Fauna’s Brown Sugar Buttermilk Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Oh, how perfectly lovely! Three layers of brown sugar and buttermilk cake! Why, it looks as soft as a cloud and as warm as a cozy cottage on a cool autumn evening. The brown sugar would give it such a sweet, caramel-like richness, while the buttermilk keeps it light and tender. That's the sort of baking magic I always hoped for…even without using a wand! And that beautiful semi-sweet chocolate frosting! Not too sweet, not too bitter, but just right. Like a velvet cloak wrapped around the whole cake. Oh my! The cake is so delicate it practically melts away, and then the chocolate comes along and gives everything a wonderfully comforting hug. It tastes like a celebration. The sort of cake one would serve at a birthday, a holiday, or perhaps even a royal gathering. Why, if the good fairies were planning a tea party, this would certainly be the centerpiece. And I do believe even Merryweather would ask for a second slice.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 tbs vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 sticks butter
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp espresso powder
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line three 9 inch inch round cake pans lined with parchment paper and dust with flour.
Combine and sift the cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Beat together until creamy the 1 1/2 sticks of butter and brown sugar. Beat in one egg at a time and add the 1 tbs of vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the brown sugar and butter mixture in two batches alternating with the buttermilk.
Evenly divide the mixture between the three cake pans and bake for 45 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean from the cake. Allow cakes to cool to room temperature out of the pan and trim the tops of the cakes so they are flat.
In a double boiler, melt the semi sweet chocolate chips and set aside to cool. In a large mixing bowl combine the butter, cut into 1 inch chunks, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and espresso powder, beat together with a mixer until combined and fluffy. Add the vanilla and cooled, but still liquid, chocolate and mix together.
Plate the cake and layer with the frosting, repeat with the other cakes and coat the layers in frosting.
Serve.