“That Chocolate Cake” has been my family’s favorite chocolate cake for decades. We make it for many of our family birthdays and I made it recently as we remembered the birthday of my late step-father who especially loved this recipe. We found his handwritten notes about the frosting. He said to make sure the frosting cools to the thickness of mayonnaise, and suggested using a hot knife to spread the frosting for a glossy finish.
“That Chocolate Cake” is an old classic, rich 2-layer cake recipe from Scharffen Berger Chocolate. The official name of the cake is is actually “That Chocolate Cake” and that’s the name my family uses as well. We all know which cake we’re talking about.
This is a dead-easy cake recipe that you whip up in a stand mixer, but the unique step is adding boiling water at the end. It makes a surprisingly soupy cake batter, but it bakes up beautifully. Over the years, I’ve experimented with some variations. It’s often my base layer for a Baked Alaska. Sometimes I make it without frosting and instead dust it with powdered sugar, or use a different frosting altogether. I’ve also experimented with some of the ingredients like swapping coconut sugar for white sugar, oatmilk or coconut milk for the regular milk, and even vegan heavy cream. I hope it becomes a classic for your family too.
“That Chocolate Cake”
Ingredients
For the Cake
- unsalted butter, flour, and parchment paper for the pans
- 2 cups granulated sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 cup whole milk, oatmilk, or coconut milk
- 1 cup boiling water
For the Frosting
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 1 cup heavy cream (or vegan heavy cream)
- 5 ounces 99% unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (or high quality cultured vegan butter) cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
For the Frosting
- In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and cream and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and simmer for 6 minutes. Add the chocolate and butter and stir until melted. Pour into a bowl and stir in the vanilla.
- Let the frosting cool, whisking gently from time to time. Don’t overwhip, or you’ll create air bubbles. You may need to refrigerate the frosting so it’s not too runny.
For the Cake
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350F. Lightly butter the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom with parchment paper, then butter and flour the parchment and the sides of the pans.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix on low speed. Mix in the eggs, oil, and milk.
- Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the hot water. The batter will be soupy.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then turn the layers out onto the rack and cool completely.
- When the cakes have cooled, check the frosting. It should have the consistency of mayonnaise. If it is still too thin, allow it to cool longer.
To frost the cake
- Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread the frosting with a hot palette knife or icing spatula to give the frosting a beautiful shine. Run the knife under hot tap water and dry with a towel. Spread about 3/4 cup of the frosting over the top of the first layer. Top with the second layer. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake, heating the knife again as necessary.
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