winter treats #5: Velvety Chocolate Cake with Perfect Buttercream Frosting

today i am so excited to share with you my newest favorite cake recipe.

not only is the cake dense and rich, but the frosting is smooth, fluffy, and practically melts in your mouth.

this past weekend chin and i decided to make a birthday cake (i didn't have one on my birthday and i REALLY wanted one),

and so we had a great time baking together and chin was a great assistant in the kitchen. :)

we found the recipe from Martha Stewart, and i am pleased to say that she really knows what she's talking about.

with both brown sugar and buttercream in the cake, the cake is so moist and rich.

the marshmallow creme in the frosting makes it fluffy and so smooth!

if you love chocolate: TRY THIS CAKE!

Velvet Cocoa Cake with Fluffy Buttercream

adapted from Martha Stewart

for the cake:

12 tbsp. butter (1 1/2 sticks) softened

2 1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar

1 c. brown sugar 

3 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. buttermilk

preheat oven to 350 degrees. butter and lightly flour 2 9-inch round cake pans. in a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. in a mixing bowl (use your kitchen aid if you have one), beat butter and sugars until fluffy. add eggs one at a time until well-blended. beat in vanilla. 

add the flour mixture to butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk and starting and ending with the flour mixture. (flour mix, buttermilk, flour mix, buttermilk, flour mix)

pour batter into pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick in center of pans come out clean. cool cakes in their pans for 10 minutes until inverting onto cooling racks. let cool completely before frosting.

for the buttercream:

1 c. (2 stick) butter, softened

2 jars (7 oz. each) marshmallow creme

2/3 c. cocoa powder

2/3 c. chocolate chips, melted, then slightly cooled 

1 tbsp. vanilla

in a mixing bowl, beat butter and marshmallow creme until fluffy (it's sticky!). beat in cocoa, chocolate, and vanilla until well-blended. refrigerate for five minutes if you want it thicker!

place one cake layer on cake plate. spread 1 c. of frosting on top of layer. place second layer on top. frost the whole cake with remaining buttercream (and try not to lick the bowl!).

this cake is so good and tastes amazing refrigerated!

enjoy :)