I am a bit of a perfectionist so I thought I would test out Marc's birthday cake before I made it for his birthday this weekend.I started with the EW chocolate cake...the only modification was that I used two 9" round baking pans instead of the bundt pan as the recipe calls for and I reduced baking time to 30 min. I was a little disappointed with the final result...I was expecting something more based on others' reviews on this board. There was a deep chocolate flavor but, how do I explain this, it was muted. It was moist though and I liked that. Despite others' reviews I thought the cake tasted low-fat and this was unacceptable for DH's birthday cake! DH eats anything and he said he only liked the icing (my mom's recipe – will post tomorrow)! lol...that's when I knew I had to try something else. On my mom’s advice, I next tried Hershey’s Chocolatetown Special Cake with my mom’s icing again….what a difference…of course, it isn’t as low fat as the EW recipe but you only have one birthday a year so I said “what the heck”…it was moist with a deep chocolate flavour…perfect! The only modifications was I added 2 tsp of instant coffee powder (dissolved in the same amount of water) to the batter and instead of shortening I used the same amount of butter and I added an extra tsp of vanilla extract.
EatingWell's Died-and-Went-to-Heaven Chocolate Cake
This foolproof cake is one of our most popular recipes. Dutch-process cocoa is preferred here for its deep chocolate flavor.
Cake
1 3/4 cups all-purpose white flour
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup hot strong black coffee
Icing
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons buttermilk or low-fat milk
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 12-cup Bundt pan or coat it with nonstick cooking spray. Dust the pan with flour, invert and shake out the excess.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add buttermilk, brown sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. Whisk in hot coffee until completely incorporated. (The batter will be quite thin.)
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes; remove from the pan and let cool completely.
4. To make icing: In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough of the buttermilk or milk to make a thick but pourable icing. Set the cake on a serving plate and drizzle the icing over the top.
Per serving: 222 calories; 4 g fat (1 g saturated); 27 mg cholesterol; 43 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 2 g fiber; 274 mg sodium.
3 Carbohydrate Servings
Chocolatetown Special Cake
Ingredients:
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
1/2 cup boiling water
2/3 cup shortening
1-3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/3 cups buttermilk or sour milk*
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together cocoa and water in small bowl until smooth. Beat shortening, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add to shortening mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating until well blended. Add cocoa mixture; beat well. Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost. 8 to 10 servings.
* To Sour Milk: Use 4 teaspoons white vinegar plus milk to equal 1-1/3 cups.
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