Black Chocolate Cake

SUBMITTED BY: JEANIE BEAN PHOTO BY: Allrecipes

"This is a rich black chocolate cake that uses cocoa powder and lots of sugar. My husband's all time favorite."

PREP TIME	10 Min
COOK TIME	30 Min
READY IN	40 Min

SERVINGS & SCALING

Original recipe yield: 1 - 9x13 inch pan

USMETRIC

About scaling and conversions

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
2/3 cup shortening
2 cups boiling water
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

READ REVIEWS (121)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
Melt the shortening in the boiling water, then stir into the flour mixture until blended. Beat in the eggs, then stir in the vanilla.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

ADVERTISE WITH US

REVIEWS

MORE MEMBER REVIEWS

Reviewed on Jan. 6, 2004 by ABROSEN

I originally gave this 4 stars but after making it again with another modification I am adding another star. Here's the trick: instead of water, heat up 2 c milk, add 2 heaping teaspoons of instant coffee and use that to dissolve the shortening. It makes a big difference by bringing out the chocolate flavor, rather than diluting it. Frosted with Caroline's Fudge Frosting from this site. Yum! Thanks!

9 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Mar. 9, 2008 by naples34102

Isn't it interesting how so many people can make the same recipe with such different results? Also curious is how a submitted recipe is altered by some cooks and then given a bad review. Having said that, I made this just as written (half recipe) in a mini egg shape pan from Williams Sonoma (eight to the pan). SO good! Fragrant, dark, moist, luscious little dark chocolate cakes. I used "Hard Chocolate Glaze" (also fabulous) to dip them in, then made a bakery style creamy white frosting to decorate them. These were to die for! Tasted like an infinitely better version of Hostess cupcakes! In fact, I could easily see this made in a cupcake tin to duplicate them near exactly. I know I will definitely use this recipe (with the glaze) again--and again--and again. All around, an easy to mix cake that yields perfect results!

8 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Jul. 15, 2003 by luv2bake

I thought this cake was great! It was dense yet very moist and black, as the recipe title indicates. It bakes nicely too - quite level. I didn't have to level the cake at all. I used 2-9" round cake pans. As per a couple of readers suggestions, I did use 2 cups of boiling water with 2 heaping teaspoons of instant decaf coffee. One problem I did have is that, despite greasing and flouring the pans, the cakes stuck. One came out nearly perfect and the other one stuck so badly that I couldn't salvage it. I halved the recipe (halves perfectly) and made one more cake. It stuck pretty badly too but I was able to salvage it and use it anyway. For slightly thicker cake layers I would use this recipe plus 1/2 of it. It would be great alone or dusted with cocoa or confectioner's sugar. I iced it with a fabulous chocolate fudge frusting. MMMMMMM!!! I will make this recipe again - definitely.

8 users found this review helpful

MORE MEMBER REVIEWS