This extreme chocolate cake will please all the chocoholics in your life. It’s a rich, springy chocolate cake that is topped with a smooth and luscious dark chocolate frosting. Save room for another slice!
My little girl just turned 6 years old last week. How did that happen, and where did my baby go? Seems like just yesterday we were leaving the hospital with a 7 pound bundle of joy, and the next thing I knew, she’s blossomed into a smart and sassy kindergartener.
We have a small party planned for her soon, but I had to bake the birthday girl a cake. She’s always asking for chocolate cake, and she loves sprinkles, so I baked her exactly what she wanted. I picked her up from after-school daycare early, took her to get her nails done, and celebrated with this cake before Addie went to her weekly figure skating lesson. It was a perfect day for a 6-year old.
This is actually a recipe repeat and worth re-posting since the cake is so good. It the Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake that I posted about in 2012 (wow – look at that horrendous photo!)
All of us enjoyed this cake immensely and couldn’t wait to have another slice the next day. I received raving reviews the next day (after gifting some slices to Addie’s skating coaches). Clearly chocolate cake is a favorite amongst skaters, and this was one of the best chocolate cakes they’ve had to date.
There’s a reason why this cake has been around for so long – it’s truly sensational and a standard chocolate cake to have in your baking repertoire.
Hershey's perfect chocolate cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk of choice
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
Frosting
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease two 9" round cake pans and set aside.
Bake the cake
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt (I mixed this with a spatula). Add the eggs, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla and mix by hand. Then turn the mixer on to low or medium low speed and mix until everything is well incorporated. Turn the mixer off and add in the boiling water by hand. Once the water is all mixed in, you can turn the mixer on low on to get the batter more uniform.
- Evenly divide the batter into your prepared pans and bake in your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.
Make the frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, whip the butter on medium speed until creamy. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the cocoa powder, powdered sugar and milk. You may want to alternate between cocoa powder/powdered sugar and milk so the frosting doesn't become too stiff. Add the vanilla extract and beat until the frosting is smooth.
Assemble the cake
- Put one cake, flat-side down, on top of a cake stand or a plate. Using a serrated knife, cut the domed part of the cake off so the cake layer is flat. Spread some frosting on top. Remove the other cake from the cake pan and again, cut the domed part off the top of the cake. Then put this cake, flat-side down (the flat side that was on the bottom of the pan; not the side you just cut) on top of the frosting. Frost the top and sides of the cake and decorate as desired.
Notes