Chocolate Rosette Cake

This is a fan favorite with my friends and family.  They ask for it for birthdays, family dinners, holidays...no reason at all.  And what's not to love?  Creamy, smooth chocolate frosting, loaded with flavor and oh so decadent...hooked yet?

Chocolate Rosette Cake.  Yeah.  I went there.

The best part, is once you get the rosette part down, you can transfer the idea to any other cake like this carrot cake that I made for Thanksgiving last year!

Carrot Cake in Rosettes

Sometimes, you find something that's perfect the way it is and you don't need to make changes to it!   It's that simple Hershey's recipe that I blogged about not too long ago!  It's their "Perfectly Chocolate Cake", and I agree wholeheartedly with the title!

I doubled the recipe, and baked it per directions in two 10" round cake pans (mix one batch of batter, pour into one pan, mix second batch of batter, pour into second pan).  I used the Wilton cake pans that you can find at any bigger brand craft store.  Spray them liberally with baking spray with flour and measure the batter equally into each pan.  Lift the pan a few times and tap it on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles.  I baked it at 350 F for about 27 minutes, then removed from the oven and cooled for 10 minutes in the pan.  I then inverted them onto a cooling rack where they sat, covered in a kitchen towel to cool completely.

I made a mess of the frosting recipe when I made this the first time! Instead of the 1/3 cup of milk it called for, I put in 2/3 cups and couldn't remove it because I'd already started mixing it!  Argh!  I needed to recover it and quickly!  I didn't have anymore Hershey's baking cocoa on hand, so I did what every smart cook does.  I added more powdered sugar.  Then I got it too thick!

The light bulb over my head literally went off when I added a little bit of cream cheese frosting.  It would work to thin the frosting out, just not too much!

Chocolate Rosette Cake-so moist, so delicious.  One piece is not enough!

Frosting recipe:  follow directions on the site, add 3 cups of powdered sugar, 2/3 cups of milk   (instead of the 1/3 called for) and  3/4 cup cream cheese frosting (I'm sure canned frosting would work just as well, as it only mellows out the flavor a little but makes the frosting completely workable for decorating).  OR, if you prefer, use the frosting recipe included on the can but double it.  This cake is quite beautiful without the rosettes, as well!

Now, I'd normally tell you how to decorate it, that's not my forte.  I'm going to link you to a video that shows you how so that it's clear and concise.  This video is as close to what my rosettes looked like as I can get. There are some better ones out there than mine, go for it and make it look as pretty as you can. Like I said, this is only my third time decorating a cake like this, but it's been a big hit so far!

Chocolate Rosette Cake

Note:  I have yet to try and lower the fat or sugar content in this cake.  One piece is almost too much as it's so rich in flavor.  However, when I get to that moment in time, I'll update and let you know how it went.

Cake and frosting recipe adapted from www.hersheys.com, "perfectly chocolate cake".