Last week was my Hubby's birthday which called for chocolate birthday cake, his personal fav. And although he would be delighted with one of the box mix variety, I wanted something more.
I have been on an ongoing pursuit of the perfect made-from-scratch chocolate cake for a couple of years. Some attempts have had a resemblance of success (we ate it) and some failed miserably (so dry it needed plenty of milk to wash it down). Not to be deterred from my quest, I used my husband's birthday as an opportunity to try out a new recipe.
I found "The BEST Chocolate Cake" recipe from kevin{&}amanda and gave it a try. Now before you point out the fact that this recipe starts with a box mix let me define my idea of "from scratch". As long as I am deviating in some way from the original directions on the back of the box I consider it from scratch. I know, its a loose definition but box mixes have come a long way from when I was a kid making messes in my mom's kitchen. They really are quite good; sometimes even better than homemade. (as in brownies!)
The recipe calls for the following ingredients:
 | ||
| Chocolate cake mix, vegetable oil, instant chocolate pudding, milk, sour cream, eggs, vanilla and chocolate chips. |
It is an amazingly easy recipe to mix together considering it claims to be the BEST. I guess BEST doesn't have to be HARD.
All the ingredients minus the chocolate chips get mixed up in the bowl until well combined.
Then the chips make their appearance. I chose to use the mini variety.
Once they are incorporated into the batter I poured (actually scooped) it into the prepared round cake pans.
I popped these into the preheated 350 degree oven and baked them following the time guidelines on the back of the cake mix box for the appropriate pan size.
Once the cake layers cooled, I removed them from the pans and proceeded with my favorite part of cake baking, the frosting!
I made a fudgey butter-cream chocolate frosting and l smeared it on thick. You see, in my world cake only exists to hold up the frosting!
So, was this truly the BEST chocolate cake? My answer is that it is the BEST I have made so far. The chocolate chips seemed to disappear into the cake. I really expected little chocolate chunks in the cake which may happen if I used regular sized chips but I like the extra chocolatey goodness that the mini chips gave to the texture of the cake. It's definitely a keeper recipe.
So thanks kevin{&}amanda for helping me on my quest.
The Best Chocolate Cake Ever
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 small pkg instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips
1 small pkg instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a very large bowl, mix together
everything except chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Stir in the
chocolate chips. Pour batter into cake pan of choice (I normally use two
9-inch pie pans). For cooking time, I use the cooking times on the back
of the cake mix box as a guide and usually add 10 mins to
whatever it says. Then I do the toothpick check, and if it’s not done, I
check on it every 5 mins after that. It usually takes around 45 mins
for two, 9-inch pie pans.
P.S. I didn't add the extra 10 mins and started checking it at the end of recommended cooking time, adding extra minutes as needed.
"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING
from www.hersheys.com
from www.hersheys.com
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
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.
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