The only non-negotiable about my wedding reception was the cake. Flowers, reception location, table linen colors? All were a little up in the air. But the cake had to be a layered Magleby’s chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. If you’ve ever had a slice of rich, delicious, fudgy, cake from Magleby’s you understand why its the cake I wanted to be eating in slices out of the freezer for weeks after the big day. My mom even packed up some for me to take on our road trip honeymoon. It’s just that good.
This homemade version is just as delicious and can be whipped up quickly in a casual 13 x 9 pan or easily made into rounds for a decadent, {dare I say wedding worthy?} dessert.
From a bakers perspective, one of my favorite things about this cake is the lovely, flat cake surface it creates. It doesn’t sink in the middle like many homemade cake recipes, and it doesn’t mound up in the center like so many boxed cakes either. The flat surface perfect for frosting! And it makes layering a dream because there is no need for trimming the cakes before frosting and stacking.
Be sure to cool completely before frosting, and enjoy a cake so delicious, its worth hauling on your honeymoon.
Ingredients
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup cocoa
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- 1/2 c. butter
- 1/4 c. baking cocoa
- 5 T. milk
- 1 T. vanilla
- 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9×13″ pan
- In a small sauce pan heat butter until melted on medium heat. Add water and cocoa powder and whisk until smooth, then bring to a slight simmer then set aside to cool.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, granulated sugar, and salt.
- Add cooled chocolate mixture and stir until just combined and smooth.
- In a small separate bowl add eggs, baking soda, baking powder, brown sugar and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Pour the egg mixture into the batter and gently stir until combined.
- Fold the sour cream into the batter gently. Don’t over mix.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan & bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out with only a few crumbs.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
- FOR THE FROSTING*****
- Add butter, cocoa, milk, and vanilla to a sauce pan and bring to a simmer.
- Once all the butter is melted and mixture is smooth remove from heat and beat in powdered sugar.
*****If you’re making a layered cake be sure to double the frosting recipe so there’s enough for in between the layers
How much vanilla in cake and powdered sugar in frosting?
Sorry I’m late! I’m just getting back to this side of my life. Thanks for stopping by and I’m sorry for the errors.
I do not add vanilla to the cake! The powdered sugar quantity has been update.
The recipe indicates you do add vanilla to the cake. Step 5.
2 1/4 cups… so sorry that was missing and thank you!
I’ve made this a few times and it tastes great but the frosting always comes out super runny. Are you supposed to let the frosting cool before icing the cake? I’ve just been dumping it on too and letting it congeal a bit on the cake but that doesn’t seem right.
The frosting shouldn’t be super runny. I’d double check the wet ingredients and then I’d add in more powdered sugar if necessary. It should be fluffy and able to hold its shape on your whisk. The cake should be completely cool before it is frosted.