Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Espresso Buttercream

SERVING SIZE: 10-12 DIFFICULTY LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE

PREP TIME: 25 MINUTES COOK TIME: 25 MINUTES

 
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INGREDIENTS:

CAKE:

  1. 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

  2. 3 tsp baking powder

  3. 1 tsp salt

  4. 3/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

  5. 1 1/4 cups sugar

  6. 3 tbs vegetable oil

  7. 1 tbs vanilla extract

  8. 4 eggs (room temperature) 

  9. 1 1/4 cups milk

FROSTING: 

  1. 3 ½ cups confectioners sugar

  2. 1 tsp ground espresso beans

  3. 2 tsp vanilla extract

  4. ½ tsp salt

  5. ½ cup of cocoa powder

  6. 2 tbs heavy cream

  7. 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

 

PREP:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

  2. Prepare two 8 inch cake pans by cutting out a parchment circle to cover the bottom of the pan. Grease the sides with some soft butter. This will help the cake pop out of the pan once it’s done baking.

  3. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside. Add wet ingredients (butter, milk, sugar, oil and vanilla extract) into the mixing bowl, and mix until homogeneous, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Next, add 1 cup of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.

  4. Slowly add the remaining dry ingredients mixture util combined. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as necessary to make sure the batter is well incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake for 25 minutes.

  5. The cake will turn a golden brown color and should pass the toothpick test: insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean or comes out with a few crumbs on it, it’s done.

  6. You will also notice the edges of the cake will start to pull away from the sides of the pan. If the toothpick comes out with some wet batter on it, bake a few more minutes until the test is passed.

  7. Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan before placing a cooling rack on top of the cake. Flip over the rack so it is now on the bottom. The cake should fall right out of the pan. If not, sometimes a few love taps in the bottom middles of the pan will encourage the cake to come loose. Let sit on the cooling rack until completely cool, about an hour. 

FROSTING PREP:

  1. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter, vanilla, salt, and heavy cream on medium speed until creamy – about 2 minutes.

  2. Add cocoa powder, espresso and beat until combined. Next add confectioners’ sugar, ½ cup at a time until fully incorporated.

  3. Once all the sugar has been combined, beat on high speed for 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup more confectioners’ sugar if the frosting is too thin or another tablespoon of the heavy cream if the frosting is too thick.


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CAKE ASSEMBLY:

  1. Apply a generous amount of buttercream in between the layers of your cake.

  2. Spread remaining icing on top and the sides of the cake. Use a pallet knife to help smooth the sides and top of the cake.

  3. Decorate with your favorite toppings. A piping bag can be a fun way to use your remaining icing.

 

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