{"slug":"chocolate-butter-cake","collection":"recipes","is_recipe":true,"visibility":"public","title":"Chocolate Butter Cake","description":"A deeply chocolaty, moist two-layer butter cake made with melted unsweetened chocolate and cocoa, with a tender crumb that pairs beautifully with cherry cream cheese frosting.","body_md":"\n-   Deeply chocolaty, moist cake with a nice crumb.\n-   Makes two 9\" rounds.\n-   Goes very well with **Cherry Cream Cheese Frosting**.\n\n\n\n## Source\n\n-   http://www.joyofbaking.com/ChocolateButterCake.html\n\n## Special Equipment\n\n-   Two 9\" round cake pans\n-   Parchment paper\n-   Stand Mixer\n\n## Preheat Oven\n\nPreheat oven to 350° F\n\n## Ingredients\n\n-   120g unsweetened chocolate, chopped\n-   30g unsweetened cocoa powder\n-   240ml (1 cup) boiling water\n-   295g all purpose flour\n-   2 teaspoons baking powder\n-   1 teaspoon baking soda\n-   ¼ teaspoon salt\n-   226g (8oz) unsalted butter, room temperature\n-   400g (14oz) granulated white sugar\n-   3 large eggs\n-   2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract\n-   1 cup (240 ml) milk\n\n## Preparation\n\n### Prepare Cake Pans\n\n1.  Butter two 9\" round cake pans.\n2.  Cut to fit a single sheet of parchment for each of the rounds; affix\n    to the inside bottom of buttered pans.\n3.  Butter the parchment.\n4.  Lightly flour; shake out any loose residue.\n\n### Melt Chocolate\n\n1.  In a heatproof bowl, combine chopped unsweetened chocolate and cocoa\n    powder.\n2.  Add 240ml (1 cup) boiling water.\n3.  Whisk till smooth.\n4.  Set aside; cool to room temperature.\n\n### Combine Dry Ingredients\n\nIn a medium sized bowl, sift or whisk together:\n\n-   Flour\n-   Baking powder\n-   Baking soda\n-   Salt\n\n### Using Stand Mixer\n\nUse a stand mixer, on mostly medium speed, to beat butter, sugar, and\neggs. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.\n\n1.  Using a stand mixer, beat butter until smooth.\n2.  While continuing to beat, gradually add sugar; beat till fluffy-\n    about 3 minutes.\n3.  Add eggs, one at a time; mix well after each addition.\n4.  Add vanilla.\n5.  Add cooled chocolate mixture; beat till combined.\n\n### Add Dry Ingredients and Milk\n\nWith stand mixer set to low/stir, add the dry ingredients and milk in\nalternating additions; just till combined. Begin and end with dry\ningredients:\n\n1.  1/3 dry\n2.  ½ milk\n3.  1/3 dry\n4.  ½ milk\n5.  1/3 dry\n\n## Divide Batter and Bake\n\n1.  Evenly divide batter into prepared cake pans.\n2.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes.\n3.  Test for done-ness: toothpick inserted onto the middle should come\n    out clean.\n\n## Cool\n\n1.  Cool for 10 minutes\n2.  Turn out cakes onto wire rack, remove parchment, and cool\n    completely.\n\n\n## Notes\n\n- **Unit repair (2026-07-30):** the ounce figures here were placeholders rather than conversions — small weights had been written \"(1oz)\", middling ones \"(2oz)\" or \"(3oz)\", regardless of the actual gram value. The gram weights are correct and are unchanged; only the bogus ounce fragments are removed. A spoon or cup measure sharing the same parentheses is kept, since that one is real.\n\n","draft":false,"servings":"12","prep_time":"25 minutes","cook_time":"40 minutes","total_time":"1 hour 5 minutes","source_name":"JoyOfBaking.com","source_url":"http://www.joyofbaking.com/ChocolateButterCake.html","created_at":"2014-12-01T04:19:11Z","updated_at":"2026-08-27T21:27:31.974786Z","categories":["dessert"],"tags":["chocolate"],"methods":["Baked"],"themes":["Vegetarian"],"ingredients":[{"section":"","items":["-   120g unsweetened chocolate, chopped","-   30g unsweetened cocoa powder","-   240ml (1 cup) boiling water","-   295g all purpose flour","-   2 teaspoons baking powder","-   1 teaspoon baking soda","-   ¼ teaspoon salt","-   226g (8oz) unsalted butter, room temperature","-   400g (14oz) granulated white sugar","-   3 large eggs","-   2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract","-   1 cup (240 ml) milk"],"parsed":[{"raw":"-   120g unsweetened chocolate, chopped","qty":120,"unit":"g","item":"unsweetened chocolate","prep":"chopped"},{"raw":"-   30g unsweetened cocoa powder","qty":30,"unit":"g","item":"unsweetened cocoa powder"},{"raw":"-   240ml (1 cup) boiling water","qty":240,"unit":"ml","item":"boiling water"},{"raw":"-   295g all purpose flour","qty":295,"unit":"g","item":"all purpose flour"},{"raw":"-   2 teaspoons baking powder","qty":2,"unit":"tsp","item":"baking powder"},{"raw":"-   1 teaspoon baking soda","qty":1,"unit":"tsp","item":"baking soda"},{"raw":"-   ¼ teaspoon salt","qty":0.25,"unit":"tsp","item":"salt"},{"raw":"-   226g (8oz) unsalted butter, room temperature","qty":226,"unit":"g","item":"unsalted butter","prep":"room temperature"},{"raw":"-   400g (14oz) granulated white sugar","qty":400,"unit":"g","item":"granulated white sugar"},{"raw":"-   3 large eggs","qty":3,"item":"large eggs"},{"raw":"-   2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract","qty":2,"unit":"tsp","item":"pure vanilla extract"},{"raw":"-   1 cup (240 ml) milk","qty":1,"unit":"cup","item":"milk"}]}],"related":[{"slug":"cherry-cream-cheese-frosting","title":"Cherry Cream Cheese Frosting","relation":"accompaniment"}],"servings_int":12,"qc":{"status":"passed","last_checked_at":"2026-08-27T21:28:38.445053Z","checked_by":"robert@sigler.io","standard_version":"2026-07-30","findings_count":0,"stale":false}}