Skip to main content

Classic Chocolate Cake

I decided I wanted to start off this blog with a classic chocolate cake. I've surprisingly not made many cakes in my lifetime, but I had a really good time putting this one together. 

I decided to go with a two layer cake because I was feeling ambitious and I've been watching too many baking shows on Netflix. It was a fun challenge and I think that anyone can handle a cake like this.



My biggest concern was my cakes sticking to the pan. I made the decision to only grease them with butter, but next time I would recommend using a baking spray to ensure that they won't stick. I've seen other people recommend parchment paper. I've never tried it, but maybe I will for my next cake and report back. 
I only had one area crumble, so I'm pretty proud of my work! And I fixed it up with some buttercream so no one would ever have noticed! 

My 8 inch cake pans are from T.J. Maxx, but you can get them anywhere and all of the ingredients should be available in your local grocery stores. (I'm not sure about where you are, but my grocery stores are well stocked again and I had no trouble finding my ingredients!) 



Now let's get to the recipe! 
*Please note that all ingredients are adjusted for baking at 3,000 ft above sea level

Ingredients 
  • 1 3/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp. of All-Purpose Flour 
  • 2 Cups - 2 Tbsp. of Granulated Sugar
  • 3/4 Cups of Cocoa Powder 
  • 2 Tsp. of Baking Soda 
  • 3/4 Tsp. of Baking Powder
  • 1 Tsp. of Salt 
  • 1 Cup of Milk
  • 1/2 Cup of Vegetable Oil
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 Tsp. of Vanilla Extract 
  • 1 Cup of Hot Water
Instructions
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees 
  • In a small bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
  • In a larger bowl, combine sugar, milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla

  • Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined
  • Add the hot water and continue to mix until your cake batter is smooth
  • Grease your cake pans and pour half of the mixture in each
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
  • Let sit for 10 minutes before removing from pans 


While your cakes are cooling you can use this time to get started on your buttercream. If there is one thing I've learned from watching baking competitions on TV, its that you can ice a hot cake. So take this time to maybe watch an episode of Nailed It or read a chapter of Michelle Obama's Becoming while waiting for those cakes to cool. 


Ingredients 
  • 4 Cups of Powdered Sugar
  • 1 Cup of Butter, Softened
  • 2 1/2 Tsp. of Vanilla Extract 
  • 1-2 Tbsp. of Milk
Instructions
  • Mix softened butter and vanilla until smooth
  • Add the powdered sugar and beat well 

  • Slowly add the milk, testing the consistency along the way
  • Now is your chance to add color. I decided to make my buttercream lavender colored, but you can do whatever color you want!



Once you've got everything mixed up and baked, it's time for assembly!

Place one of your cakes on your display surface and cover the top of it with a generous layer of buttercream. Set the other cake directly on top and then get to work covering the entire thing with buttercream. 


Feel free to have fun with the decorations, I used sliced strawberries since I love the chocolate and strawberry combo. 



Now cut yourself a big slice of cake and enjoy!














Comments

  1. Carmen M.June 5, 2020 at 11:43 AM

    Hello Makala! This cake looks really good and I would like to try this recipe someday. I love to bake and I like to try new recipes. I’ve never heard of baking spray, but next time I bake a cake I’ll consider looking into it and try it out. I always grease the pan with butter. Awesome post, and I’ll look forward to reading your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lynn Klyde-AllamanJune 5, 2020 at 7:32 PM

    This looks good. I use parchment paper and butter, and it works well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. CmartJune 7, 2020 at 11:27 AM

    I’m not much of a baker, but this looks delicious. I also liked your opening to this post. it always feels a little more personal, and more enjoyable, cooking something when you can hear others talk about some of the issues that they also face when cooking or baking things. It helps me to not feel too much like a failure if the end product doesn't turn out quite like what I had imagined. Thanks for sharing this.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Applesauce Cake with Icing Glazing

This week I'd love to share another recipe from Pie in the Sky , a cookbook with variations on recipes for all altitudes. She has traveled across the country, borrowing kitchens from "friends in high places" as she puts it.  While reading through her chapter about testing recipes at different elevations, it became very clear that this was a very taxing job. She describes making dozens of batches of bran muffins just to see them cave in every time. It took many tries to get the perfect dome. And that's how all of the recipes went.  If you can't get your hands on this cookbook or one like it, there are plenty of online resources to find pre-tested high altitude recipes. I'd recommend starting with blogs like Dough-Eyed  and My Kitchen in the Rockies . There are so many great tips for baking at high altitude, so don't let yourself get discouraged!  This week's cake is a spicy and sweet dense cake that will get you in the holiday spirit. Don't let the ...
4 comments
Read more

Flag Day Cupcakes

This week we encountered another obscure holiday this week, Flag Day. Seems like it's the prequel to the Fourth of July, but not as hyped. So I looked into it and made some patriotic cupcakes!   Flag day was established in 1916 to commemorate the adoption of the American flag that was passed in 1777. This Flag Resolution stated that  "the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." Every second Sunday in June we also celebrate the creation of the U.S. Army which happened in 1775.  Another event remembered on Flag Day is the Bear Flag Revolt on the Pacific Coast. American settlers and mountain  men arrested a Mexican General and declared themselves an independent republic. The bear can still be found on the Californian flag today.  Now that we've got a little understanding of Flag Day, let's dig into some yummy cupcakes!  This...
3 comments
Read more

No Yeast Bread

If your grocery store is like mine, you may still be struggling to find all of the ingredients needed to do your at home baking. I specifically have not been able to find yeast.  Yeast is the magic ingredient that makes bread light and fluffy. It works by consuming the sugars and producing carbon-dioxide and alcohol.  I have been wanting to try my hand at bread making, but since there is no yeast to be found, I’ve been looking into no yeast breads. In our Covid-19 world we should not be left without bread! It seems like the solution is to make a denser bread that only needs baking soda to rise. The results are chewy and thick bread that leaves you satisfied.  Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, people have been rushing to the grocery stores and buying up all of the yeast, flour, and eggs so that their baking pantries will be stocked. If you weren’t one of those panicked people you may be lacking some of those ingredients now. Luckily this is a nation-wide issue so m...
2 comments
Read more