Brownie Cake - Stephanie's Sweet Treats (2024)

This brownie cake has chocolate cake layers with brownie batter baked into the cake. It is topped with a chocolate cream cheese frosting. It turns out brownie and cake are an amazing combination! This brownie cake will blow your mind.

This brownie cake combines the best qualities of chocolate cake and fudgy brownies into one ultimate dessert. I love chocolate and I have never seen a recipe that combined brownie into a cake this way before and just HAD to experiment to see if it was good.

The results are better than I could have hoped! For your next special occasion try this ultimate brownie cake for the best of all your favorite desserts!

For more chocolate recipes try, Nutella Muffins, Chocolate Pancakes, and Hot Cocoa Cookie Blossoms.

Why This Chocolate Brownie Cake Recipe Works

• Rich chocolate flavor- This cake has the most amazing chocolate flavor that takes the best from both brownies and chocolate cake for the perfect cake.
• Moist cake- No tough or dry cake here, it is moist and tender cake all the way through!
• Chocolate lover's dream- This cake is a mix of all of your favorite chocolate flavors with the chocolate cake, brownie, and frosting all coming together for chocolate heaven!
• Easy Recipe Layer Cake- Layer cakes can take a lot of work, but this recipe breaks it down into easy to follow steps to get you through it! There are no difficult steps involved.

Ingredient Notes For This Decadent Chocolate Brownie Cake

Here are some notes on the ingredients. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.

• Unsweetened cocoa powder-I strongly recommend dutch process cocoa powder for a more rich chocolate flavor.This is the one I used.
• Oil-Use canola oil, vegetable oil, or olive oil.
• Eggs-Pull the large eggs out 2 hours before baking.
• Buttermilk-Use full fat or reduced fat buttermilk. Pull this out 2 hours before baking.
• Hot water-The water needs to be steaming. The hot water helps to bloom the chocolate. You can also use hot coffee instead.
• Unsalted butter-Pull this out 2 hours before using to reach room temperature.
• Powdered sugar-Make sure to sift the powdered sugar to avoid a gritty frosting.
• Cream Cheese- Be sure to use the baking bars, not the cream cheese spread for the correct texture.
• Chocolate Chips- Use semi-sweet chocolate for the best flavor as milk chocolate will be too sweet.

Ingredient Substitutions

• Dairy free- You can use your favorite dairy free options for this recipe!
• Gluten free- I haven't tested this gluten free. Let me know if you do.
• Buttermilk- You can also do 1 cup of milk with 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let it sit for 10 minutes before using.

Step By Step Instructions- Chocolate Cake Batter

Here is how to make this brownie cake batter. You will not need an electric mixer for this part.

STEP 1: Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray 3 8-inch round cake pans with baking spray. Then, line the pans with parchment paper circles and spray them again.

STEP 2: Dry ingredients. Sift your flour into a large bowl and mix in the cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

STEP 3: Wet ingredients. Heat water in a small saucepan on high heat on the stove until it is steaming. In a separate bowl mix the eggs, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Slowly mix in the hot water.

If you add the hot water too fast it will cook the eggs.

STEP 4: Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix only until just combined. Pour batter into the 3 pans, spreading it evenly.

Step by Step Instructions- Brownie Batter

Here is how to make and bake the brownie batter. You will need a hand mixer or a stand mixer with paddle attachment for this part.

STEP 1: Dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, sift the flour and mix in the cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt.

STEP 2: Wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar and eggs on high speed for 5 minutes.

Add the vanilla extract, oil, and melted butter and mix until just combined.

STEP 3: Combine. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

STEP 4: Chocolate chips. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the chocolate chips.

STEP 5: Scoop. Use a cookie scoop to evenly distribute the brownie batter to your 3 cake pans in spaced dollops. Use a kitchen knife to gently swirl it into the cake batter.

Only swirl it in, do not fully mix it in.

See Also

Chocolate Mousse Brownies or Best Brownies EVER!Easy Homemade BrowniesHomemade Crunch Bars (Award Winning Recipe!)Chocolate Magic Custard Cake

STEP 6: Bake Cakes. Bake them for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs.

STEP 7: Cool. Cool the cakes for 10 minutes in the cake pans before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Step by Step Instructions- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Here is how to make the chocolate cream cheese frosting. You will need a stand mixer for this.

STEP 1: Dry ingredients. Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl.

STEP 2: Beat. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter on high speed for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

STEP 3: Combine. Add half of the powdered sugar mixture and mix it on low until combined. Then, add the rest and mix on low until combined.

STEP 4: Beat. Add in the vanilla extract and salt. Finally, beat it on high speed until creamy. The frosting will get a lighter color.

Assembling the Ultimate Brownie Cake Tips

• Items that will be helpful in cake decoration:turntable,icing offset spatula,straight icing spatula,cake scraper,cake leveler(or a bread knife), and acake carrier.
• Use a serrated knife to cut the domes off of your cakes to leave a flat top.
• Place the first cake layer and spread one cup of frosting over it.
• Place the second layer on top and frost with another 1 cup of frosting.
• Place the last layer on top with the bottom facing up to give the flattest top.
• Frost the cake, including the sides of the cake, in a light layer of frosting and freeze for 15 minutes. This will set the frosting a provide a crumb coat to give a cleaner finish.
• Frost the cake the rest of the way!
• To finish I got some store-bought brownies and cut them into squares to place on top. This is completely optional and you can decorate with whatever you prefer!

FAQ

Recipe Variations

• Full frosting- You can the frosting by using 1.5 times the amount to get enough frosting to do a full frosting layer instead of semi-naked.
• Piped decorations- You can also make 1.5 times as much frosting to leave enough to decorate the top with piped decorations.

• Cake pans: I use Wilton 8-inch cake pans.
• Parchment paper circles: I used 8-inch parchment paper circles for the bottom of the pan. I love to use the premade circles, so I don't have to cut it out of regular parchment paper.
• Baking spray: I use the nonstick spray that has flour in it.
• Offset spatula: I use this to easily spread the frosting or fillings.
• Cake turntable: I use this nice Ateco cast iron turntable because it is high quality and it spins seamlessly. Some other turntables are a little jerky when they turn.
• Cake scraper: I use a metal scraper to get smooth cakes.
• Piping bags: I like these 18- inch piping bags since they hold more.
• Piping tip: I love this Wilton 1M to pipe frosting.

Storing and Freezing

Store this brownie cake in an airtight container like a cake carrier. Store in the fridge up to 5 days.

You can freeze the brownie cake in individual cake slices. Place in an airtight container and freeze up to 30 days.

Other Layered Cake Recipes To Try

Try these brownie recipes too!

• Salted Caramel Brownies
• Cheesecake Brownies
• Cookie Dough Brownies
• Nutella Brownies
• Strawberry Brownies

Make sure to leave a STAR REVIEW if you loved this recipe! Make sure to tag me on Instagram@stephaniesweettreats. To get more ideasfollow me on Pinterest.

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