Chocolate Cake-This Week's Dessert

[ea56]

I made a Chocolate Cake today using the recipe on the back of the Hersheys Cocoa can, Perfectly Chocolate Cake. This is my go to recipe for a homemade chocolate cake and it really comes out great every time and is very easy to make. Since it uses vegetable oil there's no need to soften or cream butter. But if you don't want your cake to look as black as licorice don't use Hersheys Special Dark Cocoa, it is way too dark for this cake in my estimation.

For the frosting I double the powdered sugar and butter, and use soft butter, not melted and 1/2 & 1/2 instead of milk and 6 rounded tablespoons of cocoa instead of the 2/3 cup called for in the recipe.
Eddie[this post was last edited: 6/1/2017-23:50]

http://https//www.hersheys.com/kitchens/en_us/recipes/hersheys-perfectly-chocolate-chocolate-cake.html

 

[stan]

OMG

Eddie its beautiful and I'm sure it's delicious.
What type of pans did you use?
My cakes always look like a Home Ed disaster.

 

[ea56]

Hi Stan,
I used 8" round Wilton aluminum cake pans. The recipe calls for 9" pans, but since the Wilton pans are extra deep they work perfectly for this cake. Makes the layers nice and high.

I also always line the bottoms of the pans with wax paper for layer cakes. It's good insurance. If you've ever turned out a layer cake that stuck, even a little you know what I mean., Who wants to waste all the time and ingredients to have the cake stick.

I also now always use the baking spray with flour in it instead of Crisco, now that I buy the premeasured sticks instead of the can. I don't want to open a 1 cup stick of Crisco just to grease a cake pan.
Eddie[this post was last edited: 6/2/2017-02:20]

 

[wayupnorth]

Looks so much like a real Duncan Hines cake on the commercials Eddie, so they always come back for more, as I would moistfully good, lol. Frosting from the top of the cake should always be on the left side so that first fork into makes the frosting curl, just like it did in the ads. Nostalgia to the 60's. No box cake mix would make a cake as nice as that. Chocolate and Chocolate is my favorite.

 

[appnut]

Absolutely beautiful Eddie.  And that's my go to recipe also when I need a chocolate cake. 

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

A hard, arduous process, but worth it!!!!

I made the cake and frosting recipe on my Hershey's can once myself--for my dad's seventieth-birthday, in fact...

 

 

-- Dave

 

[foraloysius]

That cake looks yummie! I'm not going to bake a chocolate cake anytime soon, but I saved the recipe just in case!

 

[kevin313]

I want a BIG GIANT slice of that cake right now!!

Looks so good!! When we were kids we would have called that a "Double Chocolate" cake - enjoy!

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

OMG, my mouth is watering! Looks delicious Eddie!

 

[bendix5]

Eddie, your cake looks so good. It is one of my favorites as well. I have a recipe from my mom called Hershey Cocoa Cake. It is quite dense. It calls for oleo and when I wrote the recipe I put butter or margarine. I have used butter for years and Crisco a few times. I mostly make it is a angel pan and frost with either chocolate or vanilla butter cream. When I make it layered I put butter cream in the center and chocolate on the rest. Thanks for sharing all of your goodies.
I will be making your cake for grand daughters grad party.
Hershey Cocoa Cake
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups unsifted flour
3/4 cup Hershey Cocoa
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup water
Cream oleo and sugar add eggs and vanilla and beat 1 minute
combine dry ingredients and alternate with water to creamed mixture
bake 305 degrees 30 -35 min for 2 9" pans
Frost with your favorite frosting

 

[ea56]

Dan

thanks for sharing you Hershey Cocoa Cake recipe. It seems very similar to the recipe on the Hershey's Cocoa can, but the use of butter rather than oil would give it a nice butter flavor. Next time I'll give your recipe a try.

My Mom loved Chocolate cake with whipped cream between the layers. So for her birthday when I made a Chocloate cake I would split the layers to make 4 layers. Then I would fill the layers with whipped cream. To keep the whipped cream from "falling" I dissolve 1 tsp. unflavored gelatine in 1 tbs. cold water in small glass dish and microwave for about 20 secs. to dissolve completely, for each cup of unwhipped heavy cream. Whip cream with powdered sugar and vanilla to your taste and just as the cream gets almost to the right stiffness add the dissolved gelatine and continue beating until the desired stiffness. When you use the gelatine this way the whipped cream will stay beautifully stiff for 3 or more days in the fridge. I do this for cakes, cream pies or cream puffs.

Anyway, after I fill the cake layers with the whipped cream I frost it with Chocolate frosting. This is a really delicious cake. You can also use some rum or rum extract instead of vanilla if you want a rum flavor to the cream.

If you like whipped cream with your baked goods do try this gelatine trick, I learned about it from the Betty Crocker Cookbook when I was a teenager and I've been doing it this way for about 50 years.
Eddie[this post was last edited: 6/4/2017-20:29]

 

[mrsalvo]

That's strange, I was thinking about making a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting.
Between the cake and potato salads, I forsee lots of kitchen time this week. Also, want to try a slow cooker cube steak recipe I came across.

 

[bendix5]

Eddie, I copied your info to word doc for the split layer cake. The would be perfect for our Christmas open house I never thought of the gelatin in the whipping cream which we use a lot during holidays. The Hershey cake should bake at 350. My error. Made your cake yesterday so here are a few pics. It is delicious just like you said. I will make another tomorrow for grad party. Thanks again

 

[ea56]

Dan, so glad you liked it! It's really so easy isn't it? And with the exception of filling the layers with vanilla buttercream, or is it whipped cream, it looks just like mine. You even put the frosting on like I do, generously! Whats the point of making a nice homemade cake and skimping on the frosting?

I really enjoy your posts. We are of the same generation and have a very similar backround as far a food goes. I'll look forward to your next post.
Eddie

 

[circlew]

The Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" cake is the one I usually make, especially for cupcakes. I most often use 7 minute icing for it.

I like the fact it uses liquid oil instead of a solid shortening.

 

[aquarius1984]

I also happened to try this recipe yesterday afternoon and I have to admit it is very good though I filled ours with whipped cream and layed off the frosting. I'm not a personal fan of any sickly frosting - I only just cope with butter cream.

I think what would make this better is to add a tablespoon of instant coffee to the boiling water which will bring out the chocolate flavour. Despite the recipe having a fair amount of cocoa it lacked depth of flavour. However it is very moist even 12 hours later just covered in foil in the fridge.

 

[aquarius1984]

I used 8 inch pans too and in the rush to get them in the oven I completely over looked the fact I'd forgotten to grease my aluminium cake tins. The cakes didn't stick very badly at all but the edges were a little crumbly. I had used a circle of greaseproof paper on the cake tin bottoms though.

 

[vacerator]

Is chocolate cake, etc.

a mood booster for anyone else? It takes the edge off for me. I've never taken Prozac, etc. Only Effitol.

 

[circlew]

Instant coffee

At times I've added it to the cake, but more often I've put it in the 7-Minute Seafoam icing.