Tips:For those who can never get enough chocolate, a chocolate cake is frosted with an easy chocolate buttercream, then finished with a dark chocolate glaze. Everything can be made with a hand-held electric mixer, if you have a powerful one. You'll need two round layer cake pans nine inches in diameter; they MUST be two inches tall (there's too much batter for pans that are only 1-1/2" high). A great cake for a party!

Cake:

• 5 squares (5 ozs.) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2-1/4 c. sifted cake flour
• 2-1/4 c. sugar
• 1-3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 3/4 c. water
• 3 eggs, graded "large"
• 2 tsp. vanilla

• 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• Pinch salt
• 3-2/3 c. sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 c. sifted or strained nonalkalized (not Dutch process) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 to 5 Tbsp. milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla

• 3 squares (3 ozs.) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• Pinch salt
• 1-3/4 c. sifted confectioners' sugar
• 4 to 5 Tbsp. hot water
• 1 tsp. vanilla

For Cake: Grease bottoms of two nine inch layer cake pans (pans MUST be two inches deep) with solid vegetable shortening. Line pan bottoms with wax paper cut to fit; then grease and lightly flour both pans (the sides, too), knocking out any excess flour. Set aside.

In small heatproof bowl set over simmering water on low heat (water should not touch bottom of bowl), melt chopped chocolate and butter, stirring often just until smooth.

Remove from heat and hot water; cool at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Adjust oven rack to center of oven; preheat oven to 350'F.

Into large bowl, sift cake flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add chocolate mixture (which may still be slightly warm), buttermilk, water, eggs, and vanilla.

With hand-held electric mixer, beat at lowest speed for thirty seconds. Scrape bowl and beater(s) with rubber spatula. Beat batter at medium speed for one minute.

Divide batter evenly among pans and spread level. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center emerges with only a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Do not overbake. Cool 10 minutes, then loosen cakes gently from sides of pans. Invert onto cooling racks; gently peel off wax paper on bottoms. Re-invert and cool layers completely, right side up.

For Light Chocolate Frosting: In large bowl, combine softened butter and salt. With powerful hand-held electric mixer, beat until well-mixed. Gradually add about half of confectioners' sugar and 2 Tbsp. milk (reserve remainder). Beat at low speed to mix, then at medium speed until fluffy. Beat in cocoa. Add remaining sugar and enough milk to make a good spreading consistency, then add vanilla. Increase speed to high; beat until fluffy and well-blended.

Frost cooled cake, making frosting on top and sides as smooth as possible.
Chill frosted cake, uncovered, at least 30 minutes before applying glaze.

For Glaze: In small heatproof bowl set over simmering water on low heat (water should not touch bottom of bowl), combine chopped chocolate, butter, and salt. Stir often until smooth. Remove from heat and hot water.
Add confectioners' sugar and 2 Tbsp. hot water (reserve remainder); whisk well to combine. Gradually add enough of the remaining hot water to acieve a thick glaze consistency. Whisk in vanilla.Let stand at room temperature 10-15 minutes, whisking occasionally, to cool and thicken slightly.

Slowly pour glaze onto top center of chilled cake. Working quickly, smooth glaze onto cake sides first (an offset spatula is a big help here), then smooth glaze evenly over cake top. Try not to work over the glaze too much; it won't look as smooth if you do (it'll still taste great, though). Return cake to refrigerator. When glaze is set, wrap cake airtight. Store in refrigerator. If possible, let stand at cool room temperature 15-20 minutes before serving. Slice with a large, sharp, heavy knife (I use one with serrated edges, but a straight edge might work better for some people).

12-16 servings

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