The BEST Chocolate Cake

Happy New Year Wannabe Foodies!

Yesterday, during my last day of freedom before heading back to my first day of work in 2012, I wrote this great post about what I did for NYE and how happy and thankful I was.

Well, apparently the blog gods didn’t want me to share that information with you because right before I went to post said information my computer decided to shut off.

Naturally, I hadn’t saved.

Whoops.

So I’m going to keep this little bugger short and sweet.

I spent the last hours of 2011 with my best friend Jeanelle and our men. You always hope that your significant other will get along with your friends and their significant others. But not even in my wildest dreams had I imagined what a rip roaring good time would be had by all.

We visited our state’s capital building, toured old town and down town Sacramento and spent the last hours of 2011 and first few of 2012 playing ridiculous board games, eating amazing food and drinking just enough.

Just enough. Rare for me, I know.

Jeanelle is awesome about setting goals and making thoughtful plans and making resolutions. In fact, she is the one who encouraged me to make the resolution that ended up creating this blog.

So I’m taking her lead and making a few resolutions for the New Year.

First, I’m going to work really hard to amp up NFT’z. In 2012 I will work on more video content and maybe even a new layout.

Resolution number two is to clean my room and try my best to keep it that way. I feel better when my room is clean and God knows my mother deserves to have a clean home. My clothes would much prefer to be hung in the closet than bunched on the floor. I know because they told me so.

Lastly, I resolve to make at least one cake a month this year. Since I decided a couple months ago to make my friend’s wedding cake, I’m going to need all the practice I can get.

Which leads me to today’s recipe.

The best stinking chocolate cake I have ever had. It was the inside of my first attempt at a fancy cake. The outside might have been a little lacking (since it cracked and melted) but the inside was delectable.

You will need…

Butter, for greasing the pans

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

2 cups sugar

3/4 cups 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 vanilla extract

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans and then lightly flour them, shaking off the excess.

Then, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer and mix on a 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 (a toothpick, skewer or small knife will work) comes out clean.