Top Secret Chocolate Cake

The rainbow sprinkles add a festive touch.
Favorite part for the grand girls! 

More comfort food time. During this Stay-At-Home season there is lots of time for cooking and baking - and eating. With the warmer weather we should be able to be outside taking walks to balance the extra calories. So here is an easy and pretty cake to celebrate your family. 

This recipe is from Pioneer Woman, one of my favorite sources. Her version adds a simple chocolate ganache topping made with ½ cup heavy cream and ⅔ cup semisweet chocolate chips. (heat cream until just bubbling.  Add chocolate ships to a small bowl and pour the hot cream over the top. Let sit for 1 minute, then mix until smooth.) This did not work for me, a sad waste of cream and chocolate chips! So I found an even easier way - ready-made frosting, that is included in this recipe. 

TOP SECRET CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients:

One 15.2 oz box dark chocolate cake mix

1 cup whole milk

½ cup (1 stick) melted salted butter

3 large eggs, beaten

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Ready-made chocolate frosting

Directions: 

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10-cup Bundt pan with baking spray. 

2.    Mix together cake mix, milk, butter, eggs, chocolate chips and vanilla in a large bowl until completely combined. Pour into the prepared Bundt pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. 

3.    Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely an additional 20-25 minutes. 

4.    Topping: soften ready-made chocolate frosting in the microwave until  pourable but thick. 

5.    Transfer the cake to a cake stand or serving platter and pour the frosting over the top, allowing it to drip down the ridges. Sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles and serve. 

We have farm fresh eggs from Daughter & S-I-L. This
is 3 large eggs! It was a rich cake. 

Chocolate Yogurt Cake

Top with toasted almonds for extra flavor
and appeal.

Did you know that National Chocolate Cake Day was this week? Wednesday I spotted this recipe from the Kansas Wheat Commission's post, developed by a fellow Wheat Spokesperson, Julene DeRouchey. The note said it was a County Fair winner, and I certainly believe it would be. The best part? It was easy to put together and the frosting is perfect, not too soft or too hard. It would be a good frosting to take on a hot summer day (to a county fair or picnic).
My family enjoyed the cake, even though Chocolate Cake Day at our house was Thursday and continues. Because there is not a lot of fat in this cake, it does need to be covered well to prevent becoming dry. I lined the cake pans with parchment paper cut to fit the bottom and it came out very effortlessly. I also liked the feature that this cake that it baked so evenly, the top was level and made putting the layers together and frosting them very uniform.

Chocolate Yogurt Cake

(from National festival of Breads & Ks. Wheat Commission, Julene DeRouchey http://nationalfestivalofbreads.com/recipes/chocolate-yogurt-cake)

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup unsweetened cocoa

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup plain Greek yogurt (I had honey flavored and it worked fine)

3 eggs

Look at this rich batter!

⅔ cup canola oil

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1.     Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans. (Use baking spray with flour. Line the pans with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit the bottom on the pan. Spray with baking spray after placing in the pan. Bake as directed. Gently peel paper off after the cake has cooled)

2.     Using electric mixer, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in large mixing bowl. Add yogurt, eggs, oil and vanilla.

3.     Beat at low speed until well mixed, 2-3 minutes.

4.     Divide cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.

5.     Run a knife through the cake batter to eliminate any air bubbles. (I also like to tap the pan on the counter)

6.     Bake 20-25 minutes (I needed to bake it a little longer, about 30 minutes, check frequently) or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

7.     Cook on wire rack for 20 minutes. After the cakes are cooled carefully flip pans over to remove cake.

(If you want to make a 4 layer cake, use a sharp serrated knife or cake leveler to evenly split the cakes in half)

The layers are very even across the top, not mounded in the
center. Easy to stack for a layer cake. 

Chocolate Frosting

(for a double layer cake. If making 4 layers double the frosting)

⅓ cup melted shortening

½ cup unsweetened cocoa

¼ teaspoon salt

⅓ cup milk

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

3 ½ cups powdered sugar

1.     Combine shortening, cocoa, and salt. Then add milk, vanilla and almond extracts.

2.     Gradually blend in sugar. Mix until creamy. Add more sugar to thicken to milk to thin. 

Cover well to keep it fresh and moist. However, with
slices like this, it won't last long enough to dry out!