• Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare my 'Simple Vanilla Cake' recipe according to instructions, reducing the sugar from 1 cup to 3/4 cup; replacing the 1 cup milk with 1 cup eggnog. Line 2, 8-inch cake rounds with parchment paper; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together softened butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add the eggs and beat again until creamy and smooth. Next, pour in the eggnog (I recommend using warm eggnog).
• In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the cake batter and whisk by hand to avoid over-mixing the batter. Divide the cake batter evenly between prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 40 minutes for 2, 8-inch rounds; or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack to cool completely. Once the cake is completely cooled, use a serrated knife to split each layer in half.

For Chocolate Buttercream:

• Soften butter at room temperature. Butter should still hold its shape and not be melted! Place butter into mixing bowl and whisk on high speed for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Melt chocolate chips in microwave or over a double boiler until smooth. Add melted chocolate, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt. Continue whisking for a few minutes, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl. Add the confectioner's sugar. After its incorporated, turn mixer to high speed and whisk for 3 to 4 minutes, or until frosting is light and fluffy.

Assembling the Cake:

• To assemble the cake, allow the cake layers to cool completely. Lightly soak each layer with additional eggnog for extra flavor before adding the chocolate buttercream. Spread a generous amount of chocolate buttercream between each cake layer, then frost the top and sides. Keep the cake refrigerated if not serving right away.
• For snowflake garnish: melt white chocolate melts until smooth. Transfer into a pastry bag tipped with Ateco tip #2, or cut off the tip of a small plastic bag. Pipe small snowflakes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Allow the chocolate to set, then gently lift with the edge of a spatula to transfer onto the cake.