Beatty's Chocolate Cake

Yield: One 9x13 cake

This is my go-to chocolate cake, every time I make it we blow through it like locusts. It's that good. The recipe came from the Barefoot Contessa at FoodTV.com. It's really easy and doesn't call for anything special. The only change I make is that I leave the egg yolk out of the frosting and I'm generally too lazy to sift the powdered sugar.

For the Cake
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 tsp 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
Chocolate Frosting, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour the pan.

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 pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.

For the Chocolate Frosting

6 ounces good semisweet chocolate
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tsp coffee

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

*I use Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder and Hershey's Special Dark chips. I just melt the chips in the microwave. This fills a 9x13 pan nicely, cook for 30 minutes. I have found that while this frosting recipe works well for the top of a 9x13 cake, if I were doing a layer cake or cupcakes I would make a double batch of it. Happy eating and good luck on the self control.