A perfect chocolate cake is an amazing thing to bake and eat. The basis for the cake part of this recipe is the chocolate cake recipe on the side of the Hershey’s cocoa box. Everyone loves it, and it’s easy too. I’ve made it tons of times and I’ve never had a failure. I’ve added some explanations to the measurements because how you measure your ingredients in baking is very important, and too much of certain ingredients can change how your cake turns out.
Once you have the cake, the next most important part is the frosting. I hate super sweet frosting. It makes my teeth hurt and it detracts from the taste of the cake, too. It took several tries to get it the way I like it, but I think this is perfect. I use the frosting as filling too, but there’s a small addition to the filling that makes a big difference to the cake. You can use more frosting on this cake if you like, but it’s rich enough that a little goes a long way. It’s up to you, though!
Cake Batter
2 level cups sugar
1 3/4 level cups all-purpose flour.
3/4 heaping cup Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 level teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 level teaspoons baking soda
1 level teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 generous teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Buttercream Frosting
1 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 heaping cups confectioners sugar
2 generous teaspoons vanilla extract
2 to 4 tablespoons cream (or whole milk, but use less)
Addition
6 ounces (about 1/2 a small bag) milk chocolate chips, melted.
Directions:
You can make this in two 9-inch round or three 8-inch round baking pans. If you make 8-inch rounds you might want to make more frosting.
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour baking pans thoroughly. This will make it easy to pop out the cake.
