by Katerina Kountakis, section editor

Ever since I made chocolate chip cookies for my family, I have been the official baker in my house. Basically, my new role is getting everyone fat because I am constantly baking for them. I don’t mind baking; actually, I love baking. I have always had a sweet tooth and one day I was tired of eating the “okay” cookies at the store and decided to make my own. Ever since then, my new motto in life is “Homemade is and will forever be better than store bought.” You can’t convince me otherwise. So after my success with the cookies I made, I basically became obsessed with finding new recipes to try out. I will spend hours on Pinterest making sure the recipe I try is the best one out there.

My dad has been bugging me about making a cake so I finally caved. After searching for the best chocolate cake recipe out there, I finally found one. I’ll be honest, when I first made the cake, it didn’t go as well as I thought it would. But after making it for the third time, I think I got the recipe down and it’s perfect. If you follow the directions very closely and take in account some notes from yours truly, then you too can make an almost perfect chocolate cake.

 

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  Recipe from Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch             

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 cup milk

½ cup vegetable or canola oil

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.

• For the cake:

• Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.

• Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.

• Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.

Notes

The cake batter will be very thin after adding the boiling water – this is normal, don’t flip out. After the cakes are cooled completely, get a long knife and cut a little bit of the top part of the cakes so they have a flat surface. This makes it easier to stack  the cakes on top of each other.  

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe

Ingredients

 

• 1½ cups butter (3 sticks), softened

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa

• 5 cups confectioner’s sugar

• ½ cup milk

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  

• ½ teaspoon espresso powder

 

Directions

 

• Add cocoa to a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer. Whisk through to remove any lumps.

• Cream together butter and cocoa powder until well-combined.

• Add sugar and milk to cocoa mixture by adding 1 cup of sugar followed by about a tablespoon of milk. After each addition has been combined, turn mixer onto a high speed for about a minute. Repeat until all sugar and milk have been added.

• Add vanilla extract and espresso powder and combine well.

• If frosting appears too dry, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency. If it appears to wet and does not hold its form, add more confectioner’s sugar, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency.

Hope you enjoy!