The Best Milk Chocolate Cake

I have been making this milk chocolate cake for years. It's hands down my favorite recipe for chocolate cake. In all my years, I have never come across a better, more delicious, moist and fluffy chocolate cake. It's so simple and you can make it using just one bowl. Yes, that's right. ONE. BOWL. That's like, little to no clean up. Awesome!​

I posted the Youtube video for exactly how I make this cake last February and everyone who makes it loves it.
And I always get requests for the recipe. Which I completely understand. It's amaizng! Seriously! So good! Now, some people like to watch the video and see exactly how the steps are completed, so please feel free to watch the original video on Youtube and share it. But I am also going to share it here as well. And I promise you - you will love it! So grab yourself a mixing bowl and let's make some delicious cake!

Step 1: In a mixing bowl add all of the following - one right after the other.
1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
2 cups of granulated sugar
3/4 cup of Cocoa Powder (I use Hersheys)
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt

Step 2: Use a hand whisk to mix it all together and remove and clumps. If you don't have a hand whisk, you could use a fork or put all of your ingredients through a hand sifter over your bowl. Whatever is easier for you.

Step 3: In a measuring glass add the following and mix them all together with a handmixer.
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla

Now you could add these wet ingredients right on top of your dry (and only have ONE bowl to clean), BUT.... I always like to break my eggs open in another glass incase any are bad or incase any egg shells fall in etc.... I also always tell newbies in the baking world to use another container until they get the hang of cracking open eggs. It is a skill.  So if you have a bad habit of getting egg shells into your dish, I suggest you use another container before adding it all together to avoid the mess and the headache of picking out egg shells.

Step 4: Add your wet ingredients to your dry and use your handmixer to combine it all together.

Step 5: Once your wet and dry ingredients are completely combined add the following
1 cup of boiling water

This will be a very thin cake batter, so do not get scared. It will seem runny but that's exactly how it should be. Mix all of that water in using your handmixer on low.

Step 6: Once your batter is ready, pour it into TWO greased and floured 8 inch cake pans. (Tip: You can use cocoa powder to "flour" your pan since it's a chocolate cake.) Now, you could use Pam or some other cooking spray to grease your pan but if you watch my videos then you know, I rarely ever use a spray when making my cakes. But you do you. Just pour the batter evenly into two 8 inch round cake pans. And again, it will be thin. VERY thin.

Step 7: Place them both into the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or so. All ovens are different, so your could take longer. For what to do if one bakes faster than the other - watch the Sweet Janine's Youtube video on how to handle that issue.

Step 8: While your cakes bake, make the delicious chocolate frosting you're going to smother this yummy cake in. In a bowl, add 4 sticks of unsalted room tempature butter. And use your handmixer to beat the butter until it's nice and creamy. You want your butter very smooth and fluffy. This will take at least 5-7 minutes. But it's completely worth it!

Once nice and fluffy, measure out 4 cups of powdered sugar. Use a sifter to sift the sugar into your bowl over the butter. This will ensure a very smooth and creamy frosting.

Now use your handmixer to beat in and combine all the powdered sugar.

Step 9: Add in 3/4 cup of Cocoa Powder. Use your hand mixer to combine it completely.

Step 10: Once combined, add in 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. And once again, use your handmixer to combine it all together.

Step 11: Next, add in the following and use our handmixer to combine it all together.
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-5 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream (start with 3 tablespoons and only add more if your frosting is too thick and you feel you need it.)

Step 12: Once your cakes are done baking, let them cool completely before taking them out of their pans. Once cooled flip them out of their pans. 

Step 13: Time to frost!! This is the fun part of you ask me. You get to be as creative as you want and just have fun with it! If you dn't have a decorator bag and tip - that is OK. You can use an offset spatula and some sprinkles and your cake will still look very nice. The first step is to lay down your first piece of cake that will be your "bottom". Then plop down some of that delicious frosting you made and start spreading it around.

Once you have a nice even layer, lay down your second piece of cake right on top. Try and line it up as nicely as you can. Then start frosting the top piece as well. Once you have it completely covered you can start to get as fancy as you want.  (For in depth frosting of this cake, please watch the  Youtube video for how this cake was made.)

And don't be afraid to pull out some fun toppings like sprinkles or Oreos or whatever you have on hand! I used chocolate sprinkles to rim the sides of my cake but again, you do you. Have fun with it and enjoy yourself!

Isn't it beautiful?! And soooooo delicous!!!