Easy Chocolate Cake

Prepare oven and pans: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray; line bottom of pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Mix wet ingredients: Whisk together egg, granulated sugar, sour cream, oil, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl until combined. Gradually add hot coffee, whisking constantly to combine.

Add dry ingredients: Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder into egg mixture; whisk just until combined and no patches of flour remain, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Bake cake: Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack; remove pan, and let cool completely, about 1 hour.

Prepare the Salted Caramel Buttercream: Beat butter and salted caramel topping in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Frost cake: Spread frosting over top of cooled cake. Frosted cake may be covered and stored at room temperature up to 4 days. Just before serving, garnish with sea salt and additional salted caramel topping, if desired.