This dreamy chocolate velvet cake is rich, tender, and ultra-moist thanks to cream cheese in the batter.
It delivers a delicate, velvety texture and a balanced chocolate flavor—not too heavy, but deeply satisfying for any chocolate craving.
You’re going to love this recipe.
Like many of our velvet cake recipes, this chocolate velvet cake uses softened cream cheese in the batter. That small addition brings both richness and a uniquely soft crumb. The result is a cake with a fine, tender texture that still feels light and fluffy.
How to Make Chocolate Velvet Cake
The full, printable recipe appears below, but here’s a concise overview of the steps.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 8×2-inch round pans.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Combine milk and vanilla in a separate container and set aside.
- In a mixer bowl with a paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and beat on medium for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each until fully incorporated.
- Have ½ cup very hot water ready for the batter.
- On low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the milk: start with about one-third of the flour mixture, then the milk; add half of the remaining flour, then the hot water; finish with the remaining flour. Mix only until combined.
- Divide batter among the three prepared pans and bake at 350°F for 25–30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
- Cool pans on a rack for 5–10 minutes, then turn the layers out to cool completely.
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
We filled and frosted this cake with a luscious chocolate cream cheese frosting. It combines butter, softened cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, and vanilla for a creamy, chocolatey finish.
This frosting works well as both a filling and final coat, and it pipes nicely for borders and small decorations. Because cream cheese frosting is naturally softer than buttercream, chill it briefly if it becomes too soft before decorating.
Assembling & Decorating the Cake
- Place the first cake layer on your cake board or stand and spread a layer of chocolate cream cheese frosting.
- Repeat with the remaining layers.
- Apply a thin crumb coat. Chill the cake in the freezer for about 10–15 minutes to firm the crumb coat before applying the final layer of frosting—this step makes decorating easier.
- Apply the final coat of frosting. Smooth the sides with a bench scraper and use a cake comb if you’d like decorative lines around the cake.
- Clean the top edge with an offset spatula and add borders with a petal/ruffle piping tip (such as tip 104) and small dots with a round tip (such as tip 3) if desired. Ruffle tips work by using an up-and-down motion while applying pressure with the bag; orient the small opening outward for a thin ruffle edge.
Here’s a look after slicing.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Because the cake is frosted with chocolate cream cheese frosting, it should be refrigerated. For best texture and flavor, remove the cake from the refrigerator 2–3 hours before serving so it can come to room temperature and soften.
Yes—the cake layers freeze very well. Wrapped properly, they keep up to three months. For best results, wrap each slightly-warm layer on a foil-covered cake board, then plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. When ready to decorate, leave them wrapped at room temperature for about 30 minutes until condensation forms on the foil, then unwrap and finish thawing. Some bakers prefer assembling while layers are still partially frozen because they’re easier to handle.
Cream cheese adds richness, tenderness, and a subtle creamy texture to the crumb. The cake remains light and fluffy but gains a finer, more delicate crumb and enhanced flavor. It’s a wonderful addition to layer cakes as well as pound cakes.
More Chocolate Cakes to Try
We have many favorite chocolate cakes. A few highlights include Chocolate Bundt Cake, German Chocolate Cake, Black Forest Cake, and Chocolate Sour Cream Cake. Below are some additional popular recipes from our collection.
Chocolate Truffle Cake-
Black Forest Cake Recipe
-
Chocolate Buttermilk Cake
-
Marble Cake (from Cake Mix)
Thanks for stopping by! We hope you enjoy this Chocolate Velvet Cake. Don’t miss our collection of cake recipes and cake-decorating tutorials for more inspiration.
Chocolate Velvet Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 (8 oz/226 g) package cream cheese, softened
- 2 sticks (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups (400 g) sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (82 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 g) milk
- ½ cup (120 g) very hot water
For the Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 sticks (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 to 6½ cups (690–747 g) powdered sugar (adjust to taste)
- ¼ cup (20 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 16 oz (452 g) cream cheese (two 8 oz packages), softened
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 8×2-inch round pans.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder; set aside.
- Combine milk and vanilla; set aside.
- Beat softened butter and cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add sugar and beat on medium for about 3 minutes until fluffy. Scrape the bowl.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each.
- Prepare ½ cup very hot water.
- On low speed, add about one-third of the flour mixture, then the milk; add half the remaining flour, then the hot water; finish with the remaining flour. Mix until just combined.
- Divide batter between the three pans and bake 25–30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
- Cool in pans 5–10 minutes on a rack, then turn out to cool completely.
For the Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Slice butter and beat in the mixer until softened and smooth. Add cocoa and mix until blended.
- Cut cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, beating until incorporated.
- Add vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar on low speed until blended.
- Increase speed to medium and beat until fluffy. Avoid overbeating; if frosting becomes too soft, refrigerate 10–15 minutes.
- The frosting pipes best when cool. You can make it ahead and refrigerate; soften slightly in the fridge (do not microwave) and remix before use.
- This amount of frosting will cover a three-layer 8- or 9-inch cake.
Assembling the Cake and Decorating
- Fill the layers and apply a thin crumb coat. Chill the cake 10–15 minutes in the freezer to firm before applying the final coat. If the frosting softens, refrigerate the bowl while the cake chills.
- Smooth the final coat with a bench scraper and finish with a cake comb if desired. Add top and bottom borders with a petal/ruffle tip and decorate with dots as preferred.