Happy Birthday Chocolate Cake

This cake is quite intense, but not overly sweet.  That’s how I like it.  The combination of ingredients are designed to bring out the flavor of the chocolate.  Coffee is used in the cake to add moistness and elevate richness of the chocolate.  The sour cream in the icing adds a hint of tang that balances the sweetness of the white chocolate shavings.

Yield:

1 12" two-layer cake

Ingredients

1. For the cake:
2. =============
3. 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
4. 2 cups sugar
5. 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
6. 2 teaspoons baking soda
7. 1 teaspoon baking powder
8. 1 teaspoon kosher salt
9. 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
10. 1/2 cup vegetable oil
11. 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
12. 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
13. 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
14. .
15. For the Sour Cream Icing:
16. ==========================
17. 12 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
18. 1 stick butter, unsalted and softened
19. 2 Tbl. light corn syrup
20. ¼ cup half-and-half
21. ½ cup sour cream
22. 3 - 4 oz. white chocolate

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
3. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.
4. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
5. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
6. To make the frosting, melt the chocolate with the butter and corn syrup in a double boiler over barely simmering water. Remove from heat and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the half-and-half and sour cream. Spread on cake while still soft.

Notes

To grate the white chocolate for the topping, run a potato peeler along the top of the white chocolate bar to create tiny curly shavings. Sprinkle on the top of the cake before the icing dries. Alternatively, you can use a hand shredder for a finer look.