I love cake, and as such, I eat a lot of cake. Frankly most of the cakes I taste, cheap or expensive, don’t really have any taste. They are overly sweet and often just taste like cardboard. I Have been through dozens and dozens of cake recipes and have come up with these 2 cake recipes to end all!
One is based on a good old Betty crocker recipe I found in one of their cookbooks from the 50s I found in a garage sale and the other is developed by yours truly. They contain about a half cup less sugar than the original recipes called for and you don’t miss it at all. The chocolate recipe is also a “dark chocolate” cake recipe so beware if you are a milk chocolate kinda person. Enjoy!
DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE
INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa ( dutch process or dark cocoa preferably)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4-1 cup boiling water ( see note below)
*add some chocolate chips and nuts to the finished batter is you like!!
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350°F.
1 Grease and flour two 9 inch round baking pans or one 13×9 inch pan.
2 In large mixer bowl, stir together dry ingredients.
3 Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
4 Stir in boiling water by hand (batter will be thin).
NOTE: I have tried it with 1/2 cup, 2/3 cup and 3/4 cup boiling water and we prefer it with less than 1 cup water. I usually use between 2/3 & 3/4 cups. The cake is still very moist but it doesn’t seem to “fall” as much as it cools. This might have to do with our high humidity or brand of flour or other factors so I don’t know if it will work for everyone.
5 Pour into prepared pan.
6 Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round 9-inch pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. (Do not use 8-inch pans or the batter will overflow.).
7 Because they have a tendency to overflow if you fill them more than 2/3 full, I usually get about 27-28 cupcakes per batch. Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes.
Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire racks.
Please note: baking cocoa isn’t hot chocolate drink mix! Baking cocoa contains no sugar and it is found on the baking aisle. Chocolate drink mixes that you add to milk or water to drink WILL NOT work in this recipe.
POUND CAKE
INGREADIENTS
3 cups all-purpose flour*
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
5 large eggs
1 cup milk or evaporated milk
Powdered sugar, if desired
DIRECTIONS
1 Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom, side and tube of 10×4-inch angel food cake pan (tube pan), 12-cup fluted tube cake pan or two 9×5-inch loaf pans with shortening; lightly flour.
2 In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 5 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat flour mixture into sugar mixture alternately with milk on low speed, beating just until smooth after each addition. Pour into pan(s).
3 Bake angel food or fluted tube cake pan 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes, loaf pans 55 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes; remove from pan(s) to wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Olive Oil Cake
You can leave out the lemon OR replace with orange zest and extract. Another variation is to add some almond extract!
1 cup/240 milliliters good-quality extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the an
2 cups/255 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ cups/300 grams granulated sugar, + 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 ¼ cups/295 milliliters whole milk, at room temperature
PREPARATION
YIELD One 9-inch cake
Step 1
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan using extra-virgin olive oil and line the
bottom with parchment paper. Oil the parchment and flour the pan, shaking out any excess flour.
Step 2
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Step 3
In the bowl of an electric mixer set on high, beat the sugar, eggs and lemon zest until very thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer still running, slowly drizzle in the oil and beat until incorporated, another 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add milk and lemon juice. Gradually add
the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smooth the top using an offset spatula and sprinkle the top with about 2 tablespoons sugar.
Step 4
Bake the cake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool for 20 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to release the sides of the cake from the pan. Invert the cake onto a plate and then flip it back over onto the rack to cool completely. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. If you like a moister cake, bake @ 350 for 45 minutes. The cake will rise a lot but will deflate some after cooling. Enjoy!!