- 12
- 20 mins
- 50 mins
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1-1/4 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup non-alkalized (natural) cocoa powder, such as
- Hershey's
- 2 teaspoons instant expresso or instant coffee
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preparation
Step 1
Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease two 8 by 1-1/2 inch round cake pans with vegetable shortening and cover pan bottoms with rounds of parchment paper or waxed paper. Grease parchment rounds, dust cake pans with flour and tap out excess.
Beat butter in bowl of electric mixer set at medium-high speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds. Gradually sprinkle in sugar; beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating 1 full minute after each addition.
Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa and instant express in medium bowl. Combine milk and vanilla in measuring cup. With mixer at lowest speed, add about one-third of dry ingredients to batter, followed immediately by about one-third of milk mixture; mix until ingredients are almost incorporated into batter. Repeat process twice more. When batter appears blended, stop mixer and scrap bowl sides with rubber spatula. Return mixer to low speed; beat until batter looks satiny, about 15 seconds longer.
Divide batter evenly between pans. With rubber spatula, spread batter to pan sides and smooth top. Bake cakes until they feel firm in center when lightly pressed and skewer comes out clean or with just a crumb or two adhering, 23 to 30 minutes. Transfer pans to wire racks; cool for 10 minutes. Run knife around perimeter of each pan, invert cakes onto racks, and peel off paper liners. Reinvert cakes onto additional racks; cool completely before frosting