The best chocolate cake ever! ???? Happy V'Day

he celebration of Love is the most special kind of celebration. Love is eternal and omnipresent. It needs no special day or moment to be enjoyed but still having a day a year in our lives when we take time out to sit back and marvel at its wonders, express it in our own unique ways to show our loved ones that they are special is very welcome.
You might think I made my favorite chocolate cake this year; well you are right, this is my favorite chocolate cake but the reason for me making it this year is actually hubby. Believe it or not, he is not much of a chocolate lover (the one thing I don't understand!) but this chocolate cake he totally loves. At a good time, he can eat a couple of whole big slices. This cake was in fact the one that actually get him a little interested in chocolate since when I first made it (I owe you Ina for this one big time). The coffee and chocolate with the yummy butter-cream frosting is actually enough to create magic but throw in a couple of pink and red hearts and sit down with a slice each with your beloved and then tell me if you don't experience magic!
Ingredients:Butter, for greasing the pans
All-purpose flour ......................... 1 3/4 cup
Sugar ...................................... 2 cups
Cocoa powder ........................... 3/4 cup
Baking soda .............................. 2 tsp
Baking powder .......................... 1 tsp
Salt ....................................... 1 tsp
Buttermilk ................................ 1 cup shaken
Vegetable oil ............................ 1/2 cup
Eggs ....................................... 2, at room temperature
Pure vanilla extract ..................... 1 tsp
Freshly brewed hot coffee ............ 1 cup

Chocolate Butter-cream Frosting recipe follows
Method:1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and mix until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. Beat till there is no dry flour left, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
3. 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.
4. 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 Butter-cream Frosting:Ingredients:Semisweet chocolate ......................... 6 ounces
Unsalted butter ................................ 2 sticks, at room temperature
Pure vanilla extract ........................... 1 tsp
Sifted confectioners' sugar ................... 1 1/4 cups
Instant coffee powder ........................ 1 tbsp
Method:1. 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.
2. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with an hand held mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the 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.
3. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons hot water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake. Dig in. ENJOY!

Linking this to- Hearth n' Soul

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