Fancy Chocolate Cake

We had some friends over for dinner last night and this particular friend LOVES chocolate. So I made this cake especially for her!

Thanks Brooke for the recipe. It's divine!

the goods:

1 ½ cups sugar

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup Hershey’s cocoa

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

½ cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350º f. Grease and flour 2 9-inch round baking pans. (I cut 2 parchment paper circles then spray the pans and paper instead.) Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. While mixing, pour in boiling water in slow stream. Batter will be thin. Pour into pans and bake 30-35 minutes, just until sides start to pull away from the pan. Cool on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans (and parchment, if using). Cool completely, level off if desired, flip so flat sides face up, then frost.

Frosting:
1 stick butter (MELTED)

⅔ cup Hershey’s cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

⅓ cup milk (can heat 10-15 sec. in microwave; will make frosting shiny)

1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency. Add more milk if needed. Stir in vanilla.

Chocolate curls:

Milk chocolate is the easiest to curl. Put it on top of your refrigerator for about 1.5-2 hours before you're going to curl. Use a potato peeler and peal away. If they come out in straight ribbons curl them around a pencil and put into refrigerator for a minute to set. Use different sides of the block chocolate to different widths of curls. You'll get better as you go. If they won't stick to your frosting, melt a little chocolate and "paint" the curls, then place on cake.