Hamburger Casserole and Dark Chocolate Cake
I'm too lazy to cycle all the way back to look who contributed this recipe, but I made it the other night and it was soooooo good. So thanks to whomever posted it, it rocked!
We keep my husband's office stocked with bakery goods, and lately it seems like everyone's craving chocolate, I've gotten five orders for this cake in the last two weeks, and the entire cake gets gobbled up within an hour of delivery. Must be good! I thought I'd express my appreciation for y'all nifty chefs by posting my coveted recipe. Our customers beg and beg for the recipe, but it's top secret to them. I just laugh when they ask and say, come on, if I give you the recipe, then you wouldn't buy the cake! Here it is-
2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (sifted)
3/4 cup dutched cocoa powder (sifted)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Grease and flour (2) 9" rounds or (1) 13x9x2" rectangle pan. (Edit. note: I use an 8" springform pan greased, lined with an 8" parchment circle, and floured. I've made this cake more times than I care to count, and this works best for me.)
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed ("2" if you're using your KitchenAid) for 2 minutes. Stir in (*carefully*!) boiling water, and pour batter into prepared pans. (Edit. note: If you're using a springform pan, it is a good idea to wrap the outside with aluminum foil to prevent leakage.)
3. Bake 30-35 minutes for rounds, 35-40 minutes for rectangle, (60-75 minutes for springform) OR until toothpick comes out "clean". (This is a moist cake, there's gonna be some crumbs on the toothpick when it's done). Cool 10 minutes, remove to wire racks. Frost with One Bowl Frosting when completely cool.
One Bowl Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
6 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 2/3 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup dutched cocoa powder (sifted)
1/3 cup of milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Beat butter in medium bowl. Add sugar and cocoa alternately with milk, beating to spreading consistency. Stir in vanilla. (Additional milk may be required)
(Edit. note: I don't always abide by these directions. My experience is that if you sift the sugar and cocoa beforehand, you can get away with dumping everything in together and beating to the right consistency, though it helps to start with less than 1/3 cup of milk and add as needed. It comes out perfect either way. It is also wise to exercise caution in frosting the cake, as I mentioned, it's a moist cake and if you're too rough putting the frosting on, it will make a mess. Go slow and make sure your frosting isn't too stiff. Even if it does make a mess, it's still a great tasting cake. There's room for a lot of variation in the recipe too. I've made this for birthdays as a Snickers cake by adding some chopped up Snicker's bars to the batter [chopped VERY fine] and then topping with crushed Snickers after frosting. Note that this is not a kind batter for adding in chocolate chips. Because the batter is so loose after adding the water, they will sink to the bottom and form a chocolate chip "crust", though if this is your kind of thing, you may love it. In any case, it doesn't seem to affect the end result beyond being difficult to cut. This cake is also GREAT with a ganache or raspberry filling.)
Enjoy!
We keep my husband's office stocked with bakery goods, and lately it seems like everyone's craving chocolate, I've gotten five orders for this cake in the last two weeks, and the entire cake gets gobbled up within an hour of delivery. Must be good! I thought I'd express my appreciation for y'all nifty chefs by posting my coveted recipe. Our customers beg and beg for the recipe, but it's top secret to them. I just laugh when they ask and say, come on, if I give you the recipe, then you wouldn't buy the cake! Here it is-
2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (sifted)
3/4 cup dutched cocoa powder (sifted)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Grease and flour (2) 9" rounds or (1) 13x9x2" rectangle pan. (Edit. note: I use an 8" springform pan greased, lined with an 8" parchment circle, and floured. I've made this cake more times than I care to count, and this works best for me.)
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed ("2" if you're using your KitchenAid) for 2 minutes. Stir in (*carefully*!) boiling water, and pour batter into prepared pans. (Edit. note: If you're using a springform pan, it is a good idea to wrap the outside with aluminum foil to prevent leakage.)
3. Bake 30-35 minutes for rounds, 35-40 minutes for rectangle, (60-75 minutes for springform) OR until toothpick comes out "clean". (This is a moist cake, there's gonna be some crumbs on the toothpick when it's done). Cool 10 minutes, remove to wire racks. Frost with One Bowl Frosting when completely cool.
One Bowl Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
6 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 2/3 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup dutched cocoa powder (sifted)
1/3 cup of milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Beat butter in medium bowl. Add sugar and cocoa alternately with milk, beating to spreading consistency. Stir in vanilla. (Additional milk may be required)
(Edit. note: I don't always abide by these directions. My experience is that if you sift the sugar and cocoa beforehand, you can get away with dumping everything in together and beating to the right consistency, though it helps to start with less than 1/3 cup of milk and add as needed. It comes out perfect either way. It is also wise to exercise caution in frosting the cake, as I mentioned, it's a moist cake and if you're too rough putting the frosting on, it will make a mess. Go slow and make sure your frosting isn't too stiff. Even if it does make a mess, it's still a great tasting cake. There's room for a lot of variation in the recipe too. I've made this for birthdays as a Snickers cake by adding some chopped up Snicker's bars to the batter [chopped VERY fine] and then topping with crushed Snickers after frosting. Note that this is not a kind batter for adding in chocolate chips. Because the batter is so loose after adding the water, they will sink to the bottom and form a chocolate chip "crust", though if this is your kind of thing, you may love it. In any case, it doesn't seem to affect the end result beyond being difficult to cut. This cake is also GREAT with a ganache or raspberry filling.)
Enjoy!