The Very Best Chocolate Cake

For my birthday week (yes, I said "week". I am spoiled like that), I choose to make the most amazing chocolate cupcakes I’ve ever had! They were moist, very chocolaty and rich. They are so good that the day after I made them I had to start giving them away to friends so that I wouldn't eat every single cupcake! Had I known that Superman planned a surprise get-together with our closest friends for my birthday, maybe I would have kept some around! Thanks Superman for the party! And for the DQ Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard Ice Cream Cake!

Anyway, I had an idea for a recipe for the cake and had decided that it must have a white chocolate cream cheese frosting for the top but I wanted it to have more…certainly NOT because it needed it though. Then I remembered that I have this amazing 4 berry jam that my sweet friend Rebecca had canned. That was going inside! I also did another version of the same chocolate cake but with peanut butter filling and chocolate ganache on top…but you will have to wait for that post. So, for today…

The Very Best Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 pkg instant chocolate pudding

1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup cocoa

1/2 cup butter, room temp

1 cup oil

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup sour cream

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. In large bowl with an electric mixer cream butter for about a minute or until smooth and kinda fluffy. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix for another minute. Continue to mix and add oil, milk, and sour cream and pudding mix. Now the eggs, one at at time, mixing very well with each addition.
 
In another mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa. Now slowly add it to the wet mixture.  Mix for a good 2 minutes then fold in the mini chocolate chips.

I usually make cupcakes (makes 36) but I suppose you could make a couple 9” cakes or a 9X13 cake. Grease or spray the muffin tins. I use an ice cream scoop to measure the batter for the muffin tins and they come out perfect.  Bake for 25 - 30 minutes for cupcakes.  Or until the toothpick comes out clean. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN BEFORE 25 MINUTES!
Let them cool completely.

For the filling I just took a paring knife and cut a small cone shape out of each cupcake and filled it with a tablespoon of my friend Rebecca’s 4 berry Jam. You can use any strawberry or raspberry jam.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

3 ounces of white chocolate

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened

½ cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 Tbl heavy cream

In a small microwaveable bowl, melt chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring in between. You shouldn’t need to exceed 1 min but if you need I definitely wouldn’t go longer than 1 min 30 seconds. Stir until smooth and then set aside to cool.

In a bowl, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in the white chocolate, heavy cream and vanilla. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until the mixture is fluffy and creamy.

Spread or pipe over the cupcakes.

Eat one right away and then give the rest to people you love, so that you won’t eat the whole batch! 

PS. Sorry, I warned you about the pictures...I know they are not the best! 

Warmly,
Mary