Rich, moist, and intensely chocolatey, this decadent Black Magic Cake will become your go-to chocolate cake for any occasion. This foolproof recipe guarantees flavor with buttermilk, high-quality cocoa, and a bit of espresso. Perfect for the chocolate lover in your life!
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🍰 Whether for birthdays, holidays, or “just because” moments, this foolproof recipe works beautifully as layer cakes, sheet cakes, or even cupcakes.
My 2 Best Tips For Making Black Magic Cake
#1 – Combining Eggs & Hot Water: You have to be a little careful when adding boiling water and eggs in the same step, or the boiling water can cook/curdle your eggs! As you’ll see in the recipe instructions, the hot water will be mixed into the dry ingredients first, and then the egg mixture will be incorporated. Just follow the steps in that order, and you won’t have any issues.
#2 – Full Fat Buttermilk: I highly recommend using full fat buttermilk in this recipe, not low fat. The texture and taste of the cake will be affected if low fat milk is used. If you’re making a substitute version of buttermilk with vinegar or lemon juice, use whole milk and not skim.
This cake is easy to make with kitchen staple ingredients, but the result is always impressive. Dense, moist, rich, and coated in a silky smooth fudge frosting. What’s not to love?
This frosting is luxurious and soft. It is not a stiff buttercream. In fact, it doesn’t pipe all that well, so go ahead and use a simple butter knife to decorate your cake.
I highly recommend a really, really good cocoa for this recipe since it’s one of the main flavor components. I used King Arthur’s Triple Cocoa Blend, and it worked beautifully!
🩷 Melissa
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Black Magic Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1-¾ cups sugar
- 1-¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup good quality cocoa I used King Arthur Triple Cocoa Blend.
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 ¼ cup full fat buttermilk
- ¼ teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 cup boiling water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Fudge Frosting:
- ¾ cup butter melted
- 1 cup good quality cocoa
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Cake:
- Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan. (Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper if making a layer cake so the layers will turn out easily.)
- Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
- Add eggs, buttermilk, espresso powder, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 30 seconds until mixed.
- Add dry ingredient mixture to the mixer and mix on low briefly until it's starting to mix. With the mixer on low, gently add in the hot water and mix for 1-2 minutes until thoroughly combined, scraping the sides of the bowl. Batter will be thin.
- Pour batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
Make the Frosting:
- Place melted butter in large mixer bowl. Add cocoa, stirring until smooth.
- Gradually beat in powdered sugar, milk and vanilla, beating until smooth. If necessary add additional milk, ½ teaspoon at a time, beating until spreading consistency. Frost cake after the cake has cooled. Makes about 3 cups of frosting.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe FAQs
The name “Black Magic Cake” refers to the cake’s intensely dark color and its seemingly magical ability to remain incredibly moist for days. The rich, dark chocolate flavor combined with the cake’s velvety texture creates an enchanting dessert experience that feels almost supernatural in its perfection.
While you can skip the espresso powder if you don’t have it, I highly recommend using it. The espresso powder doesn’t make the cake taste like coffee – it enhances and deepens the chocolate flavor. It’s a secret ingredient many professional bakers use to elevate chocolate desserts.
Yes! This cake actually becomes even more flavorful a day after baking. You can bake the layers up to 2 days in advance, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and store at room temperature. The frosted cake can be refrigerated for up to 5 days – just bring to room temperature before serving for the best texture and flavor.
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Did you try this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ rating below and share it on Instagram.
Pam
I’m at 6000 ft altitude and if I go by king Arthur’s suggestions, your math is a bit off for leavening – and for the baking time and oven temp.
What altitude was your recipe for? I’m at 6000 ft in NM. King Arthur suggests 1 tsp of baking soda and 1/2 tsp of baking powder (again, for 6000 ft altitude). They also suggested lowering oven by about 15 degrees to 335 and decrease bake time for round pans to about 22 min to 27 mins. Can you advise? Thank you!
Melissa Griffiths
You can go by either suggestions.
black magic removal
You’re doing a fantastic process Man, Keep it up.
Shirley Schoemann
This cake was unbelievable. My family loved it. This cake was moist the entire 9 x 13 pan. Can’t wait to make it again.
Nancy
Will this recipe also work at sea level, where I live? or will adjustments need to be made?
Thanks.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Nancy – at sea level you’ll use 2 cups granulated sugar, 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 2 teaspoons baking soda, and 1 cup buttermilk, no changes to the other ingredients. Enjoy!
Kim
Would this recipe be suitable for 3 thousand ft. I have been afraid to try .
Thanks
Barbara Schieving
Hi Kim – 3,000 feet is generally considered high altitude, so this cake would be suitable for you. Here’s more info on high altitude baking https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking Enjoy!
Lindsey Ullom
Any advice for turning this into cupcakes? I’m new to baking at altitude. Thanks!
Barbara Schieving
Hi Lindsey – I haven’t tried it, but you shouldn’t have to make any additional changes for cupcakes. Just fill muffin tins about 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let me know if you tried it.
Marsha
My granddaughter has requested a chocolate koala shaped cake for her birthday so I’ve been testing high altitude recipes, looking for what will be my new “go to” chocolate cake. I think this is it! The first test of this recipe I baked a 9″ square and a 6″ round. They came out fine. I’ve now made another one in a 9 x 13 pan — I think the larger pan is trickier at altitude. On cooling, it has sunk in the middle — not horribly, but still sunken. Is there something I could try to see if this can be fixed? Should I add a couple tablespoons more flour or another egg? I do follow directions well! I live in Denver, CO.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Marsha – I love that you’re making a koala cake for your granddaughter for her birthday and that you’re testing recipes to get it just right. So sweet!
Here’s a link to the guide I like to use to convert recipes. http://cityhomecountryhome.blogspot.com/2010/08/high-altitude-baking-and-candy-making.html. Since it’s sinking just a little and the others came out fine, I might try just raising the oven temperature to 375° or just decreasing the leavening and sugar a little bit more. Share a picture of it on my Facebook page when you’ve finished making it. I’d love to see it.
Marsha
Thank you so much. I’ll make those notes and try the sugar and leavening adjustments next time. I did bake at 375 — forgot to tell you that part. I’ll also check the website you suggested.
BRC
THANK YOU! Black Magic is my “secret family recipe” and I’ve made it for all of my kid’s birthdays. We moved to New Mexico just before a birthday earlier this year and I was in tears after too many failed attempts at my old recipe. I found your altered recipe, almost identical to “mine”(the only difference being the amount of baking soda) and decided to give it one more go. IT CAME OUT PERFECT!!!!!!
Stacie
I know this recipe was posted a while back so hopefully you still get notifications regarding comments on it! 🙂
Thank you (THANK YOU) for posting an altitude adjusted recipe – I don’t see those very often. I notice the recipe calls for both BP & BS, so does that mean it doesn’t matter if the cocoa is natural or dutch processed? I’ve been trying to Google all morning to try & wrap my head round the whole N vs DP, and thought I had it until I saw the recipe using both powder & soda.
The Hershey’s I have is natural, and I thought the King Arthur Cocoa’s were dutch processed, so I don’t know which one to use LOL. Help! 🙂
Barbara Schieving
Hi Stacie – yes, go ahead and use the Hershey’s natural that you have. The King Arthur All-Purpose Baking Cocoa now called a triple cocoa blend http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/triple-cocoa-blend-16-oz is a blend of cocoas that works “in every recipe calling for unsweetened natural or dutch cocoa.” If you get a chance, give the King Arthur’s cocoa a try. I’m in love with it. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Stacie
Thanks so much for the quick reply Barbara, I really appreciate it!!
I will definitely give that blend a go, would really makes things easier (for me LOL) if I didn’t have to worry so much about which recipe will work with which cocoa. And of course, adjustments for altitude. Who knew there would be so much science behind making a cake ^_^.
Gheetha Mathew
yum……one of my favourite…..thanku for your chocalaty recipe.
sarah k @ the pajama chef
what a great recipe! beautiful cake 🙂
Jenna
I love how some of the best recipes for things come off the back of packages. To this day, my enchilada recipe that I LOVE is from the back of the can of green enchilada sauce. This cake looks fantastic, definitely pinning for a future dessert idea. I loved looking through your blog this month, you have a ton of great recipes!
Cheah
Your boys sure look handsome! The black magic cake looks stunning too….. bookmarked!
DessertForTwo
Wow! I love a good magic cake!
The photos of your sons are adorable! And look at those pretty young girls!