Chocolate Fudge Frosting
PREHEAT oven to 350˚. Butter and lightly flour 3 – 8 inch layer pans. (Easy removal: butter pans, line pan bottoms with parchment paper, butter top of paper and lightly flour, shake out excess flour)
SIFT Swans Down once, measure; set aside.
MELT unsweetened chocolate in small microwave-safe bowl; stirring at 30 second intervals until melted (no longer than 1 minute). Stir until smooth; set aside to cool.
CREAM butter until smooth in large bowl. Add brown sugar and eggs. Beat with mixer till light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla extract and chocolate, then baking soda and salt.
ADD flour alternately with sour cream, beating until smooth. Pour in boiling water next, stirring with spoon till blended. (batter will be very thin)
POUR into 3 – 8 inch layer prepared pans.
BAKE about 20 – 25 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean.
COOL in pans approximately 10 – 15 minutes. Remove cake layers and place on rack to complete cooling.
TIP: Select the 2 layers that are the most level to be the bottom 2 layers. If domed, carefully slice off dome part.
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
PLACE chocolate and heavy whipping cream in small microwavable bowl, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring well after each interval (approximately 1 minute total cooking time). Let cool for 30 minutes.
BEAT butter and chocolate mixture with mixer until smooth in large bowl. Add vanilla extract and milk. Gradually add sugar, beating well until all is blended. If needed, add more milk to achieve correct spreading consistency. Once smooth, do not continue to beat.
FROST cake immediately.
This was a terrible recipe. The cake did not rise at all. Fell flat. And didn’t have a good taste either. Was a complete waste of ingredients and I had to throw the whole lot away. Very disappointing. Please double check your recipes and ensure they work before putting on the box. I’m an experienced baker and this was one of the worst recipes I’ve encountered.
Hi Ka, We’ve forwarded your information on to our Consumer Affairs Dept. Someone will be reaching out.
Can I use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
Hi Chi, Greek yogurt can certainly be a substitute for the sour cream. We recommend using full fat and to strain it through cheese cloth if the consistency is much thinner than sour cream. Happy Baking!
The cake looks delicious. Can you use a a sheet cake pan or another type of pan??
Hi Aerial, This recipe would fit nicely in a 11 x 15in sheet pan. It yields approximately 12 cups of batter. Happy Baking!
Can you substitute regular self-rising flour and use cocoa powder?
Hi Marilyn, Yes you can substitute regular Cake Flour with Self-Rising Flour. We would recommend that you contact the Self-Rising Flour manufacturer for the conversion, as they are familiar with the component ratios of their products.
To substitute the unsweetened chocolate you would have to add extra fat to make up for the cocoa butter that’s in the chocolate. 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate can be subbed with 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder + 1 tablespoon of fat (butter, shortening, oil). For this recipe use 9 tablespoons of cocoa powder + 3 tablespoons of fat. You should also dissolve the cocoa powder in the hot water. Do not add it dry.
Hope this helps and Happy Baking!
This recipe did not fill 3 pans and the cake does not rise. It really doesn’t look anything like the picture but it tastes good. Can someone explain?
Hi Donovan, We’ve forwarded your information on to our Consumer Affairs Department. Someone will be in touch.
Made this cake for Christmas and it was absolutely delicious !!!
Would you use this same recipe for cupcakes?
Hi Yazmin, Yes you can use cake batter per the recipe for cupcakes. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Lower baking time to 15 – 20 minutes and enjoy!
This is the first cake I’ve made completely from scratch and I am happy with the results! The cake came out nice and moist and fluffy with a more complex flavor than a typical cake mix. The frosting complemented the cake perfectly. I made a slight modification in using 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate to replace one of the ounces of semisweet in the frosting so I didn’t have to open another package of chocolate. Also… This same recipe is on the four box but as a two layer cake with half the frosting. Thia recipe makes a large amount of frosting and most of it is necessary to frost three layers.
Hi Diana, thanks for sharing your great results! Hearing that a cake turned out moist and fluffy is music to our ears. 🙂
Best chocolate cake ever! And I’ve been baking for 70 years. Never fails IF you follow directions.
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Can you tell me how many cups of flour and all ingredients for a 12 in x 18 in sheet pan. Please
Hello, I am making a chocolate cake for my grandson 2nd birthday. Im using a 15 x 11 in sheet pan. Do you have a recipe for this size pan please. and Thank you,
how about makeing swans down fully cooked ready to eat pizza. it would be sold in stores.
It would be nice to print only the recipe omitting the frivolous info before the recipe and the Leave a Review stuff as well. What purpose does that service in the recipe?
The chocolate hardened in the process even after adding d boiling water; choc bits settled at d bottom of pan after baking, & color of cake looked like mocha.
Pls give me measurement if I hv to use cocoa powder instead of choc squares.
This is such a delicious, moist cake! First time I made it was when I was having the neighbors in for dinner: they absolutely raved about it. And — it really is as easy to make as the name says! Please try it … you will love it!