This Death by Chocolate Cake is for SERIOUS chocolate lovers only! Featuring three layers of moist chocolate cake, chocolate fudge sauce, chocolate frosting, and chocolate chips, this cake is a chocolate lovers dream come true!
Death by Chocolate Cake Recipe
What in the world could possibly be better than homemade chocolate cake? DEATH BY CHOCOLATE CAKE. That’s what!
This sinfully decadent dessert begins with three luscious layers of chocolate cake. Each layer is slathered in rich chocolate buttercream, then enrobed in a layer of hot fudge. Finally, the entire cake is coated with chocolate shavings, then sprinkled with mini chocolate chips.
Chocolate HEAVEN ↓
P.S. This cake may look fancy, but I promise it’s simple enough for anyone to throw together! I timed myself the last time I baked this and, much to my surprise, found I had it baked, frosted, and ready to be served in less than 2 hours. Not too shabby!
How to make Death by Chocolate Cake
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success:
- For the hot fudge layer you can make your own using this recipe, or use your favorite store bought brand.
- I suggest using high-quality chocolate for this recipe.
- This recipe calls for vegetable oil, but you may use an equal amount of melted coconut oil in its place, if preferred. I do not recommend substituting oil with melted butter.
- For best results, make sure your eggs, egg yolks, sour cream, and milk have all come to room temperature before you begin baking.
- When you measure your flour, be sure you’re not packing it into the measuring cup. Packed flour will yield a dense and dry cake.
- The cake layers should all be baked on the middle rack of your oven. If there’s not enough room in your oven to bake them all in an even row at once, you can bake them in two batches.
- For the rich chocolate frosting, you’ll want to make sure your butter is VERY soft before creaming it.
- The cakes should be completely cooled before adding the frosting and hot fudge sauce.
- The assembly is a two part process: you’ll place one cake level on a large plate, top it with a thin layer of frosting, then add the hot fudge, then add another cake level and repeat. Once you’ve added the final cake level you’ll want to leave the top bare and place the cake in the fridge to set for one hour. Once it’s set, you can finish frosting it and add the edible decorations.
This cake is literally chocolate on chocolate on chocolate on more chocolate. This cake is intense. This cake is a chocolate lovers paradise.
Next time you’re craving chocolate, treat yourself to this death by chocolate cake. Trust me, you’ll love it. And it’ll keep, covered in the fridge, for about a week. Meaning you could technically eat death by chocolate cake 7 nights in a row. A blessing and a curse if you know what I mean 😉
More Chocolate Cake Recipes:
- Ultimate Chocolate Cheesecake
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Super Decadent Chocolate Cake with Fudge Frosting
- Easy Single Layer Chocolate Cake
- Triple Layer German Chocolate Cake
If you try this recipe, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day ♥

Death by Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the chocolate cake:
- 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
- 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (not packed!)
- 1 and 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 3 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 and 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 3 large eggs + 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/3 cup full-fat sour cream
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil (you may also sub in melted coconut oil)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups hot water
- 1 cup chocolate chips
For the chocolate frosting:
- 2 cups unsalted butter (4 sticks, 16 ounces), VERY soft
- 4 and 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream (more if needed)
- 2 tablespoons hot fudge sauce
Garnish:
- 1 cup hot fudge sauce sauce (please see post for more on this)
- 4 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate, shaved
- 1 and 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
For the chocolate cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°(F). Cut out three 9-inch round segments of parchment paper to line your cake pans with. Spray each pan generously - sides and bottom - with nonstick cooking spray, then place the parchment paper cut out in the bottom of the pans and spray again. It's important to make sure every bit of pan and paper are sprayed so your cakes don't get stuck. Set pans aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, combine both sugars, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt; mix on low until dry ingredients are thoroughly combined. Use your hands to break up any large clumps, if needed.
- In a separate bowl combine the eggs, egg yolks, milk, sour cream, oil and vanilla extract; mix until completely combined.
- Pour mixture into the dry ingredients and beat on low until just incorporated. Pour in hot water and continue mixing until completely combined; about 1 minute. The batter will quite thin. Quickly fold in mini chocolate chips.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven for 28 to 30 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached.
- Cool cakes for 10 minutes in the pan before removing from pans and transferring to a cooling rack. Cool cakes completely before frosting.
For the chocolate frosting:
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric beater, cream the softened butter on medium-speed until completely smooth; about 3 minutes.
- Turn the mixer off and sift the powdered sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on the lowest speed and mix until the sugar/cocoa have been absorbed by the butter; about 2 minutes. Increase mixer speed to medium; add in vanilla extract, salt, heavy cream and hot fudge; beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting appears a little too thin, add a little more confectioners' sugar; If your frosting needs to be thinner, add additional heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Assembly:
- Using a serrated knife, carefully trim the raised top of each cake, making each one an even, level surface. Transfer 1 layer to a large plate or cake stand.
- Spread a thin layer of frosting on top, then add a 1/2 cup of hot fudge sauce; top with another cake layer, and repeat, thinly spread it with a layer of frosting, then adding a 1/2 cup of hot fudge sauce. Top with the final cake layer and place cake in the fridge to set for 1 hour.
- Once set, finishing frosting the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the sides and top with chocolate shavings, then gently press the mini chocolate chips around the sides and on the top.
- Slice and serve, or keep refrigerated for about a week.
Hi! Looks great!
I have a chocolate cake recipe that calls for hot coffee…. Could I replace the hot water with hot coffee in this recipe?
Absolutely, it’s what I do.
Hi,
Thank you so much for share the recipe. I have two question, I don’t like the cakes too sweet if I add only one cup of each sugar is ok? 2)This recipe is good for cupcakes? Thank you again.
I used two cups (1 brown 1 granulated) and it turned out great. It wasn’t too sweet because there’s a good amount of cocoa i guess.
Today is my second time making this cake, the first time we couldn’t stop eating it!!
My kids love it and my husband said not to make this again….LOL….BEST CHOLATE CAKE EVER!!!!!!!!!
That’s awesome!!! I’m so happy you and your family are loving this cake 🙂
Were you able to use hot coffee instead of Hot water? I love the taste of Coffee in cakes or frosting
Yes of course hot coffee or espressoelevates chocolate flavor and I think making a lighter fluffier cake
Thank you for your recipes!! Would I be able to use chopped chocolate chunks instead of chips inside cake batter?
OMG!
Mic drop!
That cake is the end-all for all other cakes!
Awesome!
Thanx for the recipe! I can’t wait to try it! Chocolate cake is my favorite dessert.
I live in Greece,we don’t have a store bought hot fudge sause,can you tell me a recipe?Thank you, ELENA GREECE
I used this one. It worked perfectly! http://thepioneerwoman.com/food-and-friends/2-ingredient-hot-fudge/#respond
I live at approximately 6000′. Is this recipe suitable for high altitudes or should I make adjustments?
All I can say is WOW!!
This cake looks awesome! I love how chocolate-y it is!
This cake looks amazing.. But I don’t want a cake as big.. Can I just halve all measurements?
can’t wait to try it
I would like to bake this cake for my husband birthday. He is a chocolate lover, can you please give the recipe in smaller size and in grams ?
Can I please have this cake in gram measurements
I need ingredients in grams. Thank you so much
Hi Barb. This conversion chat should help http://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart.html
How can I hot chocolate fudge ? What’s this
YES ME ME MEEEE I’M A TRUE CHOCOLATE LOVER!!! I want this cake in my liiife
Can this be made gluten free? I am dying to try it!
This cake looks absolutely decadent. Does it matter whether I use natural or Dutch processed cocoa?
Yes! Dutch cocoa and natural cocoa react much differently when baked.
So is it best to stick to what this recipe calls for?
It’s always best to follow a recipe as written 🙂
Has anyone tried cupcakes using this recipe? How many did it yield? What size:standard or mini?
How do you prevent the chocolate chips from sinking to the bottom of the cake?
I think you have to coat them in flour first I suppose! I read that somewhere
I will try doing this as soon as I can. Your chocolate cake is a sweet tooth killer.
I love the hot fudge topping!
Yay!!! I can’t wait to hear how it turns out 🙂
“BEST CAKE EVER” was one of the compliments I received for this cake.
I’m an extreme amateur baker (this is the first cake I can remember baking from scratch) so a couple of quick notes:
– This recipe is super easy to compete successfully.
– It took me 4 hours to bake and assemble. I’ll admit my tools and oven (and skills) are sub-par, just plan accordingly based on your situation.
– I used the hot fudge recipe someone else linked in a comment and highly recommend it.
Happy Baking!
So happy this was a hit, Adam! And thank you for your helpful feedback 🙂
Is it possible to use 8inch (8X3) diameter pan? I don’t have a 9inch pan. I loved your chocolate sheet cake and I would love to try baking this next!
Oh wow, I think this is the most glorious chocolate cake I’ve ever seen !
Aww thank you 🙂
Looks great, but is it possible to use less sugar, if so by how much, so as not to unbalance the cake texture .
NB … for those of us living over the water in Europe, its dificult
to judge American quantities as cups, and although you gave
a conversion in another chat, it’s not so user friendly, as it’s so extensive, its frustrating , as you want to get on with the recipe. I find grams so much more accurate.Thanks
Hello!! Im making a chocolate cake for a birthday party this weekend but im doubting between, Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake,Super Decadent Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting or Death by Chocolate Cake. Checking the chocolate batter of each I can see that are a little bit different which chocolate butter do you recommend the most? Or which of the three cakes you think wild cause more impact ( I guess the 3 off them are amazing) Thank you for your help!!
I was wondering this as well! Did you every get an answer an answer??
Hello! I made this recipe last weekend. WOW! I also made the hot chocolate fudge sauce and replaced the hot water with coffee. This is a fabulous recipe. I am generally not a big chocolate fan but my friends are and I always look for chocolate dessert recipes when i host dinner parties. This cake was a big hit. I now look forward to making and enjoying this cake again.
So happy this was a hit, Ron! Thank you for letting me know 🙂
I would like to try this!! but its hard to find some of the ingredients from this recipe. May i know what would be the best replacement ingredients that i can use for the full fat sour cream? Thank you!!!
In love with this cake. It is always my all time favorite but it is completely a sinful indulgence and after I eat it I think about the calories. Too much of confusion but this so so delicious that I can’t resist.
hi,i made this today, the cake,no frosting yet!it is not that sweet given the quantity of sugar used and i like that it is dark. i pour the cocoa powder on the hot water insteadof mixing it in the dry ingredients.. does it have any difference? imbaking a cake for my hubby’s birthday and in search chocolate cake. alsi,i was not able to mix the choco chip in the batter. will the chip melt as it bakes? i intend to make another tri and this time, i will do the frosting. i left the cake room temp for tomorrow.. pls give additional tips:)
Can you make this cake in a rectangular pan? If so what size? Thsnks
Absolutely fantastic! Me and my two year old made this cake together! Next time I think we may try the coffee!
Hi,
Was wondering if I can use buttermilk in place of the milk?
Can I use butter instead of oil?
I made this cake twice. Once for my husband’s birthday, back in March. He was BLOWN AWAY by the awesome taste. He kept saying “This is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had.” Pretty high praise from a guy whose Mother was a pastry chef for a living. The second time was when I had my 15 yr old god daughter helping me make “family dinner”. I got the ingredients, baked the layers, and let the butter soften. She made the butter cream, assembled the layers and frosted it according to the recipe. Turned out great a 2nd time also! MAKE THIS CAKE!! You’ll never regret it although your hips will curse you……
Can I use this recipy to make cupcakes?
Loved this recipe, easy to make and tastes great as well. I made this for my team’s birthday event and everybody in my team liked the cake. Thanks for the recipe Ashley.
I had two quick questions about the recipe:
1. After we pour the hot water in the batter and combine it and then fold in the chocolate chips, do we intent to melt them before pouring the cake batter, or is it fine if there are still chunks of chips in the batter. If we want the chocolate chips chunk to remain in the batter, how do we avoid sinking of the chips to the bottom of the cake?
2. I made the frosting as directed in the recipe above, still when I started frosting the cake, I felt it was a little grainy(i think due to the cocoa powder), do you have any suggestion why that will happen?
I read somewhere you can coat/toss the chocolate chips with flour first to help keep them from sinking to the bottom when doing cupcakes, so I would think would help here.
I just made this and it is delicious! I did forget to put the mini chocolate chips in the batter, so mine wasn’t a true ” death”. I look forward to trying your chocolate cheesecake.
This was a hit! I made this for my son’s birthday …it was gone in seconds! This was a big deal for me as this was my first ever homemade cake Thank you Ashley foe sharing your passion, your ideas and your time.
Hey there, I’m planning to make this cake for Thanksgiving. In regards to hot fudge sauce…Is it the one in the jar or the one you squeeze out of bottle(like Hersheys)
Hi Wendy! I suggest a thick fudge, like one you’d find in a jar 😉
Great cake but it took me all day to make it.
To be honest, i loved it but, the cake is huge and i could only ate a small piece as it is so rich.
Hii.. Can i reduce the quantity??
What type of cocoa do we use, Dutch-processed or natural?
Hi how can i do just one layer will it work? Do i divide all the amounts by 3 ???
Thank you xxx
What do you mean by egg and egg yolks?
Does this mean 3 whole eggs plus 2 additional egg yolks? Or, 3 egg whites plus 2 egg yolks?
This cake is delicious! I made it for a family birthday celebration and everyone loved it!
Hello! Can I use unsweetened original Greek yogurt instead of sour cream for the recipe!?
Just made it yesterday..and kept it in the fridge. So moist..yummyy.
Been looking around for the best chocolate cake recipes, then I found this Death by Chocolate! Love it so much, Ashley My baby girl couldn’t stop eating it…hahahaaa….
Just planning to make it for her birthday cake by the end of this August 2019. Thanks a lot. Keep up the good work!
Hi! Love your recipes! I was wondering if I could use 6” cake pans for this instead?
Thanks!
How can i make the chocolate fudge sauce?
I am making tis cake for someone and they are allergic to eggs. What can I use to substitute the eggs? if possible.
Hi…i tried it this weekend and everyone fell in love with it. However, my frosting didn’t come out as soft as it looks in the picture. I used the finest icing sugar i could get my hands on. Why do you think this happened?
Anybody tried making this cake for an outdoor event and left it out the whole day? Does it hold up well in the summer?
Dear Ashley,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this chocolate recipe! It is so delicious! This is the first cake I have baked in over 25 years, it came out
Perfect, it was so easy to make. Everyone was telling me this was the best cake they have eaten.
I substituted coffee for the hot water but followed the recipe as written. I suggest to measure everything first and read the recipe a couple of times
To make it easier.
Great cake!
The best chocolate cake!!!! Hands down …. thank you so much for sharing this recipe
This was truly divine, or intense as my bf, the recipient commented. Took me well over the time but seriously worth the effort. Thank you! P.S. the chocolate fudge sauce is amazing, will be putting it on everything from now on.
My son made this cake for me for my birthday and it was moist and delicious!
Hi! I just made the cake bread but I will be frosting it till tomorrow. Where and how should I keep it fresh till tomorrow?
Can I half the recipe for 3 – 6 in pans or 2-8in pans ?
Made this for a small get together yesterday. It is FANTASTIC! Absolutely delicious. I used strong coffee instead of water. It’s an amazing recipe. Everyone loved it.
Has anyone tried to make this as a sheet cake? I’m thinking I would need to double the ingredients based on the area of the pans. I made this twice as a later cake and it came out perfect! Literally the chocolate cake recipe I have been searching for for years. Thank you!
Has anyone tried to make this as a sheet cake? I’m thinking I would need to double the ingredients based on the area of the pans. I made this twice as a layer cake and it came out perfect! Literally the chocolate cake recipe I have been searching for for years. Thank you!
How do you keep the layers from sliding? I bake with cloth strips so the cakes were level. The middle and top layer slide right off the fudge sauce as soon as I put it on. The fudge was just a slip and slide! I got it balanced and in the fridge and it slide off while cooling. Also the fudge just went everywhere and didn’t really stay in the middle layers.
I am just assembling this death by chocolate cake. Your instructions say to use 1 cup of the fudge sauce for the garnish. Where does this go?
Thanks,
Karen
Hi, I don’t have whole milk. Can I still make this with normal milk?
I made this for my sister’s birthday today and everybody loved it. The hot fudge sauce was sooo good (I used the linked recipe) it added a whole new level of chocolate-ness to the cake. This will be my go to recipe from now on!
Hello I am looking for the fudge recipe. The recipe says Carmel?? I am a little confused!!
Can I make this in a Bunt pan or regular round baking pan rather then making it 3 layer???
No. I would suggest making this recipe instead: https://bakerbynature.com/best-ever-chocolate-bundt-cake/
2 additional egg yolks are must? Can we skip 2 egg yolks in this recipe?
The egg yolks are required to get the same results I did. They add moisture and structure.
Hi there, I have been doing your recipe for a long time now but, the last two times my cakes deflate and had a jello consistency. I do not know what I did wrong (I followed the recipe as always) help!!!
So I LOVE this recipe! I’ve made this cake 4 times now. The second time I made it I forgot to add hot water and I thought it turned out even better, so that’s what I’ve been doing since!
Hi, did you use Natural cocoa or Dutch processed please.
Hi, is it okay not to put the hot fudge sauce? Any other option?
I’m sure this is a wonderful recipe if it’s been baked at a normal altitude. I live at 5,500 feet and it was a disaster. I read all the comments before baking anything, and I noticed that one lady asked if this could be baked at 6000 feet but you did not reply to her. I really wished I would not have taken the chance it was a lot of money to throw away.
We are planning on making this cake for our New Year’s Eve party.
Thanks for the inspiration,
I made this cake for my BFF’s 40th Birthday and OMG it was Amazing! Everyone raved about it including the next door neighbor who was gifted a piece. I plan on making it again soon!
Could you please give me the Hot fudge sauce recipe. I couldn’t find it.
Made it! Loved it! I even made the hot fudge from scratch because I was out. Worth every ingredient and the time! Three generations of my family stated it was the best chocolate cake they ever ate. Score! Not a crumb left. Doesn’t get better than that!
Hi. How many servings is it and if I want to double the recipe and make it a six layer cake would it work?
Thanks Ashley for sharing this recipe. Do you have some recipes that i can try in winter like soup or something else?
Can the cake layers be frozen?
I tried it and my family was very impressed! It think I just became the family baker with this, thank you very much
Yay! Congrats on your new role as family baker 🙂 Happy I could help get you elected!