I need a "to-die-for" chocolate cake recipe!

[AmyCC]

My sis-in-law loves chocolate cake. Her birthday is coming up, and I'd like make a chocolate birthday cake for her. A couple times in years past a member of the family has tried, but nothing has gotten rave reviews from my sil. (Okay, the truth is she's not very effusive with compliments, and for some reason I'm just itching for a challenge!)

So I need a fabulous chocolate cake recipe. Anyone have one that will get raves from my sil?

Please?

Amy

[Mom2legomaniacs]

This is nothing fancy, but my very favorite is the one off the Hersey's Cocoa tin. My friend always makes this one for me for my birthday. But for an "icing" she uses a whipped cream icing with the cocoa in it. This, to me, is the perfect chocolate cake. ANd I am not a cake lover by nature. I prefer salty things or fruity cobblers.

[Eliana]

This is our favorite:
Chocolate Cake


1 c cocoa 2 c strong, hot coffee
3 c flour
2 t baking powder
pinch of salt
4 eggs
1 c butter, softened
2 ½ c sugar
2 t vanilla extract
½ t almond extract


Preheat oven to 325º. Grease cake pan.

Mix cocoa and coffee together in a small bowl until there are no lumps.
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.
Beat together eggs, butter, sugar, and vanilla and almond extracts in a large mixer bowl.

Add flour mixture alternately with the cocoa-coffee mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.









It is gives a moist, not too sweet cake which is delicious with or without frosting.




If you want something more challenging (and this does require you to follow the recipe *exactly* and with great care):




Cinderella Cake


Chocolate Angel Food Cake:
1 c (7-8 lg) egg whites
½ c (50 g) cocoa powder
¼ c (25 g) sifted cake flour
½ c (100 g) sugar
¼ t salt
1 t cream of tartar
1 t vanilla
2 T (25 g) sugar
½ c (100 g) sugar


Cocoa Whipped Cream:

½ c (100 g) sugar
¼ c (25 g) cocoa powder
1 c (8 oz) heavy cream


Decoration:

½ c (4 oz) heavy cream
2 t sugar
4 oz chocolate



Position rack in lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 350°. Have ready a long-necked bottle or large metal funnel for inverting the cake when it is finished baking. Place fresh cold egg whites in a bowl; set aside until 60°, slightly below room temperature.

Pour the cocoa, flour, ½ c sugar, and salt, in that order, into a triple sifter. Sift onto a sheet of wax paper; set aside. Have the cream of tartar, vanilla, 2 T and ½ c sugar at hand. Beat the egg whites at low speed for 1-1½ minutes. When small bubbles appear, and the surface is frothy, stop beating and sprinkle the cream of tartar over the top. Resume whipping, increase the speed to medium, and pour in the 2 T sugar in a steady stream. Whip until the whites have increased several times their original volume, have thickened, and formed soft peaks, rather than stiff inelastic ones, at least 2 minutes. Add the vanilla in the final moments of whipping. Use a whisk to whip entire mass for 4-5 seconds to bring the foamy structure together.

Sprinkle ½ of the ½ c of sugar over the whipped whites, and fold with a rubber spatula, using as few strokes as possible. (While folding, try not to lift the rubber spatula out of the batter’s surface. Also, twisting the spatula in your hand, rather than allowing your wrist to move the utensil creates more movement than necessary. This slows your folding action and gives more time for the ingredients to weigh your air bubble structure down.)

Sprinkle with the remaining sugar, and fold again, using as few strokes as possible. Scoop ⅓ of the flour mixture onto a metal spatula, and sprinkle it over the egg whites; fold in with a rubber spatula. Repeat 2 more times, folding just until incorporated. Holding the bowl close to the ungreased 10” angel food tube pan with removable bottom,
guide the batter into the pan using a rubber spatula. Spread its surface smooth. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is not shiny but dull brown, the cake springs back when touched, and is contracting from the sides slightly; do not overbake.

Remove from the oven, and invert over the long-necked bottle for 1-2 hours, or until cool. To remove, slip a flexible metal spatula carefully down the side of the pan and slowly trace the perimeter to release any cake sticking to the pan. When the sides are free, push on the removable bottom to release it from pan completely. Tilt the cake, with removable bottom still attached, on its side, and tap the bottom against the counter gently to loosen cake. Rotate the cake, tapping the bottom a few more times, until it appears free. Cover the cake with a rack, invert, and remove the bottom of the pan.

Make a small paper cone; set aside. Cover a cutting surface with aluminum foil. Press the wide end of a ½” round decorating tip into the foil to make circular impressions. Chop 3 ¾ oz of the chocolate into matchstick sized pieces. Place in a bowl that fits snuggly over another bowl that is ½ filled with water, no hotter than 120°. (You will need to maintain the temperature of the water.) When all the chocolate is creamy and liquid, and it is 110°, remove the bowl from the container of water. Now drop in the reserved ¼ oz of chocolate and stir it around in the melted chocolate. Stir until a thermometer registers 88-91° for dark chocolate or 85-87° for milk chocolate, removing what remains of the chunk of chocolate. Pipe chocolate into the circular impressions on the foil. Set aside in a cool room until set. When ready to use as decoration, gently slip a small metal spatula under each ring to release from foil. (To store the rings for more than 1 day, put in an airtight metal container in a cool room or freeze them.)

Pour the sugar and cocoa powder into a deep 1 ½ qt mixing bowl. Stir with a rubber spatula to blend. Add the cream and combine. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before whipping, then whip until soft peaks form. Frost the sides and top of the cake with a thin film of the cream, then fill in the hole in the cake from the tube pan. Next, finish the sides and top of the cake.

Whip the ½ c heavy cream with the sugar until soft peaks form and a track in the bowl closes slowly but not completely. Spoon the mixture into the pastry bag and pipe 6 spirals on top of the cake, then stick 5-6 chocolate rings into each whipped cream spiral to resemble a crown or tiara.

Remove from refrigerator up to 2 hours before serving.

[PamInMN]

This is nothing fancy, but my very favorite is the one off the Hersey's Cocoa tin. My friend always makes this one for me for my birthday. But for an "icing" she uses a whipped cream icing with the cocoa in it. This, to me, is the perfect chocolate cake. ANd I am not a cake lover by nature. I prefer salty things or fruity cobblers.

Hands down the absolutely bestest cake in the world........ and easy as pie to make!!! You can go to the Hershey's site and find it listed as the Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake. Heaven!!!! :D

[st_claire]

Ditto that. Hershey's is my #1 chocolate cake recipe. I use cake and pastry flour instead of all purpose. Makes it really light and airy. If you are shaping the cake, don't use this recipe though, it will fall apart, but for a standard round or sheet cake, it's great.

[AmyCC]

If I use this recipe to make a three-layer cake, any ideas for frosting recipes? Any chocolate frosting recipes that are especially good?

Thanks!

Amy

[Suzanne in ABQ]

How about The Pioneer Woman's "Best Chocolate Sheet Cake - Ever"

http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/2007/06/the_best_chocol.html

[Calming Tea]

is the one on the back of the hershey's Cocoa powder container and it's pretty easy to make!! I just throw the ingredients in, mix and bake!!! Followe thier recipe for the iciing too..It's SO MOIST!

[Kathy]

How about The Pioneer Woman's "Best Chocolate Sheet Cake - Ever"

http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/2007/06/the_best_chocol.html


I will come out of lurkdom to comment on this recipe. It is awesome! I've made it twice now. It's delicious.

[ThelmaLou]

Ditto the Pioneer Woman's Chololate Sheet Cake. My MIL gave me the exact same recipe, minus a little butter, when we got married. It's the only chocolate cake my husband wants me to bake.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

If I use this recipe to make a three-layer cake, any ideas for frosting recipes? Any chocolate frosting recipes that are especially good?

Thanks!

Amy

yes! doing a chocolate whipped cream frosting is divine.

Here is the base recipe. You might want to double or triple for that size cake.



1 c. heavy whipping cream
2-3 TBSP cocoa
1/3 c. Powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla


Stir together then beat until stiff.

Note: you will want to store this in the fridge given the type of frosting this is.

This on the Hershey's cake is purely divine!

I have had PW's cake and this one is better IMO, especially for your purposes.

[~Tara~]

I have two on my blog.
One a modification of the Hershey's one. The other has a raspberry filling.

http://myrecipebox.wordpress.com

just search 'chocolate cake'

[AmyCC]

Okay, since Hershey's chocolate cake is getting the most votes, that's what I'll be baking! Thanks for the frosting recipe too. Wish me luck! If I can get "good cake" from my sil, I'll consider that a huge compliment! :0)

Amy