Gabes Chocolate Almond Birthday Cake

* Posted on honey whats cooking.com /adapted from smitten kitchen
INGREDIENTS: 

• All Purpose Flour – 2 cups
• Sugar – 2 1/2 cups
• Rademaker Dutch Processed Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – 3/4 cup  (else use Unsweetened Cocoa Powder)
• Baking Soda – 2 tsp
• Salt – 1 tsp
• Canola Oil – 1 cup
• Sour Cream – 1 cup
• Water – 1 1/2 cups
• Distilled White Vinegar – 2 tbsp
• Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp
• Eggs - 2

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2.wisk together dry ingredients
3. add oil and sour cream, mix well
4. add the water in 3 batches, mixing well in between
5. dump into 2 greased round cake pans
6. bake 35 mins at 350

Almond Buttercream frosting:
INGREDIENTS:

• Unsalted Butter – 2 sticks (room temperature)
• Confectioners Sugar – 4
• Milk 1% Low Fat – 3 to 4 tbsp (start with 3 and use more as need be)
• Almond Extract – 1 tsp  (if you aren’t a huge fan of Amaretto, use 1 or 2 tsp of vanilla extract instead)

Garnish cake with toasted sliced almonds