Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter two 9” cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment circles, and dust the sides with cocoa powder.
2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, making sure to break up any clumps.
3. In a second, medium bowl, combine hot coffee/water, avocado oil, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla extract, and white vinegar in order. Whisk together well.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold in with a spatula until everything is evenly incorporated, making sure that no pockets or streaks of flour/cocoa remain. The batter will be somewhat thin. Avoid over-mixing.
5. Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, or just until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out with no more than a few moist crumbs. Place on a cooling rack and allow cake to cool completely before removing from pans and frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1. Using a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the chopped chocolate at 50% power for 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until smoothly melted. Set aside to cool briefly.
2. Meanwhile, add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium-high speed with the paddle attachment until it’s smooth and creamy.
3. Scrape down the bowl and beater with a rubber spatula. Add the confectioner’s sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract and beat on low speed until incorporated. Continue beating, increasing the speed to medium, until smooth.
4. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour in the melted chocolate. Beat the frosting until smooth, light, and fluffy, using a spatula as needed to make sure everything is fully incorporated.

Assembling

1. Carefully transfer one cake layer to a cardboard round or cake plate, removing the parchment paper lining in the process. Spread an even layer of chocolate frosting over the cake, and top with the second cake layer. Finally, frost the outside of the cake and decorate as desired.