Ingredients
1 3/4 cups plain / all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder , unsweetened (Note 2)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda (bi-carb soda)
2 cups white sugar (Note 1)
1 tsp salt
2 eggs (~55-65g / 2 oz each)
1 cup milk (low or full fat)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or canola)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
1 1/2 batches Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (slide scaler on recipe)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180C°/350°F (160°C fan). Read Note 4 regarding shelf positions.
Grease 2 x 22cm/9″ cake pans with butter, then line the base. (Note 3 re: springform pans and other pan sizes).
BATTER:
Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl. Add Sugar and salt. Whisk briefly to combine.
Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Whisk well to combine until lump free – about 30 seconds.
Add boiling water and whisk to incorporate. The batter is VERY thin (see video).
Pour batter into cake pans.
BAKING:
Bake for 35 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. See Note 4 regarding cook time if pans are on different shelves.
Cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks upside down (Note 5).
Cool completely before frosting. I frosted the cake with my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (scale recipe up by 50%).
Recipe Notes:
1. Sugar – I use caster / superfine out of habit for all baking recipes, but regular is ok too.
2. Regular cocoa powder works just fine here, but dutch processed will make it a slightly more intense chocolate flavour. I use regular for this cake.
3. SPRINGFORM PAN (important): Even the best ones are not 100% leakproof so with very thin batters like with this cake, you will get a small amount of leakage.
The best way to combat this is to “plug” the space where the sides meets the base with butter, and place a tray on the bottom of the oven to catch drips (don’t put cake pans on the tray, it affects heat circulation).
