My grandmother used this recipe, then mom, and now me. It has been handed down from generation to generation, and I suspect that trend to continue in our family.
My family always requests this chocolate cake. In fact, for birthday celebrations, store-bought cakes are not an option; this home-made cake is always preferred.
What Makes this Cake So Good?
It's not difficult to make a cake, and I'll bet the ingredients for this recipe are standard to most cakes. However, if I had to pull out one ingredient that makes this cake taste amazing, I'd say it's the Cocoa.
I've always used Fry's Cocoa. I use it for our home-made chocolate icing as well. See below for a link to that recipe.
I've tried other baking Cocoa, but my family always says that 'the cake doesn't taste the same.' So I stick to Fry's Cocoa. Maybe they're just used to it? However, their friends also comment on how good the chocolate cake is - so yah, maybe it's the Cocoa?
You can get Fry's Cocoa in the USA; it's imported from Canada and is available
here via Amazon. Canadians can visit Amazon's Canada site to order it, or head to the grocery store; it's easy to find.
Chocolate Cake Recipe Ingredients:
- 1 and 1/2 Cups of White Sugar
- 1/2 Cup of Cocoa (Fry's Cocoa if you have it - I pack it a bit to get a little more)
- 1 and 3/4 Cups of White Flour
- 1 and 1/2 Teaspoons of Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon of Salt
- 1/2 Cup of Softened Butter (not melted)
- 1 and 1/2 Cups of Milk
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract
Put everything in one bowl and lightly beat the ingredients until they're mixed together. Never over beat a cake. Once the ingredients are mixed and blended, that's good enough.
I bake this cake in a three-quart oblong glass baking dish or cake pan (9inches by 13inches).
You can use a non-stick spray if you like; however, I never use that. I'll rub the bottom and sides of the dish with butter, then lightly coat it with flour. To coat it with flour, put about a teaspoon of flour in the middle, then pick-up the cake dish and tilt it in all directions until the flour spreads very thinly over the bottom and sides. If there's too much flour, dump out the excess.
You can use different shaped cake pans as well. I've used two round ones before, then stacked them to make a round cake.
Bake the cake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes depending upon your oven. Check it at the half-hour mark, then judge the length of time left at that point. With my oven, it's usually 40 minutes or so.
Let your cake cool, and then ice it with delicious home-made chocolate icing;
here's the recipe. I've also linked the above photo to the Icing recipe. My grandmother taught me how to make it, so be sure to check it out; it also uses Fry's Cocoa.
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