Description
A decadent, deep-cocoa cake with a striking black color and a moist, velvet-like crumb. Perfectly paired with cream cheese frosting for a dramatic Halloween dessert.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups cake flour
- 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1–2 teaspoons black gel food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- Cream together softened butter and sugar until pale and fluffy using a mixer.
- Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla extract and black gel coloring.
- Sift together cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with buttermilk.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely before frosting.