Tag Archives: chocolate cake

The Best Chocolate Cake You’ll Ever Have – Good Housekeeping

Posted on July 27, 2018 by Julie

And the search for the perfect chocolate cake continues. After a slightly disappointing recipe with the Tasty recipe, I decided to go for a slightly more traditional source and found this recipe for Good Housekeeping’s Best Chocolate Cake.

Chocolate Flavor: 9 – YAAAAAASSSSS!!! This is the best chocolate cake recipe I’ve had since THE chocolate cake.

Texture: 10 – Perfect

Frosting: 7 – A teeny bit of a let down with how amazing the cake was, but pretty good.

The “M” word: 9 – I liked these enough that I kept a few back and three days later they were still good.

Effort: 8 – A little more effort than the last recipe, but well worth the extra work.

Overall: 8.5 – Another rave from my testers, and with a different frosting recipe, I think this might be “the one”.

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 2 c. all purpose flour
  • 1 c. unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • salt
  • 3/4 c. Butter or Margarine, Softened
  • 1 c. packed brown sugar
  • 1 c. granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 c. low-fat buttermilk

Frosting

  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 1/3 cup boiling water
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
  • softened
  • 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
  • 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Directions:

  1. Prepare cake layers: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 8-in. round cake pans. Line bottoms with waxed paper; grease paper. Dust pans with flour
  2. On another sheet of waxed paper, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat butter and brown and granulated sugars until blended. Increase speed to high; beat 5 minutes or until pale and fluffy, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to medium-low; add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla until blended. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat just until batter is smooth, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula.
  3. Spoon batter evenly among prepared pans. If necessary, stagger pans on 2 oven racks, placing 2 on upper rack and 1 on lower rack, so that top pans are not directly above bottom one. Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. With small knife, loosen layers from sides of pans; invert onto wire racks. Carefully remove and discard waxed paper; cool completely, about 45 minutes. If you like, wrap layers well and store at room temperature up to 1 day or freeze up to 1 month. Bring to room temperature before frosting cake.
  4. Meanwhile, prepare frosting: (see below) In small bowl, combine cocoa and boiling water, stirring until smooth. In large bowl, with mixer at medium-high speed, beat butter and confectioners’ sugar 5 minutes or until fluffy. Reduce speed to medium-low; add melted chocolate, then cocoa mixture, beating until smooth and occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. If frosting is too runny, refrigerate until just stiff enough to spread.
  5. Assemble cake: Place 1 cake layer bottom side up on cake plate; spread with 1/3 cup frosting. Top with second layer, bottom side up; spread with 1/3 cup frosting. Place remaining layer bottom side up on top. Spread remaining frosting over sides and top of cake.
  6. Make the frosting: • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa • 1/3 cup boiling water • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened • 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar •12 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Slow Cooker Cake

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Julie

I did a thing. I found this recipe video online, and it seemed too easy to be real. I mean slow cooker baking? This sounds like a crazy Pinterest thing that you pin, but never ever make. Which it was until we had a really shitty week at the office and I knew we needed to do something to boost morale. Cake makes people happy, I’m too tired to make it at home, and it could get a blog post out of it, so… here we are.


The moment when I realized that I should have brought a whisk from home. Salad tongs and spaghetti scoops for days, but not a single whisk or whisk like object to be found. So I kicked it old school and used a fork. 
Ingredients blended and set to bake. Fortunately, my office is near the break room because even though the video said to leave for 4 hours, things started smelling a little singed around 2.5 hours in.Slight burning on the edge, but it was easily trimmed off and the other 90% of the cake was saved. This was about the time people started poking their heads into the kitchen to see what I was doing and how much longer they had to wait for their cake. 
Some frosting magic and TADA! 
Oddly shaped, but sure enough this crazy thing actually came out looking more or less like a cake and even more surprisingly tasted like a pretty decent cake. 

I had two coworkers ask me to write down the recipe so they could go home and make it for their families.

Ingredients:

Cake

  • 1 box Betty Crocker Moist Yellow Cake Mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup of butter
  • chocolate syrup

Frosting

  • 3 tbsp peanut butter
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • Reese’s cups

Directions:

  1. Grease inside of the slow cooker.
  2. Combine the first five cake ingredients and mix thoroughly. Take out 2/3 cup of mix and then add a generous squirt of chocolate syrup and mix together. Swirl together batter in slow cooker.
  3. Bake on high for 2-4 hours. The video said four and mine was a bit singed after two and a half so just keep an eye on it the first time you make it.
  4. Combine the first three frosting ingredients and whisk together with a fork until smooth.
  5. Top the cake with frosting, extra chocolate syrup and chopped Reese’s cups.

Notes:

  • Holy shit, guys, this works! It works! It works! It works! And you know what? It’s pretty good! It was all gone less than three hours after we frosted it. I will so make it again, and you bet your ass I will be baking more in my slow cooker.
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Chocolate Lavender Cake with Blackberry Filling & Lavender Frosting

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Julie

Well guys, I’ve done it. I written the first cake recipe of my 31 before 32 birthday challenge. It was a little labor intensive, mostly because I started with only a vague idea of what I wanted my finished product to look like, but I think things turned out pretty well. Plus, it was pretty delicious if I do say so myself. The recipe looks long, I know, but that is also because I included how I assembled and decorated the cake. You don’t have to take it as far as I did; this cake would still delicious without the fussy presentation. Here we go.

Ingredients:

Cake

Blackberry Filling

  • 4 pints of blackberries (minus 10 pretty ones*)
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Lavender Frosting

  • 3 sticks unsalted butter
  • 6-8 cups of powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp powdered lavender*
  • pinch of salt
  • 2-3 drops of food coloring (optional)

Chocolate Ganache

  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

  1. Either the night or several hours before you bake your cake, combine the ganache ingredients in a microwave dish and cook at 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until the chocolate is completely melted and incorporated into the cream. Set aside uncovered for at least 3 hours to cool.
  2. Prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the box and fold in the chopped lavender after the batter is combined. Split the batter evenly between 3 9″ pans and bake as directed.
  3. While the cakes are baking, combine the filling ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until the mixture has thickened sufficiently (A). Allow to cool to room temp before using.
    1. Put a plate in the freezer for about fifteen minutes before taking it out to test a spoonful of hot filling. Take the filling off the heat while testing. Push your finger through the filling on the plate – you’re looking for it to wrinkle and not flood back in to fill the gap.
  4. While the filling and the cake cool, beat softened butter (using a hand or stand mixer) adding the powdered sugar a 1/4 cup at a time until the frosting reaches the right consistency.
  5. Add in the food coloring and powdered lavender and beat for an additional two minutes.

 

Assembly

  1. Carefully, using a serrated knife or leveler, cut the domed top off of each of the cake layers producing three flat even(ish) layers.
  2. Fill piping bag (or ziplock bag) with 1/3 of your frosting.
  3. Starting with the bottom layer make a frosting ring around the bottom and middle layers of your cake.
  4. Split the black berry filling between the two layers carefully spreading across the cake to the frosting ringed edge.
  5. Stack the middle layer onto the bottom layer and the gently top with the top layer.
  6. Using the rest of the frosting in your piping bag (and a little from the bowl if you need) quickly cover the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting (crumb coat) and then place into a refrigerator to set for 25 minutes.
  7. Next, cover the cake in a more generous layer of the frosting, making sure to have a slightly thicker coating on the very top of the cake. Place in the refrigerator for an additional 25 minutes.
  8. Next spoon the cooled ganache over the top of the cake, creating drips down the side.
  9. Garnish the top of the cake with the remaining butter cream and the reserved blackberries. I also elected to use tiny chocolate candies.

Notes:

  • I wanted to try my hand at the “naked” frosting look for this cake, so most of the frosting was on the top and the top half of the side. This way there was still the frosting flavor, but the look was sill achieved because the more frosted bits were covered by the ganache.
  • Andy took the cake to work with him the day after I made it, and it didn’t even make it to lunch time. Which to me is a pretty good indication that the flavors were all balanced. That being said, despite my fondness for lavender, I didn’t want to over do it so that particular flavor could absolutely be turned up if you are baking for an audience with the same fondness. Be careful though; too much and you end up with a soapy taste.

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The-I-Gotta-Have-Chocolate-Cake Cake: #12 of 12!

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Julie

Most of the baking I do is for other people. Most of my 12 recipes from the 28 before 29 ended up going to the office for Andy. I had the same intention for whatever recipe ended up being #12… until the other night. It hit me, I needed chocolate and I needed it bad. I’d read the post on Smitten Kitchen earlier in the week, and I thought its alternate title “The Nothing Is Ever Going To Be Okay Again If I Don’t Have Chocolate Cake Cake” appropriately reflected my feelings.

Me

Cake
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (145 grams) firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup (175 ml) buttermilk (see Notes for other options)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1/2 cup (41 grams) Dutch cocoa powder
1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table or fine sea salt

Frosting
2 ounces (55 grams) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups (180 grams) powdered sugar (sifted if lumpy)
1/2 cup (4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch of fine sea salt (optional)
1 tablespoons cream or whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the cake: Heat oven to 350°F (175°c). Line the bottom of an 8-inch square cake pan with parchment paper, and either butter the parchment and exposed sides of the pan, or spray the interior with a nonstick spray. In a large bowl, use a hand or stand mixer to beat the butter and sugars until fluffy; scrape down bowl. Add the egg, yolk and vanilla and beat until combined, then the buttermilk and mix again. Scrape the bowl down well and don’t worry if the batter looks uneven. Place your flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a sifter (I find this step necessary because my cocoa is very lumpy) and shake it over the batter bowl. Stir on low until just combined; scrape down bowl a final time. Scoop batter into prepared pan and smooth flat. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes in cake pan on cooling rack, then flip out onto rack or serving plate to completely finish cooling before frosting. Speed this up by placing it outside for 10 minutes (thanks, winter!).

Make the frosting: Place frosting ingredients in a food processor and run machine to to mix. Scrape down bowl then process for another 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth and somewhat fluffed. [Don’t have a food processor? Beat butter, powdered sugar and salt, if using, in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Pour in chocolate and milk, beat until combined, then one more minute to whip it further.] Scoop the frosting onto the cooled chocolate cake and swirl it around. Finish with rainbow sprinkles; don’t even fight it. Cut into squares and prepare for your family/roommates to completely freak out when they spy it on the counter. (But only share if they offer to do dishes.)

Cake keeps at room temperature for a day or two, or in the fridge up to a week, or so I’ve heard but never tested out.

*Yield: 1 generously frosted 8×8-inch cake, which we cut into 16 small squares.
Could also yield: 1 generously frosted 8-inch or 9-inch round cake, 12 very generously frosted cupcakes, or it could be doubled and baked in a 9×13-inch pan. Could also be scaled and stacked as a birthday cake.
Notes:
  • All and all, not a bad cake, and really easy to throw together.
  • The frosting recipe is now my second favorite chocolate frosting recipe. I don’t know what could possibly be better than whipped chocolate ganache, and this is pretty much half ganache, half butter cream so it make sense.
  • The cake was good; Andy even went back for seconds. I would like to note that it took much longer to bake than the instructions indicated. Almost 10 minutes longer.
  • I can’t believe I actually finished my recipes for the year!
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Chocolate Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Julie

A coworker baked this for our office “tailgating” party last week. It was the kind of good that makes you feel like you’ve done something really dirty when you grab a second piece. I had to go home and try the recipe myself. So here we go, recipe #4 is Chocolate Ooey Gooey Butter Cake.

choclate-ooey-gooey-cakes

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus 8 more tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus additional butter, for greasing pan
  • 1 (18.25-ounce) package chocolate cake mix
  • 1 egg, plus 2 eggs
  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

 Heat oven to 350 degrees (325 convection) and prepare and 9-inch round cake pan.

  1. Combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and 1 stick melted butter, and stir until well blended. Pat the mixture into prepared cake pan and set aside.
  2. In a stand mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the remaining 2 eggs, and the cocoa powder.
  3. Lower the speed of the mixer and add the powdered sugar. Mix until everything is well combined. Slowly add the remaining 1 stick of melted butter and vanilla and continue to beat the mixture until smooth.
  4. Pour filling over cake mixture in pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the cake; the center should still be a little gooey when finished baking. Let cake partially cool on a wire rack before cutting into pieces.

So I had a bit of a technical fail with this one. First I didn’t have the right size pan which threw off the cooking time. Then I couldn’t figure when to take it out, since you can’t use the clean tooth pick test with this recipe: it’s supposed to be gooey. The edges were overcooked by the time the middle set, but it tasted great. I guess that’s all that matters, right?

 

 

 

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