Perfect Chocolate Party Cake

If you've been around here for awhile, you know that I am a dedicated baker of the Hershey's Especially Dark Chocolate Cake - it is truly my favorite chocolate cake just for eating.  That being said, I don't make it for cakes that I intend to stack and frost for a birthday for a couple of reasons - first, it's a very moist cake that could crumble easily and not be the most sturdy; second, it can be pretty crumby - which makes frosting it with a white or light frosting very difficult.

I have tried several different chocolate cake recipes in search of a favorite for decorated cakes -
and this is the winner. Not only is it nice and sturdy, not super crumby, and easy to bake, it's still moist and absolutely delicious.

I've made it twice now - the first time was for the rather large cake seen above, made for my niece Christine's 14th birthday.  Since I was expecting about 22 people at the party and certainly did not want to run out of cake, I made a double batch of this recipe - for a grand total of 18 cups of batter - to fill two 12" round pans.  (I actually made an additional chocolate cake mix for the heart on top and some cupcakes - another niece can't eat dairy and I wanted her to have cake too.  She ate unfrosted cupcakes)   That cake ended up stretching further than I thought - it provided dessert for at least 16 people twice and there was still a huge hunk left over.

The second time I made it was for my nephew Jonathan's birthday, seen below - this time I made two 13 x 9" layers, so I made 1-1/3 this recipe, to make 12 cups of batter.  It was filled and frosted with chocolate buttercream and was wonderfully scrumptious.  He was absolutely delighted with it, and again, it really did feed a lot of people.

I'm so happy to have found this recipe - it's just perfect for party cakes. If you have a chance to make it, let me know how it turns out for you!

Chocolate Party Cake

from Kitchen Simplicity

Makes Three 8-inch cakes (9 cups of batter)

For 6-inch cakes fill each cake tin with 1.5-2 cups batter and check for doneness earlier then the suggested time.  For 10-inch cakes fill with 5-3/4 to 6 cups batter and bake for longer than the suggested time.

3 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup butter, softened

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 Tbsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1-1/3 cups sour cream

1-1/3 cups boiling water

Cream together brown sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add vanilla; turn beaters to medium-high; beat until light and fluffy.  Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in three additions, alternating with sour cream, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined.  Stir in water until evenly blended.  Pour into three 8-inch round cake pans buttered and lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° F. for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pans and peeling off the parchment paper.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.