Hi, my name is Courtney and I'm a chocoholic. Sometimes my chocolate hankerings are satisfied with a handful of chocolate chips, but other times I need to go bigger. Like cake bigger. Enter "The Best Chocolate Cake Ever." I made this cake for Mother's Day and it fulfills every cell of the chocoholic in me. In fact, I think it may be the best chocolate cake I've ever made.

The cake portion is moist, fluffy and perfectly chocolatey, while the frosting (an old favorite of mine) is luxurious and decadent, but not over the top rich. Separately they would go swimmingly with another flavor frosting or cake, but together, these two are intoxicating...just thinking about it makes me angry because I don't have a friendly slice of it left to eat.

In conclusion, my friends, if you have a chocolate lover in your midst, make them this cake.

The Best Chocolate Cake Ever
Cake recipe from addapinch.com
Yield: Roughly 12 servings

Ingredients – Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Ingredients – Frosting
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
4 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar (no need to sift)
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tablespoons half-and-half or whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon espresso powder

Directions
For the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.
2. Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
3. Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.
4. Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.
For the frosting:
Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to incorporate, then process until the frosting is smooth.

Pro Tips/Facts:
• Always always bake a few mins below the lower suggested baking time. Every oven is different!
• If your frosting is too thin and you've added the max amount of confectioners’ sugar, pop it in the fridge for 15 mins or so to harden up.
• Both the cake and frosting have a bit of espresso powder in it which helps enhance the chocolate flavor. For non coffee fans, the espresso flavor isn't noticeable though. S'all good.

Dessert Fiend