In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t be posting this a day after my birthday, because although it looks like I did, I didn’t bake myself a cake and write myself a quirky little message on it (I swear).
I made this cake for one of my roommates who also recently had a birthday because I am a good friend but also broke and can I just say DAMN. I don’t quite often find myself at a loss for words (a personality trait linked to me being both a narcissist and Greek) but I find myself quite unable to convey my passion for this cake in an eloquent manner.
This chocolate cake is the Meryl Streep of cakes.
This chocolate cake is to desserts what UberBlack is to regular public transit.
Eating this cake is an experience as euphoric as discovering that your fave late-night kebab shop has remained open an extra half an hour and yes, still has extra fries.
Make this once and I promise you, you will never even consider another recipe. It’s guaranteed to be perfect for all occasions, like birthdays or Wednesday nights at 10pm when you’re hungry but don’t want to walk all the way to the closest supermarket to get a pint of Ben & Jerrys because then you would miss an episode of Scandal and also have to put on pants and that’s just not gonna happen, my friends, so you decide to make this cake instead.
THE ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE
You Will Need
- 3/4 dark chocolate cocoa powder
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/4 cup melted chocolate chips
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM: 3 sticks of salted butter, 1 cup cocoa powder, 5 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup milk, 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease two round cake tins, then lightly dust with some extra cocoa powder instead of flour to avoid white specks on your finished product.
- Whisk together all dry ingredients until there are no lumps left. Beat the milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla together until smooth then mix into the flour mixture until everything is evenly combined. Pour in melted chocolate and beat well until completely smooth.
- Slowly beat the boiling water in until light and fluffy. Pour into the two pans evenly and bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tins completely before frosting.
- TO MAKE THE FROSTING: Whisk the cocoa powder to remove any lumps. Beat in the butter until smooth, then alternate adding the sugar and milk. Add in the vanilla and you’re all groovy baby!!
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