Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and grease and flour three 8” (23cm) round pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.

Add oil and melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients have been moistened. Batter will be thick.

Add eggs and vanilla extract and stir well until batter is smooth and uniform.

Gradually add buttermilk, stirring until batter is completely combined.

Slowly pour hot coffee into the batter and stir until uniform. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and stir again.

Evenly divide batter between prepared cake pans (if you’re weighing your cakes you’ll need 700 grams in each cake pan). Bake in center rack of 350F (175C) preheated oven for 35-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If your oven bakes unevenly, rotate cakes during baking.

Allow cakes to cool in their pans for 15 minutes, then run a knife along the edge to loosen cakes from pan and carefully invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter until creamy and smooth.

Gradually add sugar, about a half cup at a time, using your electric mixer to stir on low-speed until combined before adding the next.

Once all the sugar is added in, add salt, vanilla, and peppermint extracts and stir until completely combined. If desired, stir in food coloring until desired color is reached.

Add a Tablespoon of heavy cream, and beat until well incorporated. Add more cream as needed until frosting is smooth, creamy, and easily spreadable.

Assembly: Level cakes if needed and evenly cover with frosting. I find it helpful to do a crumb coating, meaning after applying icing between the layers and stacking the cakes I’ll do a very thin layer of frosting around the exterior of the cake then place it in the freezer for 15 minutes (this will catch all the crumbs) then remove and finish decorating the cake with an even layer of frosting. See decorating notes below for more ideas on decorating.