A homemade dark chocolate cake that's as easy and moist as a box mix using a vintage no-fail Hershey's recipe frosted with an equally easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
JUMP TO RECIPEI've always been the oddball in the cooking world who actually LIKES boxed cake mixes. I know, I know, that's ludicrous, right?
Well, aside from them being EASY, they're also so incredibly moist and tender. I've tried SO MANY homemade cake recipes over the years that were just too dry and too firm for my liking. Especially chocolate cakes.
I've figured out how to recreate something similarly tender and moist with sheet cake recipes but no traditional cake recipe holds a candle to this classic from Hershey's. Check out my two favorite sheet cake recipes: The BEST Chocolate Sheet Cake and Birthday Sheet Cake (Yellow Texas Sheet Cake)
I originally found this recipe in an old Hershey's cookbook from my childhood (waaaaay back in the 1900's). It was small with a metal, spiral binding with an illustration of a little girl licking a spoon and it was chocked full of excellent recipes. Anybody remember that cookbook??
What drew my attention to the Black Magic Cake was that it was easy enough for 10-year old me to make. I didn't have to melt chocolate or combine the ingredients in a persnickety way AND I could make it in one 13x9 pan instead of trying to take on a layered cake.
The cake is absolutely delicious as-is (without frosting) so I never frosted it much when I made it as a kid. If I did, I usually just grabbed a can of ready-made frosting. I still do just that sometimes!
But when I really want to put on the dog, I make this buttercream frosting which is ta die for and equally easy to make!
Just like the cake recipe, this buttercream uses cocoa powder instead of chocolate so it is super easy to whip up!
You can also use my recipe for No-Fail Buttercream Frosting which is a white frosting that can be flavored however you like... vanilla, coconut, peppermint, almond, lemon... just use whichever extract you'd like to flavor the buttercream.
6 REASONS I LOVE THIS RECIPE
- All the ingredients get mixed in one bowl at the same time, making it as easy as a box mix.
- Cocoa powder is used to flavor the cake (and frosting) so you don't have to fool with melting chocolate.
- It is insanely moist and stays that way! I suspect this is likely to do with the use of vegetable oil instead of butter or shortening.
- The chocolate flavor is rich and deep from the black coffee (which is likely where the cake got its name).
- It doesn't have to be frosted but it's next-level delicious if you do. It can flex from weekday snack cake to decadent dessert depending on what you need.
- There's a certain warm-and-fuzzy nostalgia to using vintage recipes like this one!
A FEW RECIPE NOTES
The cake does NOT taste like coffee. The coffee just amplifies the chocolate flavor and adds to the rich dark color. I hear you can substitute boiling water for the coffee but I've never tried it myself.
This cake can also be made in round cake pans or a bundt pan BUT you will need to grease and flour the pan(s). Bake 8-9" round pans 25-30 minutes, bundt pan 50-55 minutes.
Substitute buttermilk with this milk/vinegar combo if needed. Add 3 teaspoon white vinegar to a 1-cup measuring pitcher then fill to the 1-cup line with milk. Let rest at least 5 minutes for the vinegar to "sour" the milk.
MORE CHOCOLATE CAKES TO TRY!
CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE - A true southern chocolate pound cake recipe that’s moist and fudgy and packed with rich chocolate flavor.
IMPOSSIBLE 5-INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE CAKE - An impossibly moist, fudgy, decadent chocolate bundt cake recipe made with just five ingredients.
THE BEST CHOCOLATE TEXAS SHEET CAKE - A tried-and-true family recipe for velvety tender chocolate cake with old-fashioned cocoa icing poured on while the cake is still warm.
EARTHQUAKE CAKE - A decadent chocolate cake with pecans, coconut, chocolate chips and an ooey-gooey cream cheese frosting explosion that cracks the cake apart!
BLACK-BOTTOM CUPCAKES - A shortcut recipe for the classic chocolate cupcakes filled with chocolate chip cream cheese filling.
Recipe for Black Magic Cake
Black Magic Cake

A homemade dark chocolate cake that's as easy and moist as a box mix using a vintage no-fail Hershey's recipe that turns out perfect every time, frosted with an equally easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup hot black coffee
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 lb powdered sugar
- c cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup heavy cream plus more
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray or butter.
- Add sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt to a large mixing bowl then whisk well. 2 c. sugar, 1 3/4 c. flour, 3/4 cup cocoa, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp each baking powder & salt
- Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla then mix with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. 2 eggs, 1 c. each buttermilk & coffee, 1/2 c. oil, 1 tsp vanilla
- Pour batter into prepared pan then bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserting in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool completely then frost with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
- Sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder then set aside. Note: sifting is optional but recommended. 1 lb. powdered sugar, 3/4 c. cocoa powder
- Combine butter, vanilla and cream in a large mixing bowl then beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes or until completely smooth and fluffy. 1 c. butter, 2 tsp vanilla, 1/4 c. cream
- Add sugar/cocoa mixture then mix on low speed until well incorporated.
- Once all ingredients are well combined, increase mixer speed to medium-high then mix until frosting is fluffy and smooth.
- Add additional cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed to reach desired consistency.
Notes
CAKE NOTES:
- The cake does NOT taste like coffee. The coffee just amplifies the chocolate flavor and adds to the rich dark color. I hear you can substitute boiling water for the coffee but I've never tried it myself.
- This cake can also be made in round cake pans or a bundt pan BUT you will need to grease and flour the pan(s). Bake 8-9" round pans 25-30 minutes, bundt pan 50-55 minutes.
- Substitute buttermilk with this milk/vinegar combo if needed. Add 3 teaspoon white vinegar to a 1-cup measuring pitcher then fill to the 1-cup line with milk. Let rest at least 5 minutes for the vinegar to "sour" the milk.
FROSTING NOTES:
- Yield for cake(s): one generously frosted 13x9 cake or one two-layer 8" or 9" cake.
- Yield for cupcakes: 12-24 depending on technique. If using a piping bag, you will be able to generously frost 12-15 cupcakes. If spreading on with a spoon or knife, this recipe can frost a dozen cupcakes.
- This recipe (and all my recipes) uses SALTED butter. If using unsalted butter, add 1/2 salt when sifting the powdered sugar and cocoa powder together.
- Make sure your butter temperature is just right. If it's too soft, the frosting may appear grainy. If it's too firm, the ingredients won't come together properly. "Room Temperature" is usually defined by bakers as 68 degrees. You just need it to be warm enough to have no visible lumps when creamed with a mixer.
- Sifting the powdered sugar and cocoa powder is optional but I highly recommended it. Both ingredients can have tiny "nuggets" of compressed sugar or cocoa that don't always break up when mixing the frosting.
- For a GORGEOUSLY dark and dreamy frosting with more intense chocolate flavor, use a dark cocoa powder like Hershey's "Special Dark".
- 1 pound of powdered sugar yields approximately 4 cups.
- You can use milk or half-and-half instead of cream but the heavy cream really makes this glossy and gorgeous (I think the higher fat content plays better with the butter).
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Hi there! While I’m not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven’t been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments.
I can tell you now 1) I have no idea if you can substitute Minute Rice or brown rice in my recipes because I’ve never used them and 2) If I know how to convert a recipe to a Crock Pot version, I will make a note about it (otherwise, I don’t know).
And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y’all! - Mandy