Homemade Chocolate Cake and Fudge Frosting

So, the birthday cake was de - licious!  It was the first time I made this cake and it was fabulous!  I was a little afraid it would not come out, go figure, a new recipe.  I found this cake recipe that my mother had handwritten in her very old and stained cookbook.  I could not read the recipe, because it was faded, so I winged it, with what I thought it said as far as the ingredients go, and I must have got it right.  There is something about a homemade cake that is charming to me, they are not perfect but always taste good.  They also have a much better taste than the commercial cakes you get at the grocery store, with the yucky frosting. This recipe, that was in my mom's cookbook, I will share with you.  This cake is so easy to make and it is a rich tasting chocolate cake.  Recipe below.

The cake called for unsweetened chocolate.  Be careful when you buy the the box of chocolate, make sure you are adding the correct amount, I found out the hard way, so I am passing this info along to you. The squares in these boxes use to be bigger, 8 - individually wrapped 1 oz squares to a box, now you get half of that in the box.  Just make sure you know what you are getting, and using, it could be disastrous with too much or too little chocolate.  The recipe calls for 4 ounces.

Melting the chocolate with butter, sugar and water.

The chocolate is melted and sifting in the dry ingredients.

Mixing the flour and chocolate together and adding the eggs, milk and vanilla.

All mixed, now spray the pans with a baking spray.  You can find this in the baking aisle of the grocery store.  It is a flour and butter mixture combined in the can so you don't have the mess of separately greasing and then flouring pans. In other words NO MESS!  Grab a can of it the next time you go to the grocery store, you will love it!

 Divide evenly between two cake pans and bake.  Mix up the frosting, that's my favorite part!

 Look how rich, dark and chocolaty that cake is.  Yummy all frosted and ready to eat.

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

 Homemade Chocolate Cake with Fudge Frosting

For the Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium size saucepan add:

1 cup of water

4 - 1 oz. squares of unsweetened chocolate                                

½ cup of butter

2 cups of sugar

Keep on low to simmer heat and stir until butter and chocolate are melted.  Be careful not to let the chocolate boil.  The chocolate will be ruined and you will have to start over.

Sift into melted chocolate mixture and beat until combined:

2 cups of flour

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

Add to mixture and beat in:

½ cup of milk

2 eggs

½ tsp vanilla

Spray two 8” round or square cake pans with Bakers JOY Baking Spray, or any baking spray with flour in it, to coat your pans.  Pour batter evenly in both pans. Gently bang the pans on the counter or cutting board to release any bubbles in the batter. Bake in preheated oven until the tops spring back when touched or a toothpick or cake tester inserted comes out clean.  Frost with your favorite frosting.

For the Frosting

1 stick of butter
3/4 cup of Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder, sifted
3 1/2 cups of Confectioner's Sugar (10X), sifted
4 -5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cream butter.  Add cocoa powder and mix.  Add confectioners sugar alternately with the milk until desired consistency is achieved.  Add vanilla.  Makes about 3 cups of frosting.