Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

*Cake recipe adapted from Hershey's. I've changed a few things, but you can find the original recipe anywhere online; Chocolate Buttercream recipe from joythebaker.com, adapted from Delilah's bakery.

FOR CAKE

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup brewed coffee, hot
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (8-inch) cake pans and line with parchment. Grease the parchment and flour the pans, shaking out the excess.
- Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- In a mixer. , beat eggs and sugar until thick and pale yellow. Beat in vegetable oil.
- Alternately add dry ingredients with buttermilk, scraping the bowl once or twice.
- Add the coffee and vanilla to form a thin batter.
- Divide batter between prepared cake pans.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Check the cake at 35 minutes though because oven temps vary.
- Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Invert onto cooling racks, peel off paper and cool completely before icing/decorating.

*Note, I don't advise slicing this cake into layers. It's very fluffy and moist, and likewise easy to end up breaking the cake. If you must do it, freeze it first, thaw it at room temperature for about 30 minutes, and then VERY CAREFULLY attempt to slice it. That's the only way it has worked for me.


FOR CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2/3 cup Ovaltine

Directions:
- Cream together butter, cocoa powder and salt. Butter mixture will be very thick.
- Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add about 1/2 cup powdered sugar.
- Turn mixer on low and mix in powdered sugar while adding milk and vanilla extract. Don't add powdered sugar in all at once or you'll have a big mess. As the sugar incorporates, raise the speed of the mixer to beat the frosting. Beat until smooth.
- In a large glass, stir together heavy cream and Ovaltine. Turn mixer speed to medium and pour cream mixture into frosting in a slow, steady stream, until you’ve reached your desired consistency. You may not need the full amount of Ovaltine and cream. It depends on how thick you want your buttercream to be.