Resipi...Dark Chocolate Cake

3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
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1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa
2 1/2 cups double strength coffee
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2 sticks + 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
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1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
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5 large sized eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla

Mix the hot coffee and the cocoa together until smooth. Allow to cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare 3 9x2-inch cake pans with bakers grease or a good spray with cooking spray and a sprinkle of cocoa (shake out the excess). In a medium bowl, sift the dry ingredients together,
set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This will take 1-3 minutes. You want a light color and a fluffy texture. Scrape the bowl and add the oil, beat until incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, allow each to incorporate before adding the next. Add the vanilla and scrape the bowl.

Alternate the coffee/cocoa mixture with the dry ingredients. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to be sure you have incorporated all the dry ingredients. This is a large recipe and it will fill up even the bowl of a 4 1/2 quart sized KitchenAid mixer!!

Pour the batter into the pans. You want to fill them 1/2 to 2/3 full, not more. If it looks like you might have more batter, don't overfill the pans, just make a few cupcakes! Bake for about 25+ minutes, they won't spring back like many cake recipes. They will be firm on top and will start to spring back, like a lightly damp sponge. Remove from the oven and cool in the pans for 5-10 minutes. Now...don't fret....this cake will fall back down slightly, not a dip in the middle, but it will settle back into the pan. This recipe just does that. So don't be
disappointed. Cool on racks until completely cool. This cake frosts much easier if you freeze it overnight and as you frost it, it will thaw out! It is a tender cake, but much worth the effort.

You can wrap this cake well and then freeze for 2 months.

**To help keep the cake level as it bakes, cut strips 2-inches wide from an old towel, wet it down with cold tap water and squeeze out the excess, then wrap around the cake pan after you have added the batter and pin in place. Bake as usual and the damp cloth helps to insulate the pan so the layers bake nice and even!! I use this with all of my cake recipes. These strips can be re-used until they start to fall apart.