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Dark Chocolate Cake With Whipped Cream Frosting

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Let me show you a new to me recipe for the best Dark Chocolate Cake With Whipped Cream Frosting.  Birthdays will never be the same around here!

A slice of Dark Chocolate Cake With Whipped Cream Frosting on a plate with a fork.

I come from a long line of pie lovers… which means you won’t find cake at most of our family gatherings, even birthdays.  We snub our noses at store bought cakes and are proud to be on TEAM PIE… So it’s no surprise to me that I only have a handful of cake recipes here on Lovely Little Kitchen.  But this Dark Chocolate Cake With Whipped Cream Frosting is a game changer for me!  I made it for my husband’s birthday recently after he specifically requested a cake (WHAT?) and I’m so glad he did.

A slice of Dark Chocolate Cake With Whipped Cream Frosting on a plate with a fork, and the rest of the cake on a cake stand in the background along with a small wood bowl of chocolate sprinkles.

It’s so easy to make, requiring one bowl, regular all-purpose flour, and a hand mixer.  Nothing fancy, and nothing I can’t handle even though cake is something I probably make once a year.  And it’s so delicious!!! Super moist and fudgy, with a rich chocolate flavor without being too sweet.

A slice of Dark Chocolate Cake With Whipped Cream Frosting on a plate with a fork, and the rest of the cake on a cake stand in the background.

The frosting I paired with it is my homemade whipped cream with some dark chocolate cocoa powder added to it.  It keeps beautifully in the fridge so you can make it even a couple days ahead of time.

A slice of Dark Chocolate Cake With Whipped Cream Frosting on a plate, with the rest of the cake on a cake stand in the background.

Since I’m not too fancy with my cakes, I kept the decorations simple by smoothing out the sides, dragging a spoon in a spiral shape on top, and tossing on a few sprinkles.  We can do this! I even piped a few dots of extra frosting around the bottom edge to cover up a slight gap.  Frosting covers a multitude of sins, my friends.

A slice of Dark Chocolate Cake With Whipped Cream Frosting on a plate, sitting next to the rest of the cake on a cake stand and a small wood bowl of chocolate sprinkles.

The recipe for this Dark Chocolate Cake came from my neighbor, who found it on the side of the Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder container.  I adapted it just slightly, and didn’t use the frosting recipe as written because I wanted something lighter than a traditional buttercream.

A slice of Dark Chocolate Cake With Whipped Cream Frosting on a plate along with a fork full of cake, and a small wood bowl of chocolate sprinkles in the background.

If you have something special coming up to celebrate, this is your cake!  I tried to list some cake making tips and tricks that were helpful to me in the recipe below, but I’d love to hear what works for you all too.  Happy Baking!

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Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #lovelylittlekitchen

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Dark Chocolate Cake With Whipped Cream Frosting

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 47 reviews
  • Author: Julie
  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Cook Time: 35 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
  • Yield: 12 servings 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
Print Recipe

Description

This super moist and decadent Dark Chocolate Cake With Whipped Cream Frosting made a cake lover out of me! Try it and you’ll see!

Ingredients

Scale

For the Cake

  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cups dark chocolate cocoa powder (unsweetened)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup oil (I used avocado oil)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon coffee extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

For the Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting

  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
  • 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and spray two nine-inch baking pans with baking spray. Cut four 1 inch by 12 inch strips of parchment paper and arrange them in an “X” across each of the baking pans. This will give you “tabs” to remove the cakes from the pans after they are baked.
  2. In a large bowl, mix sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. Add eggs, milk, oil, and extracts. Beat the ingredients together with a hand mixer on low speed, and then gradually increase to medium speed for about 2 minutes.
  4. Slowly stir in the boiling water by hand. The batter will be very thin. Don’t worry!
  5. Evenly divide the batter between the two baking pans and bake for 33-35 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out mostly clean, or with a few crumbs attached.
  6. Let the pans cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, and then place into the freezer for 1 hour.

For the Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting

  1. Over a large bowl, sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder together. Add heavy cream and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed (carefully at first) and gradually increase the speed to high as the mixture thickens. After about 3-4 minutes, you will have stiff peaks in the cream and it will be ready to use for frosting.

To Assemble

  1. Place a few more strips of parchment or wax paper around the edge of your cake plate or pan. This will keep the surface clean while you are frosting. Place the first cake (domed side down) onto the center of the plate.
  2. Remove the cakes from the freezer, and use the tabs to lift them out.
  3. Scoop about 2 cups of frosting on top of the cake and spread to the edges in an even layer.
  4. Place the second cake (domed side up) on top of the frosting layer. Add more frosting to the top of the cake, and spread to the edges and down the sides. Keep adding more frosting until the cake is completely covered.
  5. Use a knife or offset spatula to smooth the edges. I like to drag a spoon around the top of the cake to make a spiral design. If desired, reserve 1 cup of frosting to pipe around the bottom edge of the cake to cover any gap after you remove the parchment paper strips. Add chocolate sprinkles.
  6. Cover (if possible) and refrigerate until ready to serve. I think this cake tastes best served cold on the day after it is made, which is nice because you can make it ahead and have it all ready to go.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 Piece
  • Calories: 553
  • Sugar: 49g
  • Sodium: 430mg
  • Fat: 29g
  • Saturated Fat: 13g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 13.3g
  • Trans Fat: 0.6g
  • Carbohydrates: 68g
  • Fiber: 1.8g
  • Protein: 6.3g
  • Cholesterol: 89mg

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Comments

  9. Evan says

    I just made this cake and realized it says dark cocoa powder and I have regular cocoa powder at home and that’s what I used . :/ do you think it will turn out as good ?! I didn’t realize till after I started making it and didn’t want to stop and run to the store. I hope it’s still good !

    Reply

  10. Paula says

    I LOVED IT!!!!! I Baked this for a co-worker’s birthday and everyone was licking their plates clean! I am keeping this gem in my pocket 😊 Great recipe that is moist and the frosting makes it so light. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  11. Paula says

    I LOVED IT!!!!! I Baked this for a co-worker’s birthday and everyone was licking their plates clean! I am keeping this gem in my pocket 😊 Great recipe that is moist and the frosting makes it so light. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  13. nabila says

    “Just to say “thank you” We all enjoyed your delicious food and the evening was everything we hoped it would be. Thank you so much.“

    Reply

  15. Raqhel says

    I will be making this cake for my Godfathers 70th birthday this weekend. The family loves chocolate but we’re a no buttercream team lol, so I am really looking forward to the chocolate whipped cream.

    Reply

  18. Nicci W says

    I am making this cake for my dad to take to a group meeting. Will the whipped frosting last 48hrs assembled?

    Reply

  19. Umma's JuBang says

    The cake itself was delicious and moist! Found a chocolate cake that is for a repeat! We have 6 in our family, so this will be made often 🙂 However, the biggest problem was the “whipped frosting.” Totally fail, as it melted quickly and never stood in its place despite how whipped it was. I normally make whipping cream (rather than store bought), so I’m a pro at whipping the heavy whipping cream. The room temp was normal. I applied the cream on the cake quickly and stuck in freezer, yet in an hour it’s running down the plate and beyond. I pick up the glop (making the plate messy and ‘professional’) and reapply the fresh cream. Again, after in freezer for awhile, it does it again. Very very disappointed because I knew this cake would have been absolutely my recipe to keep (both cake and frosting)!!!! What are the possibilities that went wrong?

    Reply

    • Arael says

      Perhaps your cake wasn’t cold enough. As you know from making whipped cream many times before, if you apply heat it will run. You could also try the gelatin trick (I forget the exact amount to add but if you Google ‘stabilize whipped cream with gelatin” you’ll get the full directions). I tend to add gelatin when I want to use the whipped cream for applications like this (frosting a cake where it needs to keep its shape at room temperature for several hours) rather than simply putting it in a bowl to spin on top of pies or tortes. Hope this helps! I’m planning to make this cake tomorrow and will try adding gelatin use to be safe.

      Reply

    • Paige says

      If you use heavy whipping cream, sugar and chocolate pudding mix to make the whipped cream, it will hold up better and not melt as bad.

      Reply

  20. Stasha says

    I can’t find the receipe for the Dark Choc cake with Whipped Cream Frosting. Could you please email it to me, because it looks absolutely delicious ?

    Thank you

    Stasha

    Reply

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