• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• In a big bowl, mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. If you have a flour sifter, use it for all the dry ingredients.
• In another bowl, beat oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla for 1 minute. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and stir until everything is mixed. Pour in the hot water and mix again. The batter will be liquidy, but that's exactly what you want – it makes the cake super moist.
• Spray two 9-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray (or three 8-inch pans if you prefer). Pour the batter evenly into each pan. Bake for 22-27 minutes. To check if it's done, stick a toothpick or cake tester in the center – it should come out clean.
• Let it cool before frosting.

Now, for the Chocolate Buttercream:

• In a bowl, cream together softened butter, cocoa, powdered sugar, and cream until it's light and fluffy. Adjust the consistency by adding more cream or milk if needed.
• Once the cake is cool and out of the pans, frost each layer with the chocolatey goodness.
• To make it even more delightful, top it with chocolate shavings, chocolate chips, sprinkles, M & M's, or whatever makes your heart happy.