This barley flour chocolate cake is so moist you’ll never believe it is whole grain! Thick, rich and decadent 2 layer cake.

Years ago we came across an amazing chocolate cake recipe. It’s our go-to cake that we love to top with peanut butter frosting.

Every now and then when that chocolate craving hits we like to switch it up and make something just a little different. That’s where this barley flour chocolate cake comes in!

Barley Flour Chocolate Cake on a spatula

Is barley a healthy grain?

Barley flour is a heart healthy flour. It is fiber, potassium and folate.

Is barley flour gluten free?

Barley flour is a low gluten flour, but it is not considered gluten free.

Is barley flour good for baking?

Yes! Barley flour is great for baking and can many times be used in place of all-purpose flour. Because it is low in gluten, it can often make a cake very tender and give it a great texture.

**Pro Tip: If you don’t have barley flour, you can use cake flour instead.**

overhead shot of Barley Flour Chocolate Cake

How to Make Barley Flour Chocolate Cake

One thing to note is that this cake uses coffee. You can’t taste the coffee in this recipe. It only enhances the chocolate flavor so we highly recommend using it.

If you don’t at all want to use coffee, you can use water instead.

In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder.
In a separate bowl whisk together the milk, eggs, vegetable oil, and coffee.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Mix until everything is well combined, about one minute, being sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl so all the ingredients get mixed properly.
Grease and flour 2 8″ round cake pans. (Or use one 9×13 baking pan.)
Bake 20-22 minutes in a 350º Fahrenheit oven. You’ll know it is done when you insert a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean.
Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes in the pans before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosting

The frosting for this barley flour chocolate cake is a delicious chocolate peanut butter blend. You can use traditional chocolate buttercream if you don’t want to use peanut butter.

Beat together the butter and peanut butter. You can use natural peanut butter if you’d like.
Once they are smooth, stir in the cocoa powder. We use unsweetened cocoa powder.
Alternate adding the milk and powdered sugar, mixing well between each addition. Don’t add all the milk at once. Only add enough to make the frosting spreadable.

Do you need to refrigerate a cake?

This cake is safe to store at room temperature. Of course if the air is warm, the frosting may melt slightly.

Make sure that you store the cake in an airtight container once the cake is cut. Before you cut the cake, the frosting will act as a sealant to keep the moisture in the cake.

Can you freeze chocolate cake?

Yes! Chocolate cake freezes well. Make sure the cake is sealed well in an airtight container.

When you want to defrost it, make sure you leave time for the cake to defrost completely before you open the storage container. This prevents the cake from drying out.

Other Chocolate Cake Recipes

2 layer chocolate cake with chocolate chips on outside

Tools to Make This Cake

Stand Mixer: A hand mixer will work, but I always find it easier to make frostings with a stand mixer.
Beater Blade with Scraper: The best invention ever!
Straight Icing Spatula: The long straight spatula makes it easy to smooth frosting.
Wire Cooling Racks: This will help your cakes cool more quickly.