Preheat the oven to 350F (I use convection cuz my oven runs really hot at the bottom - conventional is also fine) and grease and line two 8 inch baking pans with baking spray and parchment paper (see blog post for other cake pan sizes).

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until they’re evenly distributed.

In a separate large bowl, whisk the sugar, oil, eggs and sour cream until they’re well combined and smooth.

Sift the dry ingredients over the wet and whisk them together, just a little - about halfway or so.

Pour in the hot coffee and whisk until the batter is completely smooth and all the dry ingredients are combined.

Scrape the edge of the bowl and give it a good mix. Pour into prepared cake tin(s).

Bake for 35ish minutes, until the tallest part of the cake, in the center, springs back when you press on it. If you’re hesitant, give it another minute or so.

Let the cake rest for 10 minutes in the pan, then flip over onto a tea towel and let the cake cool upside down for 30 minutes or so before flipping back over.

If it’s domed or if you want to add a soak (I did a double shot of espresso), trim the top off after it’s completely cooled and then drizzle the coffee on top.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat together the cold mascarpone with the powdered sugar until it’s completely smooth.

Add the vanilla bean paste and turn the mixer to medium speed.

Stream in the cold heavy whipping cream in 3-4 increments, stopping to scrape the edge of the bowl each time.

Once all the heavy whipping cream is added, it may seem soft so turn the mixer up to full speed and it should thicken and hold peaks within a couple of minutes. Don’t over-beat once you’ve reached this stage.

If you’re adding the espresso, make sure it’s completely cooled before adding it and mix just until it’s combined.

Spread the cream on top of the cake and dust with a generous dusting of cocoa powder (I used dutch process here cuz I thought black cocoa might look funny lol. Natural also works fine).