Perfect Chocolate Cake (recipe)

I know I've shared the surprisingly delicious vegan chocolate avocado cake recipe, but it was a denser chocolate cake, I thought I'd post my go-to recipe for a light, fluffy chocolate cake. It's 100% just the recipe from the back of a box of Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa powder. I have use this recipe for roughly a decade now, and it's awesome. The frosting recipe that accompanies it is also great.

I do change a few things slightly, but that would be like using the sodium-free baking powder since Bobble has the sodium restriction, and using sunflower oil in lieu of vegetable oil.



Don't mind the cake on a plate on a carrier. I forgot I owned the cake carrier before I frosted the cake, and when I realized it I figured it was just easier to keep it on the plate!


This cake turns out perfect every time, too!



So, if you prefer fluffier cakes and have no food restrictions, try this one out.

Hershey's "Especially Dark" Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
"ESPECIALLY DARK" CHOCOLATE FROSTING (recipe follows)

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or line 28 to 30 muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans or fill cups about 2/3 full with batter.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans or 22 to 25 minutes for cupcakes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "ESPECIALLY DARK" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.


"ESPECIALLY DARK" CHOCOLATE FROSTING 
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter, Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated in any way for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. The recipes are both Hershey's recipes and can be found at the links above.

Chocolate Cupcakes (vegan)

Last summer I made a chocolate-avocado cake out of sheer curiousity. I wanted to see what it would taste like, and was intrigued that it had no eggs. It turned out great.

Now I find myself baking cupcakes for Bobble's 4th birthday, and using this recipe again. There is a child in Bobble's class that has a dairy allergy. What better way to include everyone than by making something everyone will enjoy?

Again, I found myself lacking (enough) caster sugar, so I used our immersion blender to blend up what we had to be super fine. Other than that, the recipe was a breeze! The recipe is very simple, and the results are delicious.

Of course, I had to try the batter since it is safe (no raw egg).... not what I expected. The cupcakes/cake with this recipe tastes simply like chocolate. Delicious. Raw batter, however, tastes just like avocado. How curious! Especially confusing since the chocolate-avocado pudding is uncooked and tasted great. Huh.

We decided to add a squirt of (natural) cherry syrup to the frosting as we mixed. This is the same sort of syrup you'd find for coffee drinks. We debated between the cherry or the mint, but since we had coconut cream frosting we thought the cherry would go better. It was delicious.

Chocolate-avocado cupcakes

• 3c flour
• 6T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2t salt
• 2t baking powder (we used sodium-free baking powder)
• 2t baking soda
• 1/4c canola oil
• 1/2c mashed avocado (~1 whole avocado)
• 2c water
• 2T white vinegar
• 2t vanilla extract
• 2c caster sugar

Preheat oven to 375F.

Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

Whisk together the avocado, oil, water, white vinegar, and vanilla. Add in sugar, whisking until combined.

Add in dry ingredients, whisking until smooth.

Portion batter into lined cupcake pan. (Should make 24-30 regular sized cupcakes.)

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Arrange on a wire baking rack to cool. Allow to completely cool before frosting.

Coconut Cream Frosting

• 1 can coconut cream
• 3T powdered sugar (+/- to taste)
• 2T cocoa powder (if you want chocolate frosting, otherwise, just omit)

Whisk all ingredients together until fluffy. 

Allow frosting to chill before using (this allows it to firm up).

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Frosting recipe is a Thoughts of Fluff original recipe. Cupcake recipe was an adaptation from a cake recipe found here. Conversions to Fahrenheit and U.S. measurements made by Thoughts of Fluff. 

Strawberry Cake Bread

I love fresh fruit, and one it's not uncommon for us to take extra fruit and freeze it to use in the colder months. The other day I pulled out a bunch of strawberries from the freezer with the intention of trying (for a second time) to make Strawberry Cake Bread. I found the Strawberry Cake Bread on a blog I like to read, Eco-Babyz (link takes you directly to the recipe).

I tried this once before with fresh strawberries, but it didn't turn out as moist as desired, likely because I wasn't using frozen strawberries (which Ana at Eco-Babyz does, including all the juice from them). This time I used the frozen berries and the juice. I accidentally added an extra CUP of strawberries this time (kids were distracting me), but it turned out great. So great, in fact, that my hubby and I ate half of it that night, and the rest the following morning. So much for self-control, eh?

Anyway, the recipe (as I made it)!

Strawberry Cake Bread

• 2/3c melted butter
• 3/4c brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1t vanilla
• 1t baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• 1T flax seed
• 2c flour
• 2 1/2c frozen (thawed) strawberries cut into halves or quarters

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350F, and oil a loaf pan and an 8x8 pan.
2) Mix everything but the strawberries in the order listed.

3) Fold the strawberries into the batter and divide into the pans.

4) Bake for 1 hour and 10min (though test the 8x8 pan at about 45 minutes, and every 5 minutes after, until a toothpick comes out clean since it won't be as deep as the loaf pan). Serve cool (or slightly warm).

A big thank you to Ana at Eco-babyz for sharing this fabulous recipe. To view her post with the original recipe, click here.

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from your own. Original recipe was from Eco-Babyz, and was slightly modified by Thoughts of Fluff. Post may contain affiliate links.

Donuts From Scratch

I tried my hand at a recipe I'd been eying for a while from Mary Quite Contrary Bakes. It was for strawberry donuts. Yum! I changed a few things up due to ingredients on hand, but it was still really tasty. They were super easy to make, and I liked knowing what was in them.

My whole family loved them, but I loved them enough to accidentally eat enough to get a stomach ache. Twice. I suppose that is part of the curse of making mini-donuts, eh? Mini are always easier to eat!

Strawberry Glazed Doughnuts (From: Mary Quite Contrary Bakes)

Servings: 10 doughnuts (or roughly 24 mini donuts)

Ingredients:

Doughnuts:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• 10  medium to large strawberries (between 1/2 and 3/4 cup depending on size), pureed with 2 tsp seedless strawberry jam
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup

Glaze:

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cups cold milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  

Grease a 6-doughnut pan with baking spray.  

To make doughnuts combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together.  

Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add in milk, egg, butter, and maple syrup.  

Stir until well combined.  

Stir in strawberry mixture, starting with 1/2 of it and adding more only if needed.  Batter should be wet, but not runny.  

Put dough into a pastry bag or plastic bag and snip approx 1-inch off end.  

Pipe batter into each well, reserving extra batter.  

Bake for 7-9 minutes until doughnuts spring back when touched.  

Let cool five minutes and turn onto a cooling rack to cool completely.  

Spray pan again and continue with the rest of batter until all doughnuts have been made.  

While doughnuts are cooling make glaze.  

To make glaze, stir all ingredients together until smooth.  

When doughnuts are cooled dip each into glaze (twice if you want to be naughty about it) and place back on cooling rack to let glaze set.  

When glaze has set enjoy!

I had a perfect consistency after adding 1/2 a cup of strawberry puree, so I didn't add any more. I also didn't add any strawberry jam. My donuts did not taste like strawberry, though they were a light pink. I'm not complaining, they were delicious! If you want that strawberry flavour, add more than 1/2c.

Pictures of the process!

ready to bake!

baked!

They ended up being fully dipped in the glaze mixture 1x each, and they were plenty sweet enough for us! I ended up with a bunch of glaze left over, actually. I had to throw it away. I would definitely cut the recipe in half for the glaze next time.

These were super easy to make, and super easy to eat. I had never made donuts before in my life, so you can see that they aren't perfect but still can tell they are donuts. I call that a win. Next time I'll fill the pan a little less full so there is more of a pronounced hole. I assume that will actually give me about 30-36 mini donuts instead of the 24 I got.

Disclaimer: Thoughts Of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Super Easy Peanut Butter Frosting (original recipe)

Looking for a super easy frosting recipe? How about for a peanut butter frosting? Look no further!

We keep a powdered peanut butter called PB2 on hand in our house. It's great for adding into
 smoothies, sprinkling into baked goods, adding into ice cream, and for making frosting!

This super simple recipe requires only 3 ingredients:

Peanut Butter Frosting

• 1c. PB2
• 1/2c Sugar
• 1/2c Cream

Mix

That's it!

This will give you enough frosting for a sheet cake, 2 round cakes, or 2 dozen cupcakes. Of course, that's all subject to how you like your frosting (thickness).

We frosted a chocolate cake, though we debated on making brownies for this or cake. Both would be delicious!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

My children love chocolate. Okay, that's an understatement. They are OBSESSED with chocolate. If they can have it they eat as much as humanly possible (...or at least what is allowed). When I found the MOMables Chocolate Avocado Pudding recipe, I had to try this out. At least they would get some fruit and veggies with their chocolate!

The recipe is super simple and the kids devoured it. If your bananas are not super ripe (thus, not super sweet), you might have to add in some stevia, powdered sugar, or whatever you use to sweeten items in your house.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Author: MOMables.com

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 avocados
• 6 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Instructions

1. Place avocados (peeled and pitted) and peeled bananas into the food processor or blend.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Add unsweetened cocoa powder & vanilla, Blend until thoroughly combined.
4. Divide pudding into 4 single serve cups.
5. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

See? Super easy! Also super delicious....

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff is responsible for all content in this post and was not reimbursed in any way. These opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Post contains affiliate links.

Chocolate Avocado Cake (w/coconut creme frosting [original recipe])

I decided to do a trial run cake for Squiggle's party last month. Honestly, that was only an excuse to make and eat some cake now. I wanted some. I've had my eye on a chocolate-avocado cake for a while, and I am a curious sort of person. I am all about some fresh avocado on a taco, burger, etc... but it's not really something I pair with a dessert in my mind. Of course, after learning you really could mix it with chocolate and not taste avocado, I was sold. I reeeeeeally wanted to try out the cake, now! It's a vegan cake recipe, so I was even more intrigued.

While I won't be using this for the birthday party, I will totally be making this cake again. I really liked it! It is not a fluffy, light cake (what do you expect? NO EGGS!), but rather a yummy, heavier cake. It was dense, but not ridiculously so. All in all, if you're one of those people that doesn't mind a cake not super fluffy, you should really try it out! Easy to make, and very good!

I didn't use the recipe for the frosting, as my last avocado that was very ripe was actually bad when I cut it open. Bugger. I opened a less-ripe one and it was not ripe enough, so I just made it into pudding for the kids since Bobble has been begging for more of it since I made it a week or two ago. (That's a good sign, right?) Instead, for frosting, I busted out a can of Trader Joe's coconut cream, grabbed some powdered sugar and cocoa baking powder, and whipped with the whisk attachment. It really just fluffed up like whipped cream, and that won't work for what I wanted, so I grabbed a thing of cream cheese (greek yogurt cream cheese, actually) and threw that in, too. It got thicker, but not like you would expect for frosting. I frosted the cake anyway, threw it in the fridge, and knew it would be good for morning once the frosting chilled a bit. It was.

Thoughts Of Fluff's (Vegan) Coconut Creme Frosting:

• 1 can Coconut Cream
• 3 T. Powdered sugar (add more until you reach your desired sweetness)
• 2 T. Cocoa Baking Powder (can also add more to taste)
• * 1 pkg. Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese - OPTIONAL ... obviously the recipe won't be vegan anymore if you add cream cheese

Directions:

1. Blend all together with a whisk attachment until fluffy. 
2. Chill before using to allow to thicken or frost cake and chill cake to allow frosting to thicken.

I had some for breakfast (cake, not just frosting) and it was soooo yummy! Bobble wanted more, too. Hubby didn't know why it was so dense, and was afraid to comment on it at first. He said it reminded him of pound cake... that it was good, but he just didn't realize it would be dense. I explained there is just avocado and no egg, and he was surprised. It really was impossible to taste! He also didn't believe me when I said the cake was vegan. He had, however, suggested a different recipe for the party, and I agree, as most people expect a fluffy cake.

Don't be fooled... although it's a denser cake, it's still moist. :) I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, and I also only had 2/3 a cup of caster sugar (super fine sugar). I ended up measuring out regular sugar and using the handblender on it for a bit to make it a bit smaller.

I poured my batter into two round cake tins. One had a bit more batter than the other, so I figured one would be done quicker. I was right, but so glad I opted to check my cakes early. I set the timer for 40 minutes, as that was the minimum bake time listed (and you're all probably aware by now my oven likes to be super crazy), and the first cake was done after TWENTY MINUTES. The second cake was done after 30 minutes. Not sure if it's my oven, or what.

And for the record: my husband had gotten this cake out of the fridge 3 times the next morning.... before 11am.

 Recipe converted by Thoughts Of Fluff

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Avocado Chocolate Icing
Cake recipe from Joy the Baker
Avocado Chocolate Icing adapted from Paleo Spirit

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 3 cups plain flour 
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 2 teaspoons baking soda 
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil 
• 1/2 cup well mashed avocado 
• 2 cups water 
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 2 cups caster sugar

For the Icing:

• 1 very ripe avocado 
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 3/4 cups icing sugar

Instructions For the Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line two 20cm round cake tins with baking paper. (I used two 8" round cake pans).
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Whisk together the oil, mashed avocado, water, vinegar and vanilla extract, followed by the caster sugar.
4. Mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together, whisking until smooth.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared tins.
6. Bake for 40 minutes to an hour, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cake rack to cool completely.

For the Icing:

• Place the avocado flesh, cocoa powder and icing sugar in a food processor and whizz to combine. Add a tablespoon of water if necessary to achieve a spreadable consistency. Spread the icing over the top and sides of the cold cakes in a swirly fashion.

Makes 2 x 8" cakes.

 

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff was not compensated in any way for this post. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. The coconut creme frosting is a Thoughts of Fluff original recipe, the latter recipe was converted to U.S. measurements and to Fahrenheit by Thoughts Of Fluff. Post contains affiliate links.