I never realized how richly satisfying a well-made homemade chocolate cake could taste until I tried this one. It was passed on to me from my mom...thanks mom!! What more could I ask for?!!
This is the decadent chocolate cake that is deep, dark, moist, can't stop eating it delicious! It is so rich that a 4-layer made from 2x 8 inch rounds plus my chocolate cream cheese icing can feed a lot of people! It's not that it's overly sweet or just plain "too much"...it's just plain awesome and please eat as much as you can! It makes great cupcakes too! You can also make all sorts of sexy cakes like this one covered in chocolate ganache and slivered almonds.
The cake comes together fairly easily. I use my mixer and trust me when I say it fills it right up! It kind of reminds me of making a boxed mix as you use only one bowl. I think you get so used to using multiple bowls that it feels odd when you use only one...but that's a good thing right? Less clean up!
So just place all your dry ingredients in the bowl of your mixer and give it a good whisk. When it is totally combined, add all the wet. And then use your mixer to whisk it all together for a good two minutes. Do not be alarmed! The first time I made this batter I thought I had made a mistake! I have never seen such a thin cake batter! But yes, that is right. It is super thin. It's all that hot coffee - used to dissolve that awesome white sugar. As well, there's a whole cup of buttermilk making it rich and creamy and and half cup of oil.
But between making a cake and/or cupcakes...you can't go wrong. These are tasty and richly satisfying and will blow your mind. I believe this is the first recipe I ever made when I stopped making boxed chocolate cakes and started branching out in the world of homemade.
You can also try filling your cake with whipped chocolate ganache, chocolate cream cheese icing, or chocolate pudding. See my tips below to know more.
I really hope you enjoy this recipe! Please give it a try and let me know how it went. I didn't create it...Hershey's Magic Chocolate Cake recipe people did...but I highly recommend it for sure!
Decadent Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
2 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup coffee
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans or one 9 x 13-inch baking pan. (In addition...I use a piece of parchment)
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in bowl of mixer.
Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla to the dry ingredients.
Beat with an electric mixer, on medium speed, for 2 minutes; batter will be thin.
Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes for rounds/35-40 minutes for rectangle or until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Turn cakes out and cool on racks.
FILL AND FROST IF DESIRED.
Tips:
I like to fill my cake with chocolate pudding mix. Just add half the amount of milk as the instructions call for so it's nice and thick. It adds extra moisture...even though the cake is super moist on its own. Check out my whipped chocolate cream cheese icing recipe too! Excellent to fill/frost/eat by the spoonful.
Level the cakes by using a serrated knife.
You can use all the cake and make thick 2 layers, 3 good sized layers (just keep the 4th layer to eat with leftover icing), or use all 4 layers and make them thinner. It's up to you. Just make sure you have enough icing and filling before you get started.
Keep the pudding in place in the middle by creating a dam with some icing around the rim. Repeat for each layer.
