Chocolate Cake
(from Jacqueline)2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 medium eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan. NOTE, you MUST USE A BUNDT PAN, it is the only way that this cake will come out perfectly moist and delicious. TRUST ME!
Add sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a large bowl and mix. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water with caution, this will thin out the batter. Pour into prepared bundt pan. Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Place bundt pan over cooling rack and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. Take rubber spatula and rub along internal edges of pan to loosen the cake, shake the pan a little to ensure that the cake has loosened up. Invert onto cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting, approximately 30 minutes.
Instead of cake frosting, I make a simple glaze consisting of powdered sugar, a few drops of water, and one teaspoon of almond extract. If you do not have almond extract, it's fine to just make the glaze with powdered sugar and water. Whisk the three ingredients together until you get a creamy thick liquid (almost like Elmer's glue). Whisk it until the powdered sugar is completely dissolved. Please feel free to add more powdered sugar and water as needed. The proportion should be about two cups of powdered sugar to about one tablespoon of water. Upon completion, pour it over the chocolate cake. The glaze adds a touch of richness to the cake top.