Ultimate Chocolate Cake

I got a craving for chocolate cake...and this recipe definitely satisfied it! I think I might have mixed it too much, as it didn't turn out quite as light and fluffy as it was supposed to, but it's still very yummy. Alex thinks it needed some canola oil or more butter, to make it moister. And it makes a huge amount. the recipe says it makes 1 two-layer 9" round cake. I put most of it in my casserole dish and then made nine cupcakes...and I should have made more cupcakes instead of putting so much in for the cake. The picture shows six of the cupcakes and the cake. I used store bought vanilla frosting and mini chocolate chips (semi-sweet) to decorate the cake/cupcakes.

2 cups boiling water
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour whatever pan(s) you plan on using for the cake.

In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over the cocoa powder. Mix until it's smooth. Set aside and allow it to cool to room temperature. (To avoid lumps, pour a bit of the water over the cocoa and mix until it's a thick paste. Once it's smooth, add the rest of the water and whisk.)

In a large bowl, cream the butter until it's soft enough to beat easily. Gradually add the sugar, beating the mixture between each addition until it's light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating the mixture thoroughly each time. Incorporate the vanilla.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three steps, alternating with the cocoa mixture. Mix until the batter is just smooth.

Transfer to pan(s) and bake the cake in the preheated oven until a tooth pick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

*The cupcakes took 20 minutes. The cake, because it was so deep, took 45 minutes. The recipe says if you use two 9" round pans, it should take 25-30 minutes.