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Table of Contents
❤️ Why you'll love it
- Warm spices taste heavenly in autumn and winter
- Easy recipe takes only about 10 minutes of active prep time
- Layer cakes are irresistible on the holiday dessert table
You don't need any fancy equipment or special decorating skills to whip up this deliciously moist chocolate spice cake.
The fudgy chocolate flavor is enhanced with spicy flavors like cinnamon, cloves, and even a little cayenne for a seasonal dessert that is sure to become a family favorite.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Mix the dry ingredients (flour, spices, and baking soda) in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, blend together the butter, oil, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, then the melted chocolate.
- Fold the flour mixture, buttermilk, and chocolate chips into the wet ingredients. Stir in water.
- Pour batter evenly into prepared pans and bake.
🥫 Storage
Hope for leftovers, because this moist spiced chocolate cake tastes great the next morning with a hot coffee or tea! Store the cake in an airtight container or cover any exposed sections with plastic wrap.
The cake will last for two to three days at room temperature. After that, you can put it in the fridge for another two days or so.
You can also freeze leftover cake by wrapping the slices tightly in plastic. It'll last for up to three months. Simply pull it out and let thaw in the fridge or at room temperature to enjoy!
📖 Variations
Homemade cake is the best because you can personalize it exactly how you like! Here are some ways to do so:
- In this cake, you can substitute buttermilk for sour cream if you need to.
- Only have salted butter? No worries—simply omit the pinch of salt and you're good to go!
- Use hot coffee in place of the water to enhance the chocolate flavor.
- Trying to use up a store-bought blend of gingerbread spice? You can use 2 tablespoons of that instead of the listed spices—don't forget to add the cayenne and black pepper, however.
- Or, use a pumpkin pie spice blend. It has more ginger notes. Spoiler alert: pumpkin pie spice doesn't actually taste like pumpkin!
- Instead of chocolate chips, you can chop up your favorite dark chocolate candy bar and stir the pieces into the batter.
This dark chocolate spice cake recipe goes perfectly with so many different types of frosting. Homemade or store-bought, try 'em all and find your favorite pairing!
- Dark chocolate frosting
- Milk chocolate frosting
- White chocolate frosting—tint it red for a holiday chocolate spice cake
- Cream cheese frosting—however, you'll have to refrigerate the cake once it's frosted with cream cheese icing
- Orange icing—zest oranges for a fresh pop of flavor
- Homemade American buttercream—just butter and powdered sugar!
- Caramel icing
- Maple cream cheese frosting—enhances all those delicious spices!
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Hot water (or hot coffee) interacts with the chocolate to make a more flavorful cake. The key here is heat—the hotter, the better!
- You can line each cake pan with a parchment paper circle for extra easy removal! Just don't swap it for wax paper, which can melt.
- Cake flour is lower in protein than other types of flour, which means there is less gluten development. This is the key to your homemade chocolate cake recipe turning out extra soft and fluffy! Swapping all-purpose in its place can make the cake dry and tougher.
- Vegetable oil has a mild flavor, which is best in moist cakes like this. Canola is another option that won't add distracting flavors.
- For a great result, follow the mixing directions carefully. It's important to alternate adding the flour and buttermilk in three additions each, so as not to overwhelm the batter, which could make it split.
- Unless otherwise noted, your cold ingredients should all come to room temperature for the best baking results. This means room-temperature eggs, butter, buttermilk, and so on.
- If you don't have a cake tester, check for doneness with a toothpick! The cakes are done when no batter shows on the toothpick—moist crumbs are okay, though.
- Don't forget to let the layers of cake cool fully on wire racks before frosting them. Otherwise, the icing might melt right off!
- Use an offset spatula to easily apply frosting in between the cake layers and on top. I like to make swooping, swirly motions to give the cake a homemade but pretty finish.
- Or, fill a piping bag with frosting and pipe some fancy swirls around the top and bottom edges.
👩🍳 FAQs
Since we're making a chocolate spice cake, the cocoa powder around the edges prevents the cake from sticking, without leaving a floury white residue on the sides of the cake. Instead of diluting the chocolate flavor with extra flour, we use cocoa powder to amp it up.
Chocolate spice cupcakes sound so delicious! You definitely can, but be aware that this recipe makes a lot of batter—you'll likely have around 3 dozen cupcakes. Start checking for doneness around the 17-minute mark.
Did you add an ice-cold egg to the batter? Did you dump in all of the flour or buttermilk at once? Those are usually the two big culprits. Go ahead and bake the cake, you can still use the batter—the cake just won't be as moist or soft as it could be.
📚 Related recipes
- With tasty autumn spices and a splash of whiskey to warm your palate, Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting tastes like fall on a plate.
- From-scratch Kahlua Cake is the best combination of flavors for both chocolate lovers and coffee lovers—and, you're in luck if you love both!
- Cinnamon spiced, filled with buttery pecans, and topped with a warm whiskey glaze, Apple Spice Bundt Cake is the fall treat you need—now!
🍽️ Serve with...
🥄 Restless Chipotle recommends
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It's imperative that you use cake flour in this recipe.
📞 The last word
I found this layer cake in a 1930s cookbook and I thought it was so unique I just had to make it.
I'm so glad I did! If you love warm autumn spices and chocolate you'll want to try this soon.
One bite of this moist chocolate spice cake you'll understand why this recipe was a Depression era favorite.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Spice Cake
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1-½ tablespoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cups dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 eggs
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup boiling water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Grease and dust 3 high sided 8-inch pans with cocoa. Regular 9-inch pans can also be used.
- Stir flour, spices, soda, and salt together.
- Set aside.
- Cream the butter, oilbrown sugar, and vanilla until fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
- Beat in the melted chocolate, beating for 2 minutes until well blended.
- Add the flour in 3 parts, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour.
- Beat well on lowest speed after each addition.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Finally, with the mixer running on low, slowly pour in the boiling water.
- Blend well and spoon into pans - 2 cups in each pan.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Check after 25 minutes the first time you bake this cake.
- Cool completely on wire racks. Run a knife around the edge to loosen and turn out of pans.
- Fill and frost with your favorite frosting.
Notes
- Hot water (or hot coffee) interacts with the chocolate to make a more flavorful cake. The key here is heat—the hotter, the better!
- You can line each cake pan with a parchment paper circle for extra easy removal! Just don't swap it for wax paper, which can melt.
- Cake flour is lower in protein than other types of flour, which means there is less gluten development. This is the key to your homemade chocolate cake recipe turning out extra soft and fluffy! Swapping all-purpose in its place can make the cake dry and tougher.
- Vegetable oil has a mild flavor, which is best in moist cakes like this. Canola is another option that won't add distracting flavors.
- For a great result, follow the mixing directions carefully. It's important to alternate adding the flour and buttermilk in three additions each, so as not to overwhelm the batter, which could make it split.
- Unless otherwise noted, your cold ingredients should all come to room temperature for the best baking results. This means room-temperature eggs, butter, buttermilk, and so on.
- If you don't have a cake tester, check for doneness with a toothpick! The cakes are done when no batter shows on the toothpick—moist crumbs are okay, though.
- Don't forget to let the layers of cake cool fully on wire racks before frosting them. Otherwise, the icing might melt right off!
- Use an offset spatula to easily apply frosting in between the cake layers and on top. I like to make swooping, swirly motions to give the cake a homemade but pretty finish.
- Or, fill a piping bag with frosting and pipe some fancy swirls around the top and bottom edges.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
First published November 21, 2016. Last updated November 14, 2022 for readability and better images.
Sherlyn says
Can I make a 13x11 cake?
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
OH, MY! This cake is a sight! So pretty, and that fudge factor! Love this!
Cynthia | What A Girl Eats says
love the deep dark color of this cake marye! the flavors sound fab!