CHOCOLATE BUTTERMILK CAKE

When you bake often it's easy to find your go-to recipe for something and stick with it. And I love having a no-fail plan for when I need to make something quick, or for when I used to make the same things over and over for the Red Velvet Sweet Shoppe. But I always love trying new recipes too! I was intrigued by this chocolate cake recipe because it contained buttermilk and coffee. (!!!!!!) I also noticed that the recipe called for oil instead of butter. My go-to chocolate cake recipe does the same trick, and I really like the crumb produced when using oil instead of butter (for cakes, anyway). So I decided to give it a try.

I am happy to report that this is indeed a fantastic chocolate cake recipe! If you are needing to make a chocolate cake this holiday season I highly recommend trying this one out. 

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake, makes two 8x2 inch round cakes.

1 3/4 cup flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup strong coffee

I made a simple butter cream frosting by whipping together 1 cup softened butter with 3 cups powered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk. I didn't think I had quite enough frosting for the entire cake, so for the center layer (in between the two cake layers) I simply used Nutella instead.

As if I needed an excuse to use Nutella.

To make my cake a little more festive I created some snowy chocolate trees to go around the edges of the cake. I absolutely loved this cake, so I gave it a try myself. Turns out these are super easy to make! Simply melt some chocolate (I used dark chocolate chips) in the microwave or on the stove top. Pour the melted chocolate in a ziplock bag. Cut a small hole in one corner. On wax paper draw some rustic looking evergreen trees with the chocolate.

Rustic is the cooking term for messy. Did you know that? It's a cooking secret that I figured out pretty quick, because most of my decorating turns out pretty... rustic.

Sprinkle on a little flaked coconut for the snow. Allow the chocolate to set over night or pop it in the refrigerator for an hour if you need it sooner. Carefully remove the chocolate trees from the wax paper and press into the sides of your frosted cake.

I highly recommend making a few extra trees in case a few break in the process. Just FYI. :) Happy baking!