The Best Darn Beef Tallow Chocolate Cake

We’re doing something a little wild—we are making chocolate cake with tallow instead of butter.

Why You’ll Love This

• No Fancy Equipment: One of the best things about this cake is how easy it is. You don’t need a stand mixer. You don’t need a hand mixer. If you’re working in a really small kitchen or just baking at home, this is perfect because all you need is a bowl, a whisk, and a spatula.
• The “Umami” Factor: You might be scared of the beef fat, but trust me. What the tallow does for the flavor is give it a little bit of that marrow richness—a little more umami than you would get in a regular chocolate cake. It makes it incredibly rich without being super, super sweet.
• It’s Versatile: This cake is sturdy but moist. You can frost it, cover it in fondant, or even break up the crumbs to make plated desserts with fresh berries, caramel, and coffee.

What You’ll Need

Special Equipment

• Kitchen scale (highly recommended for accuracy—this is a chef’s recipe!)
• Two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans
• Whisk and rubber spatula
• Sifter/sieve
• Small torch or gas burner (optional, for unmolding)

The Ingredients

Wet Mix:

• 5 oz hot brewed coffee
• 5 oz beef tallow, room temperature
• 5 oz whole milk
• 2½ oz whole egg (approx. 1 large egg + 1 yolk, or whisk eggs and weigh)
• ¼ oz vanilla extract

Dry Mix:

• 7½ oz all‑purpose flour
• 10½ oz granulated sugar
• 1¾ oz unsweetened cocoa powder (Extra Brut preferred)
• 10 g baking powder
• 10 g baking soda
• 5 g kosher salt (approx. 1 tsp), plus more to taste if you like a slightly saltier crumb

Tallow Cream Cheese Frosting:

• Standard cream cheese frosting (butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar to taste)
• 1 tbsp beef tallow (melted or very soft)

Let’s Get Baking!

1. Preheat and Prep

Preheat your oven to 325°F (165°C). If using a convection oven, lower it to 300°F (150°C).

Spray two cake pans thoroughly with cooking spray. You don’t need parchment paper for this one if you follow the unmolding tip later and chill the cake.

2. Melt the Tallow

First things first, you need to melt that fat. Take your hot coffee—about 5 ounces—and scale that right out. Into that hot coffee goes a scoop of tallow (5 ounces). I like to use an ice cream scoop to get it out of the container easily. Make sure you use a scraper to get all that goodness!

Agitate it with a whisk. We are melting that tallow down to create a beautiful liquid fat.

Tip: If your coffee isn’t hot enough to melt it completely, no big deal—just pop the bowl on the stove for a second or set it over a pot of hot water until it’s liquid.

3. Finish the Wet Mix

Once our tallow is nice and creamy—it almost looks like icing!—whisk in the 2½ oz of egg, 5 oz of milk, and ¼ oz of vanilla extract. The mixture should be emulsified and creamy.

If it looks slightly separated at first, just keep whisking; it should come together into a smooth, glossy mixture.

4. Combine Dry Ingredients

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and granulated sugar. Sifting helps get rid of lumps, especially in that dark cocoa.

Then, add about 5 g of kosher salt and whisk to distribute. You definitely want to taste your batter (or at least your finished cake) to dial in that salt level the way you like it.

5. Make the Batter

Now, the best part: pour that “liquid gold” wet mixture right into the dry ingredients.

Use a whisk or spatula to mix until just combined and smooth. Scrape the bowl to ensure no dry pockets remain.

Note: Since we are using baking soda and baking powder, you don’t need to worry about creating a foam with the eggs. You just mix it. Do not overmix; the batter will be very fluid and pourable—that’s exactly how it should look.

6. Bake

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Give them a couple of whacks on the counter to release air bubbles.

Bake for 25–35 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches roughly 196°F–205°F and a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.

7. Cool and Unmold (Pro Tip!)

Let the cakes cool to room temperature.

Chef’s Trick: I put my cake in the refrigerator overnight. This cake is super moist, so chilling it makes it firm up and easier to handle.

To get it out of the pan clean, I just pass the bottom of the cold pan over a hot flame (stove burner or torch) for a few seconds to loosen that cooking spray and fat. It pops right out onto the cardboard—gorgeous, moist, and fabulous.

8. The “Naked Cake” Finish

For the icing, use a mix of butter, cream cheese, and about a tablespoon of tallow just to carry that flavor through.

Whip the butter, cream cheese, and tallow together, then add powdered sugar to your desired sweetness. I like doing a “naked cake” style—it’s what all the kids are clamoring for right now! You just wipe the icing around the sides so you can still see the cake layers. It gives you enough flavor without making you feel super full of sugar.

And there you have it. The tallow, the coffee, the cocoa… It is just the best.

FAQs

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The Best Darn Beef Tallow Chocolate Cake

Recipe by Sana ReiCourse: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

12

Slices

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Approx Calories

450

kcal

Chill Time

8

hours 

Total time

8

hours 

50

minutes

A remarkably moist and rich chocolate cake that uses rendered beef tallow instead of butter. This creates a deep umami flavor profile that isn’t overly sweet. No mixer required!

Ingredients

• Equipment Needed

• Kitchen scale

• 2 cake pans

• Whisk

• Mixing bowls

• Ingredients

• 5 oz hot coffee

• 5 oz beef tallow

• 5 oz whole milk

• 2½ oz whole egg (beaten)

• ¼ oz vanilla extract

• 7½ oz all‑purpose flour

• 10½ oz granulated sugar

• 1¾ oz unsweetened cocoa powder (Extra Brut preferred)

• 10 g baking powder

• 10 g baking soda

• 5 g kosher salt

• For the Frosting:

• 4 oz butter, softened

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened

• 1 tbsp beef tallow

• 2–3 cups powdered sugar (to taste)

Directions

• Heat oven to 325°F (standard) or 300°F (convection). Grease pans with cooking spray.
• Combine hot coffee and tallow in a bowl. Whisk until tallow is melted and smooth.
• Add milk, beaten egg, and vanilla to the coffee/tallow mixture. Whisk to combine into a creamy, emulsified mixture.
• In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir in the salt.
• Pour wet ingredients into the dry bowl. Whisk until smooth and fully combined; batter will be thin.
• Divide into pans and bake for 25–35 minutes until an internal temp of about 196°F–205°F and a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool completely. For best results, refrigerate overnight.
• To unmold, briefly warm the bottom of the cold pan over a flame to release the cake.
• For frosting, whip butter, cream cheese, and tallow together, then add powdered sugar to your desired sweetness. Frost in a “naked” style.

Notes

• Flavor Profile: The tallow adds a marrow‑like richness and savory depth (umami) that pairs perfectly with coffee and berries.
• Storage: Because of the fat content, this cake keeps incredibly well in the fridge.
• Pans: If you don’t have parchment paper, just use a good cooking spray; the fat in the batter helps it release.
• Serving Suggestion: Serve with fresh strawberries, caramel sauce, or a hot cup of coffee.