Café Latte Heath Layer Cake

Hello! Are you ramping up for the biggest cooking holiday of the year!? I am! My parents are hosting, but I'm bringing these brussels from epicurious.com, Ina Garten's stuffing, and this pumpkin ice cream. The holidays are always peppered with my babies birthdays, and that is what inspired this sinful, ooey, gooey, chocolatey, moist, delicious, chocolatey, soooo yummy, did I say chocolatey cake. Bookmark this one for the next time you need a special occasion cake that is quick and easy to whip up, ingredients are easily found and you'll be sure to impress all! 

So pleased that this recipe forced me into purchasing these Nordic Ware 9" cake rounds. I think I'll use them again and again and again and again and again. Did I say again?

 An egg. And buttermilk. And vanilla. Whisk, Whisk, Whisk. Done.

Add the liquid to the dry ingredients after sifting three times (magic #3 (got that?) to transform the dry ingredients into fresh angel dust to be as light as air - DO NOT SKIP!) and you've got the creamiest, the dreamiest, the steamiest looking cake batter EVER!

And you've successfully unmolded the moist chocolate discs unto your baking rack. That wasn't scary wondering if the cake would break apart into 300 pieces, half in the pan, half all over the kitchen counter. No, you never doubted yourself for one second.  

Whip up your frosting, slather on the cake with an icing spatula after watching this video then sandwich a layer of caramel sauce in between, top with the other cake disc, slather more frosting on, and lastly sprinkle on Heath. You're ready for a great big Happy Birthday! 

Printable Recipe Here

Café Latte Heath Layer Cake

adapted from a church cookbook

Cake

Butter and ~1 tablespoon flour (for preparing pans)

1 egg

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups all purpose flour

1 3/4 cups cane sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon table salt

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 cup hot coffee

Frosting & Filling

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup cane sugar

6 tablespoons butter

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup caramel sauce (divided in half)

1/2 cup Heath candy bits

Generously butter two round 9" cake pans or one 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with flour and tap flour around to lightly coat all surface area - turn pan upside down and tap excess into the sink/garbage. Set prepared pans aside. 

Preheat oven to 350ºF. 

Whisk together egg, oil, vanilla extract, and buttermilk in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. 

Get out a large bowl. Place a large sifter over parchment paper and sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, table salt and baking soda together unto parchment three times, using the large bowl as your receptacle as you alternate dry ingredients from parchment to sifter. Ending with the sifted dry ingredients in the large bowl. Whisk in the wet ingredients. Slowly and gradually add the hot coffee as you are whisking. Scrape batter into prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, longer for 9x13, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in pan on a wire rack until attempting to remove from the pan. Prepare frosting. 

Whisk sugar and milk in a heavy bottom saucepan. Add butter, bring to a gentle bubble. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips to pan, whisk until smooth. If frosting is grainy add 1 or 2 tablespoons of hot coffee to thin out. Cool frosting before frosting the cake. 

To assemble cake place a dollop of frosting on the bottom of a cake stand. Place one cake round, top side down on top of the frosting dollop. Pour 1/2 cup caramel sauce over center, stopping 1/2" from the edge. Place other cake round bottom side up on top of the caramel. Frost cake with frosting. Top with 1/2 cup caramel, allowing it to drip down sides, dust with Heath bits. Cake becomes moister and more delicious on day 2 and 3 as caramel seeps into every crevice.