The Perfect Chocolate Cake

Father’s Day will be here before you know it and I have the perfect chocolate cake to make for Dad.  My husband is a huge chocolate cake fan and I like to make him a chocolate cake each year for his birthday which falls around Mother’s Day.  Last year, I made a chocolate oreo cream cake for him, but wanted to try something new for his birthday this year.  I remembered my friend Barbara from Barbara Bakes had recommended a chocolate cake from Hershey’s a while back so I decided to give it a shot.

Usually I rely on a cake mix when making a cake, but this cake is made from scratch.  Now don’t let that scare you.  It is easy to make and so worth it.  This cake really is the perfect chocolate cake!  It is moist and has the right level of chocolate flavor.  The frosting is also the perfect compliment.  It was the perfect amount for this cake, not too much and not too little.  It was just right.  Everyone loved it.  We had friends over for my husband’s party and the next day, my friends loved it so much they were asking for more cake.

I decided to topped the cake with chocolate curls to make it look extra special.

 I just followed the Pioneer Woman’s instructions to make them.  Just be sure you use a pan that you don’t care a lot about to make them on.  It does scrape and scratch the bottom of your pan when you make them.

Barbara also lives near me and she adjusted the cake for high altitude.  This is something I have never done before.  Being that I live in the Salt Lake Valley, I didn’t think I was at a high altitude but apparently after further research, I am at a high altitude. Barbara used this guide to adjust the recipe accordingly.  The recipe below is the original before adjustments, so if you are high altitude just use the guide to adjust the recipe below.

Last tip about this recipe is be sure to use 9 inch pans or use less batter if you have 8 inch pans.  I learned the hard way.  I didn’t think about my pans being smaller when I made this and I ended up with cake in the bottom of my oven.

Perfect Chocolate Cake

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★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

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Ingredients

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• 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 canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
• Frosting:
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Then add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla to the flour mixture. Beat with a mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.
5. Add the boiling water and stir until well combined (batter will be thin so do not be alarmed).
6. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
8. To prepare the frosting, place melted butter along with cocoa powder in a bowl and combine.
9. Then alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.
10. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.
11. Place one round cake on serving dish and top with a thin layer of frosting. Top with remaining cake round and frost entire cake with remaining frosting.
12. Serves 10-12

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