Moist Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Frosting

What could be better then ending the year on a sweet note? Besides today is my brother's girlfriends birthday and she's a picky eater like me, but one of her favorites is chocolate. She's my kind of girl. :) I thought I would make a home made treat that's completely from scratch, and it was pretty easy so I hope you give it a try.

Moist Devil's Food Cake with Mrs. Milman's Chocolate Frosting

(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus more for pans
1/2 cup boiling water
3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment; butter parchment. Dust with cocoa powder; tap out excess. Set aside.

Sift cocoa powder into a medium bowl; whisk in boiling water. Set aside to cool.

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl; set aside.

Put butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until creamy.

Gradually mix in sugar until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add eggs, a bit at a time, mixing well between each addition; mix until well blended. Mix in vanilla.

Whisk milk into reserved cocoa mixture. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the cocoa mixture.

Divide batter evenly among prepared pans; smooth tops with an offset spatula.

Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks; remove parchment and re-invert. Let cool completely.

Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan.

Place the first layer on the cake plate. Spread the top of the first layer with 1 1/2 cups of frosting. (I didn't let the frosting cool long enough so it looks like pudding, but it did firm up when I put it back in the fridge.)

Place the second layer on top and repeat process with another 1 1/2 cups of frosting. Place the remaining layer on top of the second layer, bottom side up. Spread entire cake with remaining 3 cups frosting.

I used ribbon to top the cake and also sprinkled pink spirnkles around the edge and on top to fill in the blank white space of the cake board.

Chocolate Frosting

Makes 6 cups

24 ounces semisweet chocolate morsels
4 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon light corn syrup

Put chocolate and cream into a medium saucepan.

Cook over medium-low heat; stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula, until thick, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in corn syrup.

Transfer to a large, wide metal bowl.

Refrigerate until frosting is cool enough to spread, about 2 hours, checking and stirring every 15 minutes. Use immediately.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORI!!!!