Chocolate Chocolate Cake!

Recently, my sweet little baby boy had a birthday!  He turned 17......17?!?  I know.....I'm much too young to have a 17 year old! I must have had him when I was 10 years old...right?! Come on.....humor me, I love living with my grand illusions!  ;)

Between the 17 year old, the 14 year old and the dog....my house is never boring and it's never quiet but there are always willing food testers!  Being the chocolate cake fanatic that he is, Zack chose this recipe for his birthday.  Ina Garten's chocolate cake from her cookbook "Barefoot Contessa at Home".

This is a super easy and delicious recipe!  I love Ina's recipes so I followed this one, only making the change of taking out the espresso from the frosting.  I thought that the coffee in the cake was good but in the frosting would be overkill.  It's a pretty rich frosting so I think I made the right call.  The entire cake was gone in one sitting....pretty sure this means they LOVED it!

Happy Baking!!  :)

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CAKE! adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home

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

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 2 8" round baking pans with non-stick spray, then line the bottom of the pans with parchment rounds and spray the parchment paper.

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.

Chocolate Frosting:
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add the chocolate to the butter mixture and mix until blended.  Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

Recipe shared on:
Chocolate, Chocolate, and more - Thursday's Treasures
Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop
Rediscovering Lost Arts From Our Mothers - Tried and True Recipes
Foodie Friends Friday
Esskunst - CakeFriday Coffee Klatch Linky Party