Brownie Cake Recipe

Course: Cake, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 30

Chill Time: 1 10

Total Time: 2 10

Servings: slices

Calories: 1172kcal

Author: Becky Hardin - Easy Dessert Recipes

This triple-layered cake is full of fudgey chocolate flavor. It's like eating a brownie in cake form!

Print Recipe

Equipment

Kitchen Scale (optional)
3 8-inch Round Cake Pan
Stand Mixer
Piping Tip Set

Ingredients

For the Cake

3¼ cups all-purpose flour 455 grams
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 100 grams
2 teaspoons baking powder 8 grams
1 teaspoon baking soda 6 grams
1½ cups unsalted butter 340 grams, slightly melted (3 sticks)
1½ cups brown sugar 300 grams
¾ cup granulated sugar 150 grams
4 large eggs 200 grams, room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 4 grams
½ cup buttermilk 114 grams, room temperature
12 ounces semisweet Baker’s chocolate 340 grams, melted and cooled (3 bars)

For the Frosting

5 cups powdered sugar 600 grams
1½ cup unsalted butter 340 grams, slightly melted (3 sticks)
6 ounces semisweet Baker’s chocolate 170 grams, melted and cooled (1½ bars)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 8 grams
Brown gel food coloring optional, to boost color

Optional Toppings

4 ounces Baker’s semisweet chocolate melted
Brownies cut into bite-sized pieces
Chocolate sprinkles

Instructions

For the Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray and line the inside bottom of each pan with parchment paper (the parchment paper will help the cakes slide easily out of the pan once baked and cooled). Set pans aside for now.
In a medium bowl, stir the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda together. Set aside.
3¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on high until mixed well, about 2 minutes.
1½ cups unsalted butter, 1½ cups brown sugar, ¾ cup granulated sugar
Beat the eggs and vanilla extract into the butter mixture until well combined.
4 large eggs, 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Beat half of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Beat this on low speed just until combined. Do not overmix.
Beat in all of the buttermilk just until combined. Again, don’t overmix.
½ cup buttermilk
On low speed, beat in the remaining flour mixture just until combined.
Stir in the melted chocolate by hand until well mixed. Do not use the electric beaters for this step.
12 ounces semisweet Baker’s chocolate
Divide the cake batter evenly between the 3 prepared cake pans (about 672 grams per pan). Try to get the same amount in each pan so that they bake at the same speed.
Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle of each comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
Remove cakes from oven and let cakes cool in pans for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove cakes from pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Once cakes have completely cooled to room temperature, wrap each cake individually in food-safe plastic wrap and place cakes in fridge for at least 1 hour. Chilling the cakes in the fridge before frosting will help them hold their shape and not crumble during decorating.
Removed chilled cakes from the fridge and use a large serrated knife to cut any dome tops off cakes so they have flat tops. These cakes bake up pretty flat (like brownies) so there won’t be a lot to cut off the tops.

For the Frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the powdered sugar, butter, melted chocolate, and vanilla extract together on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add a few drops of brown food coloring to deepen the color, if desired.
5 cups powdered sugar, 1½ cup unsalted butter, 6 ounces semisweet Baker’s chocolate, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, Brown gel food coloring
Place a thin layer of frosting (about 2 tablespoons) in the middle of a cake board or cake plate then place one cake (cut side facing up) on top of that frosting. This helps secure the cake to the cake board or plate so it doesn’t slide off during decorating.
Add a generous layer of frosting on top of that first layer of cake and use an angled cake spatula to smooth that frosting into an even layer.
Add the second layer of cake (cut side up) over that frosting then add another generous layer of frosting on top and smooth it out using the angled cake spatula.
Add the third and final layer of cake with the bottom side facing up. You’ll now have a 3-layer cake.
Frost a thin layer of frosting around the top and sides of cake. This first coating of frosting (called a crumb coat) is meant to secure all the crumbs to the cake. To get the layers of frosting smooth, use a tool like a cake scraper to smooth the icing out.
Place the lightly frosted cake into the freezer for 10 minutes so the crumb coat hardens up a bit before frosting the next layer.
Remove cake from freezer and smooth on a second layer of frosting around the top and sides of the cake. Use the cake scraper to smooth this out.
Using a Wilton 1M icing tip and an icing bag, frost swirls along the top border of the cake.
Optional: add 4 ounces of melted chocolate to the top of the cake and top with cut brownie pieces. The melted chocolate is used to secure the brownie pieces to the cake.
4 ounces Baker’s semisweet chocolate, Brownies
Optional: add chocolate sprinkles to the bottom border of the cake.
Chocolate sprinkles

Notes

For a gluten-free cake, replace the all-purpose flour with an equal amount of gluten-free 1:1 baking flour.
You can use any kind of cocoa powder you have on hand for this cake.
In the cake only, place of the butter, you can use an equal amount of slightly melted coconut oil.
For a richer flavor, use dark brown sugar instead of light.
If you don't have buttermilk, you can make your own by measuring out ½ cup of milk, removing ½ tablespoon, and adding ½ tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Mix well and let stand for about 5 minutes before using.
If you'd prefer, you can use milk or dark baking chocolate instead of semisweet.
Carefully measure your ingredients (with a kitchen scale, if possible) for the best results. Too much flour or cocoa powder could lead to a dry cake.
Use room temperature ingredients so that they combine more easily, creating a uniform batter.
Do not overmix the cake batter; otherwise, your cakes will come out tough.
Nutritional information does not include optional ingredients.

Storage: Store brownie cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Nutrition