Chocolate Cake with Warm Butter Sauce

Chocolate Cake with Warm Butter Sauce is the ultimate indulgence! It's one of my family's favorite birthday treats thanks to the rich chocolate cake and sweet, buttery sauce.

a bowl of chocolate cake with butter sauce

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What is chocolate cake with butter sauce?
Ingredients
How to make chocolate cake with butter sauce
Top tips
FAQ
More dessert recipes
Recipe

We're going next level with our chocolate cake.

Can you handle it? We're topping that cake with a sweet, warm butter sauce. It's really very easy, and is sure to impress anyone you serve it to.

What is chocolate cake with butter sauce?

This is a recipe that has been handed down through my family for generations, and with good reason. It's the ultimate indulgence, perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, and other celebrations.

Chocolate cake is pretty self explanatory, but butter sauce can best be described as a sweet topping that will soak into your cake, giving it a wonderful texture, keeping it warm with every bite, and ultimately ruining all other cakes for you.

It's easy and fancy while still being messy and old school. The recipe is for a slightly more dense cake than you would want for frosting, making it ideal for soaking up lots of that luscious sauce. This would also be a great way to use up day old cake!

Ingredients

Granulated sugar
Vegetable shortening
Eggs
Buttermilk
Vanilla extract
Flour
Cocoa powder
Baking soda
Salt
Boiling water

How to make chocolate cake with butter sauce

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat three 8 inch cake pans with shortening and dust with flour. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar and shortening until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs.
In a glass measuring cup, add vanilla extract to the milk.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add the flour alternately with the milk, pulsing the mixer to avoid ingredients splashing out. You will start with flour and end with flour, adding flour four times and milk three times.
Add the boiling water all at once and pulse until combined.
Divide the batter between the three pans, smooth it out, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Move to a cooling rack to cool.
To make the butter sauce, combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and melt, stirring, over medium heat. Heat until hot but not boiling. Spoon the hot sauce over slices of chocolate cake and serve.

butter sauce being poured on a piece of chocolate cake in a bowl

Top tips

How to grease and flour a cake pan

You can use butter or shortening to grease your cake pan and prevent the cake from sticking when removing it. If you have sticks of butter, simply remove some of the paper wrapping and rub the end of the stick of butter or shortening into the pan, making sure you cover the entire inside of the pan.

If your butter is very soft, use your fingers (or a plastic sandwich bag over your hand) to rub the butter into the pan. Be sure to make a thin, even layer, removing any clumps.

To add the flour, use a spoon or measuring cup to add a few tablespoons of flour to the greased pan. Holding it over the sink or garbage can, turn and tap the pan in all directions until fully coated. Add more flour as needed, and turn the pan upside down last and tap on the bottom a few times to remove the excess.

How to serve chocolate cake with butter sauce

I kept the cake in tact for a nice pretty picture, but I'll be honest with you. When I eat this I pretty much cut a piece of cake and then destroy it.

Cut it in fourths or slice it in half horizontally and spread it out so every last crumb is soaking up sauce. The cake is really just a vehicle for the sauce.

I recommend serving your cake in a bowl to prevent any spills and to allow you to mash it up as much as you want. Use a ladle or large spoon to carefully top the cake with butter sauce until fully coated. Be careful not to burn your mouth!

How to store

Store your chocolate cake and butter sauce separately, only adding the sauce to the cake when you're ready to serve it. Keep the cake covered with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 4 days. It's ok if it starts to dry out because it will just soak up more sauce.

The butter sauce can be kept in an airtight container or a saucepan in the refrigerator for up to 4 days as well. When I was growing up we always kept it in the saucepan on the stove top (turned off) so it was ready to be warmed up again when we wanted more. This doesn't seem like a great idea by today's food safety standards, but we never had a problem with it.

Tips for customizing chocolate cake with sweet butter sauce

Use your favorite chocolate cake recipe, or pick up an unfrosted cake at the store to save time
Add a splash of bourbon to the butter sauce
Double the vanilla
Top each serving with a Luxardo maraschino cherry

a bowl of chocolate cake and butter sauce on a wood table

FAQ

What happens if I boil the butter sauce?

You want your butter sauce hot, but not boiling. Some people may enjoy it a little warm, but I like it hot!

If it does accidentally boil some of the fats may separate out from the sauce, but it will still be edible. If it boils and you don't like what you see or taste, simply start over or enjoy your cake without sauce (sad!).

Can I make the cake in a 9x13 pan?

This cake was also an old recipe of my grandma's. It called to be baked in three 8 inch cake pans, which I did. If you want to throw it in a 9x13 I think it would turn out fine, you'll just need to adjust the baking time and keep an eye on it.

I do like how low the cake is when baked in three pans. It means less cutting and more soaking when it comes to dousing it in sauce.