Fantastic cake, and will be my #1 cake from now on. Made it for my daughter's first birthday, and although she didn't eat very much of the cake since I had so much frosting on it to distract her, I have been eating her leftovers and it's amazing! It's been sitting in the fridge for two days and it's only getting richer and better, so no worries about making it in advance for an occasion. I actually forgot to add the water in my first batch, and I think it turned out better that way--thicker batter, thicker, richer cake.

Reviewed On: Nov. 29, 2009

Fantastic frosting, and will be my #1 when I'm not looking for a buttercream. Makes a lot, and I saved every last drop of my leftovers and might just eat it with a spoon, straight from the container!

Reviewed On: Nov. 29, 2009

Excellent Thanksgiving treat! The only change I made was to use Splenda Blend instead of sugar, following the conversion chart on the Splenda bag for amount to equal 1 1/3 cup regular sugar. Well, I also went the Cool Whip route instead of meringue based on preference of my "audience," but the chocolate base of this recipe is fantastic. My only qualm was that the recipe gives no indication of time needed to thicken the chocolate mix or bake. I estimated that it took 6-7 minutes for the chocolate to thicken, and I didn't bake for more than 15 minutes (had no meringue to brown so no real visual cue for when it was done). Another reviewer had an excellent tip, to use a handmixer to mix in the butter and really smooth out the chocolate.

Reviewed On: Nov. 29, 2009