Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Whisk together the buttermilk, oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk together until just combined.

Add in the boiling water and whisk again until smooth. The batter will look very runny- that is how it should look!

Transfer the cake batter to a greased & lined cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

While the cake is cooling, add the chocolate chips to a heat proof bowl.

Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until it starts to simmer. DO NOT bring this to a boil! You want to see bubbles around the edges of the cream and a little bit of steam escaping, but no more than that.

Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and let it sit for about 3-5 minutes.

Slowly whisk the mixture until it is smooth and silky. Let cool for at least 3-4 hours before frosting the cake as desired!