1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (unbleached and unbromated)
3/4 Hershey'®s Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Chocolate frosting
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup HERSHEY®'S Cocoa Powder
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350º F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 mins. or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting.
4. To make "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting; Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla.
5. One Pan Cake: Grease and flour 13X9X2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350º F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.
6. Three layer Cake: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350º F. Pour bagtter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.
7. Bundt Cake: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350º F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.
8. Cupcakes; Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350º F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.
Notes
I have only made this in 2-9 inch round layer cake pans.
This is NOT my original recipe. It is the HERSHEY®'S recipe that used to be on the cocoa can.
It IS the BEST chocolate cake from scratch I have EVER made/eaten!!!!
1/3 Cup grated dark chocolate (optional, but who doesn’t love chocolate?)
Whip: Egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
Mix: together the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl, beating until they are creamy. Add the vanilla extract and fold in the mascarpone. The mixture should be thick and creamy.
Gently Fold: the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture by hand with a rubber spatula until evenly folded. (do not over mix)
Make: the strong black coffee in a jug or cafetiere, then mix with the Marsala and brandy in a bowl. Quickly dip the lady fingers in the coffee mixture. They should absorb just enough liquid to flavor them without falling apart.
Arrange: some of the soaked lady fingers in the base of a large attractive glass serving bowl (I love the presentation in the Trifle Dish) or individual serving dishes. Cover with a layer of the mascarpone mixture.
Continue: layering alternate layers of lady fingers and mascarpone, finishing with a top layer of mascarpone. Sift the cocoa powder over the top, then chill in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours or until set. The flavor improves if the coffee dessert is left overnight.
This served 11 with a little leftover.
Absolutely to die for!!!
Prep. time: 20 minutes, plus 3-4 hours chilling (better if left overnight).
Note: This is my version of this dessert. One thing that made it great was making sure the lady fingers were very moist when soaking them in all that booze! Just be careful while dipping them if using the soft lady fingers. They soak up the liquid
These Chocolate Peanut candies make a wonderful holiday gift.
It is really nice to present a friend or family member with something that
you have handmade and these little treats are very tasty too!
The hardest part of making these is putting the boxes together! I’m serious. They come flat in the package and it’s very difficult to pull them open and fold without tearing them.
Ingredients and packaging:
Candy Melts, light and/or dark chocolate (you can find these at Michaels or any cake and candy supply store)
Planters Unsalted Dry Roasted Peanuts (they must be unsalted or the chocolate won’t stick)
Candy cups (also found at Michaels or a cake and candy supply store)
Candy boxes
Stickers to seal the boxes
Melt one pack of the candy melts in a double boiler (or in a pot inside another pot with water underneath as shown in the photos)
Pour the peanuts into the melted chocolate (just mix them in until it is mostly peanuts and not much loose chocolate left)
Immediately spoon into little candy cups on a cookie tray being careful not to fill too full so they will fit properly in the boxes.
Chill in refrigerator or outside (weather permitting) for about an hour. Put them into the boxes and seal the boxes shut with the stickers.
I LOVE this Lady Finger German Sweet Chocolate Cake because it is so easy to make but VERY impressive!
You can make your own lady fingers or purchase them pre-made.
Here’s a video on how to make them yourself:
These are the pre-made ones available in most stores near me that I use:
Specialty Bakers Lady Fingers
Ingredients:
3 pkgs. Lady Fingers
3 pkgs. 8 oz. German Sweet Chocolate for baking
7 & 1/2 TBS. Water
1 tsp. instant coffee (I sometimes combine this with some Kalua)
1 & 1/2 pints whipping cream
1 & 1/2 tsp. vanilla
(Click on the image to get more recipes from the Specialty Bakers site)
Step 1: Melt 2 & 1/2 pkgs. of chocolate & instant coffee with 7 & 1/2 water over double boiler (you can use a smaller saucepan inside a larger one with water in the bottom one if you don’t have a double boiler) (reserving last half of pkg. of chocolate for shaving garnish for top)
Step 2: Stir until smooth.
Step 3: Cool it.
Step 4: Whip 1 & 1/2 pints of whipping cream until stiff peaks form and add vanilla and cooled chocolate. (reserve remaining whipped cream for the topping)
Step 5: Line a springform pan with lady fingers standing upright around the edge.
Step 6: Line the bottom of the pan with lady fingers.
Step 7: Layer filling then lady fingers in pan and end with chocolate filling.
Step 8: Top with reserved whipped cream and sprinkle shaved chocolate over top. Refrigerate to chill completely.