Rich Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

My daughter has been talking about functional texts in school, and her teacher asked every student to bring an example from home to share with the class. She chose a cookbook and found this recipe inside. Since I want to support her budding interest in the kitchen, we spent the day baking together. Cake is definitely my love language!

Rich Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Yield: 2 layer cake

Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:

• 1 cup boiling water
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp instant coffee
• 1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

• 1/2 cup Crisco (original flavor in blue tub)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp clear vanilla extract
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 6-8 Tbsp milk (I use almond milk)
• sprinkles, for decorating

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with nonstick cooking spray, line with parchment paper, then grease parchment paper; set aside.
2. Whisk together boiling water, cocoa powder, and instant coffee in small bowl until smooth; set aside.
3. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
4. In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, about 5 minutes.
5. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla and beat until combined.
6. Add hot cocoa mixture and beat until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
7. Add flour mixture and stir on lowest speed until combined. Finish by scraping bottom of bowl with spatula and folding all batter together.
8. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake 20-22 minutes, or until cake feels firm and toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs. Be careful as cakes overbake easily!
9. Remove from oven and run knife around edges between cake and pan. Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out from pans, remove & discard parchment paper, and cool completely on wire racks. Cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
10. Once cakes are cooled, prepare frosting. In stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, cream together Crisco and butter until smooth. Add cocoa powder, 2 cups powdered sugar, and 3 Tbsp milk; mix until smooth.
11. Add remaining powdered sugar and milk; mix until smooth. Keep an eye on frosting consistency - add more powdered sugar if too thin or more milk if too thick.
12. To assemble cake, place one cake layer (dome side down) on platter and top with about 1 cup of frosting. Smooth frosting into an even layer. Place second cake layer on top (dome side up). Smooth remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired.
13. Cake doesn't need to be made a day in advance, but do allow a few hours after assembly before serving for moisture and flavors to develop.
14. Serve at room temperature. Cake is best for 3-5 days.

Cake recipe adapted from "Creamy, Dreamy Chocolate Gateau" found on page 189 in The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz.

Frosting recipe adapted from Wilton.