Perfect Chocolate Cake & Frosting
As with much of my spur of the moment baking, this was the result of perusing Pinterest right after my kids went down for naps. I saw this amazing looking chocolate cake and had to have it. Now.
As luck would have it I had all the ingredients (and you probably do, too!) which makes this a terrific cake to make at the last minute. I decided to make it around 2 in the afternoon and it was cooled and frosted and ready to consume by 5. Both the cake and the frosting come together so quickly. Making this cake was a great use of nap time. It was also a great way to take my mind off of the fact that my due date was going to come and go without meeting our new babe! If only chocolate cake induced labor…
I’ve had this cake before and remember asking who made it and if I could get the recipe. For some reason I was surprised to find out it was a Hershey’s recipe. I shouldn’t have been, I guess. The best oatmeal cookie recipe is found on the top of the Quaker oats container, after all! I didn’t use Hershey’s cocoa, though. I had just enough Guittard cocoa left, so that is what I used. The cake is moist and chocolatey and comforting, as chocolate cake should be. The frosting is sweet and rich yet light and not dense. I added a layer of crushed Oreos in between the layers of cake and also pressed some into the sides of the frosted cake and sprinkled some on top. It adds some nice texture both in appearance and in your mouth, but it also helps to disguise a sloppy frosting job…which mine definitely was.
You can make this in 9-inch cake pans, like I did, or in a 9×13 pan, 3 8-inch pans, a bundt pan, or you can make cupcakes. I can easily see this becoming my new go-to chocolate cake recipe.
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.
THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.
BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.
CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.
The next time I post I hope it’s to announce the birth of our baby, but I might just find myself doing some more baking if this baby decides he or she is just not ready! Happy weekend!
Perfect Chocolate Cake
From Hershey’s
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups sugar
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
Frosting
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional: Crushed Oreos for topping (about a sleeve and a half)
Directions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake pans. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl, mix together sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Add in oil, milk, eggs and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes.
- Add in the boiling water and mix to combine. The batter will be very thin, and that’s ok!
- Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing evenly, and bake for 30-35 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Let cool in the pans on wire racks for 15 minutes, then turn out onto the racks to let cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- Measure cocoa into a medium sized bowl. Melt butter and pour into the cocoa and whisk to combine.
- Using a mixer, beat in powdered sugar and milk alternately in 5 batches (sugar, milk, sugar, milk, sugar). Add in more sugar if you want the frosting to be a little thicker. Stir in the vanilla.
- Frost the cake, layering some of the Oreos in between the layers and press some onto the edges. Serve immediately or let chill in the fridge for an hour if your house is especially warm (like mine was!).