Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

For the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Into the bowl of your mixer, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. With your mixer on low speed, pour in the oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water; beat until smooth.

Pour the mixture into two 9″ pans that have been coated with butter and dusted with flour.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Then remove cakes from the oven and put the cake pans on cooling racks and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before removing the cakes from the pans to cool completely.

In the meantime, prepare the whipped cream filling and the mocha glaze.

For the Whipped Cream:

Combine the whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar. Cover and chill the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
When chilled, beat the mixture until stiff peaks form.
Spread the whipped cream over the top of one of the cakes, then set the other cake on top.

For the Mocha Glaze:

Stir together the instant espresso and boiling water until smooth. Set aside.

Put the chopped chocolate into a medium sized heatproof bowl and set aside.

Combine the cream and the corn syrup in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the espresso mixture. Pour the mixture over the chopped chocolate and let sit, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes. Then stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the sauce is very smooth. Keep sauce warm until ready to use, then pour it over the cake.