Vanilla Cake w/ Chocolate Buttercream

A lovely sorry cake for my awesome sister! Extremely moist, soft, and light thanks to the help with cake flour. I was up until 3 A.M  trying not to wake others who are asleep . . . sorta hard to do when you are basically half awake :) 

For the Vanilla Cake:

• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cup milk

For the Chocolate Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• Decorations

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease 2 round 8 or 9 inch cake cans with butter, flouring sides and bottom evenly. 
2. For the Cake: In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla until creamy and smooth. Turn the mixer off and scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well on medium speed after each one. 
3. Turn off the mixer and add about 1/3 of the flour, mix on low speed until blended. Pour in 2/3 cup of milk and mix until smooth (Do not over mix!). Repeat, alternating the flour with the milk until fully blended. Pour half other the batter into the prepared pans and the other half in the second. evenly smooth the top with spoon. Gently tap the pans against counter to get the air bubbles out of the batter. 
4. Bake fore 30 to 35 minutes until toothpick inserted in the middle, comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes. Turn each pans upside down onto cooling rack and gently lift off parchment paper, cooling the make completely.
5. For the Frosting: In a small saucepan, or a heatproof bowl over simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring often until smooth. Turn off heat and let the chocolate cool slightly. 
6. In a medium bowl, using electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat the butter and cream cheese until the mixture is smooth with no lumps. Turn off mixer and scrape down the bowl. Add in the powder sugar, vanilla, and salt, beating on low speed until smooth. Add in the melted chocolate and heavy cream on low speed until blended. Decorate on cooled cake.