Desserts: Chocolate Birthday Cake With Mocha Cream Frosting

Basic Chocolate Cake

Makes 1-9x13, 24 cupcakes, 1 bundt cake or 3- 8inch round cakes or two 8x8 cakes

This cake freezes very well. Eat some now and freeze some for later!
For this cake I used one 8x8 inch cake.

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Combine dry ingredients. Add all wet ingredients in order given. Mix until combined. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full of batter. Bake at 350 degrees. For cupcakes bake 15-20 min, for 9x13 bake 40-45 min, for bundt bake 35-45 min until toothpick inserted into centre of cake comes out clean.

This cake is so easy and can be put together almost as fast as a boxed cake mix and it tastes SO much better. Tastes better, is better for you and does not have any ingredients that you cannot pronounce(read the label). Deep, dark and delicious. You can do so many things with this cake.

Now for the Mocha Cream Frosting. Not too sweet. Fluffy and light.The perfect accompaniment for the deep, dark chocolate cake.

I used and 8x8 inch square cake

You will need:

500mls whipping cream

1/3 c instant chocolate pudding mix

4 tsp. French vanilla instant coffee, I used Maxwell House brand

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

4 tsp icing sugar

Whip the cream with an electric mixer until it starts to thicken.

Add the pudding mix, coffee and cream of tartar. Continue to mix until it becomes stiff. It doesn't take long. Watch it carefully.

Using a long serrated knife, cut the cake in half horizontally.
Tuck a few strips of parchment paper or wax paper under the sides of the cake as demonstrated with the half on the left. This will protect you plate from the frosting.

Put about 1 cup of the frosting on the bottom cake half. Spread it out over the surface of the cake. I like to use this small offset spatula.

Carefully place the top half onto the bottom half.

Put the rest of the frosting on the top and greatly spread to cove the cake.

To 'seal' the cake', and prevent crumbs from showing on your pretty frosting, spread a thin layer of frosting on the sides. Then go over the sides a second time spreading a thicker layer of frosting. This is called a scratch coat.