• Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly butter the sides of two 9 inch round baking pans and line the bases with parchment cut into circles to fit the pans.
• Sift together the flour, cocoa, and baking soda then add the salt. Set aside.
• Combine the espresso powder with ½ cup of boiling water and set aside to cool.
• Place butter and sugar in a large bowl or stand mixer - cream until they are light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time mix well between additions. Beat in vanilla.
• Add buttermilk to the cooled espresso. Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed until just barely combined. Add ½ of the liquid, again mixing on low until just combined. Continue to add the remaining ingredients alternating dry and wet and finishing with dry. Mix gently on low speed or with a rubber scraper just enough to blend all the dry ingredients into the batter.
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans.
• Bake 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool briefly before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

For frosting

• Chill a metal mixing bowl and your whisk in the freezer for 15+ minutes. Sift the confectioners sugar.
• Whisk together the boiled water and gelatin - move quickly at this point so it doesn't have time to solidify.
• Pour cream into the chilled bowl and begin mixing on medium speed. When the cream becomes frothy (about 2 minutes) add the vanilla and sifted sugar. Continue mixing another 2 minutes until the cream begins to thicken then add the gelatin. Beat an additional minute or two until the cream is thick and fluffy. Recipe yields approximately 2 cups of frosting (aka whipped topping).