Mouth-Watering Chocolate Cake

Serves 16.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 c. sifted cake flour (I use half cake and half all-purpose flour)
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. butter
• 2 1/4 c. brown sugar, packed
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 (1 oz.) Squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 c. dairy sour cream
• 1 c. boiling water
• 1/3 package frozen raspberries (optional)

Directions

Sift together cake flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream together butter and brown sugar in mixing bowl until light and fluffy, using electric mixer at medium speed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and cooled chocolate.

Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Stir in boiling water. (Batter is very thin.) Pour batter into greased 13x9x2" pan (See Tip). Bake in 350° oven for 35 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool in pan on rack. Frost with Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting.

If using round cake pans, you may add raspberry purée between layers. Defrost 1/3 package of frozen raspberries. Push through sieve to remove seeds. (May have to do this twice using a smaller sieve the second time.) Using a pastry brush, paint all of purée onto bottom cake layer. Let purée soak in and then frost over the layer. Place second layer on top and frost sides and top.

Tip

If using two round pans, grease pans and line bottoms with waxed paper. After baking, cool in pans on racks for 10 minutes. Remove layers from pans, remove wax paper and cool on racks.