Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe with Chocolate Shavings

When we decided to have a Bohemian Garden Party, I needed something quick and easy to serve. So I made this Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe with Chocolate Shavings. This is for all you busy moms who love quick and easy recipes like the ones found on my Pinterest recipe board. If you have a little more time to prepare and bake, I suggest you trying our Perfect Chocolate Cupcake Party Recipe ( it’s more of a Martha Stewart type than this one 😉 ). I’m sure you’ll love this if your a big chocolate cake fan like I am.

Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe with Chocolate Shavings

Who doesn’t have much time for baking (or cooking for that matter)?  I just don’t have much extra time to whip up beautiful desserts.  I’m more like an “instant-gratification” kind of girl when it comes to whipping up something that looks pretty and delicious . While planning what elements I wanted in the recent Bohemian Garden Party, I felt like the tablescape needed to be adorned with beautiful desserts that would not only be pretty in photos. But could also be eaten by our models after the session was done. I’m going to tell you a little secret. I went to the nearest Costco and found this chocolate cake. I’m all about making this store-bought cake pretty with a makeover of flowers and a darling cake stand!  This is the easiest little DIY I’ve done in a long time. I was fortunate at the time of our photo shoot to have a variety of fresh flowers blooming in the gardens. If there aren’t any flowers available, I’ve used green leaves and berries or I’ll grab some fresh flowers from the store to accomplish this look. Ok. Seriously, if you are having company over or need something to bring for a party, don’t make it harder than it needs to be. You can whip up a cake so stinkin’ fast and easy, and still make it look absolutely delicious and pretty.  

Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe with Chocolate Shavings

  Here is a little secret that I will tell you. Just make the cake out of a cake mix. I promise you, no one will ever be able to tell the difference, ok most people that is. I love these yummy cake mix options from Amazon. The Betty Crocker cake mix is amazing in GF. We have one of our kids Gluten Free for a bit while we work on cleaning up her gut issues and this cake mix is my best options for parties, and when dinner company comes over. They have no idea it’s GF and I love that. Oh and don’t run away yet. I have the most amazing Coconut Cream Cake Recipe here with a link to the source I use for this amazing cake flour.     Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. All items I personally recommend and would not suggest otherwise. I have purchased them or similar items with my own money and have found them to be useful. I hope you will find them useful as well.

So once you have a box of delicious cake mix, all you gotta do is follow the instructions on the back of the box and fill your kitchen with the decadent aroma of cake baking in the oven. That is seriously all you have to do to make the cake, then the fun part begins…making the cake pretty.

Now comes a really Simple and Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe with Chocolate Shavings

Chocolate Cake Recipe with Chocolate Shavings

This is one of the mostly chocolaty, best chocolate cakes you will ever have.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12 people

Ingredients

  

Cake

• 2 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 3/4 cup Butter softened
• 1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large Eggs
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/2 cup Buttermilk

Frosting

• 1/3 cup Unsweetened Cocoa
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 1 cup Butter softened
• 2 Tbsp Confectioners Sugar
• 12 oz semi sweet chocolate

Instructions

 

Cake

• Prepare cake layers: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease three 8-in. round cake pans. Line bottoms with waxed paper; grease paper. Dust pans with flour
• On another sheet of waxed paper, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat butter and brown and granulated sugars until blended. Increase speed to high; beat 5 minutes or until pale and fluffy, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula.
• Reduce speed to medium-low; add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla until blended. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat just until batter is smooth, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula.
• Spoon batter evenly among prepared pans. If necessary, stagger pans on 2 oven racks, placing 2 on upper rack and 1 on lower rack, so that top pans are not directly above bottom one.
• Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. With small knife, loosen layers from sides of pans; invert onto wire racks. Carefully remove and discard waxed paper; cool completely, about 45 minutes. Bring to room temperature before frosting cake.

Frosting

• In small bowl, combine cocoa and boiling water, stirring until smooth. In large bowl, with mixer at medium-high speed, beat butter and confectioners' sugar 5 minutes or until fluffy.
• Reduce speed to medium-low; add melted chocolate, then cocoa mixture, beating until smooth and occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. If frosting is too runny, refrigerate until just stiff enough to spread.
• Assemble cake: Place 1 cake layer bottom side up on cake plate; spread with 1/3 cup frosting. Top with second layer, bottom side up; spread with 1/3 cup frosting. Place remaining layer bottom side up on top. Spread remaining frosting over sides and top of cake.

I like to frost my chocolates cakes with chocolate frosting from good old Betty Crocker. I don’t know what I’d ever do without her. 😉 You can then use chocolate shavings and fresh flowers for the finishing touches.

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