Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease three 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper circles. This ensures your cakes release perfectly without any sticking. You could also use two pans and slice each layer in half later for four total layers.

In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until everything is well combined and there are no cocoa lumps. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla until smooth and well blended.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until just combined. Don’t overmix because that creates tough cake. The batter will be fairly thick at this point. Slowly add the hot coffee or water while mixing on low speed. The batter will become much thinner and more liquidy, which is exactly what you want for Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake.

Divide the batter evenly among your prepared pans. I like to use a kitchen scale to make sure they’re equal, but eyeballing it works too. Bake for 25-30 minutes for three pans, or 30-35 minutes for two pans, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.

Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely. This cooling step is crucial because frosting warm cake creates a melty mess instead of beautiful layers.

While your cakes cool, make the chocolate fudge frosting. Beat the softened butter on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Add the cocoa powder and mix on low speed until combined. It’ll look dry and crumbly at this point, which is normal.

Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition. Once all the sugar is incorporated, add the vanilla, salt, and espresso powder if using. Then gradually add the heavy cream, starting with ⅓ cup and adding more as needed until you reach a smooth, spreadable consistency. Beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Place your first cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand. Spread about a cup of fudge frosting evenly over the top, going all the way to the edges. Add the second cake layer and repeat with more frosting. Continue until all layers are stacked with frosting between each one.

Use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of your Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake. I like to do a crumb coat first, which is a thin layer that seals in any loose crumbs. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, then add a final smooth layer of frosting over everything.

If you want those gorgeous piped rosettes like in the photo, reserve about a cup of frosting before frosting the cake. Transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe rosettes or swirls around the top edge of the cake for that professional bakery look. Finish with chocolate shavings or sprinkles if desired.