The Best Chocolate Cake Ever

This is Ina Garten’s “Aunt Beatty’s Chocolate Cake.” It is one of my two favorite cakes.

Weight Watcher Points: 33
Servings: 8-10

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cups flour

• 2 cups sugar

• ¾ cup cocoa powder

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken

• ½ cup vegetable oil

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 cup hot coffee

• Chocolate Frosting (see recipe below)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray and flour two 8" cake pans. Line with parchment or wax paper.

2. Sift flour, and next 5 ingredients (flour through salt) into bowl of electric mixer. Mix on low speed until combined.

3. In another bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With mixer on low, slowly add wet ingredients to dry.

4. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combined, scraping bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula.

5. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

6. Cool in pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto rack and cool completely.

7. Place one layer, flat side up, on a cake plate. With knife, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of cake.

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Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate, chopped

• ½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 ¾ cups sifted confectioners' sugar

• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder, dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water

Instructions:

1. Place chocolate in double boiler or heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy.

3. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don’t whip. Spread immediately on cooled cake.