The BEST Chocolate Cake, Ever.

Do you know the best part about having a little extra time on our hands?

CLEANING. EVERY. DAMN. CREVICE. OF. OUR. HOUSES.

Thanks to Marie Kondo re-runs, my Spring cleaning was majorly jump-started this year. I've already gotten rid of 76% of my clothes, several boxes of stale gluten-free crackers and a ton of recipes I never intended to share. Ironically, the entire purging exercise reminded me that I need to give more often - share things, feelings, half batches of lemon mascarpone cupcakes and THIS CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE.

I don't know why I've been hoarding this recipe because it is actually the best chocolate cake I've ever tasted. Things like this are the epitome of sharing!!

The moment this cake came out of the oven, I knew I was in the best kind of trouble.

It was like giving birth to the kind of star-crossed love that happens in romantic comedies, but way more fluffy and decadent. AND I created it with my bare hands. That's talent, people.

You should also know that "best chocolate cake" claims are truly a gigantic pet peeve of mine. You have no idea how many recipes I tried before throwing my hands up in the air and deciding to go rogue. I'm so glad I did though, and you will be too.

There are a few things you should note before baking this marvelous cake.

1. The batter will be straight up liquid, and that's okay because it's what we want. That means we're setting the tone for an extra moist cake.

2. Preparing your baking pans is a must. Coat the interior of each pan with butter, then dust with a layer of cocoa powder. If you do this, the cakes won't stick at all. Don't do it and I promise it won't come out in one piece.

3. Use piping hot, freshly brewed coffee for the best results. You can't really taste the coffee after the cake is baked. Even if you're not a huge coffee lover, you'll still be addicted to this cake.

4. If you don't have buttermilk on hand, mix one tablespoon of lemon juice into 2% or Whole Milk, then let it sit for 5 minutes before adding it into the mixture. Easiest substitute ever.

In the words of my favorite judges on The Great British Bake Off: ready, set, BAKE.

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

• 2 cups Cake Flour

• 2 cups Granulated Sugar

• 3/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, plus more for preparing your pans

• 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder

• 1 teaspoons Baking Soda

• 1 teaspoon Salt

• 2 Large Eggs, room temperature

• 1 cup Buttermilk, room temperature

• 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

• 1 cup Freshly Brewed Coffee

Buttercream Frosting

• 1 1/2 cups Unsalted Butter, softened

• 3-4 cups Powdered Sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

• 2-3 tablespoons Milk

Instructions

For the cake....

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, use a hand or standing mixer to combine eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in sections, about 1/2 cup at a time. When completely incorporated, reduce your mixer speed to the lowest setting and carefully mix in hot coffee.

5. Pour the batter into two prepared 8” baking pans.

6. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Test with a toothpick to check doneness. When the toothpick comes out of the cake completely clean (with no gooey batter on it), they're ready.

7. Transfer to a cooling rack and let sit until room temperature.

For the frosting....

1. Use a hand or standing mixer, with the paddle attachment, to beat butter until it becomes lighter in color and airy. On high speed, this should take around 3-4 minutes.

2. Reduce speed to low and mix in powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. After each cup, crank the mixer up to full speed to fully incorporate the sugar.

3. Add vanilla and salt. Mix for 30 seconds.

4. Finally, mix in 1-3 tablespoons of milk. If you'd like the frosting to be more loose, you can continue to add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time.

5. Once the cakes have cooled, frost away!

Let them eat cake,

Melissa