The Ultimate Chocolate Cake
My family are all chocoholics … well, except for one daughter, but the rest of us make up for her loss. Of course, when birthdays roll around, most everyone asks for this wonderful chocolate cake. It’s super easy to make, yet it seems so decadent. It’s honestly better than any bakery cake I’ve ever bought. If you love chocolate, this is the cake for you!
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- 2 cups sugar
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
Chocolate Frosting:
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- In a large mixer bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla to the bowl with the dry ingredients. With an electric mixer, beat mixture on medium speed for 2 minutes. Carefully stir the boiling water in by hand. (The cake batter will be thin). Pour the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife between the cake and pan to loosen. Remove the cakes from their pans and let finish cooling on a wire rack.
- While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. Melt the butter in a medium sized sauce pan. Stir in the unsweetened cocoa powder until smooth. Alternately add the powdered sugar and milk, beating well after each addition. If the frosting is too thick, gradually add a few drops of milk beating until it is a spreading consistency. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- When cakes are completely cool, cut each in half horizontally. This will give you 4 individual cake layers. Place one layer on a serving plate, frost the layer, then stack the next cake layer on top; repeat until all four layers are stacked together. Frost top and sides of cake. If desired, garnish with chocolate curls.
There are many tricks to make it easier to cut cake layers in half horizontally. Here's one that always works: Place toothpicks halfway up the side of each cake layer, then use these toothpicks as your guide to cut the layer evenly in half. Use a long, serrated knife to cut the cake.
If you prefer, simply make a 2 layer cake, frosting the top of the first cake, then stacking the second cake on top. Frost the top and sides of the cake, and you're done!
Another option would be to use 3 cake pans and divide the batter evenly between the 3 pans. You'll have a 3 layer cake, but you won't have to cut individual layers in half.
