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This Kahlua Coffee Chocolate Layer Cake is made with a moist chocolate Kahlua cake covered in Kahlua coffee frosting! It’s seriously so good – you won’t want to share!
Table of Contents
Kahlua Coffee Chocolate Layer Cake
So this past weekend the hubs and I went and looked at some houses. We’ve been considering moving within the area for a while now, but haven’t found the right thing. We’d been looking around on our own and since we haven’t had any luck, we decided to try working with a real estate agent that the hubs knows.
Well we were out looking at some homes Sunday afternoon and it started getting a little late. We knew it could go later, so we brought everything for my evening progesterone shot (for our IVF treatment) with us just in case.
As luck would have it, 6 PM came rolling around and we got the privilege of not only doing our shot while out and about for the first time, but in a new house that was still under construction. We were looking at the house with our real estate agent and the sales person when we excused ourselves to shut ourselves into a room filled with nails, dust, wood and cardboard and try to give me a safe and sanitary shot in the rear/hip. A bit comical actually!
Fortunately the shot went well. 🙂 Our real estate agent knows about our IVF, so it was fine. But still not something you do everyday!
Something I would like to do everyday, however, is eat this cake. Oh my goodness, the flavors! I can’t even handle how good it all is together. You take a bite and your eyes basically roll back into your head because you just can’t deal any other way.
The chocolate cake is richly chocolatey and enhanced by coffee in the batter and 1/2 a cup of Kahlua. Plus, it’s pretty easy to put together. You don’t even need to bust out your mixer if you don’t want to. Just one bowl and a whisk will do the job!
The frosting is a variation of my buttercream with some Kahlua and espresso. Again, the flavor is perfection! And it’s also nice and straight forward to make. You’ve got your butter and shortening (you can always use butter to replace the shortening if you prefer – read why I use it in this post – Vanilla Buttercream Frosting) and powdered sugar first. They form the base of the frosting and to that you add the Kahlua and espresso. You’ll want to heat up the Kahlua a bit and then dissolve the espresso in it and use that to flavor the frosting and thin it out to the right frosting consistency.
Once you’ve got your cakes and frosting, whip the cake together and dig in as fast as you can! This cake is full of moisture, so soft and flavorful – it’s truly delicious! If you have any love for coffee, Kahlua and chocolate, it’s a must try!
Watch How To Make It
SHOP THE RECIPE
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Kahlua Coffee Chocolate Layer Cake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 32 minutes
- Total Time: 57 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Kahlua Coffee Chocolate Layer Cake is made with a moist chocolate Kahlua cake covered in Kahlua coffee frosting! It’s seriously so good – you won’t want to share!
Ingredients
CHOCOLATE KAHLUA CAKE
- 2 cups (260g) all purpose flour
- 2 cups (414g) sugar
- 3/4 cup (85g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (180ml) milk
- 1 cup (240ml) vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup (120ml) Kahlua
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (180ml) hot coffee
KAHLUA COFFEE FROSTING
- 7 tbsp (75ml) Kahlua
- 3 tbsp instant espresso powder
- 1 1/2 cups (336g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (236g) shortening
- 10 1/4 cups (1208g) powdered sugar
- Chocolate jimmie sprinkles
Instructions
1. Prepare three 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 300°F (148°C).
2. Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl and combine.
3. Add the eggs, milk, vegetable oil, Kahlua and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Add the coffee to the cake batter and mix well. Batter will be very thin.
5. Divide the batter evenly between cake pans and bake for 32-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
6. Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.
7. To make the frosting, heat the Kahlua until it just begins to boil, then add the espresso. Stir until dissolved.
8. In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter and shortening until smooth.
9. Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
10. Add about half of the Kahlua mixture and mix until smooth.
11. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
12. Add additional Kahlua mixture until the frosting is the right consistency. If needed, refer to my tutorial on how to get the right frosting consistency.
13. To build the cake, cut the domes off the top of each cake so they are flat.
14. Put the first cake layer on a serving plate and top with 1 cup of frosting. Spread into an even layer.
15. Add the second layer of cake, another cup of frosting and then top the cake with the final layer of cake.
16. Frost the outside of the cake. Use my tutorial for frosting a smooth cake, if desired. Use an icing smoother/decorating comb tool like this one to add a pattern on the sides of the cake.
17. Press some sprinkles into the bottom of the sides of the cake.
18. Pipe some swirls around the top edge of the cake (I use Ateco icing tip #844) and add a few additional sprinkles, then serve.
19. Store the cake in an air tight container. Cake is best for 2-3 days.
Notes
If you’d like a non-alcoholic version of this cake, I’d suggest referring to this chocolate cake. It’s the one that was altered to make this cake and there are several changes that had to be made for the Kahlua cake. You can use regular cocoa and coffee instead of water, like is used in this cake. For the frosting, replace the Kahlua with water and add an additional tablespoon or two of espresso powder, depending on how strong of a coffee flavor you want.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 1089
- Sugar: 121 g
- Sodium: 528.9 mg
- Fat: 56.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 141.1 g
- Protein: 5.8 g
- Cholesterol: 94.1 mg
Enjoy!
Hi, is there anything that i can use to substitute the shortening with?
Yes, replace it with an equal amount of butter (in addition to the other butter already listed).
I made this cake for my family’s Easter dessert, and it was a huge hit! I followed the recipe as written, and the cake turned out perfect. Some family members commented that this is the best chocolate cake they’ve ever eaten! I will add, however, that the frosting is VERY sweet, as expected with that much powdered sugar. Note about the frosting: instead of a vegetable oil shortening I used Organic Palm Oil shortening, as the frosting holds up much better in a humid climate (I live in Florida). Thank you Lindsay for this wonderful recipe….it’s a keeper!
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it!
This cake is AMAZING and DELICIOUS!!!!!! I took a picture, but unable to post. I am obsessed with your recipes Lindsay. Everyone I have made is very easy to follow and the taste is unbelievable. I bought your cook book and wish you had another with more recipes! 🥰
Thank you so much! It’s so great to hear you’ve enjoyed everything, especially the cookbook!
I have never baked or eaten a cake with alcohol. Can children eat this cake or is this not meant for kids at all? Probably a silly question but have to ask. Thank you!
So some of the alcohol does actually remain after it’s baked, so I wouldn’t recommend it for children.
Lindsay this recipe looks fantastic…so much so, that I am going to be making this for one tier of my Cousin’s wedding cake in a few weeks and would REALLY appreciate any suggestions you could give me for using for a 14″ round or possibly square three layer cake. If I doubled the recipe, do you think it would be enough batter for that size? I’m going to use the Kahlua coffee frosting for a filling between the layers and then ice in white buttercream.
I honestly don’t really make cakes that large so it’s hard for me to say exactly. I do think you would need to at least triple the recipe though.
Thanks for such a quick reply. I appreciate it.
I am new to your website and your recipes look delicious. I do have a question. In many of your cake recipes you use oil instead of butter. I normally shy away from cake recipes that use oil unless it’s a small amount. Do you use oil as it makes for a more tender cake instead of butter? Just trying to clarify why and when is it best to use oil in cake recipes.
Thank you.
In most of my chocolate cakes you will find primarily oil. I find that oil produces a much more moist cake. However in most of my vanilla cakes, you will find that they either use all butter or a combination of butter and oil. An all oil vanilla cake often lacks some of the flavor from butter, so depending on the cake, I use both. With chocolate cake though, I don’t notice the flavor issue with oil versus butter. in fact, my oil based chocolate cake has much better flavor than any butter based chocolate cake I’ve had. But I do think taste is subjective. Everyone has their own preferences. I hope that helps.
Hi there!! I’m so excited to try this recipe, just wondering what brand of espresso powder do you use?
Looks delicious! I am going to attempt this for our oldest daughter’s birthday (28th) this weekend. If I cannot find espresso powder can I substitute instant coffee granules?
Yes, instant coffee should be fine. I hope you enjoy it!
Can I use all butter for the frosting?? Does the shortening make a difference outcome I wonder?
You can use all butter. It can change the consistency of the frosting, but that may not be important to you.
I made this cake for my 28 year old son’s birthday last week. The cake turned out beautiful! It has to be one of my favorite cakes ever!! The flavors were perfect! Just enough chocolate, coffee and Kahula. It was moist and light and delicious! Thank you for sharing!
In fact I loved the flavors so much I made brownies this weekend with the same three flavors. Delicious!
Wonderful! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe is absolutely the best! And if you use the Kng Aurthur Flour Espresso Powder, you only need 2 tblsp 🙂 I make this using cupcakes (makes 36) and took them to work (I work in a restaurant!)…everyone devoured them!
Thank you! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed!
Can you make cupcakes with this recipe? I love this cake and would love if I could turn it into a cupcake. Thank you ????
Cupcakes should work just fine.
This fabulous cake has become my go-to cake for special occasions! I have served it to my coworkers on my birthday two years in a row. The cake is very moist. I read some complaints about it being too sweet. I brewed very strong coffee for the batter; i think doing so offset some of the sweetness. The recipe for the frosting yielded way too much frosting, even though I generously frosted the cake to try to use it up. I’m not sure if cutting the recipe in half would be enough frosting, so I will experiment further. Thank you!!!
Thank you for your tips and I’m so glad you enjoyed!
Hi Lindsay,
I was wondering whether you have attempted to try this recipe using gluten free flour? I made it last year for my husband’s birthday and everyone loved it, but need to make a gf cake this year and wondered whether it is modifiable.
Many thanks.
I haven’t ever used GF flour, but I think others have in similar recipes so I assume it’d be fine.
Hi!
Just a quick question, can i use this for cupcakes instead of a whole cake?
Yes it can be make into cupcakes. Fill the liners half way, bake time is about 18-20 minutes.