When I started planning Leif's second birthday party, I asked him what kind of cake he wanted. He immediately responded, "Chocolate cake!" Then I asked him what he wants his cake to look like. He then said, "Choo choo" then paused and said "bulldozer." I wasn't sure how to make a bulldozer cake, but I had some ideas about how to make a train cake. So I went with Leif's first suggestion. I searched online for a cake recipe that seemed like I could trust it and I ended up on the Hersey's website.
HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake
Prep time:
15 MinutesSkill level: Beginner
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa (I used Nestle's....shhhhh, don't tell.)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used a stick of melted butter instead.)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water (I was little cautious of this step because I wasn't sure if it would cook the egg and ruin the batter, but it turned out well.)Directions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
- Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings. VARIATIONS: ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.
I originally thought I would make a series of cakes in loaf pans, but then my mom suggested doing one big sheet cake and then cutting pieces. This worked out much better. Here is the assembled engine and car, all cut from one 9 x 13 sheet cake. My mom did most of the constructing, while I fielded little hands that were trying to sneak a taste.
Then my mom made her amazing cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
- one brick of cream cheese
- one stick of butter
- half a bag of powdered sugar
- blue food coloring.
She frosted the cake in two rounds, since the first layer got very crumby from the pieced together cake.
I then decorated with various snacks and blue decorating frosting in a tube.
Wheels: Oreos and blue icing, pretzel sticks on front wheels.
Tender/Coal: raisins.
Animal Pin: pretzel sticks and animal crackers.
Train Tracks: sugar wafer cookies and pretzel sticks.
The finished product along with party decorations. I put some Oreo wheels on a red loaf pan as a caboose.
Here's the birthday boy blowing out his candle.
And here he is devouring his cake. He kept reaching for more of the decorations.
A very satisfied 2-year-old!
