Black Drip Cake

5 from 12 ratings

This black drip cake recipe is a total show stopper! It's moist, packed with chocolate flavor, and naturally colored with dark cocoa powder!!

Prep Time10

Cook Time26

Additional Time30

Total Time1 6

Course: Cakes

Cuisine: American

Servings: 20

Calories: 507kcal

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 of salt in a large bowl. Whisk together until combined.
In a separate, large bowl, add 1 cup of warm water, 1 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup oil, 2 eggs, and 2 tsp vanilla extract. Give the mixture a quick stir to combine the ingredients.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet 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 same amount of batter and helps the cake layers bake up to be 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 onto 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.

Beat 2 cups of butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment until smooth.
Add in 1 cup of sifted black cocoa, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated.
Slowly mix in 4 cups of powdered sugar and 1/2 cup of heavy cream on a low speed until combined.
Next, mix in 1 cup of cooled, melted semi-sweet chocolate on a low speed until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached.
If you want the buttercream to be a deeper shade of black you can mix in a squirt of black gel food coloring. Then cover the frosting flush with plastic wrap to prevent crusting and set aside.

Place 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl and set aside.
Heat 1/3 cup of heavy cream in a heatproof bowl in the microwave for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until it's steaming and just starting to bubble. If you don’t have a microwave or prefer to use the stove top, you can heat the cream over a medium heat in a pan until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat.
Gently pour the heavy cream over the chocolate, making sure it's fully covered with cream. Allow the mixture to sit for 1-2 minutes.
Add in a squirt of black gel food coloring, then stir slowly until the cream and chocolate are fully combined and mixture is smooth.
Set aside and cool for about 10 minutes, until the mixture is just slightly warm to the touch.

Stack and frost the 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.
Spread a thin coat of frosting around the cake that fully covers 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.
Chill the cake in the fridge (20 minutes) or freezer (10 minutes) one more time until the buttercream is firm to the touch.
Then make a test drip with the ganache to see if it's the right consistency (more detail on that in the post above). If the ganache has been sitting for a bit or if your kitchen is cold you may need to heat it in the microwave for a few seconds.
Once it's the right consistency, add the drips to the chilled cake using a plastic squirt bottle or spoon.
Then decorate as desired! I like to use the leftover buttercream to pipe swirls on top of the cake with an open star tip (like a Wilton 1M). I also added a gold and black sprinkle blend around the base of the cake and painted the edge of the swirls with edible gold paint. You could also use a mixture of gold luster dust and clear liquor or extract.

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

Make the cake layers in advance and freeze them. It breaks the process up and makes it more approachable.
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!