Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease and line two 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk of choice, the light brown sugar, the vegetable oil and the vanilla.
Slowly add the milk mixture into the flour mixture and use a spatula to combine as it gets thick.
With a spatula, scoop half the batter into one pan and the other half into the other pan. Smooth the tops with a butter knife.
Bake both cakes in the center rack for 35 minutes.
Let them cool in the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack.
Once the cakes have cooled completely, cut them in half horizontally. Now you will have 4 thinner layers of cake.
Make the buttercream: In a large bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the softened butter for about 2 min.
Add in the wow butter and beat with the butter until just combined. Be careful not to over beat because wow butter has a tendency to seize up.
Add in all the other frosting ingredients and beat until combined and smooth.
Divide the frosting into 5 equal servings.
Make the buttercream balls: Using a teaspoon, start making balls with ⅕ of the buttercream. I made 12. If the frosting is too sticky, add more confectioners’ sugar to only this ⅕ of the buttercream, a little at a time, until you’re able to shape the buttercream balls.
Pour ¾ cup semi sweet mini chocolate chips on a plate. Roll each buttercream ball into the chips covering them completely.
Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper, place the balls on the sheet and freeze until ready to use.
Assemble the cake: Place one cake layer on the cake stand. Take ⅕ of the frosting and frost the top. Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting. Repeat the frosting layer. Repeat this process 3 times.
Take the last layer of cake and put it bottom side up (or flat side up) so the top is nice and flat. Use an icing spatula to frost the top and a thin layer on the sides. You should only use ⅕ of your frosting on the top and sides. This is a semi naked cake.
Use a cake scraper or large icing spatula to scrape the icing off the sides of the cake so it’s a super thin layer. Pop the entire cake uncovered in the fridge for 15 min so it’s more stable to work with.
When the cake has only 5 min left in the fridge, make the ganache.
Place chocolate chips and butter or vegan baking sticks together in a heat safe bowl. Microwave them together in 10 second increments, stirring after each time, until the chocolate chips and butter are fully melted and incorporated. This will take a few min.
Immediately take the cake out of the fridge. Spoon almost all the liquid ganache on top of the cake. Take an icing spatula and push the ganache around to the edges of the cake so it drips down the sides. Work quickly because the cold cake will quickly stop the ganache from dripping too much.
Take the buttercream balls out of the freezer and press them into the wet ganache around the edge of the cake. I used all 12. The balls will soften quickly. Do not try to bite into a frozen one.
Video
Notes
Storing- Cut the entire cake into slices, wrap each slice in foil and store in a zip top bag in the fridge. When ready to eat, let the slices sit on the counter, in the foil, for about an hour. Freezing- Take the slices wrapped in foil and in the zip top bag and freeze them. You can keep the slices frozen for up to 30 days.When ready to eat, put the slices in the fridge the night before or leave them out on the counter for 2 hours prior to eating.