Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease two 9-inch round pans really well, on the bottom and up the sides! 
2. Melt 3/4 cup of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add in the cup of water and stir until well mixed. Then set aside.
3. In a small bowl, mix together all of the other wet ingredients on high speed until they're creamy.
4. Put all of the dry ingredients (granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) together in a large bowl or into the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk together until they are equally combined.
5. Add the melted butter and water mixture to your dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined, do not over mix or the moist chocolate cake you’re looking for will end up dry instead!
6. Add in the remaining wet ingredients and mix again on low speed until just combined.
7. Split the batter evenly between the two prepared 9-inch cake pans. I like to use a measuring cup so I can make sure the batter is evenly distributed between the two.
8. Put the two cake pans with the chocolate cake batter into the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Let the cake cool in the pans for 15-20 minutes. Once they’ve cooled, run a knife along the edge of each cake and then flip them over onto a cooling rack.

Chocolate frosting

1. Place the butter and unsweetened chocolate together in a microwave safe bowl and cook on high in the microwave for increments of 20-30 seconds. Stir between intervals and then repeat until the chocolate and butter are melted and creamy.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and the melted chocolate and butter mixture until they are all just combined.
3. Add in about half of the milk and keep whisking the frosting together until smooth. If the frosting is still pretty dense, add a little more milk at a time making sure to keep whisking the frosting until it is a texture you like!
4. Place one of your cakes top side down on a cake stand or a cardboard cake round. Top with a layer of the chocolate frosting.
5. Place the other round cake on top of the frosting layer (top side down) carefully then frost all the way around the cake sides and the top.
6. Garnish around the bottom with chocolate chips if desired or just leave the cake frosted!