Coffee is our ingredient of the season, and we’re slowly building up an archive of our favorite coffee recipes!

Yesterday was election day. Today we eat cake. Eat in celebration or to calm your frustration (it’s ok).

By looking at the photo above, you may think that we’re sharing a recipe for chocolate cake with coffee frosting. WRONG! We put the coffee IN the cake. And we slathered it with peanut butter frosting. You’re welcome.

Chocolate + Coffee Cake

This is our favorite chocolate cake recipe with the simplest of twists : replace the boiling water with freshly brewed coffee. We used a pour-over brew, but you could easily use drip.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water freshly brewed hot coffee

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
• Sift together the dry ingredients (sugar through salt). Add the eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Beat slowly to incorporate the wet and dry ingredients, then turn the mixer up to medium speed for 2 minutes. Slowly stir in the coffee. The batter will be very thin and runny, but don’t worry!
• Split the batter between the two pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

The Frosting

• Whisk together 1 stick of softened butter + 1 cup of creamy peanut butter until light and creamy.
• Add 1.5 cups of powdered sugar and whisk until well blended.
• Add a nice thick layer of frosting between the cake layers and on top of the cake; skip the sides.

Enjoy with coffee.