This triple chocolate cake with homemade chocolate butter cream frosting is the cure for any chocolate craving. With cake mix, pudding, and chocolate chips, it's the perfect cake to make for any special occasion. This moist cake can be made in a bundt or sheet pan and comes out moist and light every time. The chocolate buttercream frosting is made from scratch.
Is your mouth watering? It should be.
I turned a plain old cake mix and a few humble add-ins into a moist and decadent chocolate masterpiece for my dad's birthday. I felt like Jesus, feeding the masses with a couple of loaves.
Well, except that this cake didn't feed the masses. It was so good that everyone wanted a second slice, and every crumb was gone before the sun set on my dad's birthday.
So I guess it wasn't much like Jesus after all. You'll love it anyway.
Why this is the best triple chocolate cake recipe
This cake is a chocolate lover's dream. Chocolate cake with chocolate pudding and chocolate chips, topped with homemade chocolate frosting? I can think of nothing better. (It's really quadruple chocolate cake, but that didn't sound as good as "triple chocolate cake.")
Most "triple chocolate cake" recipes on the internet are chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate chips or chocolate whipped cream. Those cakes do not have chocolate cake with chocolate pudding mixed in - and chocolate chips right in the batter! Mine is the most chocolatey triple chocolate cake recipe you can find!
You are going to add sour cream, eggs, and oil to a boxed cake mix which makes an incredibly moist crumb with a light fudgy texture. It's perfectly moist without being soggy or dense.
This recipe is versatile. I've made mine a bundt cake because it's easy to cut and serve, but you could just as well make a cake with two or three layers. A layer cake will require more frosting, so be prepared to double or triple the homemade buttercream recipe below.
This is a super simple, one-bowl recipe. You will mix the cake - dry and wet ingredients - all in one bowl. The chocolate buttercream frosting is also prepared in one bowl. If you wanted to, you could wash the bowl while the cake is baking and cooling, and you would only need one bowl, period!
This triple chocolate cake mix uses only a handful of common ingredients that can be found in any grocery store.
What you'll need to make the best triple chocolate cake
EQUIPMENT
- Bundt pan - I like to make this in a bundt pan because it's easy to cut and serve. If you want to make it in a pan of a different shape, go for it. You may need to adjust the cooking time. A more shallow pan will cook more quickly, and cupcakes will cook even quicker than a shallow pan.
- Electric mixer - When I had a stand mixer, I used that. But I lost it in a house fire and haven't replaced it, so I just use an electric hand mixer now. It works just fine.
- Cooling rack - You will need to let the cake cool in the bundt pan for 30 minutes, and it is nice to have a wire rack to allow airflow all around the bundt pan.
INGREDIENTS
See the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page for all measurements and nutritional information.
For the cake
- Devil's food cake mix - We are using a cake mix to shortcut the process. If you don't want to use box mix, you will have to measure and mix all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, natural cocoa powder, and salt. There is a time and place for all that, but this is a quick and easy recipe, so we're not doing it here. You can use a chocolate fudge cake mix too.
- Instantย chocolate pudding mix -ย I have used chocolate fudge and plain chocolate. I like the chocolate fudge best.
- Sour cream - This makes the cake moist and delicious.
- Vegetable oilย - Don't use olive oil! It will make your cake taste weird. Trust me on this. You can use any flavorless oil; I've used canola and found it to work fine.
- Largeย eggs - These should be at room temperature for best results. If you have forgotten to leave them out on the counter, you can place them in a glass of hot water for 10 minutes.
- Warm water - You need this to break up the chocolate cake mix. Hot coffee will also work and will enhance the chocolate flavor of the cake. I don't drink coffee (and don't have any in the house), so I just use plain water.
- Semi-sweetย chocolate chips - This is the third chocolate in the triple chocolate cake. I use semisweet chocolate because milk would be overly sweet, I think. You could also use chocolate chunks or a chopped baking chocolate bar.
- Chopped pecansย - These are optional but really add something nice to the cake.
For the homemade chocolate butter cream
- Softenedย butterย - Use butter and only butter - don't try to substitute something here, not even margarine. I generally use unsalted butter in baked goods, but don't worry if you only have salted. It doesn't make a huge difference. It should be room temperature.
- Powdered sugar - This is also called icing sugar or 10x sugar. You cannot use granulated white sugar in this recipe. It will make a gritty frosting that is unpleasant to eat.
- Unsweetenedย cocoa powder - You need cocoa powder to make chocolate frosting. I use the Hershey's brand, but any unsweetened natural cocoa powder will be fine. You can also use Dutch-process cocoa powder if that's what you have.
- Vanilla bean paste - Vanilla bean paste is concentrated vanilla extract with vanilla beans crushed up in it. It's got an Elmers glue kind of consistency, and it has a richer vanilla flavor than vanilla extract. I use vanilla bean paste exclusively in my kitchen. If you don't have it, you can use an equal amount of vanilla extract, but don't skip it! Even though this is a chocolate flavor frosting, you still need a bit of vanilla flavor to balance out the bitter cocoa powder.
- Wholeย milkย - You can use any dairy or non-dairy milk. The purpose of the milk is to thin the frosting and make it pourable. I like whole milk because it is creamy, but use what you have. You could also use some heavy cream or buttermilk if you wanted to go extra rich.
How to make a triple chocolate cake
- Preheat oven to 350ยบF.
- Prepare the cake batter. Whisk the dry cake mix and dry pudding together in a large mixing bowl.
- Add sour cream, vegetable oil, eggs, and water.
- Mix well. The finished batter will be very stiff, like brownie batter.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.
- Make sure they are evenly distributed throughout the batter, but don't over mix, as this will make your cake tough.
- Prepare the pan. Grease a bundt pan by spraying with butter-flavor cooking spray or putting some butter on a paper towel and rubbing it over the pan.
- Bake the cake. Spoon the batter into the pan.
- Smooth it out so there are no holes.
- Bake the cake at 350ยบF for 50 to 60 minutes. Be careful because this cake can be testy. I checked it at 50 minutes, and it was gelatinous, hardly set up at all. I put my daughter to bed and came back at 60 minutes, and the edges were beginning to blacken and the top was slightly burned. Once the amazing frosting was on it, you couldn't taste the burned parts, but I knew they were there. So you might want to check every 3-5 minutes starting at 50.
- Cool the cake. Allow the cake to cool in the bundt pan for about a half hour.
- Turn it out onto a cake plate or platter. Cool completely before frosting.
How to make homemade chocolate butter cream frosting
As above, you will most likely need a stand mixer or electric handheld mixer to make the frosting. I understand that women made buttercream a hundred years ago without electric mixers, but let's get real. You don't want to have to do that.
- Soften the butter. You don't want melted butter. You want slightly softened butter. So you can leave it out all day on the counter, or you can put it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds at a time, until it is soft but not liquid. Liquid butter will not work.
- Make the frosting. The first step is to cream the butter. This means beating the softened butter with a whisk or mixer until it is smooth and creamy, sort of like sour cream. Getting the right consistency generally takes 2-3 minutes of beating.
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa, and vanilla.
- Add the powdered sugar mixture to the creamed butter slowly, incorporating as you go.
- Adjust the consistency. The recipe calls for ยฝ cup of milk, but don't use that much at first. Add the milk a little at a time until the frosting is just thin enough to spread easily. You may add more or less than ยฝ cup.
- Taste the frosting. The first batch I made was too bitter, so I had to add more powdered sugar to the frosting. Mix well and add more powdered sugar and milk as needed to achieve the correct flavor and consistency.
When the cake is fully cooled, you can frost it and serve.
Cook's tips for the best chocolate cake
Always grease your pan! Bundt cakes especially like to stick, so make sure the pan is well-greased. I have been using butter-flavored cooking spray a lot lately, but it is also good to use actual butter and rub that into all the nooks and crannies of the pan. Then you can dust the butter with a bit of cocoa powder, roll it around to coat all the surfaces, and then tap out any extra over the trash can or sink.
Don't use melted butter in cake batter. I suppose there are some cake recipes that can handle melted butter, but as a rule, cakes are more moist and have better crumb when you use vegetable or canola oil in the batter, as opposed to melted butter.
Don't over-mix the batter! You want the dry ingredients to be evenly moist, and you will want the chocolate chips and pecans to be evenly distributed, but mix the batter as little as possible to ensure both of those things. If you over-mix your cake batter, the cake will be tough and dry.
Try replacing the hot water in the recipe with strong coffee. You won't be able to taste the coffee in the finished cake, but it will enhance the chocolate flavor.
Always use room-temperature ingredients when baking unless the recipe calls for something that's hot or cold. Room temperature ingredients mix more easily and result in a more evenly mixed and more evenly baked cake.
Be patient! It's very tempting to try to frost your cake straight out of the oven, but you really must wait. First, if you try to remove a bundt cake from the pan too soon, it will crumble. Second, if you try to frost a hot cake, the frosting will melt and be ruined. So please, do yourself a favor, and let the cake cool fully before frosting it.
What's a 5x chocolate cake called? I don't know, but you could add yet another layer of chocolatey goodness by drizzling the frosted cake with chocolate ganache. It's a simple 2-ingredient recipe that you can make in under 5 minutes and add to your decadent chocolate cake.
Can I bake a triple chocolate cake in a different pan?
A triple chocolate cake does not have to be a bundt cake, but using a different pan will require different cooking times. I am providing approximate cooking times for different pans below, but please check your cake often, like every 3-5 minutes. If you over-bake your cake, it will be dry and possibly burnt.
24 cupcakes: 18 to 23 minutes
Two 8-inch round baking pans: 35 minutes
Two 9-inch round baking pans: 30 minutes
Two 8 x 8 or 9 x 9-inch baking pans: 25 to 35 minutes
10-inch spring form pan: 45 minutes
9x13-inch pan (ยผ sheet cake): 30 minutes
10x15-inch jelly roll cake: 25 minutes
10-inch loaf cake: 25 minutes
How to serve triple chocolate bundt cake
I like to serve this cake with a big scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream and a dollop of real whipped cream. Alternately, because it's already rich, you may just want to serve it with some fresh raspberries or strawberries, as pictured.
Storing leftover triple chocolate cake
You can store this cake at room temperature for a day or two, but the buttercream could sour if you're storing it longer than that. If you plan to keep it longer, you will need to wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge.
It's a delicate balance because baked goods when stored in the fridge, get stale pretty quickly. But homemade buttercream left at room temperature will spoil, so you have to pick one or the other.
You can also freeze triple chocolate cake. I don't recommend freezing a whole cake, but you can freeze individual slices. Wrap each slice tightly with several layers of plastic wrap, and then wrap the plastic wrap with aluminum foil. Place those packages in a plastic freezer bag in the freezer for up to three months. To serve, allow to come to room temperature on the counter overnight.
Triple chocolate cake tastes best when served at room temperature, so allow chilled or frozen cake to warm up before serving.
Alternately, if you know you're going to need to keep the cake for more than a day or two, you could skip the homemade chocolate frosting and "ice" the cake with a layer of chocolate ganache or even hot fudge instead. Ganache and fudge frosting are heavier than buttercream (being that they are just chocolate and heavy cream, rather than powdered sugar and butter), but a chocolate glaze will stay good at room temperature for a lot longer than the butter cream will.
Check out these other chocolate desserts while you're here:
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Cherry Cake
- Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake
- Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
- The Very Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Mini Chocolate Bundt Cakes
- Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake
Recipe
Triple Chocolate Cake with Homemade Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 Devil's food cake mix
- 1 small box chocolate pudding I used chocolate fudge.
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup vegetable oil Don't use olive oil! It will make your cake taste weird. Trust me on this.
- 4 eggs beaten in a small bowl
- ยฝ cup warm water
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped pecans optional
For the homemade chocolate butter cream
- ยฝ cups butter softened (use butter and only butter - don't try to substitute something here, not even margarine)
- 2ยพ cups powdered sugar
- โ cups cocoa powder
- ยพ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- ยฝ cups milk more or less as needed
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ยบF.
- Whisk the cake mix and pudding together in a large bowl. Add sour cream, vegetable oil, eggs, and water. Mix well. It will be very stiff, like brownie batter. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans to distribute throughout the batter.
- Spoon the batter into a well-greased bundt pan. I use butter-flavored cooking spray to make my pan well-greased.
- Bake at 350ยบF for 50-60 minutes.
- Cool the cake for a half hour in the pan, then invert onto a platter or pretty plate.
For the frosting
- Cream the butter.
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa, and vanilla. Add this to the creamed butter slowly, incorporating as you go.
- Add milk a little at a time until the frosting is just thin enough to spread easily. You may add more or less than ยฝ cup.
- Taste the frosting, and add more powdered sugar if needed.
The Working Home Keeper says
Wow, that cake looks so delicious and moist! I'm definitely going to try this recipe!
Mary Ellen
The Working Home Keeper