Large chocolate birthday cake

Ingredients:

Cakes

• 440 g butter, plus extra for greasing
• 8 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder, plus extra for sprinkling
• 4 cups of flour
• 4 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups of boiling water
• 1 cup of sour milk
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, beaten

Glaze

• 3 cups heavy cream
• 680 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Cakes: Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Generously grease and dust four 9-inch round cake pans with cocoa powder.
2. Mix flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the cocoa powder. Stir. Add the hot water, let the mixture boil for 30 seconds, and then turn off the heat. Pour the resulting mixture over the flour mixture and stir gently to cool.
4. Combine the sour milk with the baking soda, vanilla extract, and beaten eggs. Stir the mixture into the butter and cocoa powder mixture.
5. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and bake for 20 minutes.
6. Let the cakes cool completely before applying the glaze. It's even better if you refrigerate the cooled cakes.
7. Glaze: Heat the cream to a very high temperature. Then pour it over the chocolate pieces and stir until completely melted. Pour the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer. Refrigerate until cool.
8. Once completely cooled, add vanilla extract and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
9. Spread frosting between the layers, on top and sides of the cake.