Calling all Chocolate Lovers!

Back in the days when I lived on processed food (Read: before I learned how to cook and bake,) I was a huge fan of the boxed Devil’s Food cake mixes. Though I searched for many years, I never came across a homemade version that could compare. That is, until I tried Hershey’s Deep Dark Chocolate Cake.

Sooo, seeing since I have been SO good with not baking lately, I decided to treat myself this evening to a pan of this sinful cake. I’ve made it many times and never get tired of it. It’s unbelievably light and moist, and goes perfectly with a tall glass of ice-cold milk!

I usually follow this particular recipe to the letter, but this evening I thought, since the cake is so decadently sweet, I’d try cutting the sugar by 1/4 cup. It worked so well that I may try reducing it by half next time around.

This cake is incredibly simple to make – we’re talking idiot-proof kind of simple – and uses one bowl for easy clean up (for best results, use an electric mixer.) The following is for half a recipe which fits nicely into an 8″ square pan and yields 9 modest pieces at approximately 280 calories per piece. Just a heads up, you will definitely want the full recipe if you are baking this for family or visitors. It makes a gorgeous double layer cake, by the way 😉

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup sugar
7/8 cup flour
3/8 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease (or line with parchment paper) an 8″ square pan. To the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the first six ingredients. Add egg, milk, oil, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the boiling water until well mixed. NOTE: Batter will be extremely thin, this is normal!

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove pan to wire rack and let cool completely before frosting. FYI: I almost always leave single-layer cakes in their pans.

For the frosting: Cream 3 tbsp. softened butter. Sift and whisk together 1 cup icing sugar and 1/4 cup of cocoa, then add to the butter,  along with 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract and roughly 2 to 3 tbsp. of milk. Beat 1 to 2 minutes or until well combined and fluffy. You may need additional milk to achieve a spreadable consistency. Spread frosting evenly over cake, cut, serve and enjoy!

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 280
Total Fat: 11.6g
– Saturated Fat: 4.3g
Sodium: 276mg
Total Carbohydrate: 46.7g
– Fiber: 2.1g
– Sugars: 30.9g
Protein: 3.6g