Chocolate Cake For Two
The perfect dessert for date night!
makes one 6" cake | difficulty level: easy
cake:
- 1 cup + 6 tbsp. flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 3/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup hot water
frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- pinch salt
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp. milk or half and half
- 6 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously butter two 8-inch cake pans that are at least 2-inches high, and dust with cocoa powder, tapping the ramekins slightly to remove any excess.
- In a large bowl, place flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Mix until combined. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, oil, vanilla, buttermilk, and water. Whisk until smooth. Add egg mixture into flour mixture and mix until smooth. Don’t overbeat – batter will be lumpy at first, but mix gently and eventually stir with a whisk just until smooth. The batter will be very thin and liquid.
- Scrape batter into prepared pans. Bake cakes for about 30-35 minutes (depending on your oven - this might take longer), or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before unmolding, then let cakes cool completely on a wire rack.
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the frosting using an electric mixer. Beat the softened butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and salt then the powdered sugar gradually.
- Beat in 1 tbsp. milk and sift in cocoa. Add more milk if necessary. Increase speed on mixer and beat until fluffy.
- Frost cooled cake and store, covered, at room temperature.
