Death By Chocolate Cake
My Death by Chocolate cake features super moist chocolate cake, fudgy chocolate buttercream, and a silky smooth ganache topping. Can you believe this bakery quality cake starts with a boxed mix?!
Our Death by Chocolate Cake recipe starts with boxed cake mix just like our Chocolate Peanut Butter, carrot cake, our churro cake, and our Twix cake. This cake makes even hard core chocaholics weak in the knees. Serve it with a glass of cold milk or hot coffee.
Why This Recipe Works: A Sprinkle of Food Science
- Use Milk Not Water: It adds fat, sugar, and proteins which make the cake super moist and tender.
- Use Butter Not Oil: It provides a rich flavor and melt in your mouth texture.
Ingredient Notes and Shopping Tips
- Cake Mix: I like Betty Crocker's Triple Chocolate Fudge.
- Milk: Use whole mix for the result result. It makes the cake super moist.
- Butter: This adds great flavor and richness. Be sure to soften it. The sweet spot is when its soft enough that your fingers leaves an indent when you lightly press it.
- Eggs: Bring to room temp. to help them mix smoothly. Forgot? Place in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes.
- Cocoa Powder: For frosting I like to use Dutch Process cocoa powder because of its dark color and rich flavor. Ghirardelli is my go to brand.
- Chocolate Chips: Use a high quality brand so they melt smoothly. I used Ghirardelli.
Krystle's Tips: Steal My Culinary School Secrets
- Don't Overmix: Mix until the flour just disappears. Overmixing develops too much gluten leading to a tough game.
- Grease Pan: I spray mine with nonstick baking spray and dust with cocoa to avoid a white cast.
- Do a Crumb Cake: Apply a thin layer of frosting and then stick in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. This prevents you from tearing your cake when frosting.
- Bake Flat Layers: I like to use Wilton's bake even strips. You can also trim after baking with a knife or cake leveler.
- Perfect Chocolate Curls: I use 2 household items. First, I warm the bar slightly with a hair dryer, then I make the curls by scraping off chocolate with a vegetable peeler.
More Chocolate Desserts I Love
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
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📖 Recipe
Death By Chocolate Cake
Fluffy chocolate cake with rich chocolate fudge buttercream. You'll never need another chocolate cake recipe again!
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Servings: 12
Calories: 1124kcal
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Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 Boxes Triple Chocolate Cake Mix
- 2 ½ Cups Whole Milk
- 2 Cups Unsalted Butter Softened
- 6 Eggs
For the Chocolate Frosting
- 1 ½ Cups Unsalted Butter Softened
- 3 ¼ Cups Powdered Sugar
- ⅔ Cups Cocoa Powder
- 3 - 4 tablespoons Heavy Cream
- 1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
For the Chocolate Ganache
- 1 Cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
- ½ Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
For the Chocolate Shavings
- 1 Large Hershey Chocolate Bar
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Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray two 9 inch round cake pans with pam baking spray. Set aside
- In a large mixing bowl, beat all cake ingredients together until fully combined.
- Divide batter between the two baking pans and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
- Once cooled, remove cakes from cake pan and cut the domes off. Using a cake slicer, slice the two rounds in half. You should end up with a total of 4 rounds.
For the Frosting
- In a large bowl cream butter, vanilla, and cocoa. Stir in powered sugar a little at a time. Add heavy cream until you reach your desired consistency. Frosting should be smooth and thick.
For the Chocolate Ganache
- In a small saucepan, heat heavy whipping cream until steaming. Place chocolate chips into a heat proof bowl.
- Once the heavy whipping cream is heated, pour over the chocolate chips. Allow to sit for 1 minute before whisking until smooth. Pour ganache into the squeeze bottle.
Putting It all together
- Place the first cake layer onto platter. Evenly spread about 1 cup of frosting onto it. Repeat with remaining layers.
- Frost sides and top of cake as well. Scoop remaining frosting into a piping bag and set aside
- Using the squeeze bottle, to create a drizzle effect around the top of the cake. Squeeze some ganache over the side allow the chocolate ganache to drip down
- Pour ganache onto the center of the top of the cake and smooth evenly to coat the top. Allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow ganache to harden
- Pipe dollops of frosting onto the top cake
- Take the potato peeler and run it along the edge of the Hershey Bar like you're peeling an apple to create chocolate shavings.
Nutrition
Calories: 1124kcal | Carbohydrates: 103g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 78g | Saturated Fat: 43g | Cholesterol: 243mg | Sodium: 661mg | Potassium: 516mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 72g | Vitamin A: 2010IU | Calcium: 216mg | Iron: 5.3mg
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This “Death by Chocolate Cake” is exactly what it promises — rich, indulgent, and chocolate overload in the best way. It’s perfect when you want a showstopper dessert or to satisfy serious chocolate cravings.
This cake was amazing! I made it for my husband's birthday dinner and everyone RAVED about it! If you love chocolate, you're definitely gonna want to make this!
This chocolate cake is amazing! Such a great recipe.
Just baked this death by chocolate cake—rich, fudgy, and seriously chocolatey! 🍫🎂✨
This chocolate cake was INCREDIBLE!!! Such rich flavors, and the texture was incredible.
I'm in love with all the different layers of flavor!
My chocolate lovers absolutely loved this cake! Such an addicting and very rich cake. Perfect for my hubby’s birthday coming up!
I love this Chocolate Cake idea! So simple and pretty!