Chocolate Brings Good Luck: Happy National Chocolate Cake Day!

Hello from Kathleen Raskin of Las Vegas, and welcome to my website! My calendar says National Chocolate Cake Day is on the 27th. Here in Kathey Jo’s Kitchen, every day would be chocolate cake day. So, let’s talk about the ways to celebrate it.  A white cake is not a substitution, and neither is a yellow cake. Part chocolate, part white? Don’t even waste my time. It must be all chocolate today. You can make dark chocolate, fudge, milk chocolate… but it must be chocolate. I have a three-part goal for you today. Bake a chocolate cake, decorate it to your liking, and EAT IT. That’s it. Good luck, and share your favorite chocolate cake recipe with Kathey Jo’s Kitchen below.

Classic Chocolate Cake

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 30 mins

Yield: 2 (9-inch) cakes (serves 12)

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups/225 grams all-purpose flour (for softer cake, use cake flour)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
  2. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans. It can help to line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper cut to fit the pan.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt until blended.
  4. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and whisk to combine. Then whisk in the boiling water.
  5. Now add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Then pour the batter into your prepared pans and transfer them to the oven.
  6. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with a crumb or two attached. You can start testing after 27 minutes because it’s better to check too soon than to overbake.
  7. Cool the cakes for 10 minutes in the pans on a wire rack, then loosen the edges by running a knife along the sides, turn the cakes out onto the racks and cool for at least another hour, and frost.

German Chocolate Cake with Coconut-Pecan Frosting

Prep: 30 mins

Total: 2 hrs., 50 mins

Yield: 16

Ingredients

  • 4 oz. sweet baking chocolate, cut into pieces
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup softened butter or margarine
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk (if none available: 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice plus milk to make 1 cup)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup evaporated milk
  • ½ cup butter or margarine
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
  • 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with shortening; lightly flour. In 1-quart saucepan, melt chocolate with water over low heat, stirring frequently. Cool.
  2. In large bowl, beat 2 cups sugar and 1 cup butter with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping bowl occasionally. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating and scraping well after each addition. Beat in chocolate mixture. On low speed, beat in remaining cake ingredients until well blended, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter evenly into pans.
  3. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove from pans; place on wire racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
  4. In 2-quart saucepan, cook 1 cup sugar, the evaporated milk, 1/2 cup butter and 3 eggs over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to bubble. Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
  5. Place 1 cake layer, top side down, on serving plate. Spread with 1/3 of frosting. Repeat with remaining cake layers and frosting, ending with frosting.