the best chocolate cake/frosting recipe ... look no further!

My first attempt at "frosting".  Usually one of the girls takes over on the frosting part if not the entire cake bake ... . I have come late to the joy of baking.  Following is the go to choco cake recipe.

Adapted from Gold Metal.  We cut it two layers at a time because all four layers was just too much cake!

The Greatest Chocolate Cake

  Cake:

• 2-1/2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package chocolate instant pudding mix (plus a pkg. of vanilla when I decided to double the recipe)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla
• 1 cup hot coffee

Frosting:

• 1 cup dark chocolate morsels, melted and slightly cooled
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup dark cocoa
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3-4 tablespoons half and half

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350°F. Spray three round cake pans (6-inch, 8-inch and 9-inch) (nah, not so much ... I doubled the recipe and used four 9" round pans)with non-stick cooking spray (and coat the pans in the dry mixture) and line the bottom of each pan with a circle of parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, pudding mix, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, buttermilk, egg and vanilla.

4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until thick and just combined. Stir in the hot coffee until smooth and well combined.

5. Divide batter among prepared pans, filling each pan about 1/4 full.

6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool on wire racks for 15 minutes before inverting them onto the wire racks to cool completely.

7. While the cakes are cooling, prepare the frosting. In a small (double boiler) microwave-safe bowl, melt the dark chocolate morsels until just melted, about 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds. Set aside to slightly cool.

8. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter until smooth. In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and cocoa. Whisk the powdered sugar mixture into the butter, one cup at a time, until frosting is thick and chunky. Add the melted chocolate and whisk until just combined. Add the milk (half and half bc I don't keep milk), one tablespoon at a time, until frosting is of spreading consistency. Beat frosting on high speed for 2 minutes until thick and creamy.

9. Other then using a bread knife to flatten out the cake while they are still in their pans, I have no technique to offer.   My husband likes a lot of frosting, so I double the recipe and slather it on. Four layers bc we have a large family, and bc I like the way it looks, but, for smaller groups I'll use the smaller pans! This cake was dense yet moist (and froze well).

Servings: 12-14 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Baking Time: 30-35 minutes

Total Time (start to finish): 55 minutes plus time to linger over "clean up".