Classic Chocolate Cake

I stayed up until 3am last night to watch and get the full result of our Malaysia's 13th General Election. Luckily, I have already applied for an annual leave for today so after my dawn prayer, I continued to get my beauty sleep...until like 9am.. :). 

On the result of the election, the main party, Barisan Nasional (National Front) won 133 parliamentary seats however did not get the two third majority (148 seats). My congratulations to the ruling party. Later in the afternoon today, Najib Razak sworn as Malaysia's Prime Minister. This is his second term. Hope for the best and may Allah blessed us always!

The Cake
Ingredients:

125g semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup boiling water
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups caster sugar
4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C /350F. Butter two 9-inch(23cm) round spring form cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. Place chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over the chocolate and stir to melt. Set aside to cool.
3. Sift together the flour, soda and salt onto a plate. Set aside
4. In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy about 5 minutes at medium speed. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla, then beat in the cooled chocolate mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
5. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold in 1/3 of the dry ingredients until almost fully incorporated. Fold in half of the buttermilk, then fold in another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, followed by the remaining buttermilk. Add the remaining dry ingredientd and fold in until the batter is smooth and all ingredients are fully incorporated.
6. In a clean mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the egg whites until medium peaks form. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold in the egg white into the batter.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pans, dividing evenly. Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes come out clean.
8. Transfer to a wire racks and let cool for 5 minutes before removing the pan. Let cool completely on the racks.

Chocolate Frosting
750g bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla essence

1. Place the chocolate and butter in the top pf a double boiler placed over simmering water. Heat, stirring often, until the butter and chocolate melt. Remove from the water and set aside to cool.
2. Sift the icing sugar over the mixture, whisk it along with vanilla essence until smooth.

To assemble the cake:

1. Cut each cake in half horizontally to get 4 layers.
2. Using an icing spatula, spread equal amounts of chocolate frosting evenly between layers.
3. Transfer the cake into a serving plate, frost the sides and top.
4. Sprinkle some grated chocolate on top