The changes are (so far) subtle, but you might have noticed you’re visiting a different site. Welcome to my new space! Over the last week I switched over from Blogger to WordPress (with a lot of help- thank you, Jeni). And I love the change! I’m still figuring my way around so it’ll be a slow transformation, but I’ve already added some new features: a navigation bar that includes the original recipe index and favorite blog links, as well as a new contact form. You can easily subscribe by RSS, e-mail, or Bloglovin’, search the archives by date or category, follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, or Instagram (coming soon!), and share your favorite posts with your method of choice! But I’m most excited about that little print button you see at the bottom each post. I’m sick of copying and pasting my own recipes in order to print them. No more! Just click that button and they’re ready to go!
More importantly though, let’s talk about cake. I gathered quite a few recipes I’m anxious to share with you over the last couple weeks. (Of course, it’s when I can’t post that I’m suddenly making all sorts of delicious things). But I decided to start with this one because we’re celebrating my new domain and because it’s amazing (the cake, that is)! I made it for Dustin’s birthday last weekend. (And amidst the celebration didn’t get a decent photo of it before we dug in. Don’t mind the candle holes and general mess.) And then ate it for dinner the next day and way too many times during this past week. This is the chocolate cake. It’s pretty much perfect and likely the only one I’ll ever again make. It’s rich and moist and astonishingly simple to prepare. I paired it with an easy chocolate buttercream, which will also be my go-to recipe from here on out. Don’t wait to make this one. You need a decadent chocolate cake up your sleeve.
Chocolate Cake
INGREDIENTS
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water (or 1 cup hot coffee or 2 tsp. instant coffee in 1 cup boiling water)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour (or line with parchment paper circles and lightly coat with cooking spray) 2 9-inch round baking pans.
2. In a large bowl of a stand mixer or with an electric beater, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla extract and beat until smooth, several minutes. Stir in boiling water (or coffee) with a rubber spatula (batter will be runny).
3. Pour batter into the two prepared pans (diving it as evenly as possible) and bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs attached. (NOTE: The original recipe said to bake for 35 minutes. My cake was done after 22 minutes.)
4. Allow cake to cool in pans for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Makes a 2-layer 9-inch round cake.
(Cake adapted from Foodess)
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
INGREDIENTS
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract or 1 tsp. almond extract
4 Tbsp. milk or heavy cream
DIRECTIONS
1. In a stand mixer or with electric beaters cream butter for a few minutes on medium speed. Turn off the mixer and sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder into the bowl. Turn the mixer on and slowly increase speed (so the sugar and cocoa don’t blow everywhere) until they are absorbed by the butter. Add the salt and vanilla and milk and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until smooth. (To thin frosting, slowly add more milk/cream. To stiffen frosting, add more powdered sugar.)
Makes about 3 cups of frosting (enough to frost a double layer 9-inch round cake).
(Frosting adapted from Savory Sweet Life)
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It is really good! the coffee is the secret! Ooops ?? Just baked it to my husband’s h bday, everyone loves it. Thank you again! ??
This cake sounds aaaamazin’ and I want to make it for a bachelorette party this month. The bride is a chocolate lover so it has to be the choc-yummiest of cakes and I think this one ….takes the cake. Yup, I did it.
I think cupcakes would be a fun way to go since this is pretty much a bunch of girls hanging out, playing games and getting a little boozy. How do you advise baking this recipe into cupcake form? Or do you? I know it’s a cherished recipe and sometimes you don’t mess with the original. Would love your input! Thanks!
Cupcakes would be great! Here is a link to the original recipe posted by Foodess in cupcake form (she used a different frosting, you can just follow the frosting I posted and it should be more than enough for the cupcakes). Hope that helps!
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I made this cake a few days ago for my mom’s birthday. It looked so yummy in your post, and the ingredients are really close to our previous favorite “sour cream chocolate cake”. Thanks so much for the recipes that you share. I really enjoy what you do……you have a really good knack for recipes and photos.
Thank you for the sweet comments Kim!
Hi,
I am practicing for Christmas gift baskets this year. I always make a big goodie basket for everybody. This looks amazing. This year I am making a sampler of cupcakes, and I needed a really good chocolate one. My problem? My taste tester… my son, is now attending grad school in Florida… So it takes about 3 days to get to him. Any ideas on keeping these fresh during shipping?
I’ve never shipped cupcakes before. If they weren’t frosted I think they might hold up OK since they are so moist. But I’m not sure how the frosting would do. Anyone else have a suggestion?
Jessie,
To do just a vanilla buttercream, would I just take out the cocoa powder or would you make any other adjustments?
Thank you so much!
I did some quick research for you and most popular vanilla buttercream recipes call for 1 stick butter (1/2 cup), 1 tsp. vanilla extract (up to 1 Tbsp. if you really love vanilla flavor), 2 1/2- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (the higher end if you like it really sweet), pinch salt (optional) and 1-3 Tbsp. or milk or cream to thin it out to the right consistency. (So yes, pretty much my recipe minus the cocoa!) If you use that as a base and adjust to taste/consistency I don’t think you can go wrong! Hope that helps!
This is gorgeous! I adore this cake!
Ok. So I don’t ever comment on food blogs, but I have to this time. My husbands birthday was in June and he wanted a giant chocolate cake (like on the movie Matilda) so I search online forever for the perfect chocolate cake. I used the exact same recipes for the cake and the frosting as you did (the exact same sites) and IT WAS THE BEST CAKE I HAVE EVER HAD!!!! I will never go back to another cake recipe. Oh but I doubled everything and made it four layers….I need to go get the leftovers from my freezer! Yum. That is so funny that out of the billions of food blogs out there, we pick the same two recipes!
Kodi, thank you for taking the time to say Hi! That is quite the coincidence. Perhaps they just are the absolute best chocolate cake and frosting recipes out there! (I’m convinced so.) Four layers sounds amazing. Next time…!
Oh I have to agree that the print button is the best improvement!!!
Looks so yummy, cant wait to try this new recipe. Cake from scratch is a little trick so I have been using box mixes, but i need to give this one a try.
Congrads on your site move.
Oooooh congrats on your move to wordpress, I know someday that’ll be me (but I’m all scared :P)! This cake looks so rich and decadent and ohhhh man that frosting!
Kayle, Thank you! Don’t be scared. I hired a little help to do the technical side and it went so smoothly (so was totally worth the $$). (Jeni, The Blog Maven, helped me and she was wonderful. I linked to her site in this post.) I’ve found wordpress easy to learn and love it so far! You can do it!