Easy chocolate cake recipe from Made With Love: The Meals On Wheels Family Cookbook

This post is not actually about cupcakes, but it easily could be. It features a chocolate cake and chocolate frosting recipe from Made With Love: The Meals On Wheels Family Cookbook that I made for their virtual dinner party. The cake is extremely moist and light and doesn't even really need frosting, but the frosting is both easy (5 ingredients!) and very rich, sweet and delicious; a little goes a long way. The cake was large, photo below is just one slice. As a novice baker (yes, I've been cupcake blogging for 8 years but I usually leave the baking to other people), I can tell you that this recipe really is simple, whether you're new to baking or not. Next time I will make cupcakes with the recipe and see how I do. Find out more about the cookbook here and follow the cookbook and dinner party @madewithloveMOW on Twitter. See all the dinner party participants here.

More about the book:

Providing more than one million meals a day for seniors across America, Meals On Wheels Association of America is the oldest and largest national organization of its kind. Over 100 celebrities have come together in Made With Love: The Meals On Wheels Family Cookbook (BenBella Books, October 2012) to help the organization’s fight to end senior hunger in America. Made With Love includes recipes from the tables of well-known actors, chefs, athletes, writers, and other celebrities. Celebrating the importance of families coming together to help others in need, the cookbook also includes personal stories about the contributors’ favorite family meals. Contributors include Paula Deen, Helen Mirren, former First Lady Barbara Bush, Mario Batali, Martha Stewart, Kurt Warner, Dr. Maya Angelou, Joan Rivers, Patti LaBelle, Cokie Roberts, Al Roker, Judi Dench, and many more. With Made with Love, step inside the kitchens of your favorite celebrities, meet their families, and help to feed seniors in need.

Recipe:

The Best & Easiest Chocolate Cake by Jim Waters

Jim Waters is the Director of Development for Meals On Wheels of Northampton County in Pennsylvania.

Serves 12 to 16

This cake is so moist and, even better, is the easiest chocolate cake to make. I have made it for company and brought it to parties—it’s always a real hit. The icing recipe is adapted from Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake recipe.

For the cake:
2 c all-purpose flour 2 c sugar
1 c vegetable or canola oil
2 tsp baking soda
1 c hot coffee
1 c 2% milk
¾ c cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the icing:
1 stick (½ c) butter or margarine, melted
2?3 c cocoa powder
3 c confectioners’ sugar
1?3 c milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13- by 9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray and then flour the pan.

In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients. Beat with an electric mixer until well mixed, about 5 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool.

Make the icing: Place melted butter in a medium bowl. Stir in the cocoa powder. Then, alternately add confectioners’ sugar, and milk, beating with an electric mixer to make light and fluffy Add additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, if too stiff. Stir in vanilla. Use to frost the cooled chocolate cake.