Chocolate Cake

 Sometimes a simple slice of chocolate cake just sounds good! 

The recipe for this delicious chocolate cake is Ina Garten's popular recipe using freshly brewed coffee. The cake is tender and moist and has a good chocolate flavor. The frosting is a rich cocoa buttercream that I just love to use for various chocolate desserts like these Cocoa Blossom Cookies. 

I had some creamy chocolate frosting leftover from a dessert I made the other day, so I decided to make a cake to use up my frosting. I couldn't let all that chocolatey goodness go to waste! I compared a few chocolate cake recipes online, but they were all about the same, so I went with Ina's. You can't go wrong with Ina. 

I passed slices of this cake (still just a tiny, tad warm :) out to the neighbors and then my girls and I went on the back patio and enjoyed a slice or two ourselves. So good!

If you're craving a simple yet satisfying dessert, make this delicious chocolate cake with rich cocoa buttercream. It will definitely hit the spot!

* I halved the cake recipe since I only had so much frosting. But the cake and frosting recipe below yield enough to make a double layer chocolate cake. 

Ina's Chocolate Cake
Yield: One double layer, 9-inch cake 

Ingredients
Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Cocoa Frosting
Ingredients
2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa, and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk or sugar.

* This is a thick frosting, so it pipes and holds up well. Add milk as needed to reach desired spreading consistency. The more you beat this the fluffy and lighter it gets. If you're adding sprinkles, put them on quickly as this frosting sets up fast.

Frosting recipe adapted from allrecipes.com