A new take on one of my all time faves.
Scroll to the bottom for a downloadable PDF.
I love to entertain. There’s nothing that fills my cup more than a table full of the people I love. I gotta be real though, most days I’m running in a thousand different directions and don’t have hours to spend in the kitchen cooking. Because of this I’m constantly looking for tricks to make my meals quick and easy but still special. This cake fits those requirements along with being TO DIE FOR. I can’t be held responsible for the havoc this babe brings. She’s chocolaty, moist, and she’s a beaut. I made it for our most recent Tuesday Night #Framily Dinner and she was a big hit.
Things you need:
measuring cups
butter knife
2 coffee mugs or small bowls
spatula
mixer or whisk
2 - 8 inch round cake pans
rimmed cookie sheet or jelly roll pan
cooling racks
parchment paper
pen
scissors
oven set to 350 degrees
1 chocolate cake mix (I like Betty Crocker's Super Moist Chocolate Fudge)
1 - 3.9 ounce box instant chocolate pudding
4 room temperature eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup room temperature sour cream
1 1/3 cups room temperature stout beer (I used Mother's Brewing Coconut Stout)
1 tub store bought chocolate frosting (I like Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Chocolate)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup fancy flaked coconut flakes
Tips and Tricks:
This cake was inspired by one of our local brewery’s seasonal launch, Coconut Stout. If you don’t have Mother’s Brewing where you are, just substitute your favorite stout. (And get yourself somewhere that has Mother’s Brewing because they are DELICIOUS.) There are a lot of great stouts out there. Ask your friendly liquor store attendant or brewery for their suggestions. In my experience they love to talk beer and love to help.If you’re not feeling boozy, you can substitute milk, hot water, cream soda, even Dr. Pepper for the beer! This cake is very forgiving, it’s easy peasy, remember?
Leave your eggs out and let them get to room temp. I don’t know the science behind this, but it works. We raise chickens which means most of the time my eggs sit in a cute basket on my counter. There’s a big difference when I use the eggs from the counter versus ones I stick in the fridge. If you forget to lay them out or are short on time don’t stress, just fill a bowl with warm water (not hot) and submerge your eggs for 5-10 minutes.
Substitute melted butter for oil. It’s better for you because it’s actual food and it tastes SO much richer. Butter has less fat than oil so you’ll want to add a little extra fat or your cake could turn out dry. An extra egg yolk, sour cream, or milk instead of water are all great options. We are adding lots of extra fat in this recipe so no need to worry. I said easy, not healthy…
FULL FAT EVERYTHING. Should I say it again? FULL FAT EVERYTHING! Fat is the secret to a moist cake. We shall not even speak the words low fat or fat free. This is cake we’re eating!
Parchment paper is your best friend. Just trace the bottom of your pan on the paper and cut it out. I like to cut a little on the inside of my line to make sure it fits flush in the bottom of my pan. While you’re at it, put a piece of parchment paper down on your cooling racks. This makes moving your cake around after it cools a breeze. If you don’t have parchment paper you can grease and flour the bottom of your pans but I promise you, once you go parchment you’ll never go back.
One of the best things about this cake is that it doesn’t have to be completely cool to frost, but if you can swing baking your cake the night before you’re that much more ahead of the game and it’ll be nice and cool when it’s time to frost.
When frosting, your frosting doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth. It’ll continue to smooth out as it cools. Be sure to sprinkle your toppings before the frosting sets up. They’ll stick better and won’t roll off your cake.
Make sure to toast extra coconut. You'll "need" to taste test some and it makes an excellent addition to yogurt.
To download the printable recipe click here!
xxoo -A