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Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

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This recipe for Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream is from Island Partners Hawai`i , one of the cookbooks created at FamilyCookbookProject.com. We'll help you start your own personal cookbook! It's easy and fun. Click here to start your own cookbook!
Category:
Category:
Ingredients:  
Ingredients:  
1 cup boiling-hot water
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 rounded teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature for 30 minutes
4 cups vanilla buttercream
Various food colorings (Wilton Paste Food Coloring available at wilton.com)
Directions:
Directions:
Special equipment: a metal offset spatula; several small sealable plastic bags (not pleated)
Garnish: vanilla mini cupcakes

Make cake layers:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 (9- by 2-inch) round cake pans and line bottom of each with a round of wax paper. Butter paper and dust pans with flour, knocking out excess.

Whisk together hot water and cocoa powder in a bowl until smooth, then whisk in milk and vanilla. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in another bowl. Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add flour and cocoa mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture (batter may look curdled).

Divide batter between cake pans, smoothing tops. Bake until a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean and edges of cake begin to pull away from sides of pans, 25 to 35 minutes total. Cool layers in pans on racks 10 minutes, then invert onto racks, removing wax paper, and cool completely.

Assemble cake:
Put 1 cake layer, rounded side up, on a cake stand or platter and, using offset spatula, spread top with about 1 cup buttercream. Top with remaining cake layer, rounded side down, and frost side and top of cake with 2 cups buttercream.

Decorate cake:
For each color (you can make up to 5), transfer 3 tablespoons buttercream to a separate small bowl and tint with food coloring. Snip off 1 corner of each plastic bag to create a 1/4-inch opening, then spoon each color of buttercream into a bag, pressing out excess air. Twist each bag firmly just above buttercream, then decoratively pipe colored buttercream onto cake. Chill cake until buttercream is set, about 30 minutes.

Just before serving, arrange 6 to 8 mini cupcakes on top of cake in 1 layer, then stack remaining mini cupcakes on top.

Note: Cake layers can be made 2 days ahead and kept, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, at room temperature or frozen 2 weeks. Cake can be assembled 4 hours ahead and kept at cool room temperature.
Personal Notes:
Personal Notes:
Catherine wants you to know: I found this recipe after testing out three others! I am turning it into cupcakes for Brinkley's 1st Birthday party (so, not making the cake as pictured). They are amazing cupcakes and I am not a cake eater.

 

 

 

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