Wednesday Eats and Treats:Best Ever Chocolate Birthday Cake

I've been making this recipe for 25+ years. It was given to me by Carol Hearne, one of  my beloved's coworkers, when he worked for the City of San Marcos.

It's simple and delicious -- perfect for choc-aholic birthday celebrations.

Best Ever Chocolate Birthday Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar

In a saucepan, combine:
1 cup water
4 tablespoons cocoa
2 sticks of butter (NOT margarine)

Bring mixture to a boil. Add to flour-sugar mixture. Blend.

Add:
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon soda dissolved in 1/2 cup buttermilk
(I usually substitute 1/2 cup milk + 1 teaspoon lemon juice for the buttermilk.)

Mix together. Pour into greased 9 x 13 pan. 
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Icing - prepare while cake is baking

In a saucepan, combine:

 1 stick butter  (NOT margarine)
4 tablespoons cocoa
1/3 cup milk

Bring to a boil. Remove from fire. (I love that line...)

Add:
3 1/2 - 4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (We prefer pecans.)

Mix together and spread on hot cake in pan.

That's it -- warm and delicious. 

Best when served with copious amounts of ice cream! Blue Bell Natural Vanilla Bean, Coffee, or Mocha Almond Fudge are our favorites. Peppermint and Mint Chocolate Chip are also quite good with this cake.