Light Chocolate Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Sift together dry ingredients in a bowl. Add oil, coffee and milk; mix at medium speed 1 minute. Add eggs and vanilla; beat 2 minutes longer. (Batter will be thin.) , Pour into 2 greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans (or two 8-in. round baking pans and 6 muffin cups). , Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool on wire racks. , Meanwhile, for icing, combine milk and flour in a saucepan; cook until thick. Cover and refrigerate. , In a bowl, beat butter, shortening, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add chilled milk mixture and beat 10 minutes. Frost cooled cake. If desired, dust with additional cocoa.

Steps:

• Serving suggestion: Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve with milk
• Arrange a rack in the upper 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Butter and flour a bundt pan or tube pan. (You can use a mixture of cocoa powder and flour instead of flour, to prevent white spots on the cake.)
• In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or using a hand mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the sugar. One at a time, mix in the eggs, then the vanilla, occasionally scraping down the mixing bowl.
• Meanwhile, in another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt.
• Add 1/3 of the flour mixture; then 1/3 of the ice water. Repeat, mixing after each addition. Transfer the batter to the pan and bake until springy and dry, about 40 to 45 minutes.
• Let cool in the pan on a rack, then carefully turn the cake out. Just before serving, sift confectioners' sugar over the top. Serve with very cold milk!
• Notes about the recipe: When I developed this recipe I was just looking for a good, reliable dark cocoa cake that could sit on the counter over the weekend and be enjoyed in slivers, craving by craving. This cake is really moist and keeps for days. I just finished one that's been hanging around the kitchen for 6 days! You could frost it with creamy white icing but it hardly needs it. My friend Lana's mom June was one of the best cooks I knew as a kid in the '60s and she did a cake by the same name, though the recipe handed down to me from her daughter is a bit different.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Beat in egg substitute, milk, applesauce and vanilla. Add water; beat on medium for 2 minutes (batter will be very thin). , Pour into a 13x9-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool. Lightly dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line three 9-in. round baking pans with waxed paper; grease and flour the pans and paper. Set aside., In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and baking powder; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition., Transfer to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a small heavy saucepan, melt chips and butter over low heat. Transfer to a large bowl; cool for 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake. If desired, top with chocolate curls. Refrigerate leftovers.

Steps:

• Place the frosting (Yes, the frosting!) and eggs in mixer bowl. Mix at medium until combined.
• Gradually add cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt while continuing to mix. Scrape bowl as needed.
• Add vanilla, scrape sides of bowl, and mix once more.
• Coat a 6" x 10" (or 8" square) baking dish with floured baking spray.
• Batter will be stiff. Pour and scrape it into the baking dish. Spread with a spatula.
• Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
• Cool 20 to 30 minutes and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line the bases of 2 x 18cm round sandwich cake tins with baking parchment. Melt the butter and set aside to cool. Mix the flour in a large bowl with the cocoa powder, baking powder, both sugars and ground almonds. Stir the yogurt and vanilla into the beaten eggs. Pour this into the dry mixture along with the melted butter and oil. Briefly stir until just mixed, creamy and smooth. Do not overbeat.
• Spoon the mixture evenly between the two tins and level the surfaces. Bake for 20 mins until risen and starting to come away from the sides of the tin. Remove from the tins, peel off the parchment and leave the cakes to cool on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, make the icing. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Remove the bowl from the pan and leave the chocolate to cool. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa into a separate bowl. Add the butter and milk, and beat until smooth. Beat in the cream cheese and quark, then stir in the cooled, melted chocolate.
• When the cakes are cold, use half the icing to sandwich both cakes together. Spread the rest of the icing on top in fluffy folds, then decorate with sugared almonds, if you like.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350.
• Grease 2 8" round cake pans.
• In a bowl stir in flour, cocoa and baking soda.
• In a saucepan heat corn oil and stir in sugar until melted.
• Remove from heat.
• Add milk, white vinegar and vanilla extract to mix in saucepan and stir.
• Add the dry ingredients then whisk till blended.
• Pour evenly into cake pans.
• Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool.
• Fill and frost top.
• Refrigerate.