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Grease and flour 3 6” cake pans, or 2 8” cake pans.
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Pre-heat oven to 350F.
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Start by making the vanilla cake
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Cream butter in the bowl of a stand mixer for 2 minutes, on medium speed. Gradually add sugar and cream for 3 minutes until mixture is fluffy and lighter in color.
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Add eggs to the mixture, one at a time, mixing on medium speed. Scrape bowl and add vanilla. Mix on medium-low speed until incorporated.
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Sift flour, baking powder and salt.
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Add half of the buttermilk to butter/egg/sugar mixture. Mix on low for 30 seconds. Add half of sifted flour mixture. Mix on low for 30-45 seconds until almost entirely incorporated.
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Add remaining buttermilk and mix on low for 30 seconds. Add remaining flour and mix on low until incorporated.
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Divide batter evenly between your cake pans.
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Time to make the Chocolate Cake
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Notes: If you don’t want to use coffee, you can use boiling water. Just mix 1 teaspoon of espresso powder in with the dry ingredients or skip it all together.
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Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder, if using it instead of coffee. Set aside.
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Whisk egg in a bowl for about 30 seconds.
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Add sugar and keep whisking for about 1 minute, until brightened in color.
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Add oil to the bowl. Whisk until combined.
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Add milk and vanilla extract.
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Pour dry ingredients over wet mixture.
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Fold with a spatula slowly, until ingredients are just combined.
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If you see big clumps of cocoa powder, you can use the whisk to try to smooth the batter out.
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Once batter is incorporated, pour hot coffee in the bowl. Whisk until combined.
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Batter will be very thin and runny.
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With the back of a spoon make holes in your vanilla cake batter. Spoon Generous amounts of filling inside these holes, being mindful to spread them evenly between all the cakes.
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Grab a knife and run it over your batter, creating a swirl effect, to make the beautiful marble.
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Bake cakes in pre-heated oven for about 20-25 minutes. Smaller cake pans will take less time to bake.
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Remove cake from the oven when a toothpick comes out clean once inserted in the cake.
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Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes and flip it over in a wire rack to let it cool completely before proceeding with frosting and filling.