I just love it when the kids take over.  That’s what happened to me on Valentine’s Day.  My youngest took over the kitchen (yes baby, keep it up) and made us dinner which was a doctored pizza.  But more importantly, she called up a girlfriend and made Ina Garten’s Beatty’s Chocolate Cake.  So for all of you out there who worry about not being able to bake, listen to me.  A 12 year old baking novice was able to make this beauty without the help of Mom.  So go for it.  This is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had and like all of Ina Garten’s recipes, this one is foolproof.  Just remember to first line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper, and then grease the pans including the paper.  Due to health reasons, I do not add the extra large egg yolk that is called for in the frosting – who needs salmonella?

And I truly apologize about picture.  By the time I had decided to fete the cake, my family ate 3/4′s of it.  To make the matter worse, after I took these pictures, I realized that they were awful and THE CAKE WAS ALL GONE!

Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten “Barefoot Contessa”

Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing the pans
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans (King Arthur’s Flour)
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Directions

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. 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.

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 Buttercream Frosting:

6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut) – I use Ghiradelli

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract – I use the Vanilla Company

1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

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.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and 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. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap 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.