I had my doubts about this cake. The ingredients and method both seemed unusual to me, and I expected it to be maybe one dimensional and unremarkable. I know the recipe promises the cake will be “light, delicate, and delicious … like a milk chocolate bar”, but I was skeptical. But I’ve been working through my vintage recipe project and the occasion of my 1 year old’s birthday was pretty low stakes, so I gave it a try. And I am so glad I did! This cake came out of nowhere and totally won me over. It is so so delicious. It’s not fancy, it’s nothing gourmet or complicated, but it is light as a dream with a delicate texture and chocolate flavor. The cake layers and the whipped cream together are airy and not too sweet - in fact, the cake is almost salty in the way that the most delicious milk chocolate has the sweet/salty element that keeps you going back for more. The frosting is very sweet, but it pulls it all together and balances the cake and cream. I’ve made a lot of cakes and watched a lot of kids eat those cakes and most of the time they don’t finish, or they eat the frosting and leave the cake or pick out the cake and leave the frosting. Not this time. They inhaled it., each one of them, both days it was served. So did the adults… I mean, when a cake is this light, it goes down real easy.

dutch cocoa cream cake

makes one 8-inch cake

I didn’t make many adjustments to the recipe. I did cut the sugar in the cream in half because the frosting is so sweet, and I’m glad I did. I used shortening in the batter but I used butter in the frosting. It tasted delicious but I wonder if it also made it a bit softer than the recipe’s. The cake batter looks strangely curdled before you put it in the oven but it bakes up perfectly. I kept the cake in the fridge and thought it tasted really good cold. Also that helped keep the frosting from melting in my warm Texas kitchen.

Ingredients

{milk chocolate cake}

• 1 1/2 cups (6 oz) cake flour

• 1 1/4 cups sugar

• 3 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/4 cup cocoa

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1 can evaporated milk, divided

• 2 eggs

{whipped cream filling}

• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream

• 2 tbsp powdered sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla

{milk chocolate icing]

• 4 tbsp shortening (I used butter)

• 6 tbsp cocoa powder

• 5 tbsp (3 oz) hot milk

• 2 cups (8 oz) sifted confectioners sugar

• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

{milk chocolate cake}

1. Preheat your oven to 350 with a rack set in the middle. Grease two 8-inch cake pans.

2. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cocoa.

3. Add the shortening, vanilla, and one cup of the evaporated milk. Using the paddle attachment of a standing mixer, beat on medium low for 2 minutes., scraping sides and bottom after one minute. (You can also do this by hand as the original recipe instructs. Refer to photo above.)

4. Add the remaining evaporated milk and 2 eggs and beat for two more minutes. As I noted above, the batter may have a curdled look. Mine did. It still baked up beautifully.

5. Divide between the two pans and bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean and springs back when pressed lightly. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully turn out of the pans and let cool completely.

{milk chocolate frosting}

1. Combine the shortening (or butter) and cocoa powder in a small bowl and melt in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring to combine.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, pour 5 tbsp of hot milk over the 2 cups of powdered sugar and the 1/4 tsp salt and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the vanilla and the melted cocoa mixture, stir, and let the mixture stand and cool for a bit.

3. Using the whisk attachment, beat icing until thicker and spreadable. This took me a while and I even cooled it in the fridge for a bit, but eventually it did set up! Scoop into a bowl and set aside.

{whipped cream filling}

1. Using the whisk attachment of a standing mixer, whip the whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar on high speed until thick and fluffy. Don’t underbeat or the whipped cream will be too soft for filling, but don’t overbeat or you’ll end up with butter and buttermilk. Just watch.

[assembly]

1. Carefully slice the cake layers horizontally nto two layers. Stack the layers alternately with the whipped cream. Spread the frosting on the sides and top of the cake. Chill until service. ENJOY.