The other night I was in the mood for chocolate, but did not have any cake mix on hand. However, I had flour, eggs, milk, cocoa, butter, and powdered sugar--so I was able to make this dee-licious chocolate cake, completely from scratch!
The cake recipe came from my favorite website,
The Hillbilly Housewife. Her recipes are inexpensive to make and usually use what is already in your cabinets. I have made many of her recipes and there has not been one that I have not fallen in love with.
Hope you enjoy!
(recipes reprinted with permission)
Chocolate Cake
- 1 cup margarine, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon each vanilla and salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 2-1/2 cups flour
- 2 cups buttermilk or sour milk
Get out a big bowl. Put the softened margarine (you can
soften it in the microwave if you like)and the sugar into a
large mixing bowl. Using electric beaters, cream them
together until they are light and fluffy. Then add the eggs.
Beat the eggs in, all at once. Continue beating the mixture
until it is satiny smooth and emulsified. Next add the
salt, vanilla, baking soda and cocoa. Beat again, until the
cocoa is well mixed into the batter, making it chocolaty
and fragrant. Then put the flour and the buttermilk or
sour milk into the bowl. If you only have fresh milk, you can
sour it with a little vinegar. Probably a tablespoon
would be enough. Do it like this, put a tablespoon of vinegar
into a two cup measure. Add enough milk to reach the two
cup line. Allow the milk to set for a few moments, until
you see it curdle. Now the milk is ready to use.
Anyway, beat the flour and milk into the batter with your
electric beaters. Beat it really good, for about two full
minutes, getting out all of the lumps. Turn the
batter into a well oiled 9 by 13-inch rectangular pan, or two
9-inch round pans, or three 8-inch round pans. Bake the cake
at 350F for 50 minutes in the large pan, and 35 to
40 minutes in the smaller pans. When the edges pull away from
the sides of the pan, and the center springs back when you
touch it gently, it is done. Remove from the oven
and allow to cool for a long time. When the cake is all the
way cool, you can frost it. This recipe makes a very large
cake. The batter just barely fits in my 9″ cake pans,
so if aren’t sure if your pans will hold it or not, then
place them on a cookie sheet the first time you bake this
recipe. That way, if any spills over, it will be easier
to clean off of the cookie sheet than the bottom of the
oven. Good cake for birthdays and fancy layer cake creations.
Chocolate Frosting
- 1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 or 5 tablespoons milk
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- Good dash salt
Soften or melt the margarine first. I usually melt it in
the microwave, because that is easiest for me. Add the cocoa,
vanilla, and 4 tablespoons milk. Using electric
beaters or a whisk, beat these ingredients together until they
are good and smooth. Add the powdered sugar, about a cup
at a time, and continue beating the frosting. After you
have added all four cups of powdered sugar, you may need a
little more milk to give the frosting spreading
consistency. If you think you need more milk, add it a
teaspoon at a time. If too much milk is added, you will end up
with runny frosting. Fix this by adding more
unsweetened cocoa, or more powdered sugar, or both. If desired
you may replace the milk with strong coffee and end up with a
very tasty grown up mocha flavor. I don’t give this
to the kids because they are wired up on the chocolate and
sugar already, they don’t need caffeine on top of it. This
recipe is supposed to make enough for a layer cake.
Depending on one’s skill in frosting layer cakes, this may or
may not be true. If you have a child who wants a
chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting for their
birthday, this is the one to choose.
3 comments:
I LOVE HILLBILLY HOUSEWIFE! Can't wait to try this recipe too!
This cake looks delicious! Thanks :)
THis cake looks yummy can't wait to try it myself and I am following you back! Thanks for the follow!
Post a Comment