Chocolate Cake Makes Everybody Happy

     When my dad requested a “chocolate-chocolate” cake for his birthday last week, everyone had their own opinion on what kind of cake we should have. Of course, no one can agree in such a large family. Will wanted red velvet, mom wanted white wedding cake, and Lily wanted strawberry. I knew just what to make, however, and since it was dad’s birthday, we were definitely having what he requested. As soon as I pulled the cakes out of the oven, everyone's complaints ended immediately. Not surprisingly, by the time we sang happy birthday, they had clearly forgotten they wanted another kind of cake. 


     This “chocolate-chocolate” cake, made triply-chocolate with the addition of some beautiful chocolate curls inspired by an episode of The Pioneer Woman, comes straight off the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa box. An oldie but a goodie, this recipe was the star of almost every childhood birthday party I can remember (the other times we had Wal-Mart cake, but you know I wasn’t complaining). My aunt always makes this chocolate cake when we celebrate the summer birthdays on vacation. I’ve never known it to turn out poorly. It always comes out moist and never dry, perfectly chocolate, and just about the best thing you can eat. Make it even better by serving it warm topped with vanilla ice cream, like we always do.

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Cake

• 2 c. sugar
• 1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
• 3/4 c. Hershey's Cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. boiling water

Frosting

• 1/2 c. butter
• 2/3 c. Hershey's Cocoa
• 3 c. powdered sugar
• 1/3 c. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Extras

• Milk or semi-sweet chocolate for chocolate curls to decorate the cake

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9 inch round baking pans.
2. Cake: Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (the batter will be thin). Pour immediately into pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting.
3. Frosting: Melt butter and stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency. Add more milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Makes approximately 2 c. of frosting.
4. Assembly: After cakes have cooled completely, frost in between the layers and then over the top and sides. Make some fancy chocolate curls by melting the chocolate, spreading it over the back of a metal baking sheet, and cooling for 15 minutes in the freezer. Pull the sheet out of the freezer and using a spoon like we did or a fancy metal spatula, scrape across the chocolate so it curls up. You'll get the hang of it eventually - it took us quite a few tries to get them right! Experiment with thickness and lengths. Don't worry if the chocolate chips up, sprinkle it over the cake and it'll look just as fancy. It definitely tastes good, and that's the most important part, right?