Diane’s Doorstop Chocolate Cake

I love cake….no, that’s not right. I LOVE CHOCOLATE CAKE! There’s little better in the dessert world for me than a delicious, moist chocolate cake. I love how the batter smells; I love the smell of it baking. Frosted? Yeah, that’s great. But a plain old piece of chocolate cake really, well, takes the cake!

My oldest sister made a homemade chocolate cake years ago. That was a pretty big deal. You see, we were box mix people. And boy, we could mix a box with the best of them. I don’t even know if I’d ever met anyone who made a cake from scratch before then. But this cake…oh my! 

Diane’s cake wasn’t your “light and airy” wimpy cake…this was a “holy cow, it weighs a ton” cake. From that point forward, it became known as Diane’s Doorstop Cake! I’m guessing my dad probably came up with the name….he was hysterically supportive that way! The cake is really moist, and has such a rich chocolate flavor…I mean rich. I like to top it with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting to give just a little more choco-holic kick. I often bring this in cupcake form to potlucks and such, or I  make it in a 9X13 pan. But, it’s great as a layer cake or even a loaf, too!

Grab a hot coffee, or an ice cold glass of milk, and indulge in this over-the-top chocolate cake. Better grab a big old slice….it won’t last long in a crowd!

Quick Hacks

I have two quick hacks for you before getting started.

First, a simple way to measure a partial cup of shortening is to use water. That’s right, water! I learned this from my mom when I was a wee lass. What do I mean? Well, for instance, in this recipe you’ll need 3/4 C shortening. So, fill a 1-cup measure with 1/4 C of water. tightly pack in your shortening until the water reaches the 1-cup mark. Bingo….there you go. Exactly 3/4 C shortening. Or, you could just buy sticks that are pre-marked! 🙂

Next Hack – did you know that sour milk and buttermilk are not the same thing? Nope, they’re not. Sour milk, what’s called for in this recipe, is made with milk and either lemon juice or vinegar. For baking, I always use lemon juice. It’s effectively a 1:1 ratio – 1 cup of milk to 1 tsp of lemon juice or vinegar. Just measure it out, let it sit for about 10 minutes and you’re good to go. By the way, I always use this measure, even if I don’t need a full cup for a recipe I find making with this ratio gives just the right amount of “sour.”

Here’s my favorite buttercream frosting. It’s super simple to make and delicious. If you’re going to pipe it, add just a little bit more milk so it flows easier.  And, if you’d like white buttercream, simply omit the cocoa powder. O.k…..last option – if you’d like a different flavor of frosting, like a mint or lemon, you can make the regular buttercream and simply add a bit of extract, quantity to your taste.