Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 8x2 inch round cake pans, you could
also use two 9x2 inch pans

In a medium size bowl, add milk chocolate chips and 1 ⅓ cups milk.  Microwave for 20 seconds letting it sit a minute or two, stir.  Microwave another 10 seconds letting it set a minute to soften further, stir.  Microwave another 5 to 10 seconds. The chocolate chips should look softened but still hold their shape. Stir or whisk until completely melted, it will take a minute or so of stirring. 

Let the chocolate cool down slightly before using. 

In a medium size bowl, add the flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk at least 30 seconds to blend and then set aside.

In the bowl of your mixer, add the butter and mix until smooth.  Slowly add the sugar and mix on medium speed  4 to 5 minutes until the mixture has lightened in color and become fluffy. Add vanilla.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until the yellow of the yolk disappears.

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the liquid chocolate/milk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, 3 additions of dry and 2 of wet ingredients.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 22 to 24 minutes, cakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.  

Place your milk chocolate into a microwave safe bowl.

Pour heavy cream over the chocolate and place in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Remove and stir. Microwave for 15 seconds more and stir. Repeat if necessary. When the chocolate has melted almost completely with just a few small soft pieces remaining, allow it to sit for a few minutes. The remaining pieces should melt away.

The ganache will thicken as it cools. Cool for about 15 minutes or until you can pipe drips along the inside of your bowl and get the look that you are going for. (If the ganache is too warm, the drips will run all the way down. If they only drip part of the way down the bowl, it is ready. Some of this comes down to personal preference.)

I glazed the cake layers with a thin layer of milk chocolate ganache, and then reserved the rest for the chocolate drip decoration around the sides. For this, I loaded my ganache into a disposable piping bag and snipped the tip away (start with a small hole, you can always make it larger).

Pour the milk chocolate chips for the frosting into a microwave safe bowl and add 4 Tablespoons milk or cream.

Microwave for 15 seconds let sit for a minute or two, stir and microwave again 15 seconds letting it sit a minute to soften further, stir. Be careful not to over heat the chocolate. The chocolate will continue to melt as it is stirred. Let the chocolate cool down before using.

Beat the butter until softened and smooth, add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Add the milk chocolate and milk mixture. Add vanilla. Add another Tablespoon milk if needed. Beat on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes and it will become smooth and creamy.

Makes about 6 cups of frosting, enough to frost an 8 or 9 inch cake.

Place the first milk chocolate cake layer on the cake board or pedestal. I piped a dam of buttercream about ¼ inch from the edge of the cake layer before spreading the top of the cake layer with a thin layer of ganache. Then follow with a layer of milk chocolate buttercream. Repeat steps for the next cake layer, and top it off with the final cake layer.

Frost as usual with milk chocolate buttercream. *If you happen to use the "hot knife" method of smoothing your buttercream, the heat may cause streaks and color variation. If you do not want this, simply smooth with a room temperature spatula/bench scraper instead).

I like to chill the cake in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up the frosting a little before applying the ganache drip. To apply the ganache drip, load the milk chocolate ganache into a disposable piping bag with a small bit of the tip snipped away. Apply the drip to the top edge of the cake while rotating the cake (a turntable is helpful for this step). Spread more ganache on top of the cake.

Decorate however you like-- I chilled my ganache drip cake to set it up for a few minutes before applying buttercream piping in a circular pattern on top of the cake (using a ruffle/petal tip 104 & star tip 21 for shells).