Torsten and I were having dinner guests, so I decided to break away from the Weight Watchers thing for the night and bake an actually decadent dessert. Of course, I didn't decide this until we were actually at the grocery store, so I wound up making the recipe on the back of the cocoa can because that was the only way I could be sure to buy all the ingredients. Luckily, it turned out delicious. I don't know the Weight Watchers points, and I think that's really for the best. Also, my apologies for the small number of photos--my camera battery was on its last legs, and I only got a couple photos before it crapped out completely. But you get the idea.
New Recipe: Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting Cake Ingredients- 2 cups sugar
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk [I used 2%]
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
Cake Instructions- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
- Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.
- Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).
- Pour batter into pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks and cool completely
Frosting Ingredients
- 1 stick butter or margarine
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting Instructions- Melt butter.
- Stir in cocoa.
- Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency.
- Add more milk if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups.
AssemblyThere were no instructions on the assembly part, and I struggled a little bit with this because both cakes were sort of rounded on top, but by the time they had cooled completely they'd flattened out a little bit, so it wound up being okay. I just frosted one cake, then stuck the other one on top and frosted it too. It definitely didn't look professional, and I'm sorry I don't have a photo, but it worked.

The verdict: Oh my god delicious. I mean, I know it's pretty hard to go wrong with chocolate cake, but I've never been much of a baker so I was particularly proud of myself for making a cake from scratch. And it was easy, too--basically a bunch of mixing. I know, I always say my recipes are easy. Maybe I don't challenge myself enough or something, but most of what I cook DOES seem to be easy, and this was no exception. I had been a little worried about whether the cakes would stick to the pans, because I've never greased and floured a pan before, but the cakes slid right out after they had cooled for about ten minutes.
The cake went over very well. I try not to make unhealthy desserts often, so I don't know if I'll make this again, but I will definitely keep the recipe in mind for the next time we have company.