Chocolate Layer Cake~

The best chocolate cake you'll ever have. Your search for the ultimate chocolate cake recipe ends here.

Nothing says "celebration" like frosted chocolate layers — which may be the reason this cake has reappeared in Good Housekeeping countless times since 1927 (including a 1984 version made with mayo!). To contemporize this classic, we ramped up the richness: The frosting's flavor is more intensely chocolaty.

Ingredients for cake:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
• Instructions for frosting
• 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, sifted.

Directions for cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Butter two cake pans and line them with parchment; butter the paper. Dust the pans with flour, tapping out any excess.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt at low speed. In a bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the oil, eggs and vanilla. Slowly beat the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients until just incorporated, then slowly beat in the hot coffee until fully incorporated.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes and then invert the cakes onto a rack to cool. Peel off the parchment.

Directions for frosting:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat for 1 minute, scraping down the side of the bowl. At low speed, slowly beat in the confectioners’sugar, about 1 minute.
2. Set a cake layer on a plate with the flat side facing up. Evenly spread one-third of the frosting over the cake to the edge. Top with the second cake layer. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before slicing.