Hi Rebecca!
If you just need to store the cake over night and it isn’t too warm in your home, you can leave it out covered in a cake saver. However, if it is warm in your home (over 85 degrees) you would need to store it in the refrigerator. Hope this helps. Your Friend is lucky to have you. Happy Birthday to them!
Norine

I want to make this cake for a friend’s birthday lunch. I will need to make it the night before — how should I store the finished cake? In the fridge?

Many thanks,
Rebecca Bonar

Hi Jessi!
Sorry for the delayed answer…I was out of town on vacation without internet. You can use a hand mixer for the frosting. I always, ALWAYS recommend that you whisk the powder sugar, or sift it, before adding it into any frosting recipe you may be making. It removes any clumps that won’t break up when mixing. Now I’m craving this cake…just thinking about it. Hope you enjoyed this recipe.
Have a great week and come back soon!
Norine

Hi Joy!
Yes you can make this cake in a 9 x 13 pan and it will work perfectly. You shouldn’t have to adjust ingredients. You may need to bake it a tad longer, but not much.
Happy Birthday to your Son! Have fun baking!
~Norine

Hi Cheryl!

Great question! I live at 5,800 feet above sea level and make it just as written and it turns out perfect every time! This cake is by far my favorite “go to” chocolate craving cake! The center will look a little funny after baking, don’t let that concern you. It’s just how this cake bakes. It will rise nice and even…the center just looks different from the sides…at least it does for me…but it’s 100% perfection with this chocolate buttercream frosting. The frosting is key! lol Enjoy and have a GREAT weekend!
Hope this helps answer your question.
Happy Baking!
Norine

@norine@norinesnest.com, that’s great information to know about whole wheat flour!! Thank you!!

It wasn’t a huge flummox as my son is such a sweetheart and was just happy a cake was baked for him for his birthday lol

I will say the texture and consistency of using WW flour reminded me of cornbread. Basically I made chocolate cornbread.

As far as the frosting goes, well, it was more like “what frosting?” A wee bit made it on one of the 5” cakes that I dressed up for my 7 y/o, but after that? Pfft…I ate it straight 😀 currently I’m trying to convince myself I don’t “need” anymore. We shall see how long that lasts!!

Thank you for the tips, the feedback, and the recipes!! I’m certainly going to use the frosting one again….for me 😉

Hi Lauren!
Thanks for the info. That really helps me when trying to help others with glitches in one of my recipes. Right out of the gate…what went wrong with the cake, and I’m thankful it still tasted good…Whole Wheat Flour. Whole wheat flour can be substituted in baking recipes…but you have to know, it’s heavier than all-purpose flour and it is going to take longer too bake, as you learned, and it will change the texture of the cake. The change in texture is why the cake probably stuck to your pans. The general rule of thumb when using “whole wheat” flour is to substitute half of amount with whole wheat and keep the other half all-purpose. If you can do that, that would be my first suggestion. Also allow for a longer cooking time. The additional weight of the whole wheat could be why the cakes “caved in”. The size of the cake pans, milk, and eggs at room temp, should not have had a huge impact on the outcome of this recipe. I always line my cake pans with parchment paper and spray them with a baking cooking spray to help them easily release. Again though, I think this was because of the wheat flour. I think with a few minor adjustments you can make this work without the hiccups.

I hope this helped in some small way. This is my very favorite chocolate cake recipe. When I want chocolate cake…it’s this cake I’m craving. Thanks for stopping by and for trying this recipe. I hope you’ll come back and visit often. Have a Great week and enjoy that cake!
Happy Nesting!
Norine