Dr. Pepper Cake (For Two)

For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 6″ round cake pan or spray with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, beat together with an electric mixer the butter and sugar until fluffy and well-combined, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix until combined.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In another small bowl, stir together the Dr. Pepper and buttermilk.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and beat until lightly combined. Add half of the buttermilk-soda mixture and continue beating. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by the last of the buttermilk-soda mixture. Finally, add the last of the flour mixture and beat until combined.

Scrape the batter into the cake pan, and bake on a baking sheet for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with only a few crumbs clinging and the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Once you pull the cake from the oven, begin making the icing (and not a minute before).

For the icing:
In a small bowl, melt the butter, cocoa powder and Dr. Pepper in the microwave. Once the butter is melted and the mixture slightly bubbles, pour in the powdered sugar a little at a time, whisking vigorously by hand. When all the powdered sugar is incorporated, stir in the vanilla. Pour the warm frosting over the warm cake. Let cool slightly before serving.