The Hubby’s birthday cake is traditionally a devil’s food cake mix with his mother’s fluffy pudding icing. This year, I left it until the last minute and realized I didn’t have a cake mix on hand, so I went searching for a highly rated chocolate cake and found Ina Garten’s Chocolate Cake recipe on The View from Great Island. It really is one of the best chocolate cake recipes out there! It’s rich and moist and perfectly chocolatey!
The cake got raves from all who had a piece, and even the birthday boy thought it was better than a boxed mix. The icing was, of course, the perfect accoutrement to the chocolate heaven that was the cake.
Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot coffee
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans, coat in cocoa powder (knocking out the excess), and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Brew the cup of coffee.
- Whisk all the dry ingredients together well in a large bowl or a mixer bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients EXCEPT the coffee.
- Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing as you go.
- Once incorporated, add the hot coffee, and mix everything until there are no pockets of dry flour left. The batter will be very thin.
- Divide the batter between the two cake pans, and bake for 35 minutes until risen and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out without wet batter clinging to it.
- Allow the cakes to partially cool in the pans, then turn out onto a cooling rack to completely cool before frosting.
- The cakes can be made a day or two ahead and kept in the refrigerator before frosting.
Fluffy Pudding Icing
Ingredients
- 2 packets Dream Whip powder
- 2 cups milk
- 1 170g jello pudding
Instructions
- Use a hand mixer on low speed to blend, then beat on high for 4 minutes until stiff peaks form. Stick in fridge for approximately 30 minutes, giving a quick beat to fluff up before putting on your cake.
Notes
Use different flavours of pudding mixes to go with whatever flavour of cake you have!
Note that this is NOT a firm icing! Best to hold off icing cakes as late as possible. It does not hold sprinkles or toppings well, and if let to sit on the icing, they will get a "melted" look. Store the cake/cupcakes in fridge.
INA GARTENS CHOCOLATE CAKE