Ingredients
- For the cake:
- 2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons red gel food coloring, plus more if needed
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 cup of prepared plain hot coffee
- For the cream cheese frosting:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
Preparation
Step 1
For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and vegetable oil. Add in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and food coloring. Whisk in the vinegar and coffee. Gradually add the flour mixture and stir with a spatula until completely incorporated. The batter will be thin.
Divide the batter equally between the two prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Place the cake pans on cooling racks. When the pans are cool enough to touch, run a thin knife around the edges of the pans to loosen the cakes. Invert onto the cooling racks. Let cool completely.
For the frosting:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream until thick and fluffy. Do not over beat. Add in the cream cheese and the confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth.
To assemble:
Lay one cake layer flat side-up on a cake plate. Tuck in strips of baking paper under the cake edges to keep the plate clean.
Use about 1 cup of frosting to fill the bottom cake layer then top with the other cake layer, flat side-up. Use the rest of the frosting to ice the whole cake. Serve.
The cake can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.