Chocolate Cake/Pond Cake

Last week was Pond Week at our house, and for the second year in a row, we had Pond Cake. I got the idea from a very old Woman's Day magazine. The magazine version was much more elaborate, but the boys like ours. I usually use Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake recipe for chocolate cake, but I only had brown sugar in the house. I used this Death by Chocolate cake from http://www.cooks.com/, and I thought it was very good with a few changes. The other components of the cake are white frosting to seal the cake for the "water" and blue jello for the water. I'm pretty sure only kids would like the taste combination of chocolate cake and jello!

Note: I always substitute coffee for water in chocolate cake recipes. It doesn't make the cake taste like mocha, but it adds a depth of flavor.

Death by Chocolate Cake

2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. shortening

2 eggs

1/2 c. cocoa dissolved in 1/2 c. boiling coffee

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 c. sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix brown sugar, shortening and eggs until very creamy. Dissolve cocoa in boiling water and add alternately with flour, beginning and ending with cocoa mixture. Dissolve baking soda with a few drops of water in bottom of measuring cup and add sour cream. Mix thoroughly. Add to batter and stir until mixed. Add vanilla. Bake in 8-inch round greased metal pan 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans and finish cooling on racks.

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling coffee

Directions:1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. 2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling coffee (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans. 3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Frosting

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine

2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.