Cake Baking Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter and coat three 6” round cake pans with cocoa powder or coat them with baking release spray. I use damp cake strips on my pans for more evenly baked layers.
2. To a large bowl, add and whisk together all-purpose flour, brown and granulated sugar, black cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and kosher salt. Set aside.  
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your vanilla extract, eggs, greek yogurt or sour cream, buttermilk, and oil.
4. Pour your hot water into the bowl of dry ingredients so your cocoa powder can bloom. Mix until fully combined, and then pour bowl of other ingredients to this one and mix again until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
5. Pour and evenly spread the batter into your prepared cake pans. Bake for 35 minutes or until layers bounce back at the touch of your finger.
6. Let cakes cool in pans for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting and Decorating Instructions

1. Make the Buttercream: Beat butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, heavy cream, and salt in a stand mixer until smooth. Set aside ⅓ cup of white frosting.
2. Color Frosting: Add cocoa powder and black gel food coloring to the remaining frosting. To darken, melt a small amount of frosting and mix it back in. Let rest overnight.
3. Prepare Details: Color a portion of white frosting green for the eyes and mix some with black to make gray for the nose.
4. Assemble the Cake: Spread black buttercream between each cake layer and stack them.
5. Outline the Face: Use toothpicks or cutters to mark the eyes and nose.
6. Pipe the Face: Use round piping tips to add the green eyes and gray nose.
7. Make the Ears: Pipe black triangles onto wax paper and freeze them.
8. Pipe the Fur: Use a grass tip to pipe fur, working from the base up and around the eyes and nose.
9. Final Touches: Attach the frozen ears and pipe a gray line for the mouth, if desired.
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