Decadent Chocolate Cake

So, I had a couple good friends coming over for the weekend. Both are big dessert eaters, though one is almost obsessive about desserts, but also very particular. Not a big fruit guy, no coffee flavoring, no liqueur flavoring, etc. But chocolate…heck yes.

So, I wanted to make something super chocolately but also with some lightness in it. It’s getting warm in San Francisco and no one needs to be weighed down by a heavy dessert. That said…I wanted it to be really chocolatey.

I first thought I might make a mousse, but then I thought it’s been ages since I made an actual cake, so hence this beast. It might not be the absolutely lightest thing you’ll ever make…but it won’t matter because it won’t last very long. At all.

Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

Cake

· 1 ¾ cups flour

· 2 cups sugar

· ¾ cup sweetened cocoa powder

· 2 t baking powder

· 2 t baking soda

· ½ t salt

· 2 eggs, brought to room temperature

· 1 cup milk

· ½ cup vegetable oil

· 2 t vanilla

· 1 cup boiling water

· 1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips (or a combo)

· 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

Topping

· 2 cups heavy cream

· ½ cup powdered sugar

· ¼ cup sweetened cocoa

· 1 ½ t vanilla

Directions

We’re going to make a sheet cake here, which is a lot simpler than a layer cake.

Butter and flour a 9” x 13” baking pan and set it aside.

In a large bowl pour the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk together until they’re well combined.

Next, add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat with your hand mixer until well combined. Then, add in the boiling water and mix again. The batter won’t be as thick as regular cake batter, but don’t worry…it’ll cook up just fine.

That’s it for the cake mix – super easy, right? Pour it into the baking pan, get the batter as flat as you can and bake it at 350 for 40 minutes or so, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.

When it’s done, place the whole pan on a wire rack and then poke a bunch of holes in the cake with the handle end of a wooden spoon.

Pour the chocolate chips into a small bowl. For this one, I did a mixture of semisweet and milk chocolate and it worked out great, but you can go all in on either one of those if you’d prefer.

Pour the condensed milk into a small saucepan and bring it until it just starts to boil. There may be some burnt bits in there, but don’t worry – you’ll be fine. Pour the boiling condensed milk over the chocolate chips and stir until the chips are fully melted.

Pour the mixture evenly over the cake, trying to fill all the holes you poked in it. Set that aside and let the whole thing cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until you’re about ready to serve it.

When you are ready to eat, it’ll be time to make the topping. Whip the heavy cream for a couple minutes unto it starts to form peaks, but not to the point of it being “done” – you want to get it so you’ve still got a little more to do because you’re next going to add in the rest of the ingredients (powdered sugar, cocoa and vanilla) and continue mixing until the whipped cream is making stiff peaks.

Spread the whipped cream frosting on top of the cooled cake and you’re ready to serve! If you don’t serve it right away or if you don’t finish it all in the first sitting, make sure to cover it and keep it in the fridge.