Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Here's my soft, ultra dreamy Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting recipe. The cake batter gets made in minutes and without a machine. It works as a round, 2-tier chocolate cake or as a tray-baked cake.

I love that the avocado oil in this Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting recipe keeps it soft and so moist. This cake actually lasts way longer than expected, thanks to the oil.

My original cake recipe for this just included regular butter being melted in the pot but with this version, I played around with browning the butter first and MY GOSH. What a flavor.

It's a super versatile recipe. It's one of those cakes you can take or send to any event. Some weeks I'll make it 3 times. It goes to school for my kids' birthdays, comes to church for tea and acts as a sneaky dessert when I need something last minute.

As someone Eating For Perimenopause but also a qualified Cordon Bleu Chef and lover of baking, I'm a firm believer of still enjoying treats, on occasion. I've chosen, instead of cutting out sweet treats, to make small changes to the recipes to make them as nourishing as possible.

Using protein rich cream cheese in the frosting recipe, like this one from the Gourmet Greek, is one way of making a luscious frosting that tastes incredible but also offers a little more than just sugar.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top Tip
• FAQ
• Related

Ingredients

So in terms of the ingredients, they're pretty basic. You won't need a ton and I bet you already have a bunch of them at home.

• Avocado oil: You can also use sunflower or olive oil but I like the neutral taste from avocado oil. Plus, it's just such a great ingredient to include in your diet.
• Butter: You'll need it to make the brown butter for the batter and then again a little in the frosting.
• Cocoa powder: In both the batter and the frosting to make this Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting super delicious.
• Coconut sugar: You can also use brown sugar but I love using coconut sugar in my bakes where possible.
• Greek yogurt: Adding yogurt, especially Greek yogurt, makes a rich, soft-textured batter that's also a touch tangy in flavor.
• Eggs: Use large eggs at room temperature so they beat easily
• Cream cheese: I use softened cream cheese at room temperature, which is easy to whip and turns out lovely and luscious.

See recipe card for quantities and full ingredient list.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Here is exactly how I make the cake and the frosting, step by step:

Step 1: Make the browned butter: Add the butter to a saucepan and simmer it on a medium heat until it begins to darken. The butter will begin to smell nutty when its ready and you will see the browned sediment at the bottom of the pan. Take it off the heat and cool for about 5 minutes.

Step 2:  Make the wet mixture: Once the brown butter has cooled, add in the water, avocado oil and cocoa powder. Heat these ingredients together until the water is about to simmer and then turn it off.

Step 3: Make the dry mixture: In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda (bicarbonate of soda in South Africa) and baking powder.

Step 4: Finish the wet mixture: In another mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs and vanilla. Add the brown butter and chocolate mixture (it must be at room temperature so it doesn't curdle the eggs). Add the flour and cocoa mixture to this wet mixture.

Step 5: Finish the batter and bake: Gently fold in the flour mixture and pour the cake into either 2 x springform pans or one lined baking tray. Bake for 27 minutes at 180C/365F. Remove and cool in the tins while you make the frosting.

Step 6: Make the frosting: To make the icing, add the butter and cream cheese, at room temperature, to the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat together until light and aerated.

Step 7: Complete the frosting: Sieve in the cocoa powder and powdered sugar and whip together until light.

Step 8: Ice the cake: Invert the first cake layer onto a plate of cake stand. Add some icing to the center. Layer the second cake on top and then top with the balance of the icing.

Hint: You make this Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting in either 2 springform cake pans or a single enamel or ceramic baking tray. I prefer not to use metal because as a chef, I feel metal gets too hot, especially if thin.

Substitutions

Here are a couple of ingredient swaps you can play around with in this Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting recipe:

• Cream cheese: You can use thick Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese in this recipe.
• Flour: Swap out regular cake or all-purpose flour for gluten free flour. The result might be slightly different, depending on the brand of gluten free flour you use.
• Oil: While I absolutely love the avocado oil in this Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting, I will sometimes use olive oil or a regular cooking oil like canola or sunflower, if I'm desperate.

Variations

Ok, so here are a few versions of this Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting recipe I've made and loved:

• Autumnal/fallish: Add in 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg to the flour.
• Nutty: Fold 3 tablespoons of ground almonds in with the flour.
• Christmassy: Add in 1 teaspoon of ground ginger to the batter and ¼ teaspoon or a pinch to the chocolate cream cheese frosting.

Equipment

To make the batter for this Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting recipe I used 2 mixing bowls (large), a whisk, a spatula and a small saucepan. I also used a sieve.

For the frosting, you can make it by hand in a bowl with a whisk or in a stand mixer.

You'll also need your cake pans or baking tray.

Storage

Ok, so this Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting recipe stores really well. Cover it so its airtight and then keep it at room temperature or in the refrigerator. In the fridge it will keep for 1 week and out of the fridge it's good for about 4 days.

You can freeze this cake, frosted or unfrosted. It will store in the freezer for about 2 months. I then just thaw it out at room temperature or in the fridge overnight.

You can also make and freeze the cream cheese frosting for up to 2 months. I recommend thawing it out overnight in the freezer and then whipping it up again before using it.

FAQ

Related

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these: