Not a real post but THE Best Chocolate Cake Ever

The kids were coming over today to celebrate S's birthday...his 30th birthday - how did that child get so old??

So I decided to make a chocolate cake with a chocolate ganache.

Friends, that ganache had me worried.  There's something about heating cream (or milk) on the stove that makes me nervous.  I'd never made ganache before and I was seeing all these warnings about how finicky it can be.  Those people are liars.  It was super easy.

The cake itself I wasn't worried about because I've made it before and it has always turned out perfectly and today was no exception.

When I tell you this is the best chocolate cake ever; I am not even kidding.  It is the most moist and delicious cake that I have ever had the pleasure to eat.  In fact, I've seriously given consideration to giving up any other future cake endeavors in favor of this one (not really). 

So today, I figured I'd share the recipe.

Without further ado -

Chocolate Layer Cake

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salet
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs - room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup hot freshly brewed coffee

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray two round cakes pans with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla.  Slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  The slowly beat in the hot fee until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the cake pans and bake for 35 minutes.

Original recipe found here.

I have made this cake with a peanut butter frosting (SO good), a raspberry cream cheese frosting and now with the ganache - and it hasn't failed me yet.  In fact, I'm already planning to use this recipe to make cupcakes for the cul-de-sac Fall block party later this month.  My only conundrum - what type of frosting.

This cake is so darn good - I even posted a
picture to Instagram (who am I?!)

Any suggestions for future frosting?  Do you have a fail safe cake recipe that has never let you down?  If not, you can have this one.