Start by making the cake layers. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease three 6” cake pans with butter, then dust with flour. Line the bottom with parchment paper rounds. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and red gel food coloring until well combined and smooth.

Then, whisk in the hot coffee and vinegar until fully incorporated and smooth.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Use a whisk to mix until just combined, being careful not to over-mix. The batter will be very thin!

Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared cake pans (about 446g of batter should be in each to ensure even layers). Bake at 350F for 32-37 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or with moist crumbs. The centers will dome just slightly, but should be springy to the touch!

Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes in their pans, then remove them from the pans and set them on a wire cooling rack to cool COMPLETELY before frosting. It is essential that the cake layers are cooled completely to ensure the frosting doesn’t melt. You can prepare the cake layers ahead of time and wrap them in plastic wrap to sit in the refrigerator overnight. You can also place the cake layers in the freezer to accelerate the cooling process if you are making the same day!

While the cakes are cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting. In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until smooth and fluffy.

Then add the powdered sugar, vanilla., and salt. Beat until well combined, smooth, and free of lumps. Transfer about ½ of the cream cheese frosting to a piping bag or ziplock bag with the corner snipped off.

Once the cake layers are fully cooled, assemble the cake. Use a serrated knife to slice and level the tops off of each cake layer (I like to reserve the tops that were cut off in a separate bowl for cake crumbs to use for decorating later). At this point, you can either keep the 3 thicker layers as is, or slice each layer in half to create 6 thinner layers of cake — it’s totally up to your preference!

Place one cake layer cut side up on a cake stand or platter. Spread 4-5 tbsp of the cream cheese frosting across the surface of the cake, pushing it to the edges. Place another cake layer on top and repeat with the frosting. Repeat this process until all of the cake layers are stacked. For 3 thicker cake layers, I like to do a thicker layer of cream cheese frosting between each. For 6 thinner cake layers, I like to do a thinner layer of cream cheese frosting.

After the last cake layer is added, with an offset spatula and bench scraper, spread and smooth a thin coat of frosting around the cake to fully cover the cake layers and create a crumb coat. Place the cake into the refrigerator or freezer to chill for 10-20 minutes, until the frosting is firm to the touch.

When ready, cover the chilled cake with a second, thick layer of remaining frosting. Smooth it out using an offset spatula and bench scraper.

Decorate and garnish as desired. I personally kept the frosting smooth, then decorated the edges of the top and bottom of the cake with leftover cake crumbs. Then, I finished by adding some sparkling sugar and sugared rosemary sprigs to create a wreath look!

Slice and serve.