MOIST DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to upper- and lower-middle positions; heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease three 8-inch pans, line bottom of each pan with parchment paper round, grease agin and flour.
• Combine chocolate and cocoa in medium bowl; pour boiling water over and whisk until smooth.
• Sift together flours, baking soda, and salt onto large bowl and set aside.
• Place butter in bowl of standing mixer and beat at medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute.
• Add brown sugar and beat on high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• Stop mixer and scrape down bowl.
• Increase speed to medium-high and add eggs one at a time, beating 30 seconds after each addition.
• Reduce speed to medium; add sour cream and vanilla and beat until combined, about 10 seconds.
• Stop mixer and scrape down bowl.
• With mixer on low, add about one third of flour mixture, followed by about one half of chocolate mixture.
• Repeat, ending with flour mixture; beat until just combined, about 15 seconds.
• Do not overbeat.
• Remove bowl from mixer; scrape bottom and sides of bowl and mix gently to be certain all ingredients are combined.
• Divide batter evenly among cake pans, smooth batter to edges of pan with angled spatula.
• If baking three 8-inch cakes, place two pans on lower-middle rack and one on upper-middle rack.
• Bake until skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 23 minutes for 8-inch cakes.
• Cool on wire rack 15 to 20 minutes.
• Run knife around pan perimeter to loosen.
• Invert cakes onto large plate; peel off parchment, and reinvert onto lightly greased rack.
• Cool completely before frosting.