Ultimate Chocolate Cake

We have made this twice, so far, and really enjoyed it both times. :) I found the recipe in a group on livejournal.


Ultimate Chocolate Cake
1 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup strong coffee, boiling
1 cup milk, room temp.
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups butter, room temp
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 TB vanilla
4 eggs, room temp.

Put rack in middle of oven. Preheat to 350. Butter three 8 inch cake pans. Line with parchment paper. Butter the paper, and dust with cocoa powder; tap out excess.
Sift cocoa; whisk in boiling coffee and milk. Let cool. Sift together flour, soda, and salt. Set aside.
With spatula, mix butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Pour in the cooled cocoa mixture. Mix until fully blended.
Add the sifted dry ingredients in the chocolate mix, stirring until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the pans, and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until done.
Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool in pans for 15 minutes on a cooling rack. Carefully run a small spatula around the edge of the cakes to loosen. Cool cakes completely on rack for at least 1 hour.

Ultimate Chocolate Frosting
(I cut this in half and it was fine, but here's the full amount.)
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cups cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups butter, room temp.
1/2 cup milk, room temp.
2 tsp. vanilla
Sift powdered sugar and cocoa. Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.

To cut down on time, I didn't sift much of anything. I started out sifting the cocoa powder, but didn't think it necessary, and it wasn't. (Just make sure there aren't any big lumps of cocoa). I didn't use parchment paper for the pans, either, as we didn't have any. It may have been a helpful thing, as I had some trouble getting the cake out (I only sprayed the pans with vegetable spray).

We ate this with strawberries (as you see) and ice cream. It's also good with a little coconut on top.
...Yes, I could have been more of a perfectionist and cleaned the edges of the plate better. ;)

Enjoy!