Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 cup milk
• 3 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 large eggs
• ¼ cup unsweetened baking cocoa

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Grease and flour bottoms and sides of two 9-inch round pans.
2. In medium bowl, beat cake mix, milk, cream cheese, vanilla, and eggs with an electric mixer on mix for 2.5 minutes.
3. Divide batter in half; stir cocoa into half of the batter.
4. Pour vanilla batter into one round pan, and chocolate batter into the other.
5. Bake 20 to 26 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely (about 1 hour)
7. Level cakes by removing caramelization from the cake tops.
8. Cut a circle around the cake at roughly 6” and 3” to create three cake rings per cake.
9. Place 9” Vanilla cake on cake board, followed by 6” chocolate cake, and 3” Vanilla cake. Spread a thin layer of buttercream on top before adding the second layer of cake.
10. Once cake is assembled, apply thin layer of buttercream (crumb coat) to cake and chill for 20-30 minutes.
11. Once set, frost the cake and decorate.