Dark Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:

For the Cake:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
1/2 cup milk

For the frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 Tbsp milk
1 1/2 cup mini semi sweet chocolate morsels

Method:

1. In a bowl, mix flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a measuring cup, mix together cooled coffee and milk. Set aside.
3. In an electric mixer bowl, beat butter and sugar for 5 minutes, until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Slowly add in dry ingredients alternating with the coffee/milk mixture (about 3 additions of each).
4. Pour cake batter into two prepared pans (2-9inch round cake pans, lined with parchment paper and greased and floured). Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Remove and allow to cool about 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
5. For the frosting, beat butter for 3-4 minutes until pale in color. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Beat an additional 3-4 minutes until fluffy and smooth!
6. To assemble cake, lay one layer of cake on a cake plate. Spoon 1/4 of frosting onto top of cake, spreading evenly. Top with about 1/2 cup of mini morsels. Add second layer of cake. Spread a layer of frosting around the sides of the cake and the top, very thin. This is your crumb coat. Allow to set about 15 minutes (or refrigerate). Apply final layer of frosting, spreading evenly and using a straight edge spatula to smooth. Using your hands in a cupped fashion, press mini chips around sides. Continue until all sides are done.
7. Slice and enjoy!

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Yield: serves 12-16

Notes
**The coffee in this cake just deepens the chocolate flavor. It does not make this cake taste like coffee in any way! If you absolutely must remove the coffee, just replace the 1/2 cup coffee with water. **To keep frosting off cake plate, lay strips of parchment paper under the first layer of cake, all the way around. Once frosting is applied, carefully remove strips of paper! **I used Wilton's Bake Even strips to get perfectly flat cake tops. If desired, slice dome of cake to make a flat layered cake.