Joshua’s Recipe for Ina Garten’s “Beatty’s Chocolate Cake”

Into the bowl of a stand mixer, sift all-purpose flour (1 ¾ cups), sugar (2 cups), cocoa powder (¾ cup), baking powder (2 tsp), baking soda (1 tsp), and fine sea salt (1 ½ tsp), and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, add eggs (2 large) and whisk to combine. Add vegetable oil (½ cup), vanilla extract (2 tsp), and buttermilk (1 cup), and whisk to combine.

With the paddle attachment on medium speed, add liquids to your dry mixture, and once homogenous, add coffee (1 cup) and continue to mix until combined. Pour the batter equally into the 2 buttered pans, then bake for 30-35 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool in the pans for 30 minutes.

While the cakes are baking, begin to prepare the frosting by melting semi sweet chocolate (12 oz) in a double boiler. Once just melted, remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, use electric beaters to whip butter (1 lb) until it turns pale in color. Continue whipping in cream cheese (½ cup), fine sea salt (1 tsp), vanilla extract (1 Tbsp), and powdered sugar (3 cups). Add chocolate (12 oz) and continue whipping gently. Add instant coffee (1 Tbsp), and using a rubber spatula, mix by hand until fully combined.

Remove cakes from their pans. Spread a thin even layer of frosting over the top of the first cake. Then top with the 2nd cake and spread all of the frosting around the entirety of the cake as evenly as possible.