Chocolate Cake

Fudgy, chocolatey, yummy cake!  A favorite here in the Harseverse for birthdays.

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (reduce by half if using salted butter)
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup strong black coffee
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan.  (I use one 10-inch, one 9-inch, and one 6-inch pans, dividing the batter evenly between them to get the three-layer cakes pictured below.)

1. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, melted butter and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes (batter will be thin).

1. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.

1. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

1. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Now choose your frosting...  The vanilla compliments the chocolate cake quite nicely, kind of how the icing in an oreo just works with the cookie. But if you have a serious chocolate craving, stick with the chocolate frosting.  Both are delicious!

Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 cups powdered (icing) sugar
3 Tbsp milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine all ingredients and mix with a hand or stand mixer.  Frost cooled cake.

Vanilla Cream Frosting

1-1/4 cups (300 mL) butter, softened
6 cups (1.5 L) icing sugar
3/4 cup (175 mL) whipping cream
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla
 

In large bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Alternately beat in sugar and cream, making 3 additions of sugar and 2 of cream. Beat in vanilla.  Frost cooled cake.