Name: Chocolate cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 8–10
Cuisine: Australian
Ingredients: 1¾ cups plain flour; ¾ cup cocoa powder; 1½ tsp baking powder; 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda; 2 cups white sugar; 1 tsp salt; 2 eggs; 1 cup milk; ½ cup vegetable oil; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1 cup boiling water; Chocolate buttercream, to frost (RecipeTin Eats chocolate buttercream, 1½ batches)

Method

Heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease and line two 22 cm round pans.
Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarb, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in boiling water — the batter will be very thin.
Divide between pans. Bake 35 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans, then fully on racks.
Frost with chocolate buttercream once cold.

Tip: The batter is meant to be thin — that is the moist crumb. This is Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate cake, unchanged. Do not skip the boiling water.