking soda for a fluffy cake, if you don't have baking soda use a whole bag of baking powder.
• Eggs: Use whole eggs at room temperature, take them out in advance or leave them for a few minutes in a bowl of hot water.
• Sugar: Preferably use white caster sugar or a flavored sugar such as brown sugar.
• Oil: A neutral vegetable oil such as sunflower oil or grape seed oil. You can also replace it with melted butter, but with the oil the sponge has a softer texture.
• Buttermilk: essential in this recipe, for buttermilk substitute see my tip below for making homemade buttermilk if you don't have any on hand.
• Black Coffee: Black coffee enhances the full-bodied taste of the chocolate, it does not give the sponge cake a coffee taste at all, you can replace it with warm water.
• Vanilla and salt: Essential to bring out all the flavors of this cake.

Material: Use an aluminum cake pan lined with parchment paper on the bottom only, with an electric mixer or stand mixer to make the mixtures.

⚠️ You will find the quantities and complete instructions in the recipe card at the end of the page.

How to make homemade buttermilk

Buttermilk is a must-have in your fridge especially if you like to prepare American baked goods such as moist cakes, muffins, cupcakes, pancakes and other sponge cakes.

Its acidity helps break down the gluten and combined with baking soda you will have an even softer and lighter cake, much more than using just milk or yogurt.

If you don't have buttermilk in your fridge to make this homemade chocolate cake, don't panic and don't need to run to the supermarket because I explain how to make it at home:

>> Mix a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice into semi-skimmed milk and let it sit for about ten minutes. Your milk will thicken a bit like curdled milk and it is a good option to replace buttermilk in your recipes.

How to make buttermilk Chocolate Cake recipe

1 - Sift dry ingredients

1. Place all dry ingredients, cake flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and a pinch of salt in a large bowl.
2. Mix with a tablespoon until the mixture is well blended.

Tip: If possible, sift the dry ingredients together twice to get a smooth flour mixture.

2 - Mix wet ingredients

1. Place room temperature eggs, vegetable oil, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
2. Whip on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes until the mixture is smooth and frothy.

3 - Add dry ingredients

1. In a separate bowl, mix together the Buttermilk with the cooled black coffee.
2. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk and coffee mixture alternately and in several times to the first eggs mixture.
3. Mix between each addition with a soft spatula or directly with the whisk of the stand mixer until you obtain a homogeneous batter.

Tip: Be careful not to overmix the cake batter after adding the dry ingredients, mix just enough to get a smooth consistency.

4 - Baking

1. Preheat oven to 329°F / 165°C and set up two 6 inches / 15 cm round cake pans lined with parchment paper on the bottom only.
2. Divide the batter in half and distribute it evenly in the two prepared cake pans.
3. Bake the two pans at half height for about 45-55 minutes without opening the oven door until they are well puffed.
4. Remove the chocolate cakes from the oven and let them cool a bit in their pans before carefully removing them from the pans and letting them cool upside down on a cake rack.
5. When they are completely cooled, cover them with plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before cutting them with a sponge cake leveler or a genoise knife.

Tip: Test baking with a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake, it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, otherwise extend baking time by 5 minutes.

Cake ideas with this sponge cake

This chocolate cake is tender and moist, it doesn't need to be soaked and it keeps its soft texture even after a period in the fridge, here are some ideas for greedy cakes.

• Chocolate cake with whipped vanilla ganache
• Chocolate cake with chocolate ganache
• Chocolate raspberry ganache cake witg raspberry filling
• Strawberry chocolate cake
• Chocolate black forest cake with cherry and whipped cream

Storage instructions

Room temperature: store this chocolate buttermilk cake at room temperature, under a tea towel, wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.

In the fridge: You can also keep it in the fridge for up to 1 week covered with plastic wrap.

Freezing: When completely cooled, place the buttermilk chocolate cake wrapped in plastic wrap or in a storage bag in the freezer for 3 months. Let it gently come back to room temperature overnight.

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• Genoise Sponge

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