Delicious Chocolate Cake

We are making a big dinner today for our friends whose dad just passed away. One of our most favorite things that we want to share with them is our chocolate cake (a cake that Kelsey made at the Merry Kitchen last year during her birthday party). If you ever need to brighten someone's day, bake this cake! It is one of the most delicious things we have ever tasted.




Gather all your ingredients before you start.




Melt the chocolate and butter over low heat.




Stir every couple of minutes.




Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.




Whisk them together.




Add the eggs, vanilla, and sugar and whisk together.




In a separete bowl, add the baking soda and buttermilk and whisk together. The buttermilk gets all bubbly - it's cool!




By the time you've completed the steps mentioned above, the chocolate and butter are all melted. I have to guard this bowl or Conner will kidnap it and drink it all!




Line 2 pans with parchment paper (trick - lightly spray bottom of pan and then put parchment paper inside. Lightly spray parchment paper and add a dusting of flour. The cake comes out very easily if you do this step! It's worth the extra time and effort :)




Add the chocolate mixture to the egg and sugar mixture. Whisk well.




Looking yummy :)




Add the buttermilk mixture.




Mix in the dry ingredients.




Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes.




Take cakes out of pans so that they can completely cool on wire racks for at least 1 hour. If they stay in the cake pans, they continue to bake - not good....




Frost the top of the first layer, and then put the second layer on top.




Frost the rest of the cake - be generous with the frosting!




One of the neatest tricks I've learned in frosting a cake is to line the edges of the cake with parchment paper - that way the cake platter doesn't get frosting all over it, and it looks prettier :)



If you want, you can add shaved chocolate to the top to make it more delicious.

Here's the recipe if you want it...

3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Bake in a 325 degree oven for approximately 35-40 minutes. Bake until firm in center when lightly pressed and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Frost the cake when it is completely cooled. Here's the recipe for the scrumptious chocolate frosting.

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup whole milk (add a little more if you want thinner frosting)
1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in 3 cups sugar. Beat in the vanilla and almost all of the milk. Add cocoa and remaining 2 cups of sugar; beat until blended, thinning with more milk if necessary.