Beatty's Chocolate Cake - Ina Garten

The first time I made this cake was for my birthday. I'm not a big chocolate cake fan, but since I was leaving my husband the next week to go on vacation without him, I figured I'd make HIS favorite cake for my birthday. (Get the logic?) And don't get me wrong - the cake? Brilliant. Moist. Delicious - everything a chocolate cake should be, even if you're not a freak for chocolate cake. The problem? I have an issue with following directions at times, so when Ina Garten wrote "Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans" I said "screw this" and I just grabbed my baking spray and tried to spray the hell out of my cake pans. And instead of two glorious layers of chocolate cake, the cake came out of the pan in delicious malformed chunks, leaving other chunks still in the pan. Ryan was still happy with this delicious mess and I chalked it up as a failure that would not show up on this blog.

But then I had a dinner party ... and I needed a decadent dessert. And I worship Ina ... hence, I decided to give Beatty's another go round. And this time, I buttered the frickin' pans and bought parchment paper!

Here's the result. I didn't use Ina's chocolate buttercream, instead I used the leftover raspberry coulis from Michelle's recipe at Big Black Dog in the middle and dusted the top of the cake with powdered sugar.

This cake could make me a chocolate cake convert yet ...

Beatty's Chocolate Cake
by Ina Garten, Food Network

* Butter, for greasing the pans
* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
* 2 cups sugar
* 3/4 cups good 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 pure vanilla extract
* 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on 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 comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, 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 the cake.