Heavenly Chocolate Layered Cake

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

• 1¾ cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk (or substitute by putting 1 tbsp white vinegar in a cup then filling the rest up with milk; let stand 5 minutes until thickened)
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee (or 2 tsp instant coffee in 1 cup boiling water)

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 ounces package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped

Chocolate Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 2/3 cups confectioners sugar sifted
• 1/3 cup half and half cream or un-whipped whipping cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/3 cup unsweetened sifted cocoa for light chocolate
• 2 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Line with parchment paper, or grease two 9 inch round cake pans and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla extract and beat until smooth (about 3 minutes).
4. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in hot coffee with a rubber spatula.
5. Pour batter evenly between the two pans and bake on middle rack of oven for about 35 minutes, until a fork poked in comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool 15 minutes in pans, then loosen edges with a knife.
7. Set a wire rack on top of your cake, and gently flip your cake pans. Bang hard on counter to loosen and let cake fall out. Cool completely before handling or frosting.
8. Prepare cream cheese frosting, by whipping heavy cream until soft peaks form and setting aside.
9. In a medium bowl blend together cream cheese and sugar until very cream. Use a spatula to fold in whipping cream.

Prepare chocolate frosting

1. Cream the butter in a small bowl.
2. Blend in the cocoa powder, vanilla, confectioners sugar, alternately with the cream. Add the cream a little at a time and beat with an electric mixer until you reach the desired consistency.
3. Arrange cake first with chocolate cake layer, cream cheese, chocolate cake and then frost entire outside of cake with chocolate frosting, and garnish with chopped walnuts along the sides.