Sinful Chocolate Cake Recipe

This cake is extremely decadent. Thanks to my good friend Paula’s mom, it is also famous. About five years ago I made a birthday cake for Paula before we went on a weekend vacation to Las Vegas. According to her mom it was the best cake ever! Actually, Paula never even had a chance to eat it because her mom ate the whole thing while we were away that weekend. Now every time I visit Paula, her mom tells me how she still craves that cake. She’s tried to replicate it and there have been theories as to why it was so good – maybe the mini gas oven in my little college house baked it slower, adding to the moistness? Or, it could have been simply adding applesauce in replacement of an egg? It is still a mystery. I haven’t made that cake since, and I have been craving chocolate lately, so I thought now is the time. Since it has been five years I thought it would be a good idea to add some new tricks into the mix, just for fun.

I love mixing melted chocolate into my frosting, it adds that fudge-like richness only achieved by using real chocolate. Then, of course, adding my applesauce into the batter keeps it perfectly moist. To lock in the moistness and add more flavor I spread a thin layer of chocolate sauce over the chocolate cake once it is out of the oven. By doing this the hot cake gets shocked by the chocolate syrup and it seeps into the top layer of the cake making a seal, and in return keeping the middle of the cake rich, gooey, and moist. combine this with the chocolate melted frosting and you have something truly sinful.

Sinful chocolate cake recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup organic cane sugar
• 1 1/2 cup all natural unsweetened apple sauce
• 3/4 stick butter
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup Hershey’s chocolate syrup

Melted Chocolate Frosting

• 1 stick of butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips (melted)
• 1 tablespoon milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Beat egg for 15 seconds on medium speed
2. Add sugar and butter, beat for 30 seconds
3. Add apple sauce, beat for 1 minute until creamy
4. Add cocoa, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla and mix until blended
5. Add flour and baking powder, mix until blended (batter will be thick)
6. Grease baking pan and pour batter in, spreading batter evenly in pan
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes
8. Do a toothpick test to see if cake is done
9. Once out of the oven, pour 1/4 cup of Hershey’s syrup over hot cake and spread evenly
10. Let cool, then spread frosting

Frosting Directions

1. Beat butter until fluffy and creamy
2. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar, mix well
3. Add another cup of powdered sugar followed by 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon cocoa
4. Beat for two minutes into (frosting should get lighter in color and fluffier)
5. Mix in 1 tablespoon milk
6. Melt chocolate in the microwave for 15 seconds, stir, then for another 15 seconds
7. Pour melted chocolate into frosting mixture
8. Mix until blended
9. Spread frosting on cake

Related: Chocolate Recipes, Dessert Recipes