Triple Chocolate Poke Cake

If you want to make a dreamy, decadent, absolutely delicious cake, you, my friend, have found the perfect recipe.  Chocolate cake.  Made from scratch.  Oh.My.Goodness. It's so good!  No box mix, no cans of frosting.  Just real, whole ingredients whipped up to make a sweet treat that is utterly divine.

I'm sure you've heard of a poke cake, right?  It's a nice big cake that you poke holes into.   Why would you poke holes in a cake, you might ask?  Well, let me tell you why, dear friend.  It's so you can fill all of those little holes with ooey, gooey chocolatey goodness.  Imagine your best chocolate cake mingling with channels of rich velvety chocolate.

Have I sold you yet?  If not, there's obviously something wrong with you.  Because chocolate cake like this is straight from the heavens.  Perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, parties, or...well, because sometimes we all deserve a nice big slice of cake.


Ingredients

Cake

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Glaze

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• chocolate shavings (freeze a chocolate bar, then use a potato peeler to make the shavings)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°.  Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish/pan.
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat for 3 minutes with an electric mixer.  Stir in the boiling water.  (The mixture will look very thin and runny, but don't fret!  It'll come out just right!)
3. Pour the mixture into your greased baking dish.  Bake for 42 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let sit for at least 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, add all of the icing ingredients to a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute.  Cool for 5 minutes, then beat with an electric mixer for 3 minutes.
5. Unsing the handle of a wooden spoon, carefully poke deep holes into the cake.  Por the glaze over the top of the cake, making sure to get some of the glaze into all of the holes.  (Use a rubber spatula to carefully spread the glaze evenly over the cake, if you need to.  Mine slid off to the sides a bit, but it was easily fixed.)
6. Sprinkle the chocolate shavings over the entire cake.  (Chocolate chips sprinkled on top would be good, too!)

Notes

• Source: Cake recipe from Fabulessly Frugal. Glaze recipe from cdkitchen.
• This cake is good served warm, room temperature or cold!