Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease and flour THREE 8 inch cake pans

In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk for 1 minute to blend.

Add softened butter a few pieces at a time while the mixer is on low speed. Mix until the dry ingredients look like coarse sand and the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, milk , oil and vanilla until blended.

Method is important when using the Reverse Creaming Method. With the mixer on low speed, SLOWLY add approximately ½ of the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 1 ½ minutes at medium speed. Don't mix above medium speed. Scrape the bottom and sides of bowl. Add the remaining egg mixture in 2 pourings, beating for 20 seconds after each pour. Scrape the sides and bottom of bowl.

Slowly add the cup of hot coffee and mix another 30 seconds until blended. The batter will be very runny. Don't worry!

Pour into 3 prepared 8" pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool the cakes 10 minutes on a rack and then turn out of the pans.

*Yields approx 9 cups of batter.

Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and combine with cream. Heat for 30 seconds and stir. Mix for 15 more seconds and stir. Repeat as needed in small increments until the chocolate is almost entirely melted. Gently stirring should melt the remaining chocolate. Be careful not to overheat.

The chocolate will thicken as it cools.

Reserve ½ cup of the ganache and set it to the side if you plan to do a drip like we did. You will not whip this.

Refrigerate the remaining ganache for an hour or until the mixture has begun to thicken.

Using a handheld mixer, whip the chilled ganache on medium speed until stiff peaks form (about 20-30 seconds). If the chocolate mixture is too fluid after beating, chill it a bit longer and repeat. Be careful not to over mix.

Add butter to your mixing bowl and mix on low to medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla and blend into the butter. As you begin adding the powdered sugar, salt, and cocoa powder, add about ¾ of the milk. Begin mixing at low speed so you won't have a cloud of powdered sugar.

Continue to mix adding remaining milk as needed. It may take 5 to 6 minutes to reach the smoothness and consistency you like. Don't mix above medium speed. It will take a bit longer if using a hand mixer. As you mix, the frosting will become very smooth. You can add additional milk one Tablespoon at a time if the frosting is too thick or additional powdered sugar if the frosting is too soft.

This is my favorite chocolate frosting! Recipe can easily be doubled or halved. This recipe makes approximately 7 cups of frosting.

Place the first chocolate cake layer on cake base or pedestal. Pipe a dam of buttercream around the edge of the cake using a piping bag with the tip snipped away (or a piping tip 10 or 12). Spread the truffle filling inside of it. *I like to use a dam when working with softer fillings.

Place the next layer on top of the filling and repeat. Top with the third layer of chocolate cake.

Apply a thin crumb coat of chocolate buttercream and chill to firm up the cake. I chill my cake in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes. Apply the final coat of frosting. Chill the cake again before applying the ganache drip.

The reserved ganache for the drip should be fluid but not super runny. If it is too loose, chill a bit longer in the refrigerator. If it has firmed up, warm it in the microwave for a few seconds at a time. Place the ½ cup of reserved ganache into a piping bag with a small bit of the tip snipped away.

You can test the consistency of the drip by applying it around the top edge inside of your bowl. When it's time to apply to the cake, apply the drip around the top edge all the way around. Then, I applied the drizzle in a back and forth motion on top.

I applied chocolate rosettes around the top of the cake using a 2D large star piping tip and added a chocolate truffle to each (Ours are Lindt brand but use whatever you like)!