The Best Dark Chocolate Cake | Healthier Recipe

I promise you, this is the best dark chocolate cake! Learn how to make this moist, subtly sweet 3-layer cake that is secretly not so bad for you! It’ll be your go-to birthday cake for years to come.

I used to not be a cake fan. It always seemed really dry, so to compensate, it would be slathered in frosting that was WAY too sweet and left a tingling in the back of my throat and an uneasy feeling in my stomach. Like, why would you make a cake when you could have pie or cookies or ice cream!?

When I married my husband, I was introduced to this cake, and it's a good thing! It is the favorite chocolate cake recipe in his family. Actually, it's pretty much the only cake recipe they use, because it's just that good. They got it from the February 1996 issue of Canadian Living Magazine.

The first time I had it, I was sold. It ticks all the boxes for a good cake: it's moist, flavorful, and not too sweet! It's also a sturdy cake that carves easily, so is great for making stacked and shaped cakes. But the really great thing about this cake, other than its deliciousness, is that it's the most nutrient-dense cake I've ever seen that is made with common cake ingredients.

Yup, it's an amazing and delicious cake!

Is Dark Chocolate Cake Healthy?

As far as traditional cakes go, this one is pretty healthy. If you're looking to make a healthier cake, but without weird ingredients like avocados or flax seeds, this is the cake for you.

Although this cake is made with all-purpose flour and white sugar, there is much less of it than in other recipes, and there are 7 eggs! Eggs are very nutrient-dense, containing a ton of vitamins, minerals, protein, fat and more!

Use pastured eggs, grass-fed butter and organic unbleached all-purpose flour for the healthiest cake. My favorite way to add more nutrients to this cake is to make a chocolate frosting out of... sweet potatoes. It's weird (and it's actually a pudding recipe) but it's so good and no one will have the faintest idea that you snuck a vegetable in!

If that's not your thing, I've provided the original icing recipe below, which is delicious but has a lot more sugar.

FAQ

Can I Use All-Purpose Flour Instead of Cake Flour?

You can make a substitute for cake flour using all-purpose flour and cornstarch! To replace 1 cup of cake flour, first measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour. Remove 2 tablespoon (back into your flour bag/container) and then add 2 tablespoon of cornstarch to the remaining flour. Mix well to combine the flour and cornstarch. Since this recipe calls for 1½ cups of cake flour, measure out 1½ cups all-purpose flour, remove 3 tablespoon and replace with 3 tablespoon cornstarch. It's that easy!

To be honest, I have made this recipe with just all-purpose flour and it's turned out just as well.

Can I Use Brown Sugar or Coconut Sugar Instead of White Sugar?

Often, I am one to try to replace white sugar, but I'll admit I haven't tried that with this cake. For a chocolate cake recipe, this cake has very little sugar. Since it's something I'm only making for special occasions, I don't stress about it.

Technically you could replace it with any type of granulated sugar, such as brown or coconut sugar, but remember, there is a possibility the flavour and/or the texture of the cake will be slightly different! I would not recommend substituting with a liquid sweetener, such as honey or maple syrup, since you would have to adjust the other ingredients.

Can I Substitute Something For the Buttermilk?

There are SO many ways you can replace buttermilk, I can almost guarantee you will be able to do it with whatever you have available! Buttermilk adds acidity to the recipe (which activates the baking soda- very important for a proper rise!), so you can't replace it with milk alone.

The most common way is to add lemon juice or vinegar (acidic ingredient) to a liquid (can be milk from an animal or plant-based milk). To replace 1 cup buttermilk, pour 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar (can be apple cider vinegar or white vinegar) into a liquid measuring cup. Fill with milk/plant-based milk until you reach 1 cup.

This recipe calls for ¾ cup of buttermilk, so use the same process but with ¾ tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar, filling the milk to ¾ cup.

Another option is to water down sour cream or plain yogurt (this is what I often do, as I have yogurt in my fridge more frequently than I have buttermilk). Here is a more specific guide for 14 different ways you can substitute for buttermilk, both dairy-based and dairy-free!

What Icing Should I Use to Complement Dark Chocolate Cake?

I will include the recipe for the chocolate butter icing that my husband's family uses with this cake. It is amazing with this cake but has more sugar than I would like. I make this chocolate sweet potato pudding and use it to frost this cake- it is DIVINE! It has A LOT less sugar and I believe lends the perfect amount of sweetness to this cake. Plus, hidden vegetables... {insert evil laugh}

Can Dark Chocolate Cake Be Frozen?

Absolutely! In my family, it's my husband and I and our 2-year-old daughter. It's definitely possible for us to eat the whole cake, but we try to make it last a little longer by freezing it.

Cut the leftover cake into pieces and lay them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Then cover with plastic wrap and put in the freezer until fully frozen. Remove from cookie sheet and place them in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer. Will keep for up to 6 months!

To thaw, remove from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for about 15-30 minutes. Or 2 minutes, if you're like me...

It's still a surprisingly moist cake, even after it's been frozen for a while, then thawed!

I Made a Carved Cake. What Can I Do With the Cake Scraps?

Chocolate cake pops or cake balls (cake pops without the stick) or a trifle! One time when I made this cake, I only had one 9-inch round cake pan, so for the two other layers, I used two 8×8 inch square pans! I then had to cut the squares into circles and cut my 9-inch cake smaller. This left me with a lot of small cake pieces.

I pulsed them in the food processor to turn them into cake crumbs, combined them with the chocolate pudding I used to frost the cake (approximately 2 tablespoon pudding: 1 cup cake crumbs), rolled them into balls and froze. When completely frozen I dipped them in melted chocolate and sprinkled them with sea salt and coconut flakes. So simple and so good!

You most likely will not have enough cake to make an entire trifle, but you could make a few single-serve ones! Just layer some cake (cut into small cubes) with pudding and whipped cream and you've got a tasty treat with your cake scraps! You can also add in fruit, caramel sauce, nuts, you name it - customize to your heart's desire!

What Are Some Cake Decoration Ideas?

You can have so much fun with this part! Here are some simple ideas to start with.

Even though the cake doesn't have any fruit or nuts inside, these can be fun tools for decoration! Create a design with fresh berries or other fruit in the middle or on one side of the top of the cake, or sprinkle some almond slices on the top or around the base of the cake.

Melt some chocolate, put it in a small bag and cut a small hole in one corner, then make some designs on parchment paper, freeze and stand up in the icing!

You can also make designs in your frosting! Use the back of a spoon to make a scale-like pattern, or simple lines or swirls. Or pipe on some whipped cream... that never hurts! Don't think too hard about it, just get started and have fun.

Tips for Making Dark Chocolate Cake

• Use parchment paper AND butter/coconut oil to line your pans! It is worth it. You want to ensure you can remove your cakes without any difficulty if you want a perfect end result. Grease the bottom and sides of the pan and cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the cake pan. Press the paper down and then flip it over so the greased side is up. If you do this, your cakes will pop perfectly out of your pans.
• Follow the instructions. Okay, it seems like a no-brainer, but don't skip any of the steps or rush through them! It's not quite as simple as mixing the dry and wet ingredients, but there is a reason this cake turns out amazing when you follow the steps!
• If you have a stand mixer, you can use the paddle attachment on medium speed to cream the butter and sugar, then mix in egg yolks and vanilla. Use low speed to combine cocoa mixture and buttermilk with the butter/sugar mixture. Use a separate clean bowl and the whisk attachment to then whip the egg whites. Fold the two mixtures together by hand.

Tools You May Need

Three 9-inch cake pans

Electric hand mixer

Mixing bowls

How to Make Dark Chocolate Cake

Cake Ingredients

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

1½ cups granulated sugar, separated (see substitution options above)

7 large eggs, separated

1½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ cups cake flour (see substitution option above)

⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder or dark cocoa powder

1½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ cup buttermilk (see substitution options above)

Chocolate Fudge Icing Ingredients (or try this healthier recipe)

1½ cups butter, softened

½ cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups icing sugar

5 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

Dark Chocolate Cake Instructions

Grease three 9-inch cake pans. Cut rounds of parchment paper to fit on the bottom of each cake pan (it's easiest to put the pan on the parchment, lightly trace the bottom of the pan and then cut). Place the parchment rounds in the cake pans, then turn the greased side up.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer on low speed to cream butter and ¾ cup of the sugar until fluffy. Add in egg yolks one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add vanilla and beat until incorporated.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, cocoa and baking soda together. Using a wooden spoon (not the electric mixer) stir flour cocoa mixture into butter mixture, alternating with buttermilk. Make 3 additions of the dry ingredients mixture and 2 additions of buttermilk.

In a separate bowl, use clean beaters on high speed to beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Beat in remaining ¾ cup sugar gradually until stiff peaks form.

Use a spatula to fold the meringue mixture into the cake batter in 3 separate additions.

Pour the chocolate cake batter into prepared pans, dividing evenly and smooth the tops.

Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean and when lightly touched, the top should spring back.

Place on a wire rack (still in pans) and let cool for 30 minutes. Gently run a knife around the edge of the pan to ensure the sides of the cake aren't sticking. Remove from pans and let cool completely, with the parchment side down on the rack.

When cool, peel off the parchment paper and place on a cutting board. Assess how flat the tops of the chocolate cake layers are. If needed, use a serrated knife to trim some of the top of the cake layer to make it level, so your cake won't end up lopsided. Spread 1 cup of icing between the cake layers. Use the remaining icing to cover the top and sides of the cake. Decorate as desired. If using the chocolate fudge icing recipe, chill the cake before serving (this makes the icing super fudgy and delicious!)

Chocolate Fudge Icing Instructions

In a large bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Gradually add in whipping cream and vanilla. Add sugar in 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Finally, add chocolate and beat until smooth and fluffy. Ice the cake. This icing tastes best when cool, so I recommend chilling the cake before serving.

How to Store Dark Chocolate Cake

Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

To freeze leftovers, cut the cake into pieces and lay them on a pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Then cover with plastic wrap and put in the freezer until fully frozen. Remove from the pan and place them in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer. Will keep for up to 6 months. To thaw, remove from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for about 15-30 minutes.

Did you try this recipe? If so, I would really appreciate a 5-star rating and your comments below! Thanks!

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