Dark Chocolate Cake with Buttermilk Pecan Frosting
This Dark Chocolate Cake with Buttermilk Pecan Frosting is off-the-hook amazing! That dark, almost black, moist cake topped with sweet, buttermilk-based frosting that’s loaded with chopped pecans is almost too good to be true. Even more unbelievable is how easy it is to make!
This recipe uses dark cocoa powder, which tends to be a little less sweet. Coffee is a flavor-enhancer, but you won’t taste coffee, just depth. Finally, the buttermilk in the cake batter makes it incredibly moist. My mouth is watering just looking at the pics!
Do yourself a favor and bake this NOW!
Like most sheet cakes, we first combine all the dry ingredients. Once whisked, add in the eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. The batter will be dark and very runny.
Pour into a prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a tester comes out without any crumbs.
To make the frosting, heat the butter, cocoa powder and buttermilk in a saucepan until the butter is melted and the ingredients are mixed together.
Off the heat, add the vanilla and confectioners’ sugar, stirring until you have a pancake batter consistency. Add the pecans to the frosting.
This cake is best when warm, so after the cake cools for about 15 minutes, go ahead and pour the frosting over the cake. Let it sit for about an hour before cutting it.
If you are serving it after it has cooled completely (like the next morning for breakfast), feel entirely good about popping it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to heat it back up!
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Dark Chocolate Cake with Buttermilk Pecan Frosting
Makes: 15 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 1 & 3/4 cup (210 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (90 g) dark cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs, beaten, room temperature
- 1 cup coffee, room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
Buttermilk Pecan Frosting:
- 1 cup butter
- 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder, sifted
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
Instructions
Chocolate Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9×13-inch baking pan by greasing it or lining it with parchment.
In a large bowl combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and stir using a spatula or whisk until ingredients are fully combined. The batter will be dark and very runny.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes. Start checking at 30 minutes, and if the cake jiggles at all or an inserted toothpick is removed with wet batter, the cake is not done. When an inserted toothpick is removed with a few crumbs (not clean!) the cake is done.
Buttermilk Pecan Frosting:
In a saucepan, heat the butter, cocoa powder, and buttermilk on medium-low heat until butter is melted. Stir occasionally to incorporate ingredients.
Remove from heat and add the vanilla. Add confectioners sugar 1 cup at a time. Depending on the humidity and your kitchen circumstances, you may be able to use less confectioners sugar. You want the frosting to be like a runny pancake batter.
Add pecans to the frosting or pour frosting over the pecans. Stir.
Assembly:
When cake has cooled for at least 15 minutes, pour frosting over the cake. Let sit for about 1 hour before cutting, or refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Recipe from I Am Baker
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