The Last Chocolate Cake Recipe You'll Need

Here ya go, Laurie.  The recipe for my chocolate cake.  There's nothing particularly fancy about this cake - no secret ingredient.  It is a straight up chocolate cake, but the BEST straight up chocolate cake around.  It is moist and full of chocolately goodness.  The icing on this cake is most likely where the term, "the icing on the cake" came from.  The cake itself is so, so yummy, but topped with the icing...well...get yourself a cold glass of milk and try not to eat the whole cake at once.

Frosting:
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
5 oz 99% unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tbls unsalted butter
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Cake:
2 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup whole milk
1 cup boiling water

For the Frosting:
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and cream and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 6 minutes.  Add the chocolate and butter and stir until melted.  Pour into a bowl and stir in the vanilla.

Let the frosting cool, whisking gently from time to time.  Don't overwhip, or you'll create air bubbles.  This frosting takes a good couple hours or longer to set.  I usually end up cheating and throwing it in the fridge.  If you cheat - be sure you are standing by the fridge and continue to check on it, stirring every couple minutes.  You do not want to over chill.  And you don't want to cheat until you are ready to frost the cake.  The frosting is ready when it has a mayonnaise like consistancy. 

For the Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly butter two 9 inch cake pans.  Line the bottoms with parchment paper, then butter and flour the parchment paper.  Tap out excess flour.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda, mixing on low speed.  Mix in the eggs, oil and milk.

Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.  Reduce the speed to low and mix in the boiling water.  The batter will be soupy...really soupy...you might even think you have made a mistake, but you haven't. 

Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then turn the layers out onto the rack and cool completely.

When the cakes have cooled, hopefully your frosting has set.  If not time to cheat.  :)

Frost the cake. 

Lick the bowl clean.

Enjoy yo!