Name: Dark Chocolate Cake with Almond Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients: 2 cups white all-purpose flour; 1 1/3 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder; 2 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp sea salt; 2 tsp espresso powder; 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature; 2 cups white sugar; 4 large eggs; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1 cup cold milk; 1 cup brewed coffee; 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature; 4 cups confectioners sugar; 2 tsp heavy cream; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 2 tsp pure almond extract; 1/2 tsp salt; fresh flowers, washed well; plastic wrap

Description

This Extra Dark Chocolate Cake with Almond Buttercream Frosting…

Ingredients

Scale

Cake

2 cups white all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp espresso powder

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups white sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup cold milk

1 cup brewed coffee

Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

4 cups confectioners sugar

2 tsp heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp pure almond extract

1/2 tsp salt

Decoration

fresh flowers, washed well

plastic wrap

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with blade attachment, beat butter until smooth, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula

Add sugar, beat until sugar and butter are fully combined and look fluffy

Add eggs one at a time, beat

Add vanilla, beat

Slowly alternate between the dry ingredients and the milk and coffee until all the ingredients are just combined

Heavily grease two 9-inch cake pans

Split the batter between the 2 pans

Bake on the middle oven shelf for 35-40 minutes

Cool

Frosting

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a blade attachment, beat butter on high, about 2 minutes

Scrape down the sides of the mixer with a rubber spatula

Add the 1 cup confectioners sugar, beat

Add the heavy cream, beat

Add 1 cup confectioners sugar, beat

Add vanilla extract, beat

Add 1 cup confectioners sugar, beat

Add almond extract, beat

Add last cup confectioners sugar, beat

Add salt, beat on high until frosting looks whipped and is completely smooth

Decorate

Slice a thin layer of cake off the top of the cake you will use as the bottom layer so the top layer will sit flat

Put a generous layer of frosting on top of the bottom layer

Place top layer on top of bottom layer, frost the top

*Thinly frost the sides of the cake using the remaining frosting so it has a “naked look”

Cut the stems of the flowers so they are about 1-inch long, wrap the stems in plastic wrap**

Decorate to your liking by sticking the flower stems into the cake

Notes

*If you do not want a “naked” look you will need to make 1.5 times the frosting recipe so you can coat the sides completely

**Learn more about the best practices of decorating a cake with fresh flowers here