Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and line your cake pans. Either make a box of chocolate cake mix according to the package instructions then add black food coloring or follow the steps below.

Double the recipe if you’re making a two-tier cake. If you’re sticking with two 9 inch round cake pans, this will be enough cake batter for you.

In a large bowl, sift together 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, ¾ cups of dark cocoa powder, 1 ½ cups of granulated sugar, 1 ½ tsp of baking powder, 1 ½ tsp of baking soda, and 1 tsp of salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 large eggs, ¾ cup of buttermilk, ¼ cup of vegetable oil, and 2 tsp of pure vanilla extract until thoroughly blended.

Gently pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated.

Gradually introduce the hot water into the mixture while continuously stirring. The batter will have a thin consistency, but that's perfectly fine.

Bake your cakes at 350°F (180°C) for 25-32 minutes.

To make black frosting without food coloring, use dark black cocoa powder. I used ⅔ cup of black cocoa powder, 2 cups of unsalted butter, 5 cups of powdered sugar, a pinch of sea salt, 2 tsp of vanilla and ⅓ cup of milk or heavy cream.

Mix your butter first, to soften it and then add the other ingredients. Blend them with a stand mixer or hand mixer on low until the ingredients start incorporating then switch to medium speed. If your frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If your frosting is too hard and won’t whip up, try adding more milk.

Fully cool your cake before you start decorating. Once it’s cooled to room temperature, I recommend wrapping it with plastic wrap and putting it in the fridge or freezer to ensure it’s completely cold.

Trim your cakes so they are flat then put one cake down on a cake board ; use a piping bag of black frosting to create a perimeter around the top of the cake, then fill the inside of the cake with milk chocolate frosting. You can just use the same black, dark chocolate frosting for the entire inside and outside of the cake, but this adds a variation in color and flavor.

Stack the next layer of cake and frost it then add your second tier if you’re building the same style of tall cake that I did.

I used a small open star piping tip like #21 to decorate the edges, top and bottom of my cake.

On the bottom layer of your cake, fasten chocolate coins with dabs of chocolate icing on the back, in any pattern you like.

On the top of your cake, grab your doll-sized shopping cart and flatscreen T.V and add some wafer paper edible $100 bills behind it to create a shopping themed cake topper.