My Best Chocolate Cake

Grease 2, 8" cake pans with butter-flavored crisco and coat evenly with cocoa powder. Each pan will take about 2 Tbl. or so. *If you have trouble with cakes sticking to your pans, I recommend that you use flour, or half flour and half cocoa for this. Mine never stick, but they are well coated with whatever in the heck they use, and very shiny. You use whatever works best in your pans.

In large bowl stir together first 8 ingredients with a wire whisk well.

Add rest of cake ingredients except coffee. Beat on medium for 2 minutes.

Add coffee carefully, and beat til mixed well. Be careful to add it slowly so it doesn't splatter on you and everything else! Hot coffee can really burn!

Pour evenly into the 2 prepared pans.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 350º for about 40 minutes or til toothpick comes out clean. *This is not a high-rising cake, it's a bit dense. So don't fret when it looks kinda puckered in the very center, that's the way it should look.

Cool in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting:.

Melt butter in microwave.

Stir in cocoa well.

Alternately add rest of ingredients beating with wire whisk, or use a mixer. Beat til smooth and creamy.

This makes enough frosting to frost a 2-layer 8" cake, plus extra to decorate it with. If you just want to frost it, pile it on there! I doubt anyone will complain!

Drizzle with caramel ice cream topping if desired. Top with your heart's desire. I used Brach's chocolate stars, chopped walnuts and white chocolate truffles! Experiment and have fun! :).

Thanks for taking the time to read my recipe, hope you give it a try! :). ?