Need a moist chocolate cake recipe ASAP

[mami2four]

It's my mother's 50th birthday on Monday and she has requested a chocolate cake.

I would like a really moist chocolate cake preferably made with melted chocolate as opposed to cocoa(so it means I don't have to go buy some)

Also I am using 9" square pans and would like to layer it so the filling would have to be quite stable would a cooled ganache do the trick maybe?
We've just had mother's day here in the UK and I made a marble cake with a custard/gravy frosting recipe i got from here and it was anything but stable lol(delicious none the less!)

Thanks

[EcoastBlond]

I've made this chocolate cake for the last 10 years and it's EASY, MOIST & FABULOUS! You will love it too.

BETTER THAN SEX CHOCOLATE CAKE
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup boiling hot, STRONG coffee
2-3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk, milk or OJ
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Zest from 1 orange, (optional but delicious)
RELEASE foil
Bake Ease, or Pam with Flour spray
Powdered sugar for garnish
Redi-Whip or vanilla ice cream

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 F.

FOR 2 CAKE PANS OR 1 RELEASE BOTTOM PAN: Line bottom with RELEASE foil, wax paper or parchment paper circles. Spray circles with "Pam" or "Bake Ease"

FOR A BUNDT PAN: Using a brush and "painting" the inside of a bundt pan with 1 Tablespoon melted butter mixed with 1 Tablespoon cocoa).

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl combine sugar and cocoa. Whisk in boiling coffee slowly, until smooth.

In another bowl, place dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt. Whisk together, then set aside.

In small bowl combine eggs, buttermilk, (or milk, or OJ), oil, vanilla and orange zest. Beat with hand mixer.

Add flour mixture to cocoa mixture. Stir just until smooth.

Slowly whisk in egg mixture.

Pour batter into prepared 9" round cake pans, dividing evenly, or a bundt pan..

For cake pans: BAKE 30 TO 35 MINUTES

For bundt pan: BAKE 50 to 60 MINUTES

Remove cake from oven and cool inside pan(s) for 10 minutes on rack.

Turn out on rack to cool completely to room temp.

When cool, using a mesh strainer, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Or use your favorite frosting.

Sally

[yalc]

Look up Texas sheet cake, chocolate....easy, moist, addictive.

[marvelousmaidmarian]

The single best moist chocolate cake recipe ever is on the back of the unsweetened Hershey's chocolate can (box, tin, whatever you want to call it). Usually I want desserts with butter and thick etc. but this one with oil and eggs without sifting or cake flour, does an awesomely moist, very chocolately, and super easy cake every time (i.e. please don't go for a box when from scratch is this easy). The mix is a little soupy so is not recommended for pans with removable bottoms. I know you said you don't want to buy cocoa but seriously, I have tried a lot of different chocolate cake recipes and have used others when I needed a cake that wasn't quite this moist, but it really does taste the best.

[chubbybunny63]

Mix in pan chocolate cake - (can be doubled for 2 layers)
Do not spray cake pan
Into an 8" square or 9" round cake pan place the following:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
large pinch salt
Stir all with a fork until well blended.
Make 3 wells in dry mixture and put 1 of the following into each well:
6 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Pout over all:
1 cup cold coffee.
Mix just to combine with a fork
Bake in 350* oven for 35 to 40 minutes.
Let cool in pan and frost, or line pan with parchment paper if you want to flip out onto a plate. Since you don't want to spray the pan, run a knife around edge of the pan before flipping out.
This is a wonderfully moist cake and so easy to make at the last minute.

[mami2four]

Well I'm about to start the epicurious double chocolate layer cake I'll let you all know how it went.

I was making chocolate truffles last night as I wanted to test making ganache and I'm considering frosting and filling with a whipped white chocolate one(as those tasted divine). What are all your views on chocolate cake with white filling/frosting or do you prefer it with chocolate ones(looks wise)?

[buttertart]

Cake out of the oven I presume? How did it come out?
I love the look and taste of white chocolate frosting on a dark chocolate cake. It would look more Spring-y too it seems to me. I'd definitely go for it.

[mami2four]

It's only just gone in lol, had a rather big delay with visitors and the kids are a little hyper from easter eggs but eventually managed to persuade them all out of the house(the kids that is, visitors left by themselves).

The batter tastes lovely though so I'm betting the cake will too. We have an all out winner for the white chocolate frosting with the kids so I'm guessing thats the way we're going.

[chowser]

I think it's looks/tastes good to have both--a layer of white on top of each layer of cake and then frost on top w/ chocolate. Chocolate to cover the whole cake.

[buttertart]

How did it go?

[kattyeyes]

Looks and taste-wise, I love chocolate cake frosted with buttercream or homemade whipped cream, never chocolate frosting. Go figure. For me, chocolate frosting on yellow cake or white cake only. I'm into contrast.

[ChristinaMason]

I'm with you! But twist my arm, I'll eat either as long as there is chocolate involved. :)

[bushwickgirl]

Here's another option, easy and made with chocolate. I got this right here on Chow:

Fudge Cake
Adapted from the Woman’s Home Companion Cook Book (1945 Edition)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick)
4 ounces best quality unsweetened chocolate (preferably Callebaut or Ghirardelli)
1 cup water or 1/2 cup cold coffee and 1/2 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ¾ cup AP flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs, room temp
½ cup buttermilk (substitute 1 ½ lemon juice or vinegar stirred into enough milk to make ½ cup)

Chop chocolate and melt with the butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Add water and sugar and stir until well blended. Remove from heat and pour into a large bowl and let cool to room temperature.

Sift flour and measure. Add salt, baking powder and baking soda and sift again.

To cooled chocolate mixture add eggs on at a time, beating thoroughly.

Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk blending well after each addition. Beat vigorously about 1 minute, or until smooth.

Pour into 2 greased and floured 9 inch cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. (Until a toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.) Cool on wire racks. Then frost.

And here's a frosting recipe:

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
5 cups confectioners' sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, (or a hand electric mixer) beat butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add chocolate until just combined. Add milk, vanilla, and sugar; mix on medium until well combined, being careful not to over mix.
You can make this frosting by hand if you want, no mixer needed.

The ganache recipe from epicurious (posted by BigSal upthread) would be a good option for a frosting as well.

[clamscasino]

Yay, someone made my recipe! What did you think? We loved it. I should note that the 1 3/4 cups of AP flour was my substitute for 2 cups of cake flour as originally specified by the Woman's Home Companion Cookbook.

Oh, and the 1 1/2 lemon juice should read 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice (for the buttermilk sub).

[bushwickgirl]

That's right, I forgot I got the recipe from you! How could I forget "clamscasino." I copied it from your post into my permanent file. It's a very nice, simple moist chocolate cake; I added the coffee to enhance the chocolate flavor. A nice change from cocoa-based cakes and you don't need to drag out the mixer either. It is really easy to put together. I used buttermilk. Next time I'll try the cake flour sub.

The icing is a cupcake frosting recipe from a well-known cupcake bakery in LA, shsssh, now it's our secret.

[BigSal]

Last July I was on a quest to make a moist chocolocate cake for my boyfriend's birthday. I tried several different recipes. The two that stood out were the Double Chocolate Layer cake from Epicurious http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/double-chocolate-layer-cake-101275 and Ina Garten's Beatty's Chocolate cake http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/in... Both cakes were very moist - the kind of cake where you can pick up the crumbs by pressing on them with the back of a fork. However, both are made with cocoa. Happy birthday to your mother.

[Val]

Big Sal, actually the epi Double Chocolate cake has both melted chocolate AND cocoa powder in the cake itself...then lots of melted chocolate in the ganache frosting..just to clarify for the OP.

[roxlet]

This is the chocolate cake that has become my go to cake. The main problem is that the cake is for 10 inch pans, a size I don't own, so I usually just fill the pans up to where I think they should go, and then use the rest for cup cakes. Also, it's useful to know that the batter is extremely thin and liquid -- very different from most cake recipes, and that it cooks for a very long time relative to other cakes. I have also made this cake here in Cairo where I am living, and my friends here have swooned over it. Howwever, I usually make a vanilla buttercream to frost the cake since that is what my son prefers.

[buttertart]

"This" being the Epicurious double chocolate one I take it, not the Ina Garten one?

[roxlet]

Sorry, yes. The epicurious one.

[mami2four]

That epi one looks nice, I may actually have to buy some cocoa powder lol. I don't have buttermilk as it's really hard to get hold of but have substituted natural yoghurt before with good results

One thing though, I'm a little concerned about the coffee. Can you taste it that much? Also between my brother and myself we have 10 kids under 9 years old but they will probably be so hyped up from the rest of the sugar and carbs I'm guessing a little caffine wouldn't hurt lol

[BigSal]

I had the same concerns. I love coffee, but my boyfriend does not. He loved the cake and it did not taste coffee-like to him. 10 children under 9 full of sugar, carbs and caffeine...yikes!!!

[roxlet]

You do not taste the coffee at all. The coffee intensifies the taste of the chocolate. I'm sure you could omit it if you wanted to, but I feel it would be to the detriment of the intense chocolate flavor of this cake. No one has ever asked me if the cake had coffee in it.

[chubbybunny63]

If you can't find buttermilk, using a 1 cup measuring cup place 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or vinegar, and fill up the cup with milk to the 1 cup mark. Let sit a couple of minutes and you will have a suitable substitute for buttermilk.

[Island]

I've made that one from epicurious too and it was moist and delicious.

[Jennalynn]

I know this is heresy... but try this recipe. Use real frosting and ganache filling... but this "cheater" cake from a mix will be the most moist cake you'll ever eat. And it tastes good too. You will NOT regret it.

1 package chocolate cake mix (any kind, pudding in the mix or not)
1 4oz pkg INSTANT chocolate pudding
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs, beaten
8 oz sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven 350. Grease and flour two 9" cake pans or one bundt pan

Dump everything but chips into a mixing bowl. Mix until blended. Add chips if you like at this point.

Pour into prepared pans. Bake 50 - 55 minutes or until cake tests done with a tooth pick.

Cool before removing from pans.

This recipe also works with any other flavor mix and pudding. I make a killer lemon cake using a lemon mix and lemon pudding.

[petitgateau]

The recipe on the back of the hershey's cocoa container is the one I keep going back to and I bake a lot. It is very moist and not hard to make.

[mami2four]

I have seen recipes that include pudding mix but I don't think we have them here in the UK, it's a shame as some of the recipes looked lovely.

[Jennalynn]

This person found it at Selfridges last year...
http://foodstufffinds.blogspot.com/20...

And I know you can get them on eBay UK.

Good luck!

[goodhealthgourmet]

http://search.chow.com/search?query=m...

[mami2four]

Am very new to this site and I did try to search but didn't get very relevant results, how did you manage that?

Thnx

[goodhealthgourmet]

it takes practice :)

unfortunately the default search setting lists results in order of Newest First (many of us have raised quite a stink about this over the years)...you need to change the settings to list the results in order of Relevance. it also helps to enclose essential phrases in quotations, and to enter them in the space for Title, as well as content. hope that helps for next time.

welcome to Chowhound, and Happy Birthday to Mom!

[mami2four]

Thnx for that, I'll have to try remember that for next time :-)