Chocolate Cake

Perfectly Chocolate Cake (that i stole from the hershey's box) : )
2 c sugar
1 3/4c all-purpose flour
3/4 c cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil ( i use olive oil)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c boiling water (i usually boil this in a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave while i'm beating for 2 minutes as per directions)

1. heat oven to 350*. Grease and flour two 9inch round pans.
2. combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed 2 min. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour into pans.
3. Bake 30-35 min (i check at 28...i like to undercook my cakes a little) or until toothpick comes out clean from the center. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely (at least an hour). Frost.
*cupcakes bake for 22-25 minutes (check at 18)


Perfectly Chocolate Frosting (i double this for a two layer cake)
1 stick butter
2/3 c cocoa
3 c powdered sugar
1/3 c milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1. Melt butter on medium. Stir in cocoa ( i use a whisk). Alternately add powdered sugar and milk. beating on medium speed to spreading consistency. Add more milk if needed. Stir in vanilla.


to make a good cake i must recommend a few tricks i've learned:
1. let your eggs AND butter reach room temperature before mixing. this makes the cake more fluffy and light. if you are trying to defrost butter and you melt it because you forgot to put the butter out, don't use it. start again with another stick. then again, don't make a cake cause i bet your eggs are cold too. please don't microwave those to warm them up.
2. follow the directions. i know right? seriously, if it says mix slowly. mix.it.slowly. if it says mix for 2 minutes on medium speed. don't do it for a minute on high speed thinking you are saving time. do what the words on the paper say! (i've learned this the hard way) over mixing a cake makes it yucky. trust me.
3. use the right measuring tools. all liquid measurements should be made in a glass pyrex measuring cup. all dry ingredients in regular measuring cups. and make sure you spoon the flour into the cups, not pack it in.
3. make sure you grease the pan really really well! use a napkin in butter or crisco and wipe all the sides and bottom. then use a spoonful of flour and sift it all over till it's covered. you'll see the spots that aren't greased, grease them, and then cover with flour. turn the pan over and dump out remaining flour. bake as directed. let it cool for 10 min on a wire rack while still in the pan, release it, and let cool for at least an hour before cutting and layering.