A 3-layer chocolate cake with chocolate fudge frosting, this is for all the chocolate lovers out there. As one Swans Down customer told us, “Best chocolate cake ever! And I’ve been baking for 70 years.”
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.
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I make this cake all the time! Best recipee ever! I woud like to make mini cakes for a birthday. I purchased 3.5oz and then 22oz. Any idea how to figure how many tins this recipe will fill? Thank you for your help!
I Jennifer,
A typical cake, either two 9-inch layer or three 8-inch layer, yields 56 ounces of cake batter. You want to fill your cake pan about 2/3rds of the way up the pan. So ideally you want about 2.3 ounces of batter in each pan. The best way to measure this is on a scale but it is roughly 4 1/2 tablespoons per pan.
You will also need to reduce the baking time. I would suggest baking the cakes for 20 to 25 minutes but would keep a close eye on them while baking.
As far as the 22 ounce pan, a traditional 8-inch cake pan holds about 24 ounces of batter.
I hope this has been helpful to you. Enjoy the cakes and happy baking.
Can you not the chocolate and just have a yellow cake?
Hi Jennifer, rather than trying to make this chocolate cake a yellow cake why don't you try our Swans Down Sheet Cake https://swansdown.com/recipes/swans-down-sheet-cake/.
My hubby and I had a chocolate cake craving. I went searching for a box mix in our pantry and only had about 2 cups of Swans Cake Flour and regular flour. I saw the recipe on the back, and thought, this isn't going to be the decadent cake we saw earlier at the stores. But, wow! We absolutely loved it.. and the frosting! Yes, others say it's quite nostalgic, and we agree. I accidentally threw away the empty box and had to come find this website to save the recipe. This WILL be made again and again. Cool thing, is all the ingredients are most likely in every household. I ended up grabbing leftover Christmas chocolate minis vs unsweetened as in the recipe.
Hi Dee! Thanks for the awesome feedback. Nana's Simple Chocolate Cake is definitely a Swans Down favorite, and Simple to put together! Happy baking!
I'd like too try w mayo?
Hi Sylvia, We haven't tested Nana's Simple Chocolate Cake using mayonnaise so unfortunately we don't have an ingredient suggestion. We do have this delicious Chocolate Coffee Mayonnaise Cake if you'd like to give it a try. Happy baking!
My mother used to make this cake all the time for me and my siblings birthdays, holidays or just because. She had a recipe from the 60's or early 70's that she cut from the back of the Swan's Down Cake Flour Box that was called an " Elegant Chocolate Cake" that didn't have sour cream in it, she used milk and she used Hershey's chocolate powder instead of the unsweetened chocolate. It did infact have brown sugar in it. She had the original recipe
for years that she had cut out from off the box of the box of Swan's Down Cake Flour. The recipe was lost. I would like to have that original recipe.
Hi Lillian, Thanks for sharing your story! We've forwarded your info on to our Consumer Affairs Department. Someone should be reaching out with information. Happy baking!
This is a delicious chocolate cake recipe. I have made it many times. Can you bake this cake in a Bundt pan?
Hi Jennifer! We agree, Nana's Simple Chocolate Cake is simply, delicious! You can bake it in a Bundt pan. Make sure to not fill the pan more than 2/3rds of the way full, then bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Happy baking!
Are there any high altitude adjustments I should make when making this cake? I live at 7,500 feet. Thank you!
Hi Patty, There is information for baking at high altitudes on our Tips page. Here's a link for you: https://swansdown.com/tips/. Happy baking!
Can you substitute sour cream with buttermilk?
Thank you,
Danette
Hi Daniette, You can substitue the cour cream with buttermilk. Because of the thinner consistency you may want to use about 3/4 of a cup buttermilk for every 1 cup of sour cream called for in a recipe. Happy baking!
Love the cake. Have made many times - little cakes, full three layer cakes, and cupcakes. Used a less-sweet frosting though; the listed one seemed too sweet even with a touch of salt.
Made this for the first time and it was delicious!! Best chocolate cake I have ever had!! You have to FOLLOW the directions CLOSELY and do not over mix it!! I had my husband helping and we had fun making the cake and then making the frosting!