Black Magic Cake

These pictures might not be the best, but this cake is.
I made it on a whim, because it kept popping up on the side of my Facebook page  (I 'liked'  Just a Pinch Recipe Club, and this recipe  is from them).   I guess it just called out to me---MAKE ME!  COME ON, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO.  HURRY UP AND MAKE ME!


So, I did.  And it was ---heavenly.   
It had a few things going for it...

1.  It was easy
2.  It was quick
3.  It was really, really good

When I made it, the batter was really, really thin.  It kind of scared me, it was so thin.  (the directions said it would be thin, but still...)
Then, also, it didn't poof up in the middle  (I made a 9x13 cake) like my other cakes do.  It was flat.  And very heavy.
I had made this cake  (which I had never made before) to take to someone's house for a potluck.   I was a little nervous about how it looked, but I am very brave, so I just frosted it and off we went to the party.  
When we arrived,  I set it away from the rest of the food...in the laundry room.  I wanted to cut into it first--just to see if it was okay.
Well, someone got a hold of it and before I knew it, it was cut, on plates and half gone.   There was nothing wrong with it AT ALL.   It was very, very good.

The Handyman and I got home at midnight and shared a piece before going to bed.  We never do that.  It was just too good to stop eating.
It was so moist.  I love a good heavy moist cake.
There used to be commercials for a boxed cake mix--I can't remember if it was Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker or  Pillsbury, but their claim to fame was  that their cakes were NEVER heavy.  I think these commercials were over 20 years ago, maybe even more,  and they touted  "light and fluffy cakes, never heavy."  
I really could never understand that.   Those boxed cake mixes  taste so different...not bad, just different.  The texture is just so different from homemade, no matter what they do, they cannot get that good 'heaviness'.  So, I guess they went the other way and said, heavy is not good?

I mentioned that I had made the cake from scratch and a friend asked,  "where do you buy scratch?".   She was joking, of course, but, do most people make boxed cake mixes now?    Will that be the taste our children remember fondly? 
I say,  make this cake and they won't want another boxed cake mix ever again.

Here is a link to the original recipe.


Black Magic Cake  (Best Chocolate Cake Ever!)

Ingredients

- 1 3/4 c all purpose flour
- 2 c sugar
- 3/4 c cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 c strong black coffee, cooled
- 1 c buttermilk - 1/2 c vegetable oil
- 1 tsp real vanilla extract


CHOCOLATE FROSTING
- 1/2 c margarine, softened
- 2 oz melted unsweetened chocolate, cooled
- 3 c powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp milk
- 2 tsp real vanilla extract

Directions
1. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer.
2. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.
3. Beat at medium speed for two minutes. Batter will be thin.
4. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan or two 9 inch cake pans.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes for a 9x13, or 30-35 minutes for layer pans.
6. Combine frosting ingredients and mix with a hand or stand mixer. Spread frosting on cooled cakes.