When you bake often it’s easy to find your go-to recipe for something and stick with it. And I love having a no-fail plan for when I need to make something quick, or for when I used to make the same things over and over for the Red Velvet Sweet Shoppe. But I always love trying new recipes too! I was intrigued by this chocolate cake recipe because it contained buttermilk and coffee. (!!!!!!) I also noticed that the recipe called for oil instead of butter. My go-to chocolate cake recipe does the same trick, and I really like the crumb produced when using oil instead of butter (for cakes, anyway). So I decided to give it a try.
I am happy to report that this is indeed a fantastic chocolate cake recipe! If you are needing to make a chocolate cake this holiday season I highly recommend trying this one out.
Chocolate Buttermilk Cake, makes two 8×2 inch round cakes.
1 3/4 cup flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup strong coffeeIn a bowl combine all the dry ingredients (the first six listed above). Whisk to combine. In another bowl combine all the wet ingredients (the last 5 listed). Whisk to combine. Stir the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients until nearly no lumps remain. Pour into two round baking pans lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F for 35-38 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from pans.
I made a simple butter cream frosting by whipping together 1 cup softened butter with 3 cups powered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. I didn’t think I had quite enough frosting for the entire cake, so for the center layer (in between the two cake layers) I simply used Nutella instead.
As if I needed an excuse to use Nutella.To make my cake a little more festive I created some snowy chocolate trees to go around the edges of the cake. I absolutely loved this cake, so I gave it a try myself. Turns out these are super easy to make! Simply melt some chocolate (I used dark chocolate chips) in the microwave or on the stove top. Pour the melted chocolate in a ziplock bag. Cut a small hole in one corner. On wax paper draw some rustic looking evergreen trees with the chocolate.
Rustic is the cooking term for messy. Did you know that? It’s a cooking secret that I figured out pretty quick, because most of my decorating turns out pretty… rustic.
Sprinkle on a little flaked coconut for the snow. Allow the chocolate to set over night or pop it in the refrigerator for an hour if you need it sooner. Carefully remove the chocolate trees from the wax paper and press into the sides of your frosted cake.I highly recommend making a few extra trees in case a few break in the process. Just FYI. 🙂 Happy baking! xo. Emma
P.S. Like this? Try my Funfetti Buttermilk Birthday Cake!
I made this cake as a present for my work colleagues and it went down an absolute treat 🙂 I’ve blogged about it on my website if you fancy a look 🙂
http://victoriaspongepeasepudding.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/coffee-chocolate-christmas-cake/
Adorable cake. So adorable I made one for my own Christmas dinner. Thanks for the inspiration!
This tasted really nice! I made this today and it came out perfect. The only change I made was the amount of sugar, instead of 2 cups I used 1 1/4 cups since I’m not really much of a sweets person. I also added 2 teaspoons instead of 1, baking powder, but it still came out perfect. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
wow i love that chocolate tree idea! must try next time i bake
http://aimlesslylove.blogspot.com/
I made this today and it came out FABULOUS! It even looks like yours!
I love this! I’m going to make one for Christmas!
http://simplyshera.blogspot.com/
Oh Emma! This cake is beautiful! AAAAANNNND looks delicious! Thank you for sharing!
<3, Jenny Rose
I love how you embellished this cake! It’s beautiful!
Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!!
Check this out….http://bit.ly/PIDfN5….intended for camping but would be great for the kids to get involved in the baking at home as well!!
‘Rustic’ is the same reason I embrace ‘shabby chic’ or ‘asymmetrical’. Imperfection is an art in and of itself. Very anxious to give this a try – thanks!
This looks great! I was wondering though…could something be used to substitute the coffee?
This looks amazing. and what a cute idea with the trees! 🙂
http://www.happypaperplace.com/
Chocolate cakes without the oil don’t seem to be as moist, I think! I’ve often made chocolate decor like that. My most successful has been very swirly hearts that I stick out of a cupcake! I’ve also made beautiful butterfly wings!
I’m not great at drawing, so I print out a piece of clip art that I like the silhouette of, and I just place it under my wax paper and trace it. Those trees are super adorable!
Thea- Hmm… you might try a pie instead. Then it’s still a super flavorful treat but many pie recipes call for less sugar. Happy Baking!
2 cups of sugar!? Eeek! Is there any way that could be cut back? The cake looks utterly charming (I’m a definite fan of rustic), but I can’t bring myself to put two cups of sugar into something. :-/
How cute! The inside of the cake looks so amazingly chocolatey, and the trees look great! I did a similar thing recently, but with Christmassy trees http://kerrycooks.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/festive-red-and-green-six-layer-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting/
this sounds like my go to choc cake. i “make” my own buttermilk because my daughter is allergic to all things dairy. it is sooo good. we use it for all birthdays except my middle one..she insists on a rainbow cake every year. there is no way i could make trees as cute as yours but i need to try!
This cake looked so wonderful, I decided to try and make it for my sons first birthday! I’ve never made a layered cake before, or one with frosting… I also live in sweden where we measure in deciliters and not cups. But, I must say, although it’s nowhere near as pretty as yours, I’m very happy with the outcome!
There’s a picture here, and I linked here, of course. =)
http://ettcrunchyliv.blogspot.se/2012/12/ett-ars-kalas.html
Wowee! Can’t wait to try it!
This is just the best cake ever!