Food Recipes Classic Chocolate Layer Cake 3.7 (675) 19 Reviews By Sara Quessenberry Sara Quessenberry Sara Quessenberry is a recipe developer, food stylist, and cookbook author with nearly two decades of experience in the culinary arts. She was a food stylist and recipe developer at Real Simple for five years. She's currently the food director at doitDelicious.com. Highlights: * Food director at doitDelicious.com * Collaborates with Jessica Seinfeld on recipes for her cookbooks and website * Wrote an award-winning cookbook, The Good Neighbor Cookbook Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Updated on January 17, 2019 Print Share Share Tweet Pin Email It's not a birthday without Ina's chocolate cake, so it's only fair that she gets a slice on her birthday. There's no skimping on the chocolate in this beauty, either. Two layers of cake and a thick coating of chocolate frosting will have her going in for a second slice. Get the Recipe:Classic Chocolate Layer Cake. Photo: Con Poulos Hands On Time: 45 mins Total Time: 2 hrs Yield: 8 serves Jump to Nutrition Facts Ingredients 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), cut into pieces, plus more for the pans 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled 1 ½ cups granulated sugar ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder ½ cup dark brown sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 large eggs ½ cup sour cream 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Directions Heat oven to 350º F. Butter two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each with a round of parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a small saucepan, combine the butter and 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Add to the flour mixture and, using an electric mixer, mix until combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pans for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. Transfer one of the cakes to a platter and spread with ¾ cup of the frosting. Top with the remaining cake and spread with the remaining frosting. Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 1306 Calories 86g Fat 135g Carbs 14g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Calories 1306 % Daily Value * Total Fat 86g 110% Saturated Fat 54g 270% Cholesterol 213mg 71% Sodium 435mg 19% Total Carbohydrate 135g 49% Total Sugars 100g Protein 14g Calcium 61mg 5% Iron 5mg 28% *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.