Black Velvet Cake

Red velvet is such a classic cake flavor. Not only is it delicious, it’s also stunning! With October upon us once again, I wanted to put a fun and spooky spin on this beloved cake flavor by making a black velvet cake.

The Power of Black Cocoa

One of my favorite ingredients is black cocoa. It’s not the most common ingredient, and sadly it’s hard to find in grocery stores.

I like to order it on Amazon, and love the black cocoa made by King Arthur.

Black cocoa has a slightly higher pH than Dutch-processed cocoa (8 vs.7) and is much less acidic than natural baking cocoa (5-6).

The best comparison of how it tastes is to think of the bittersweet, chocolaty taste of an Oreo cookie! It’s absolutely delicious.

Black cocoa has a beautifully dark color, which naturally colors this cake batter and the frosting black! It’s kind of like magic. Maybe black magic?

If you’re in a pinch or don’t like ordering things online, you can always use dark cocoa powder in its place. Hershey makes a dark cocoa powder that you can find at most grocery stores!

It tastes slightly different, but will give a similar end result of delicious chocolate flavor and a deep color.

Chocolate Cake vs. Black Velvet

At this point in time, you might be thinking, “If we’re using THAT much cocoa in this recipe, isn’t it just a chocolate cake?”

And to be fair, you’re right! Most red velvet cake recipes call for 1 or 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder, which you can barely taste once it bakes up!

But the reason so little cocoa powder is used is that you want the batter to be bright red. Adding more cocoa powder would make it a creepy red-brown color.

On the other hand, white velvet cake recipes don’t use any cocoa! So, I figure if some velvet recipes use less, this one can use more!!

In my mind, the most notable characteristics of a red velvet cake are its color, moisture, and tangy flavor.

In this recipe, we’ve got the color covered thanks to the black cocoa. To make sure this cake lives up to the moist and delicious reputation of a velvet cake recipe, it uses buttermilk.

Buttermilk is a key ingredient! Some people try to use regular milk in place of buttermilk, but I don’t recommend doing that with this recipe.

Black Gel Food Coloring

I love making colorful cakes with a bit of gel food coloring, but this cake batter is already so dark from the black cocoa powder it really doesn’t need any artificial food coloring.

However, if you use dark cocoa powder instead of black cocoa, you may want to add a squirt of black gel food coloring to make sure your cake layers are black.

Picking the Right Frosting

If you’re making a black velvet cake, you might want to frost it with cream cheese frosting to stay true to the classic combination. I fully support that decision, or really any excuse to use cream cheese frosting.

My cream cheese buttercream has the delicious tang of cream cheese but is sturdy like my classic American buttercream. This means you can easily use it to frost a layer cake like this.

I made this cake around Halloween and wanted to match my frosting to the color of my cake. I used my deep black frosting recipe to give the cake a wonderfully spooky vibe!

It can be difficult to make a deep black frosting. If you’re struggling to get the color right, here are all of my tips and tricks for making super dark black frosting.

Tips for Making This Black Velvet Cake

• Try to get your hands on some black cocoa for this recipe– it’s delicious and totally worth it!
• Ingredients at room temp mix together better! Set out any cold ingredients ahead of time.
• Properly measure your flour (spoon into the cup measure, then level). Or better yet, use a kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients.
• Level your room temperature or thawed cake layers with a serrated knife to make them easier to stack.
• Chill your cake layers in the freezer for about 20 minutes before assembling the cake. It makes it so much easier to stack and frost them!

Making This Black Velvet Cake in Advance and Storage Tips

I highly recommend making your cake layers in advance and freezing them. It breaks the process up and makes it more approachable.

You can also make the chocolate frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month.

This frosting can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months! Just be sure to give it a good stir once it thaws to make it nice and smooth again.

A frosted cake can last in the fridge for a week, or in the freezer for a month. The buttercream locks in the moisture and keeps the cake fresh and delicious!

Let Me Know What You Think

If you try this black velvet cake recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a rating below and comment below.

Don’t forget to tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets on social media so I can see your amazing creations!

Note: I updated this recipe in May 2022 to make the texture a bit more tender. If you want the original recipe, please email [email protected].

Print Recipe

4.82 from 83 rating

Black Velvet Cake

This black velvet cake recipe is a total showstopper! It's moist, packed with chocolate flavor, and naturally colored with black cocoa powder!!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Additional Time30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course: Cakes

Cuisine: American

Servings: 20

Calories: 520kcal

Author: Chelsey White

Ingredients

Black Velvet Cake Recipe

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 260g
• 2 cups granulated sugar 400g
• 3/4 cup black cocoa powder 75g
• 2 tsp baking powder 8g
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 9g
• 1 tsp fine salt 6g
• 1 cup hot water 240g
• 2 tsp instant espresso of coffee 5g
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature 240g
• 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil 110g
• 2 large eggs, room temperature 112g
• 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 8g

Black Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 454g
• 1 cup black cocoa powder 100g
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 4g
• 1/2 tsp fine salt 3g
• 5 cups powdered sugar 625g
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature 180g
• 1 1/3 cups dark chocolate chips, melted and cooled 230g

Recommended Tools

• 8- inch cake pans
• Spinning cake stand
• 10- inch greaseproof cake board
• Large offset spatula
• Bench Scraper
• Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
• Small Piping Bag
• Open Star Frosting Tip like a Wilton 1M

Instructions

Black Velvet Cake Layers

• Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 175 C. Line and grease three, eight-inch cake pans, or four, seven-inch pans.
• Combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups sugar, 3/4 cup black cocoa powder, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl. Whisk together until combined.
• Add 1 cup of hot water and 2 tsp instant espresso or coffee in a separate, medium-sized bowl. Stir until dissolved.
• Add 1 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup oil, 2 eggs, and 2 tsp vanilla extract to the instant espresso mixture. Give the mixture a quick stir to combine the ingredients.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix by hand until fully incorporated. The batter will be on the thin side, but that’s the consistency you're after!
• Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans, and bake for about 24-27 minutes. I like to use a kitchen scale to weigh the pans. It makes sure each pan has the exact same amount of batter and helps the cake layers bake up to the same height.
• Remove the cake layers from the oven and let them cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Gently run an offset spatula around the rim of the cake pans to loosen them, then flip them into wire racks to finish cooling.
• Once cooled, use a serrated knife to level the top of each cake layer. If you make these in advance, wrap and freeze them at this point.

Black Dark Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• Beat 2 cups of unsalted butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment until smooth. 
• Add 1 cup black cocoa powder, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/2 tsp fine salt. Mix on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated.
• Slowly mix in 5 cups of powdered sugar. Halfway through, add in 2/3 cup of heavy cream to make the frosting easier to mix.
• Mix in 1 1/3 cups of melted and cooled dark chocolate on a low speed. I let the chocolate sit for about 10 minutes after melting it – it should still be completely liquid, but not hot to the touch. Mix until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
• If you want the buttercream to be a darker shade of black, you can mix in a squirt of black gel food coloring. Then cover with plastic wrap to prevent crusting and set aside.

Assembling This Black Velvet Cake

• Stack and frost cake layers on a greaseproof cake board, using a dab of frosting to help stick the first cake layer to the board.
• Add an even layer of buttercream between each cake layer with a large offset spatula.
• Then spread a thin coat of frosting around the cake, fully covering the cake layers. Smooth using a bench scraper, then chill the cake in the fridge (30 minutes) or freezer (10 minutes) until the frosting is firm to the touch.
• Add a second, thicker layer of frosting to the cake and smooth using a bench scraper. Then decorate as desired and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Note: I updated this recipe in May 2022 to make the texture a bit more tender. If you want the original recipe, please email [email protected].

Tips for Making the Best Black Velvet Cake

• Ingredients at room temp mix together better! Set out any cold ingredients ahead of time.
• Properly measure your cake flour (spoon into the cup measure, then level). Or better yet, use a kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients.
• Mix your cake batter just until the ingredients are incorporated. This will ensure your cake layers are tender and fluffy.
• Use a scale to weigh your cake pans as you fill them. Make sure each pan has the same amount of batter will make your cake layers bake to the same height and bake more evenly.
• Bang your cake pans on the counter before putting it in the oven. This brings any air bubbles that are trapped in the batter to the surface.
• Level your room temperature or thawed cake layers with a serrated knife to make them easier to stack.
• Chill your cake layers in the freezer for about 20 minutes before assembling the cake and before adding the simple syrup. It makes it so much easier to stack and frost them!

Making this Black Velvet Cake in Advance and Storage Tips

I highly recommend making your cake layers in advance and freezing them. It breaks the process up and makes it more approachable.

You can also make the chocolate frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month.

This frosting can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months! Just be sure to give it a good stir once it thaws to make it nice and smooth again.

A frosted cake can last in the fridge for a week, or in the freezer for a month. The buttercream locks in the moisture and keeps the cake fresh and delicious!

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 520kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 395mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 59g

Other Recipes You Might Like: