classic chocolate cake

i've been meaning to convert this recipe to volume measure (cups! teaspoons! tablespoons!) since my initial post and finally remembered to do it today.

here is the best 'normal' chocolate cake recipe (uh, non-vegan, without beets, etc) i have come across. it comes out moist and delicious every time, unless you over-bake it for a long time. even then, frosting will re-moisten it.

i grew up with a friend whose mother made the richest, best chocolate cake. it was a tower of cake and frosting, several layers tall in my child's memory. every year for her birthday her mother made this delicious confection and we all looked forward to it. hardly anyone could eat more than one slice, but one year we were determined to overcome that obstacle no matter what. my friend annie and i held a bit of a contest to see who could eat the most cake. predictably, we both made ourselves sick: i believe we each managed three pieces and about a gallon of milk. i'll never forget that cake! this recipe is very like that cake.

1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cups white sugar
4 jumbo eggs OR 5 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
optional: 2 tsp creme de cacao (or grand marnier, frangelico, creme de cassis...)

as a rule, all ingredients should be room temperature for baking.
preheat the oven to 350
prepare your pan(s): 2 tall 8" rounds, 2 short 9" rounds, 1 tall 12" round, 1 short 14" round, or 24-30 cupcakes
1. in a small mixing bowl, whisk the boiling water into the cocoa powder.
2. in a large mixing bowl, whip the butter until fluffy. add the sugar and beat on medium until creamy, a few minutes.
3. add the buttermilk to the cocoa mixture, which should be cooling.
4. mix the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a medium bowl.
5. to the butter mixture add the eggs, one at a time, blending until mixed in between additions.
6. add the vanilla (and liquer) to the cocoa mixture
7. starting and ending with flour, add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. usually i do four flour additions and three cocoa, but you can do three flour and two cocoa if you like.

other thoughts:
fresh, hot coffee makes an excellent substitution for boiling water.
for german chocolate cake i reccommend using scorched whole milk instead of boiling water
if you use organic hippie-type sugars, they will make the batter seem grainy, but it doesn't affect the texture of the finished product. don't despair!

any frosting, or none at all, is delicious on this cake.
i imagine my friend's mother made an american style chocolate buttercream and added some kind of tart dairy product to it, maybe sour cream or cream cheese.
to do this, blend a softened stick of butter until fluffy. you can use salted butter, or unsalted, depending on your taste. i never have salted butter around, so i would typically add a very small pinch of salt. add part of a package of cream cheese (maybe 1/4, or 1/2 according to taste) or a couple spoonfuls of sour cream, or a touch of buttermilk, or a bit of plain yogurt. now add powdered sugar (about 3 cups, or 4 for sweeter) and a bit of milk (maybe 2 Tbsp?) until it tastes right to you and is the correct consistency for spreading. you may also add 1/2 tsp of vanilla. in a small saucepan, melt a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips over low heat, stirring occasionally so as not to burn it. when just melted smooth, add to your frosting and blend right away.