Chocolate Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Use a pastry brush with vegetable shortening to grease and flour two (9-inch) round baking pans. Tap out any excess flour. Set aside.
• Mix the dry ingredients. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking powder and soda. Whisk the dry ingredients together.
• Add the wet ingredients. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream, buttermilk, and oil. Use an electric hand mixer with beaters to combine ingredients on medium. (You can use a stand mixer or a whisk by hand.)
• Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally.
• Add the boiling water. Carefully add the boiling water to the batter and whisk on low/medium to combine. Or incorporate with a rubber spatula. Batter is thin.
• Divide cake batter evenly between the pans.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes. Baking times vary based on your individual ovens. Watch the cakes carefully towards the end of baking. They're done when a toothpick when inserted comes out mostly clean, with a few chocolatey crumbs.
• Be careful not to overbake the cakes.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the baking pans.
• Carefully turn over cakes onto wire cooling racks. Let cool completely before frosting.
• Make the buttercream. In a large mixing bowl, using either a stand mixer with whisk attachment or an electric hand mixer. Combine powdered sugar, vegetable shortening (or softened butter), cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract on low to medium speed. Pour in evaporated milk. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and the sides of the bowl occasionally.
• Once incorporated, beat on high speed for 1-2 minutes. Add ½ cup more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin. Add a few tablespoons more of evaporated milk or heavy cream if frosting too thick.
• Assemble and frost. Place one cooled cake on your stand or serving plate. Top with an even layer of frosting using an icing spatula. Top that with the second cake. Spread the remaining frosting on the top and sides of the cake. Use the icing spatula to make a swirl pattern on the top.
• Refrigerate the cake either uncovered or covered in a cake holder for 1 hour prior to serving. This will help set the frosting. Serve immediately after refrigeration or store up to 5 days.