Dark Chocolate Cake with Nutella Buttercream

By dedmund

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups dark cocoa powder
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 cup Challenge butter, melted
• 2 cups milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• Nutella Buttercream:
• 1 1/2 cups Challenge butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup Nutella
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1-2 tablespoons cream
• 1 tablespoon dark cocoa powder

Details

Servings 20
Preparation time 45mins
Cooking time 80mins
Adapted from tasteandtellblog.com

Preparation

Step 1

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray 4 9-inch round baking pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper, then lightly spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In the bowl of a mixer, mix together the sugar and the butter. Add in the milk, eggs and vanilla, and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Pour in the boiling water and gently mix until combined. The batter will be thin.
Divide the batter evenly between the 4 pans. Bake in until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. (Don’t be alarmed if your cakes puff up and then fall in the center. They will probably fall a little, but you will even the cakes out and can use the scraps to decorate the cake.)
Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the outside of the pan and turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Remove the parchment paper from the bottoms of the cakes.
At this point, you can wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and refrigerate them or freeze them, which will make decorating the cake easier, or you can proceed to assembling the cake as long as they are cooled completely.
To make the buttercream, cream the butter in a mixer until smooth and creamy. Add in the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until fully incorporated. Mix in the Nutella, vanilla and salt and beat until light and fluffy. Add as much cream as needed to make the frosting a spreading consistency, adding a teaspoon at a time. .
To assemble the cake: Level each of the cake layers, reserving the scraps. Place one layer on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with some of the buttercream and spread in an even layer to the edged. Top with another cake layer, then more buttercream. Repeat with another cake layer, more buttercream, and then the final cake layer. Spread a thin layer of frosting over the outside of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for 10-15 minutes.
While the cake is in the refrigerator, take the reserved scraps of cake and crumble them as best as you can. The cake is very moist, so if the scraps aren’t crumbling, you can put them on a baking sheet and place them in a 250ºF oven to dry them out a bit, which will help.
Use the remainder of the frosting to go over the cake, making sure it is covered evenly.
Take the cake crumbs and gently press them into the outside of the cake.