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Perfect Chocolate Cake

Did you know baking can actually make you feel happy? Well, it does in my house. Just the sight of my girls camping out in front of the oven door waiting for the treats to be ready proves that. But it’s not just the little ones.

No one can resist the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven, regardless of their age. How can anyone dislike the smell of the warm baked goodies that lingers on even after the pan and plates are empty, save a few crumbs.

Unlike regular cooking, where I hardly ever follow a set recipe, baking seems different. When I bake, I have to pay close attention to the recipe and ignore my experimental tendencies. Now I am sure there are many like myself, or at least I hope that there are others who have an irrational fear of messing up a good cake by not following instructions to the dot and because of the ratio of baking soda and baking powder is too perplexing. How does one decide the exact proportions of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar to result in the best-baked goodness you have ever had?

 

 

I believe that baking doesn’t only make you happy because of the end result, when the oven bell goes off, its the measuring, sifting and mixing, the whole process indeed has some kind of therapeutic powers.

I have yet to learn the secret and wait for the day when I can come up with my own recipe for muffins and scones. Till that day arrives, I’ll still continue to bake, Regardless of the fact that we have to go back and forth between the recipes and measuring tools, but those perfectly risen two dozen cupcakes make it all worth it and restores my belief in baking.
that indeed it has some kind of therapeutic powers.

 

 

Chocolate Cake

  • Servings: 14 Slices
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 cups of sugar
  • 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans.
  2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
  3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
  4. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely before frosting. Frost with chocolate frosting.
This batter can be baked in a 9×13 sheet pan, two 9-inch round pans or cupcakes, it yields 2 dozen cupcakes.