chocolate cocoa cake with buttercream frosting

I'm back baking cake and trying my luck again in decorating/frosting them. I don't know... I suck at decorating/frosting. I feel that I'm terrible at it. Hehehe... shameful. I badly need to enrol in a cake decorating class. Hahaha... Well, anyway, here's my another cake decorating/frosting attempt that seemed to be still "needs improvement" or somehow improved? Hahaha...

I used 6" cake pan here and the rst of the cake batter I made into cupcakes. Small cakes seemed to attract me these days. Perhaps that's where I'd start my decorating/frosting attempts. Kim said that the cake was yummy and best paired with his coffee. Hehehe... I'm smiling... =D

Here's another cake recipe using ready cake mix. I'm still sticking to cake mix these days because of busy schedule (taking care of kuya and the baby). Hopefully when the househelp comes by next month, everything will be okay and I'd be able to do more cooking and baking and picture taking. Hehehe...

Thanks to ACDEE of Confession Nook for sharing her buttercream frosting recipe. I've been trying many recipe to frost my cakes and cupcakes and so far I found her recipe suited well with what I am looking for. I just suck in cake decoration/frosting. Hahaha...

Chocolate Cocoa Cake
Ingredients:
485 g. cake mix
275 ml. water
60ml. vegetable oil
3 eggs
butter for greasing
flour for dusting

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 180°C .

Grease 6" round cake pan lightly with butter and lightly flour before lining bottom with wax paper and put cupcake paper on the cupcake mold.

Beat cake mix with water, vegetable oil and eggs in a large bowl until moistened. Pour into the cake pan and cupcake molds halfway only (since the cake will rise as it is cooked).

Bake for 35 minutes or until cake springs back when touched in the center or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Buttercream frosting
Ingredients:
8 tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Procedure:
Whip butter until light and fluffy, add sifted icing sugar little by little until well-incorporated. Beat in the yolk. Add vanilla extract to mix.

Note: You can add range of colors you like to the buttercream frosting.