To Make the Brown Butter:

1. Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. A light-colored saucepan will allow you to better see when the butter is complete.
2. Allow the butter to melt fully, then begin gently stirring. Stir frequently to ensure that the browned butter bits don’t stick to the pan.
3. The butter will go through stages. At first, it will simply look like melted butter. Continue stirring.
4. The next step of brown butter is the foamy step. This is the longest part of the brown butter process. Continue stirring.
5. The foamy brown butter will lessen (but not eliminate entirely), and you’ll start to notice browned bits on the bottom of your saucepan as you stir. These are browned milk solids, and this is the objective!
6. Once you see the browned bits on the bottom of your saucepan, remove the brown butter to a heat-proof bowl to cool completely. If you allow the brown butter to remain in the saucepan, it will burn.
7. Once the brown butter has come to room temperature, allow it to chill in the refrigerator until 45 minutes to an hour before your baking time. We are going to cream this butter!

To Make the Cake:

1. Set your oven to a true 325°F.  An oven thermometer is very useful to help you determine whether your oven is at the correct temperature.
2. Sift all-purpose flour, baking powder, and kosher salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Add room-temperature brown butter to a large mixing bowl, or to the bowl of a stand mixer.  Mix until combined.  Add the sugar and cream the brown butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl regularly to ensure even mixing.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time.  Add the next egg only once the previous egg has been fully incorporated.
5. Add the pure vanilla extract and mix thoroughly to combine.  Scrape the bowl regularly to ensure even mixing.
6. Add half of the flour mixture and mix until nearly combined.
7. Add all of the buttermilk and mix until nearly combined.
8. Add the other half of the flour mixture and mix until nearly combined.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then gently fold the mixture together until it is fully combined.
9. Prep three 8” cake pans equally. I prefer butter and flour to prep my pans.
10. Bake for 18-24 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 205°F in the center of the cakes. 
11. Allow the cakes to cool on cooling racks for 5-7 minutes, then turn place the cakes onto cooling racks to finish cooling.

To Make the Chocolate Frosting:

1. Make sure that butter is room temperature.  This is the single most important step.  Butter that is too cold won’t mix properly and the frosting might break.
2. Place butter in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.  Using the paddle attachment, mix the butter until it is completely smooth.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to ensure that there’s no unmixed butter. 
3. Sift together the confectioner’s sugar, cocoa powder, and the fine sea salt.
4. Add the confectioner’s sugar mixture, 1/2-1 cup at a time, mixing on lowest speed until the powdery texture is no longer visible.  Then mix on medium high speed until the mixture is smooth.
5. Repeat step 4 until half of the confectioner’s sugar mix has been added to the mixture.
6. Add 4 tbsp of whole milk, 1 tbsp of heavy cream, and vanilla.  Mix on low speed until you can no longer see the milk liquids, then on medium high speed until the mixture is completely smooth. 
7. Repeat step 4 once again, adding confectioner’s sugar until you reach the end.  Mix thoroughly to ensure that all of the confectioner’s sugar is incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Scrape the bowl as necessary to ensure even mixing.
8. If needed, add additional heavy cream 1 tbsp at a time.  Mix on low speed until you can no longer see the heavy cream, then on medium high speed until the buttercream is rich and creamy.

To Make the Chocolate Ganache:

1. Place the chocolate chips and fine sea salt n a heat-proof bowl.  Set aside.
2. Place the heavy cream in a small saucepan and heat on a stovetop until you see heatwaves off of the top of the heavy cream surface.
3. Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate chips and cover with plastic wrap.  Do not stir yet!
4. Allow the heavy cream to melt the chocolate for 5 minutes.  Stir with a small whisk to combine.  If the chocolate does not melt, place in the microwave at 5-second intervals, stirring in between intervals, until the mixture is completely smooth.
5. Allow the ganache to cool slightly (~5 minutes) before using.  If you wait too long, the ganache will thicken and will not pour easily over the cake.
6. Pour the ganache over the cake using a spouted measuring cup, a squeeze bottle, or a spoon.