Tuesday, June 23, 2009

My new “go to” chocolate cake!

I guess it was last month that I made this (boy has time just flown by!) for T’s birthday. You see he loves chocolate cake and I mean really, really chocolate cake. Good news was he loves this chocolate cake, so much so that I have made this several times since then just because!!!
P1010427 See how moist this cake is? I also used the frosting recipe and it was delicious too!!!
I put a call out on twitter once again in a state of crisis trying to come up with a fail proof cake recipe. I didn’t want something that was dry or had a large crumb. I wanted a moist, soft, melt in your mouth cake and this one certainly fit the bill. Unfortunately I can’t even remember which one of my wonderful twitter pals sprang to my rescue, I am pretty sure it was Maria of Two Peas and Their Pod but I can’t be certain. Anyway to whoever it was, we can’t thank you enough for this wonderful cake which is a great addition to anyone’s birthday cake repertoire!!!
The first one I made was a 2 layer cake in 2 pans that were about an inch too small and overflowed everywhere. It was salvageable and turned out good but this cake is really moist and didn’t hold up to the frosting to well. I was really glad that this one was for family!!! The kids also decorated it for Daddy.
P1010508 The second one I made was a 9 X 13 pan and was perfect for my younger daughter’s birthday at school.

HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.
VARIATIONS:
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 Bundt 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.
"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.
As Always…
Happy Entertaining!!!
Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

19 comments:

Maria said...

Yep, it was me:) We love that cake! It is SO easy and everyone always raves about it. I make cupcakes with the same recipe too! Looks so good!

Unknown said...

Oh, hey now. That looks amazing. Got a couple of birthdays coming up and this is a must try.

Quiltin Jenny said...

This has been our family's go-to birthday cake for years.

In fact, when making a request, it is not even called chocolate anymore. It is just "birthday cake."

I've never found a better one. YUM! I'm glad there's a birthday around the corner b/c now I want a piece.

Megan said...

I've seen this recipe with great reviews and must give it try. It's gotta be good cuz its Hersheys, right??? Now I want chocolate cake.

kellypea said...

I love this recipe, too. It is super, super moist and the flavor perfect. Scary for me to have in the house ; )

Kat said...

What a coincident that I actually went through my recipes yesterday to find this perfect chocolate cake recipe that I am going to use to make the grooms cake for my daughter's small reception next week! It IS the best and as you said, very moist.

Thistlemoon said...

Wow, it really does look fantastic, Judy!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

All I can say is move over lemon cake and make room for chocolate:D

Patsyk said...

that is definitely my kind of cake!

Shari said...

That does look moist and delicious!
And well received, obviously!!

Andrea Meyers said...

What a fun cake! We make one of the Hershey's chocolate cakes for all of our birthdays, too, the one that has sour cream in it.

Elle said...

Chocolate cake with chocolate icing is one of my best friends. This one sounds and looks perfect!

Anne Coleman said...

Oh, yeah. When I'm not making a Wacky Cake, this one is also my go-to - love it! My mother-in-law first shared it with me.

Bob said...

I've made this recipe before, it's a good time. Great post. :)

Jen said...

Looks darned good! I just took a cherry/buttermilk/cornmeal cake out of the oven, so that's what we're about these summery days.

Ria Mathew said...

This is our family fav recipe! Can pull it off so fast! :) The cake made for the girl looks so cute! I'm sure she loved it :)

Deeba PAB said...

Love this chco cake recipe & have used it so often. Always amazed at the amount of cake you get from so little batter! YUM!

maris said...

You can't go wrong with a classic chocolate cake recipe like Hershey's! Yum!

Anonymous said...

I'm a cook at a private school and this cake is the one chocolate cake that we make over and over again with rave reviews from everyone who tastes it! My Hershey's recipe book calls this a Deep Dark Chocolate Cake, I guess because of the large amount of cocoa in it. I have also used half dark cocoa and half regular cocoa in both the frosting and the cake to make it that much more delightful!