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Seriously, who doesn’t love a good classic? This scratch chocolate cake with buttercream frosting literally takes the cake. Nope, no store-bought boxed cake, here!
It’s perfect for that upcoming Holiday feast, special occasion (birthday or anniversary, anyone?) or date night splurge – just simply add cinnamon and nutmeg (as stated in the ingredients list). The best part is not having to share your own piece. Just don’t tell anyone it was homemade, and they’ll never even know the difference.
Because this one’s from scratch, ya’ll. So you’re going to need to whip out that fancy mixer (dust off the cobwebs first – because, ew), measuring cups and spatula – it’s all about order of operations to get this rich, dense bakery-style cake. It’s not a super intense chocolate cake, like your Devil’s or Blackout cake, but it’s the perfect balance with the rich vanilla buttercream frosting.
Now don’t freak out over the 50 minute prep time – part of that is making the homemade buttercream frosting (while the cake is baking). But I’m telling you it is sooo worth it.
You won’t ever buy store bought AGAIN. No, I’m not kidding.
![[Not Just Any] Classic Chocolate Cake With Buttercream Frosting | A rich, classic chocolate cake that will taste like it was made from a bakery | Bakery-style chocolate cake that is entirely homemade | The easiest buttercream frosting recipe that will have you ditching store bought FOR GOOD | #chocolatecake #dessertheaven #holidayrecipe | Cake baking from scratch - NOT boxed | theMRSingLink](https://i0.wp.com/themrsinglink.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Classic-Chocolate-Cake-With-Buttercream-Fosting-2.jpg?fit=1000%2C665&ssl=1)
Scratch Chocolate Cake with Buttermilk Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups All purpose flour
- 3/4 cup Cocoa Powder (if you prefer vanilla cake, replace cocoa powder with extra 1/4 cup flour + 1/2 tsp vanilla)
- 1 1/2 cups White granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 sticks Unsalted butter (3/4 cup) (room temperature)
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 3 large Eggs (room temperature)
- 1 cup Buttermilk (or simply use regular milk) To make your own buttermilk: (1 cup of milk with 2 tsp white vinegar – stir and allow to rest for 5 minutes)
Make it the perfect Fall dessert
- 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
Ingredients for buttermilk frosting
- 3 1/2 cups Confectioners sugar
- 1 3/4 sticks Unsalted butter (~1 cup)
- 3-4 tbsp Milk, cream or any plant-based milk
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare [2]Â 9-inch round cake pans, greased with butter and lined bottoms with wax paper.
- Preheat oven to 325F and dry ingredients in a separate bowl (sifted flour and cocoa powder, baking powder, salt) and set aside.
- Using your mixer, beat softened butter and sugar until fluffy (approx. 3-4 minutes) on medium speed.
- Set the mixing speed to the lowest setting and add in the eggs, allowing each one to fully incorporate between. Then add in the vanilla.
- On slow speed, alternate between the dry ingredients and buttermilk, allowing the batter to fully mix before alternating. Start with dry and end with dry.
- Split batter into each pan, and tap pans lightly on the counter to evenly distribute and remove any air bubbles before placing in the oven.
- Bake for up to 30-35 minutes (toothpick should come out clean) and allow pans to cool before setting the cake layers.
Preparing your buttercream frosting
- For this recipe I set aside a small amount of buttercream frosting at the end and added cocoa powder to make it chocolate, and left the rest a vanilla buttercream. But you are free to follow this or not.
- While the cake is baking, wash and prep your mixer and add in your room temperature sticks of butter. These need to be very room temperature or else it will take some effort to get the butter fluffy.
- Add in the confectioners sugar and mix on low speed for 3-4 minutes.
- Add in 1-2 tbsp of your choice of liquid (milk, cream or plant-based milk) and vanilla. Beat until thoroughly mixed and stiff.
- If you feel you need more liquid, add in more by 1-2 tbsp.
- If you need to make more buttercream frosting, continue with 1 part butter with 2 parts confectioners sugar depending on how much you need.
- To make chocolate buttercream frosting:Â simply add 1/4-3/4 cup cocoa powder, depending on the amount of buttercream you use.
