Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Fabulous Fudge Chocolate Cake

I made this cake for someone's birthday. When we were preparing to light the candles and sing "Happy Birthday", someone said, "Catherine made this cake from scratch", to which my Dad quickly and bluntly responded, "Why?!". It garnered a few chuckles from people, including me.

With so many shortcut (and delicious) options at today's grocery stores, I understand how it can seem silly to spend time making a cake from scratch. And, believe you me, I am well prepared to be buying a Costco cake for birthdays in the future when my life gets a little more hectic. 

But, if you have time, and if you have someone you care about, why not show your love for them by making a cake from scratch? And if you're going to be making a cake from scratch, you should try this Fabulous Fudge Chocolate Cake.

*Adapted from Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted (Add 2-4 more squares if you want it very chocolate-y)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup boiling water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter and 2 1/2 cups brown sugar until well mixed. Add eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla and melted chocolate squares. Add 1/2 the sour cream then 1/2 the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until well blended.

Add the remaining sour cream and dry ingredients to the batter. Stir in boiling water.

Bake in a greased 9x13 inch pan for 35 minutes. For cupcakes, bake in greased muffin tins for 18 minutes.

When cool, top with white frosting.

SERVING SUGGESTION:

Top with mini-colored marshmallows for extra pizazz.

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