Beatty’s Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream
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This chocolate cake, made with buttermilk and oil — no butter — and exclusively cocoa — no melted chocolate — is incredibly light and moist and stays this way for days. It’s an Ina Garten recipe, one she begged for from a friend, the grandson of Beatty, after taking one bite. It has become a family favorite — a real crowd pleaser with adults and children alike.
Earlier this month, upon realizing that I had officially become my mother, not only in my preferences, but also in how I impose my preferences on others — dark meat chicken, cakes without frosting — I decided it might be wise to branch out a bit, to bake a cake with not one but two layers and to guild it not with a delicate dusting of powdered sugar but with a slathering of silky frosting.
It was a healthy exercise. You see, I didn’t know that frosting — chocolate buttercream in this case — has the ability to silence a table surrounded by both toddlers and adults and afterward to elicit unprompted comments such as: “You are such a good cooker.” This cake, made with buttermilk and oil — no butter — and exclusively cocoa — no melted chocolate — is incredibly light and moist and stays this way — tasting freshly baked — for days. It’s another Ina Garten recipe, one she begged for from a friend, the grandson of Beatty, after taking one bite.
I’m so happy I branched out. Because while I am completely embracing that I am my mother’s daughter, adoring almond tortes and torta capreses, I understand there is a time and a place for layers of cake and frosting. A silent table is always (or almost always) a sign of success.
How to Make Beatty’s Chocolate Cake, Step by Step
First, sift the dry ingredients together: flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt:
Next combine the wet ingredients: buttermilk, oil, eggs, vanilla, coffee:
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine.
How to Make a Parchment Paper Circle Cake Bottom:
Transfer the batter to two buttered and parchment-paper-lined baking dishes.
Bake until done.
How to Make Chocolate Buttercream:
Frost the cake by spreading just under half of the frosting over one layer. Top with the other layer; then spread the remaining frosting over the cake and on the sides.
PrintBeatty’s Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream
- Total Time: 1 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings
Description
Adapted from: Barefoot Contessa at Home
This chocolate cake, made with buttermilk and oil — no butter — and exclusively cocoa — no melted chocolate — is incredibly light and moist and stays this way for days. It’s an Ina Garten recipe, one she begged for from a friend, the grandson of Beatty, after taking one bite. It has become a family favorite — a real crowd pleaser with adults and children alike.
A few notes:
- Ina uses the stand mixer, but I find it works great just by mixing with a whisk and spatula.
- I now make this in one bowl: whisk together the dry ingredients; then add the wet one by one, being sure I beat the eggs prior to adding them to the bowl.
- I’ve added weight measurements, because that’s how I prefer to bake.
- The original frosting recipe calls for a raw egg yolk, but I omit it and don’t notice a difference.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- Butter, for greasing the pans
- 1 3/4 cups (225 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
- 2 cups (418 g) sugar
- 3/4 cups (66 g) good cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) kosher salt
- 1 cup (225 g) buttermilk, shaken
- 1/2 cup (108 g) vegetable oil
- 2 extra-large eggs (98 g) at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 cup (227 g) freshly brewed hot coffee
For the Chocolate Buttercream:
- 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (Ina recommends Callebaut.)
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups (152 g) sifted confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then flour the pans.
- Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Add the coffee and stir just to combine. Batter will be really thin. Pour the batter — if you feel like being really precise, pour about 690g of batter into each pan — into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
- To make the frosting: Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature. Alternatively: Melt in the microwave at 30 second to 1-minute intervals until spreadable.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add the chocolate to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don’t whip. Spread immediately on the cooled cake.
- Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Cake
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
301 Comments on “Beatty’s Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream”
Ali, This is the most decadent, moist chocolate cake ever! I ordered Callebaut for the icing since I figured if it’s recommended by Ina it should make this frosting incredible. And my goodness! Lucious! I used cocoa powder instead of flour for the pans. I left the sides naked since that lucious frosting is almost (just almost) too much. This cake was fought over by my family. My 9 (soon to be 10) year old niece has requested one for her birthday. Thank you for making me look like a professional baker. And your peasant bread has also changed my life…best grilled cheese bread ever (if it lasts that long after coming out of the oven). Love your site. Thank you for all you do. With kind regards, Kristin C
Awwwww 🙂 🙂 🙂 It’s so nice to read all of this, Kristin! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. I think I need to order some Callebaut!
Can I half this recipe? Making this for my daughter’s birthday. Thank you!
Yes!
I love this recipe and I used it from your site because I’m recently a cook-by-weight convert. Thank you for those measurements. Made the cake to a T and cut the chocolate by a third in the frosting and subbed a bit of whipping cream. It made such a light frosting that wasn’t overly decadent. I decorated with some strawberry roses which are surprisingly easy to make!
Thank you for all that you do for us amateurs 🙂
So nice to read all of this, Hilary! And yay for converting to baking by weight… once you start, you can’t go back! Your frosting sounds lovely!! Will try. Thanks for writing!
Do you add a yoke to the buttercream? Your directions don’t mention it, but the photos show it. I’m going to make it this week.
Thank you
I omit it now and don’t notice a difference! You can if you want the added richness I suppose, but again, I find the difference indiscernible.
I was looking for the recipe for Beatty’s Chocolate Cake with weight measurements. Thank you! I see that you omitted the instant coffee from the buttercream. I did not scroll through all the past comments so I don’t know if you have addressed this before. Is the instant coffee unnecessary to the buttercream? Thank you!
I find it to be unnecessary but add it if you wish! I never have instant coffee on hand, which is why I don’t add it 🙂
You didn’t add the coffee to the buttercream, was that intentional? I watched Be My Guest with Julia Louis Dreyfus and they made this cake and buttercream.
I skipped it the first time I made it, and it turned out great, so I’ve never used it. Absolutely add it if you’d like 🙂
Hello! I am making this for my friend’s birthday, but I’m in Europe (Croatia) and not sure if I’ll find buttermilk. Is there an alternative I can use, for example just using milk? I read that people will use vinegar in milk to create buttermilk but I’m worried that will affect the taste. Thank you for your help!
Hi! You can scale this recipe up as needed:
Place 2 teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Fill cup with milk until it reaches the 1/2-cup line. Let stand for five minutes. Use as directed.
Hi Ale. I love this cake, so delicious! If I were to make muffins with this dough – for how long should I bake them? Would that be the same timing as the cake? Thank you
Hi Natalia! For muffins, I’d start checking them at 18-20 minutes.