Cream Cheese Chocolate Cake Recipe
Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a classic dessert that will never go out of style. Rich, moist cake studded with big chunks of chocolate is topped with thick swirls of tangy cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cake:
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ stick unsalted butter, melted 4 tablespoons
- ¾ cup buttermilk at room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream at room temperature
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup hot water
- 8 ounces dark chocolate roughly chopped, or chocolate chunks
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature 8 tablespoons
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice about 1 large lemon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Make the Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper, then spray parchment with cooking spray
- In medium bowl, whisk flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, instant espresso, baking soda, baking powder and salt until well combined.
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, mix eggs, butter, buttermilk, sour cream, oil and vanilla on medium-high speed 30 seconds or until combined. Scrape down sides of bowl.
- Add hot water and flour mixture. Mix on medium speed 30 seconds or until just combined, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl once halfway through. Do not over mix. Gently fold in chopped chocolate.
- Divide batter between prepared pans. Transfer to oven and bake 24 to 26 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of each layer comes out clean. Transfer pans to cooling rack and allow cake to cool in pans completely before turning cakes out to assemble.
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, cream cheese, lemon juice and vanilla 2 to 3 minutes or until light and creamy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until all sugar is incorporated and mixture is smooth.
- To assemble, place one cake layer on cake serving plate. Evenly spread top of cake layer with half of frosting. Place 5 to 6 toothpicks in bottom cake layer before placing top cake layer over them. Spread top of cake with remaining frosting. Slice and serve right away, or store refrigerated up to 3 days.
Notes
- Anything with cream cheese or buttercream frosting, including this chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting, needs to be covered and stored in the refrigerator for food safety. So get this into the fridge after you have your first serving!
- For best flavor, bring the cake (or even just a slice or two) to room temperature before eating, if you can wait that long. If not, cold cake is one of my secret pleasures.
Calories: 751kcal, Carbohydrates: 108g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 35g, Saturated Fat: 18g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 0.5g, Cholesterol: 85mg, Sodium: 412mg, Potassium: 329mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 85g, Vitamin A: 738IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 98mg, Iron: 4mg
This website provides estimated nutrition information as a courtesy only. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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