Cocoa Fudge Cake

Cocoa Fudge Cake - made October 23, 2011 from Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

You can see the moist layer where the frosting melts into the cake - yum....

My cousin Christine asked me to bake for her son's school's bake sale and of course I said I would.  I fell back on this recipe for chocolate cake because it's both easy to make and it called for spreading the frosting on top of warm cake.  I have two other recipes that call for the same thing and both of them are "bomb" as my niece would say so I thought this recipe would follow in their footsteps.  Plus it comes from the same Hannah Swensen culinary mystery book that I got the red velvet cookies from so it needed no other endorsement.

I also discovered Joanne Fluke has a new book out that aggregates all the recipes from her previous Hannah Swensen books.  I barely managed to control my "we wants The Precious!" response and diverted my hand, twitching to click "Buy It Now", to click on "Add To My Wish List" instead.  But that's just a delaying tactic.  You know it's just a matter of time before I buy the darn thing.  I have to keep reminding myself of the baking challenge I haven't finished yet that's supposed to preclude me from buying anymore new baking books until I've made at least one recipe from the ones I already own.  Not to mention the fact that I already have all of Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mystery books so it's not like I don't already have these recipes ("but it would be all conveniently in one book instead of multiple ones", inner Gollum whines).

Anyway, this is a very liquid batter so it doesn't take long to bake and has a soft texture, like from a box mix but better tasting. This is similar to the other chocolate sheet-cake type recipes I've made before and I like it just as well.  It's soft and moist and the frosting melting into the top of the cake is the perfect touch.  When you need something quick and easy to satisfy a chocolate fix, this is a good go-to recipe.  Another winner from Carrot Cake Murder.

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups flour (dip and sweep method)

1 cup butter

1 cup water

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs, beaten

1.    Preheat oven to 350⁰F.  Line a 9” x 13” baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2.    In a large bowl, stir the sugar and the flour together.  Set it aside on the counter.

3.    Put the butter, water and cocoa powder into a saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat.

4.    Pour the cocoa mixture over the sugar and flour, and mix it all up together.

5.    Whisk the milk, vanilla extract, baking soda and eggs together in a small bowl.

6.    Add the egg mixture to the large bowl.  Stir until thoroughly incorporated.

7.    Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Chocolate Frosting

½ cup butter

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup milk

1 one-pound box of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.    Place the butter, cocoa powder, and milk in a medium-size saucepan.  Bring them to a boil, stirring constantly.

2.    Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla.  Stir in the powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, until the frosting is thickened, but still “pourable”.

3.    Pour the frosting on the hot cake and spread it out quickly with a spoon.