Chocolate Cake...or Cupcakes!




My favorite food just happens to be chocolate cake...most any kind will do, but chocolate cakes are definitely not all created equal. I like one that is plenty chocolatey and dense with just the right amount (which means kind of a lot) of thick, rich ganache-like frosting on top. My mom found a recipe a few years ago that has become my go to for chocolate cakes. It's easy to whip up and doesn't call for ingredients I don't typically have on hand, and the end result is delicious! Today I decided to try using the batter for cupcakes...it worked well and the frosting was good for piping (I added an extra cup of powdered sugar to thicken it a bit.) Happy Cinco de Mayo!!




I used a small muffin tin and liners to make little cupcakes for the kids...they were the perfect size for little hands!




Here is the same recipe in cake form...I made this one for my sister-ing-law's 30th birthday party a few years ago. Add some piroulines and plenty of chocolate shavings and the end result is irresistable!!





My Favorite Chocolate Cake
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. cocoa
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla extract
1 c. boiling water
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pans (2 9-inch or cupcake tins). Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large mixer bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes. Stir in water. (Batter will be thin.) Pour batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake 30-35 minutes (for cake) 15-17 minutes (for cupcakes) until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
The Best Chocolate Frosting
1/2 c. butter, melted
2/3 c. cocoa
3 c. powdered sugar (may need more if piping!)
1/3 c. milk
1 t. vanilla extract
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sprinkles!!!!

Image
The new Sprinkles Palo Alto location recently opened in the Stanford Shopping Center. We were privileged to go there yesterday and waited in line with no less than 50 people. After all that waiting I wasn't disappointed...my peanut butter chocolate came through with two thumbs up. It was seriously delicious. The cake was dense (and moist), the frosting was rich and together they were the perfect match. I sampled Adam's Coconut and Rachel's Chocolate Marshmallow and they were right on as well. So, Sprinkles gets my stamp of approval on round 2...I'm so glad to have them kind of in our neighborhood. I'll be dreaming about cupcakes while I wait for the new Kara's Cupcakes to open at Santana Row...I have to say it will be hard for them to beat Sprinkles, but hopefully they'll give them some great competition! the chocolate peanut butter
Read more

Rice Krispie Nests

Image
Here I am...the long lost blogger! I'm not making any promises to do better just yet. That said, I'm hoping I will get around to some baking and blogging real soon. Things have been a little busy in these parts and my cooking has really taken a hit, which is ok for now. Rachel and I have been trying to spend some time in the afternoons together doing some kind of project. Today we decided to make a little treat and this is what we came up with. I'm sure I've seen something similar before and they are really a pretty simple idea, but I sort of invented these little nests...and I thought they turned out pretty cute! They were just the right project for us, not too time consuming and little kid friendly. Rice Krispie Nests 3 T. butter 4 c. miniature marshmallows 6 c. Rice Krispies cereal melt butter over low heat, add marshmallows and stir frequently until completely melted. Pour over cereal and mix well. Place a small amount into lightly greased muffin tins and
Read more

Peanunt Butter Cookies: Part II

Image
Okay...so I have a confession to make. Once I get onto something I can get a little obsessed! After my last peanut butter cookies I came across a recipe for these little gems in the Everyday Food Collectible Cookie Edition (Martha Stewart) from last year and I figured they had to be good. I used the Trader Joes's peanut butter cups which if I must say are better than Reese's (and Reese's are pretty darn good!) these however are made without artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives and what's not to love about that? Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter 4 T. butter, room temperature 1 c. packed brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 t. vanilla extract 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) 1 t. baking powder 1/4 t. salt 1/3 c. granulated sugar, for rolling 36 mini chocolate peanut butter cups, unwrapped and chilled Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. With an electric mixer, beat peanut butter and butter until s
Read more