Reviewed: Jul. 20, 2009

This is the PERFECT chocolate cake. I made in two 10"pans and cooked for 30 minutes. Make sure you grease and flour pretty liberally, as sticking was a little bit of an issue. I followed this recipe exactly, pairing it with the "Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Frosting." It was to die for -- I had several people tell me it was the best chocolate cake they had ever eaten. Likewise, non cake-eaters were even scarfing it down. As suggested by some, I made this the night before and let the cake sit overnight; I took it out 20 minutes before serving and it was just perfect. Thanks for a great recipe :)

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MadtownCooking

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: White Bear Lake, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Madison, Wisconsin, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 17, 2009

I followed the recipe exactly. It's a great chocolate cake recipe! This was easy to make, very moist and chocolatey, and was gobbled up quickly by our kids. It will be my new go-to recipe for chocolate cake. Thanks for sharing the reicpe, shirleyo.

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TOM

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jul. 17, 2009

This cake is amazing! I have used it soo many times! I have also altered it to make an almond cake and a lemon cake. I substituted the cocoa for cake flour (which gave it a very spongy texture) and added lemon juice and grated lemon peel in place of the vanilla. I also used the cake flour and almond extract for the almond cake....AMAZING!!!

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Emily

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Raeford, North Carolina, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 16, 2009

We LOVED this cake. For me it is not often that I find a cake that I enjoy without any frosting.

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cassie

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Reviewed: Jul. 15, 2009

My eight year old daughter wanted to make a cake from scratch for her birthday. This was the perfect cake. It was very easy to make, and we had all the ingredients on hand. As I was making it, I was a little worried when I added the boiling water because the batter became so thin. But I shouldn't have worried; It was dense, moist and delicious!

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tobio

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Reviewed: Jul. 15, 2009

Yum!

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Jen S.

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jul. 14, 2009

This cake was very rich and chocolately!!! I made this for a birthday party and everyone had a nice big slice! I covered it in chocolate icing... Mmmmm I used 1 cup of hot espresso instead of hot water - thats the only thing I changed :)

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sweets

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Thornhill, Ontario, Canada

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Reviewed: Jul. 13, 2009

the cake did not rise and it wasnt sweet!

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suzan.s

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Reviewed: Jul. 12, 2009

This cake is wonderful and is so much better than the box mix. My husband sais it is just like his maw-maw used to make!! Will definitely make again!

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wishicouldcookmore

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Reviewed: Jul. 12, 2009

thanks for this great recipe...so easy to prepare... and indeed perfect for cupcakes too! cheers!

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4AJ&Dad

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: General Santos City, South Cotabato, Philippines

Living In: Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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Reviewed: Jul. 11, 2009

i've been making this cake for years. it's the same recipe that's on the Hershey's Cocoa tin. my grandkids really enjoy it at birthday time.

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marilyn

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Reviewed: Jul. 9, 2009

Alone as is the cake was okay. today it was pretty hot day here were i live so i served it with french vanilla icecream and it was delish.

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luvcukn4daplsr

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Corona, California, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 9, 2009

My Hubby and Roomate Josh say it was yummy! There is only a 1/4 left!

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Zanna

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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Reviewed: Jul. 5, 2009

I made this for a friends birthday. I cut the recipe in half for a one-layer cake, added some chocolate chips, a dollop of mayonnaise, and used home-made chocolate frosting. everyone loved it!! my one complaint is that it stuck to the pan, which is most likely due to the chocolate chips I used. I'm cooking it again right now, and I'm going to try adding the chocolate chips after a few minutes of baking since the batter is so thin. anyway, this will definitely be the recipe I use for chocolate cake going forward. love it!!

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tory

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Reviewed: Jul. 2, 2009

I bake. I bake a lot. I followed the recipe exactly and I was a little concerned at how thin the batter was. I made this into cupcakes. It made 27 cupcakes. 27 cupcakes that I only filled 2/3 full but they still overflowed and ran flat onto the top of my muffin tins and then stuck there. I had to tear the tops off which makes for pretty fugly cupcakes. They taste alright, but the edges of the tops were a little chewy where they overflowed. I usually make "Barb's Chocolate Cake" off this site and that one rocks, so I don't know why I deviated. Oh well. I made some kick butt white chocolate mint frosting though! I'm going to post that recipe. It's deee-lish on chocolate cupcakes.

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Corrielynn

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Reviewed: Jul. 2, 2009

Love, love, love this. Only 4 stars because I altered it. 1 C. coco powder, butter instead of oil and 1 T. instant coffee. So YUM!

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jerrina

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Spokane, Washington, USA

Living In: Ontario, California, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 1, 2009

Made this exactly as stated. They weren't kidding when it says the batter will be runny after adding the boiling water. I'm glad I saw that or I would have been worried. I put a mug of water in the microwave for 2 minutes for the boiling water. Whether or not it boiled I have no idea as I didn't watch it but it was hot enough. This cake was amazing. Very spongy and airy and light. Definitely make sure to grease the pan(s) enough. I used a bundt pan and it worked perfectly. Also make sure to let it cool for the 10 minutes- otherwise it may not come out of the pan completely. I will never again buy cake mix (thank goodness!) from a box again! Very quick and easy to make! Thanks ever so much!

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pionergirl

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Overland Park, Kansas, USA

Living In: Centerview, Missouri, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 30, 2009

OMG..... We loved this cake, my friend from Germany came in so I made it for her. And we devoured it. And my husband said this is the only cake he will eat from now on! I did use a cup of cocoa and sifted all my dry ingredients. The buttercream icing goes great with this....

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jules

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Reviewed: Jun. 29, 2009

This cake was very good and very moist! Make sure to spray cake pans very well to keep the cake from sticking! Went great with buttercream frosting.

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lovebeingamom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: San Antonio, Texas, USA

Living In: Twin Falls, Idaho, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 28, 2009

This recipe is amazing. It turned out perfect! Separated from the pan with ease and was really moist and dense. I'll definitely be making this one again. It goes GREAT with the Taste of Home frosting recipe on this site: "Rich Chocolate Frosting" submitted by Amy Via.

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