Learn how to make a beautiful Triple Chocolate Ombré Cake from scratch! Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate combined into one delicious cake. With video!
Ok, making a chocolate cake is one thing but making a Triple Chocolate Ombré Cake is a whole other level.
I’m wondering how many chocolate recipes on my blog are too much? Saying this sentence out loud sounds totally ridiculous. How can chocolate ever be too much?
Chocolate is just great. It tastes good, and it makes us happy. That’s a fact.
I don’t really prefer one chocolate over the other. I love dark as much as milk or white. It depends on my mood, which one I give a go.
This time, I was in the mood for all the chocolate. Dark, milk, and white. So I had to figure out how to combine them in one dessert but having them as separate flavors. This Triple Chocolate Ombré Cake came to my mind.
What’s so great about this cake?
- Triple chocolate!
Do you really need more points?
Triple Chocolate Cake Layers.
For the cake layers, you need three 8″ (20cm) baking pans. Cut out 8″ parchment paper circles for the bottoms of the pans. You can lightly grease the sides of the pans, but I prefer to cut parchment paper stripes for the sides.
When the cake is baked and cooled, invert the pan, and the cake will come out easily. Then remove the paper and voilá.
For the three chocolate layers we need just one cake batter and divide it into three before adding the chocolate. To have three equal amounts of batter I recommend using a kitchen scale. You don’t need to worry then that the cake layers are different in height, texture, and baking time.
The cake batter is made of flour, baking powder, salt, butter, oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk. I added butter and oil to have the best of both worlds. Butter adds a great flavor to the cake and oil a great texture.
After dividing into three add melted dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate.
Triple Chocolate Buttercream.
For making the chocolate buttercream, beat softened butter until very creamy. Then sift in powdered sugar and beat until fluffy and creamy. Add a bit of salt to cut down the sweetness.
Then divide buttercream into three equal batches and add dark, milk, and white chocolate. Stir until super creamy.
Really, guys, this chocolate buttercream is out of this world creamy. You don’t need to add any heavy cream to lighten it up. Trust me. It is absolutely perfect.
Please use just high-quality chocolate or couverture for the cake and the buttercream. The taste of the chocolate is very domination in the cake and especially in the buttercream.
The better the chocolate is, the better the cake is. The same is true in the other direction.
The Triple Chocolate Ombré Cake.
Now we are standing here with three chocolate cake layers and buttercream. Let’s bring this all together.
Place the first cake layer on a cake turner or cake stand. I was long, long thinking about whether the dark or the white chocolate layer should be the first. It is beautiful either way. In the end, I decided to start with the dark chocolate layer, as you can see.
When you start with the dark chocolate layer as I did, spread dark chocolate evenly on top of the cake. Reserve buttercream for the sides. If you want to make a naked cake, then spread all of the buttercream on top.
Lay milk chocolate cake layer on top and spread with milk chocolate buttercream. Repeat with the white chocolate layer.
When not making a naked cake, spread the rest of the buttercream on the sides of the cake. I did this by spreading one color after another around the sides with an offset spatula and leveled it at the end with the offset spatula.
Don’t worry, if the colors mix up a bit. I think it is even more beautiful when the colors go into another where they meet.
This Triple Chocolate Ombré Cake is
- beautiful
- not that hard to make
- extremely chocolatey
- soft
- creamy
- so dang delicious
Did you already think about, whether you start with the dark or the white chocolate layer? Tell me your preference in the comments below!
If you make this Triple Chocolate Ombré Cake recipe, leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #alsothecrumbsplease on Instagram! Would love to see your snap!
You may also like No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake, Fudge Brownie Ice Cream Cake, Fresh Cherry Cake, Almond Peach Galette, or click here to see all recipes.
Learn how to make a beautiful Triple Chocolate Ombré Cake from scratch! Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate combined into one delicious cake. With video!
- 2+1/2 cups all-purpose flour (300g)
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup butter (113g)
- 1/2 cup oil (120ml)
- 1 cup granulated white sugar (200g)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 vanilla beans* (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
- 1 cup buttermilk (240ml)
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate, melted and cooled (85g)
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate, melted and cooled (85g)
- 1/2 cup white chocolate, melted and cooled (85g)
- 1+1/2 cups butter, room temperature (339g)
- 3 cups powdered sugar (360g)
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate, melted and cooled (85g)
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate, melted and cooled (85g)
- 1/2 cup white chocolate, melted and cooled (85g)
Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line the bottom and the sides of three 8" (20cm) baking pans with parchment paper. Lightly grease the sides of the pan with butter or oil that the paper sticks to the pan. Set aside.
In a medium bowl combine flour, salt, and baking powder and stir to combine. Set aside.
Make the triple chocolate cake layers: In a large mixing bowl with a stand or handheld mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat butter, oil, and sugar until creamy for about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Alternately add dry ingredients and buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir just until combined. Divide batter into three bowls equally (use a kitchen scale for accurate results). Add dark chocolate to one batter and stir to combine. Transfer to one prepared baking pan. Repeat with milk and white chocolate. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Don't overbake or the cake will be dry. Let cool to room temperature.
Make the triple chocolate buttercream: Beat butter on medium-high speed until soft and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add powdered sugar and beat on medium-low speed until fully combined and smooth. Stir in salt to combine. Divide batter into three bowls equally (use a kitchen scale for accurate results). Add dark chocolate to one buttercream and stir until creamy. Repeat with milk and white chocolate.
Assemble the cake: Cut a thin layer off the tops of your cakes to create a flat surface if needed. Place the dark chocolate cake layer on a cake stand, turner, or serving plate. Spread the dark chocolate buttercream evenly on top of the cake. Reserve about 1/4 for the sides. Place milk chocolate layer on top and spread with milk chocolate buttercream. Again, reserve about 1/4 for the sides. Repeat with the white chocolate layer. Frost the outside and the sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. For best results, spread one color after another around the sides with an offset spatula and level with the offset spatula in the end. Chill 4 hours in the fridge. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 2 days.
*First, cut off the straight end of the vanilla bean. Then place the tip of your knife below the curled end and cut the vanilla bean through the middle of the bean lengthwise with a sharp knife. Although you don't need to cut it all the way through, it's ok when you do so. Then open the vanilla bean and scrape out the flavorful seeds with the back of your knife. Just use the seeds.
This cake looks delicious, but im confused about the layers. The directions say use two 8” inch pans but then it says divide batter into dark, milk and white pans. So should it say use 3 cake pans?
Hi Kris, I’m so sorry! Of course, these are three pans. I just corrected it in the recipe. Thank you so much for telling me.
That’s such a beautiful cake. I love how the frosting coordinates with the layers inside.
Thank you so much, Haley! I’m glad you like it!
Is semi-sweet chocolate the same as “dark” chocolate. Looks amazing!
Yes, exactly. Thank you so much!
Hi My grandmother use to make a cake she divided the batter like this only she made it Neapolitan this cake looks like the texture density of her cake
She made five laters can you give any tips with dividing per cake pans.
I would cut each cake layer in half horizontally. Then you would end up with 6 thinner cake layers. You could skip one layer (reserve for cake pops or eat it) or assemble the cake with 6 layers. Hope that helps!
Can you use chocolate chips?
I don’t recommend to melt chocolate chips. They have a completely different texture than regular high-quality chocolate bars.
I was asked to make this cake for a wedding. I need a 12″, 10″ and 8″. Any recommendations for doubling the recipe or maybe 1 1/2 batch for the 10″?
Okay, as I understand that right, you need three different sizes of layers. The bottom layer 12″ followed by a 10″ and on top the 8″, correct? So, I would make the recipe 1.5x times and before you add the chocolate to each layer, I would divide the batter into 25% of the batter for the 8″ layer, 35% of the batter for the 10″ layer, and 40% for the 12″ layer. Hope that helps!
😊🤗😍
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Hey Sabine, thank you for your wonderful recipes, I want to bake this cake for a baby shower, what brand of high quality chocolate bars would you suggest?
Hey Christa, you can’t go wrong with Ghirardelli, Lindt, or Hershey’s. Because I’m currently living in Austria, I bake the most of the time with Lindt at the moment. Hope that helps! Happy baking 🙂
Can you bake all three layers at the same time in one oven?
Yes, that is recommended.
OMG!!! Looks insanely beautiful! Is the chocolate unsweetened or sweetened? I’m afraid there is no unsweetened chocolate available where I live. If I want to use sweetened chocolate by how much should I reduce the amount of sugar? I am not a big fun of super sweet desserts 😛 Thank you <3
You can go with semi-sweet chocolate like 50% cocoa for the dark cake layer. The milk chocolate cake layer contains regular milk chocolate, so sweet one. And the white cake layer contains regular white chocolate. The same is true for the frosting. Hope that helps.
I apologize for the possible novice question but I was wondering if the butter for the Cale batter needs to be rom temp? I see the icing states room temp so I thought I would check for the cake. Thank you!
You can use room temperature butter to reduce the mixing time a bit. But it’s not necessary. You can use cold butter as well.
HOW DO YOU INCORPORATE THE MELTED CHOCOLATES INTO THE CAKE BATTER WITHOUT IT HARDENING WHILE ADDING IT? THE WHITE CHOCOLATE IS THE WORST.. ALSO, I’M AFRAID THE BAKING POWDER LOSES IT’S FIZZ DUE TO THE TIME NEEDED TO DIVIDE THE BATTER AND ADDING THE CHOCOLATES,.. DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS? THANK YOU., IM ON MY 2ND ATTEMPT AND HAVEN’T MADE IT TO THE ICING YET. I MAY HAVE THE SAME TROUBLE WITH THE MELTED CHOCOLATE THERE BUT I DON/T KNOW YET.
Please make sure to use just high-quality chocolate and no chocolate chips. Chocolate chips like the ones in cookies, for example, are not meant to be melted and turn out dry and crumbly. Then you shouldn’t have any problem.