One Layer Chocolate Cake

Are you done with your holiday shopping?

I had all my shopping done by December 4th. I’m not trying to toot my horn or anything. 😉 Although I haven’t wrapped them yet…. I hate that part. I’m glad that I got my shopping done earlier so that I could focus on entertaining friends and family. Earlier this month we had friends over and I served a triple layer chocolate pie for dessert. It’s long gone but I’m still wishing that I had some around. Gosh, it was fabulous.

This past weekend we had some other friends over and I made this delicious chocolate cake. Can you tell that I love chocolate? I wanted to serve something simple because I didn’t know what they liked. Everyone likes chocolate cake, right? At least that’s what I was banking on.

This cake was a huge hit and it’s easy to see why as soon as you have that first bite. The cake is chocolaty and moist and the vanilla buttercream frosting adds the perfect amount of sweetness. I spread a thick layer of frosting only on top of the cake because I thought it would look like a cake crossed with a winter wonderland.

I served the cake with vanilla ice cream because ice cream is always a good idea. If you’re trying to think of a gift idea for a foodie, might I suggest that you make this cake for them? 😉

One Layer Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Recipe
(about 8 servings)

Ingredients for Chocolate Cake:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk (I used whole milk.)
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg

Ingredients for Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

3/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
1/8 to 1/4 cup milk (I used whole milk.)

Directions for Chocolate Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch round cake pan and set it aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Beat in the milk, shortening, and vanilla extract until combined. Then beat on medium speed for 2 additional minutes.
Add in the egg and beat the mixture for 2 more minutes.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake it for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes then remove it from the pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack. (And I mean cool COMPLETELY before frosting it.)
Once the cake has cooled spread the vanilla buttercream frosting on top of the cake. You can spread it down the sides if you want but I wanted an extra thick layer on the top only this time.

Directions for Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

In a medium bowl, beat together the butter, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and 1/8 cup of milk.
If you need additional milk, add a little bit at time but you should not need more than 1/4 cup of milk total. The goal here is to get the texture of frosting.

Chocolate Cake source: NY Times

Vanilla Buttercream slightly adapted: Sally’s Baking Addiction

Rating: