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The Best Chocolate Cake with Whipped Vanilla Buttercream

This delicious homemade chocolate cake is covered with homemade frosting dyed green and is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. The chocolate cake is made with cocoa powder mixed into dry ingredients. Then the cake batter is baked in two pans. While the cake layers are cooling, a homemade frosting is made with butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, almond extract and milk. Next the food coloring is mixed in before frosting this yummy chocolate cake.
Course Dessert
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Cooling Time 1 hour
Servings 12 people

Ingredients

Cake

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups AP flour
  • ¾ cup Hershey’s Cocoa or other high quality cocoa or dark cocoa
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk can sub 2%
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

Buttercream

  • 1 cup salted butter room temperature
  • 8 cups powdered sugar 32 oz bag
  • ⅛ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 7 tbsp whole milk can sub 2 %

Instructions

Cake

  1. Put oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 350 F.

  2. Butter the sides of 2 (9 inch) round baking pans and line with a circle of parchment paper. Flour or use cocoa powder to dust the sides of the pan; tap out excess.

  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  4. Add the eggs, milk, oil, vanilla and almond extract. Beat on medium for 2 minutes.
  5. With the mixer on low, stir in boiling water. Batter will be thin. Pour batter into prepared pans.
  6. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes. Use a knife or metal spatula to loosen the sides of the cake. Flip cakes onto wire racks and cool completely. At this time, gently peel the parchment paper from the bottom of the cakes.

Frosting

  1. Put all the frosting ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low until combined, scraping sides and bottom as needed until the frosting comes together.
  2. Turn the mixer to high and beat for 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat an additional 2 minutes on high.
  3. Frost the cake with a glue layer first, let set. Frost with remaining frosting and serve.