[Very Dark Chocolate Cake] Easy Crowd-Pleasing Cake

Pablo celebrated his 6th birthday with a homemade red velvet cake two weeks ago.

(If you want to see the red velvet cake recipe, click here ~)

He liked it, but originally picked and suggested by me.

He requested a chocolate cake for his birthday party a week after.

This should be a cake not only for Pablo, but for all his guests too.

If you missed Pablo's birthday party post, see here.

So I baked a foolproof cake that could be totally reliable.

As both my kids and Mr.D love everything contains a taste of chocolate,

I bake many different versions of chocolate cake recipes. 

This is one of the many many chocolate cake recipes I tested and survived in my recipe database.

All the kids including the partyboy loved this cake, as I expected.

 It's a very rich chocolate cake.

Here goes the recipe for the crowd-pleasing dark chocolate cake:

(This recipe is adapted from allrecipes.com)

 

Ingredients

2 cups boiling water
 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
 2 + 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
 2 teaspoons baking soda
 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 1 cup butter, softened
 2 + 1/4 cups white sugar
 4 eggs
 1 + 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

How to make

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  

 

2. Grease  a 9 * 13 inch rectangular pan or 3 - 9 inch round cake pans. I used a rectangular pan only because it is easier to cut into many even pieces.

If you use a rectangular pan, it would be easier to line the baking pan with waxed(or parchment) paper, to lift out the cake.

 3. In a medium mixing bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool.

4. Mix & sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.

5. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

6. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla.

7. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture,

i.e. 1/3 flour mixture → 1/2cocoa mixture → 1/3 flour

 mixture → 1/3 cocoa mixture → 1/3 flour mixture.

8. Pour the batter evenly in the greased pan(s).

9. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of each layer comes out clean.

Cool the cake completely on a cooling rack.

Meanwhile, make an easy vanilla frosting.

Here goes the recipe for the easy vanilla frosting:

<Vanilla frosting>
1+ 1/4 cups butter, room temperature
2-3 cups icing sugar (= sugar powder)
1 ts vanilla
colors (option)
sprinkles (option)

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and vanilla with a stand mixer or hand mixer.

2. Blend in the icing sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition.(Add 4-5 drops of food color, if you are to use it.

A few drops of food color are more than enough to dye the entire frosting prepared.)

3. Using a spatula, spread the icing over the cake.

Then a poor final decoration :(

(I know I almost choked)
 

As I said in his birthday party post, we couldn't have candles lighted on the cake, because of the Diefenbunker's rule. :(

Oh, don't worry~ We still had a great party there :)

Believe me, it's a very easy to make~

Hope you like it, too.

Dark Chocolate Cake