Reviewed: Jul. 9, 2009

I made this cake twice , in metal pans and then silicone after care of the pans the cake crumbled at the bottom. I've used over 30 recipes from this site, this is the only one that failed. Would not try again.

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inounvme

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Jul. 8, 2009

this cake is good and moist. i didn't have problem takin it out from the pan unlike some other reviewers. i made it 2 times already,1st w/ creme patissiere filling; 2nd w/ caramel sauce. the latter one is better.it's good as basic cake, but your filling gotta compliment the cake, otherwise, it'll either be too heavy or just plain.. but all in all, this recipe is a keeper! thanks for sharing!

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vivier

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Reviewed: Jun. 25, 2009

This cake didn't live up to my expectations. It was good, but not great. For the effort that it took to make a homemade cake I thought it would be better than the kind you get from a box, but it wasn't. My husband did like it though, but it might have been the peanut butter butter cream frosting that made it disapear. I will be trying a different cake recipe next time.

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Partyplanningdiva

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Reviewed: Jun. 23, 2009

I would give this as many stars as humanly possible. I made this cake for my dad and family for father's day. I made it in a heart shaped pan with "Cream Cheese Frosting II" in between the layers and "Rich Chocolate Frosting" for the outside frosting (altered to make less). I used Hersey's Special Dark Chocolate unsweetened cocoa powder for the cocoa powder in both the cake and chocolate frosting. I was told it was better than the Factory Mud Pie at the Cheesecake Factory and that if I didn't bring it for his birthday in two weeks I would be disowned. Thanks it was an awesome cake!

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thenewmarthastewart

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 22, 2009

My husbands favorite chocolate cake. It's very moist and delicious!

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Sarah

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Jun. 22, 2009

This is the worst cake I have ever made! I followed the directions exactly and the layers just cracked and fell apart! I have never seen anything like it! I thought maybe I did something wrong, but looking through the other reviews, others had the same exact problem. It tasted ok, but what a huge mess.

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KarenG

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Macon, Georgia, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 22, 2009

I took the reviews into consideration when I made this cake, especially since I've had a hard time finding a really good chocolate cake. I scaled the recipe to 1.5x (18 servings instead of 12) and baked in two 10" pans @ 300F for 40 minutes (rotating halfway through). Once stacked, these two 10" layers ended up becoming a cake a little more than 2.5" high. If torted and filled, the cake would probably be 3" high. I replaced 2/3 of the water with milk and used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa. It's important to let the boiled cocoa cool down to get the right texture. Also, I beat the butter/sugar for 5 minutes to make an airy cake. The final product was perfect for me. It was NOT overly sweet (after I reduced the sugar by 20%) which is great since I wanted to cover in ganache and fondant. I also filled with thinned strawberry preserves. Oh yeah, since everyone was talking about these cakes falling apart, I generously sprayed nonstick spray into the pans and let them cool in the pan for ~30 minutes before moving them. UPDATE: I saved the cake scraps and turns out the cake actually got sweeter the next day. I don't know if everyone else had this same experience, but I will make note of this next time. Absolutely the best chocolate cake I've ever had!

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Betty Crocker

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jun. 22, 2009

Very good cake, moist enough. I did half of the recipe and turn out very tasty. I used hot cocoa mix, special dark from hershey's and added some chocolate chips. Baking time 15 minutes. I will keep it!

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hefziba

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 15, 2009

This cake turned out pretty well except for it being a little too dry. I baked the three cakes together for 27 minutes and I think that was a little too long. Next time I will either lower my bake time to 20-22 minutes or slightly decrease the oven temp. I replaced 1 cup of the water with 1 cup of Kahlua and added 1 cup of chocolate chips. Yummy! I filled the layers with a Baileys and chocolate mousse. It was great!

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HollyG

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Reviewed: Jun. 15, 2009

Mery moist cake. I halfed the recipe and cooked it in one 8X8 pan. It took about 40 minutes in the oven but I don't know what temperature the oven is because I have no numbers on my dial. I also substituted the water with coffee and the butter with oil. It came out very good and I will be making this again.

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ANNCHAN

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Reviewed: Jun. 15, 2009

I feel it's unfair to rate a recipe when its not followed exactly. But the outcome of my variation turned out so well I had to share it. I used 1/2 cup cooked mashed apples (a homemade attempt to make applesauce) and 1/2 cup olive oil instead of the 1 cup of butter the recipe calls for. Let me say it turned out to be a very delicious and healthy version of this recipe! It was great, even without topping (I don't like excessively sweet frosted cakes). Hope it helps!

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ann

Home Town: Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela

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Reviewed: Jun. 15, 2009

I made this cake yesterday for my Hubby's B-day! It was awesome & moist!! I have already been asked for a recipe! I did leave out aprox. 1/4 cup of sugar, as I thought it was going to be too sweet. And I used a store bought frosting, which is usually sweet enough, so I was glad I left some sugar out. After all....wonderful recipe, definitely will be using this for another occasions....loved it!

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DENI23

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jun. 11, 2009

I was disappointed with this recipe. I think with all the positive reviews, I just had my hopes higher than they should be. To me it just tasted like a boxed cake mix. I may try again and use buttermilk in place of the milk, and try a different cocoa, hoping for a richer, and a darker chocolate taste.

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tsgma

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Jun. 10, 2009

This is a very delicious recipe. Having been searching for a moist choc cake recipe for awhile, this definately fits the bill. I find it still tastes good the day after, even better in fact, and probably goes well with most icings, ganache being my favorite. Two things my mom and I have experimented and found to be helpful in this recipe is 1) Adding in a tsp of instant coffee to the cocoa/water mixture as suggested by a previous review 2) Using pure cocoa powder (like vanhouten) really improves the flavor 3) Folding in bits of choc/choc chips into the final batter makes the cake very moist and gives an extra chocolate "kick". Nuts probably can be nice too.

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Hakeber

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jun. 9, 2009

Excellent chocolate cake! I used vegetable oil instead of the butter and only had 3 eggs on hand and it turned out moist and fluffy. Delicious! Thanks for the recipe!

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CindyKins

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Reviewed: Jun. 8, 2009

This was an excellent dark chocolate cake! It reminded me of an oreo as I used a butter cream frosting. I thought it was even better the next day when it had been refridgerated overnight! This one is a keeper!

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