The Only Chocolate Cake Recipe You'll Ever Need With Claire Saffitz | NYT Cooking

Your next baking project is here: In this installment of “Try This at Home,” a series that guides you through different baking projects and techniques, Claire Saffitz is showing us how to make her recipe for chocolate cake.

This is Claire’s platonic ideal of a chocolate layered cake, perfect for adding to your regular baking rotation. Watch on to learn all of her smart tips and tricks.

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[CSaffitz]

Thanks for having me! For additional dessert recipes, be sure to visit my YouTube channel.

[neldormiveglia]

I just love the fact that you get to learn the reasons why some ingredients go in a specific order or why they're added a certain way. Claire is phenomenal and I'm so happy to see her thrive in her element.

[izylmho]

I made this recipe and it's absolutely FIRE. The cakes bake so perfectly!! Sour cream as a substitute for the creme fraishe worked wonderfully! I love how soft this cake is and it holds its shape so well! Thank you so much Claire, this recipe was super fire!!!

[bajaboolie]

I’m not even halfway through this, and I’m so impressed with how well she explains everything. I’m learning things I never knew I wanted to know 😁

[aairrun]

I baked this cake. It was my first ever cake from scratch and it turned out PERFECT! So delicious! Thank you Claire! It's the perfect recipe and you made it so easy to follow. A+++

[isabellarosario]

Ok I never comment but I had to come back to this video to comment. I have tried every chocolate cake recipe under the sun…… they’re always too crumbly, dry, or lack in flavor.
This is truly the best. Perfect in every way. Flavorful, soft, stable. Now, my go-to recipe 🥲
Thank you so much Claire !!

[Lsp]

The absolutely great thing about this is all the tips and tricks to make the cake look and taste fabulous! I'm 60 and just learned some awesome tips: cutting the round parchment, using parchment to keep the plate clean, always frost cut side down (seems obvious and yet😁). Thanks for not assuming we know all the small steps that make this beautiful and a definite keeper!

[monroeglam]

This is the BEST tutorial I have ever seen on anything on YouTube 🤯 She's so smart and she KNOWS her craft 🔥

[nattieruiz]

I have now made this recipy a couple of times (followed it all to the letter no random substitutions) and honestly the cake itself is UNREAL I am not a big cake person but it was amazing! The only thing I would add is that the dark chocolate frosting is very rich, which for me was just a bit much. However I found that if I swapped about 3/4 of the dark chocolate in the frosting to milk that it was much easier to eat especially if you have picky eaters at the table. Regardless of that though this cake is spectacular!!! As always claire does it best and thank you as always for explaining the baking process fully as this would have helped me so much when I was first starting to bake!

[GDChadwell]

Claire, thank you so much for giving us amateurs the confidence and courage to take on baking this cake. I have cooked for my wife and kids for twenty-seven years but never baked anything. Your joy in cooking and helping us be better cooks is appreciated.

[ioanaalina]

Every year, for my birthday, my mother would make a little Joffre chocolate cake. She only had one pan, small and heart-shaped, and she baked the layers one by one. It took her at least half a day to make, bless her, and my favourite part was that I got to clean the chocolate cream off the spoons and the bowl 😂 This cake reminds me a lot of that, it probably tastes amazing and has great texture!

[marycain]

My Hungarian mother’s buttercream included a homemade pudding. When I lived in Germany during the 80’s my German landlady, who was locally famous for her baking, made frosting the same way. Less butter, less sweet, and just delicious!

[babygirl]

She is so thorough and detailed with her demonstration. I love her videos. ❤

[gabriellewhite]

I’ve made this one three times! It’s amazing and the frosting is in my opinion the best part! The most important step I’d say is to not over cook the cake, it can get really dry if you over do it so you have to pay attention to that

[adamax]

This is why I like Claire and her content. She has this deep bag of knowledge about baking and can scientifically explain why she chose to do what method. Shes the baking goat!

[kenbair]

INGREDIENTS

Yield:10 servings

FOR THE CAKE

Room-temperature butter, for greasing the pans
2cups/260 grams cake flour
2¼cups/450 grams granulated sugar
2teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 1 teaspoon Morton kosher salt
1½teaspoons baking soda
1½teaspoons baking powder
1cup/80 grams unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
¾cup/177 grams strong freshly brewed coffee, steaming hot
1cup/240 grams crème fraîche, at room temperature
1tablespoon vanilla extract
5large eggs plus 2 large yolks, at room temperature
¾cup/180 grams neutral oil, such as avocado or vegetable

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM

8ounces/226 grams semisweet chocolate (54 to 64 percent cacao), finely chopped
1cup/240 grams whole milk
½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
3tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
2tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt or ¾ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
4large egg yolks
1¼cups/284 grams unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces, at room temperature
2teaspoons vanilla extract

Add to Your Grocery List
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional Information

PREPARATION

Make the recipe with usWatch

Step 1

Arrange an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and another in the lower third. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat the bottom and sides of 3 (8-inch) cake pans with butter, then line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper and smooth the parchment to eliminate air bubbles.

Step 2

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cake flour, granulated sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder; mix on low speed just until combined.

Step 3

Bloom the cocoa: In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the cocoa powder and hot coffee. Add the crème fraîche and vanilla, then whisk until completely smooth. Set aside.

Step 4

In a separate medium bowl, whisk the 5 whole eggs and 2 yolks until smooth; set aside.

Step 5

Mix the batter: To the stand mixer bowl, add the oil and half of the cocoa mixture; mix on low speed just until the flour is completely coated in the liquid ingredients. Pause the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then mix on medium until smooth and pasty, about 30 seconds. Pause and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again, then add the whisked eggs and remaining cocoa mixture. Beat on medium speed, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl once or twice, until the batter is very silky and has the consistency of thin pancake batter, about 1 minute.

Step 6

Pour the batter into the prepared pans, dividing evenly. (For uniform layers, use a scale – you’ll get about 550 grams of batter per pan.) Transfer the pans to the oven, positioning two on the upper rack and one on the lower, staggering them so the pans above don’t block the one below. Bake, rotating the top two pans side to side and rack to rack after 20 minutes, until the tops of the cakes are domed, springy to the touch and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Step 7

Remove the pans from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Step 8

To make the buttercream, start with the pudding base: Place the chocolate in the clean bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. In a small saucepan, combine the milk and ¼ cup/50 grams of the sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar, then remove from the heat and set aside. In a medium bowl, add the cocoa powder, flour, salt and remaining ¼ cup/50 grams sugar, and whisk until combined. Add the yolks to the bowl and whisk slowly to combine (it will seem very thick at first, but will loosen up), then whisk more vigorously until the mixture is pale, thick and smooth. Whisking the yolk mixture constantly, slowly stream in about half of the warm milk mixture, then whisk the contents of the bowl back into the saucepan. Set the saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, whisking constantly and scraping against the sides, until thick and bubbling, 1 to 3 minutes. Immediately scrape the pudding over the chocolate in the stand mixer bowl.

Step 9

Make the buttercream: Let the pudding mixture sit for a few minutes, so the heat gently melts the chocolate, then mix with the paddle on low speed until the chocolate is completely melted and the pudding is smooth and glossy. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the outside of the bowl is cool to the touch, 10 to 15 minutes. With the mixer running, add the butter a couple of pieces at a time, waiting for each addition to incorporate into the pudding before adding the next, until you have a smooth, glossy, spreadable frosting. Stop the mixer, thoroughly scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and add the vanilla. Beat once more just until evenly mixed.

Step 10

Unmold and level the cakes: Use a butter knife or small offset spatula to cut around the cooled cakes, pressing the blade firmly against the sides of the pans to loosen them. Invert the cakes onto a wire rack, remove the parchment paper if necessary, then invert again onto a second rack or cutting board so they’re domed side up. Holding a serrated knife parallel to the work surface, slice horizontally through the surface of each cake to level the layers. (The scraps are perfect for snacking.)

Step 11

Place one of the layers cut side-down on a serving plate, cake stand or cardboard cake round. Dollop about 1 cup buttercream in the center, then use an offset spatula to spread it evenly all the way to the edges. Place a second layer cut side-down over the first, center it, then top with another 1 cup of buttercream. Place the third layer on top, cut side-down, pressing gently to level it. Scrape about half of the remaining buttercream over the top of the cake, then use the spatula to spread it across the surface and down the sides, covering the entire cake in a very thin layer of frosting. (The cake will show through in several places; this is just the crumb coat.) Transfer the cake to the refrigerator and chill just until the frosting is firm, 10 to 15 minutes, then cover with the remaining frosting.

Step 12

The assembled cake will keep, loosely covered at room temperature, for 1 day. (Before covering the cake, chill it for 15 minutes so the frosting can firm up.) After 24 hours, refrigerate the cake and be sure to tightly cover any cut surfaces. Bring the cake to room temperature before serving.

[JoejoeReference]

What I like about this cake is that despite the outward appearance of a very rustic and rough looking frosting, once you cut into it, you see these flawless and meticulously even layers that are no doubt the work of a perfectionist. I just think that it speaks a lot to who Claire is as a person

[fareenaalam]

I am a complete novice at baking but picked up the courage to try this recipe. I forgot to bloom the cocoa (added directly to dry ingredients by mistake) but the cake turned out STUPENDOUS. No one paid me to say this - this is the most delicious chocolate cake I have ever eaten. Thank you for the detailed recipe and video!

[weijeeooi]

I made this recipe for this Father's Day. It taste good!
The cake is moist and sure even just taken out from the fridge it doesn't taste hard and dry, instead it is very moist and soft and very chocolaty.
The buttercream is also tasty, chocolaty, and has a silky smooth texture.❤

[thisispeacefull]

My birthday is in December and I always bake my own cake. This is definitely the recipe I’m going to try! It looks so perfectly balanced and pretty approachable. Thank you, Claire. 🎉