When it comes to holiday celebrations, I love being in the kitchen. Growing up with my parents, the holidays were something that we looked forward to. The kitchen was usually filled with different foods being cooked and lots of delicacies in the oven. From cakes and cookies to the usual meat dishes, whatever your heart desired during the year was always available at Christmas.
Now as an adult things haven’t changed much. The holidays in my own home usually mean lots of cooking and baking as well, usually because the kids are home since school is out, and there is usually someone visiting from out of town. I don’t consider myself a great host, but I do know my way around the kitchen, thanks to my mother, and with a few products I can put together something that will knock your socks off. As is my custom I usually head to my nearest Dollar General since they are literally 5 minutes from my home. I needed a few ingredients for a new recipe and I knew exactly where to get them.
Madison had been saying that she wanted chocolate cake for quite some time and being the good mother that I am, I decided to indulge her, so off to Dollar General we both went. When it comes to chocolate I knew that Nestle® had just what I needed, so I picked up a NESTLÉ® Hot Cocoa Mix, 6 ct. – on sale for $1. After all I would be able to not only make my cake but I’d be able to have some hot cocoa when I was done as well.
With the weather that we’ve been having lately, it’s hot cocoa season after all. I also noticed that they had NESCAFÉ® TASTER’S CHOICE® Instant Coffee, and if you know me, I’m grouchy in the morning before I have my coffee and coffee and cake go hand in hand, and what’s coffee without having your own NESTLÉ® COFFEE-MATE® Liquid Coffee Creamer? Dollar General did not disappoint – they had it all! I also realized that I could use all 3 ingredients in my latest creation and that’s exactly what I did, and I’m going to now share that with you.
Dark Chocolate Cake with Hot Chocolate Frosting
Serves 9
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup NESTLÉ® COFFEE-MATE® Liquid Coffee Creamer
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup boiling water
1 packet NESCAFÉ® TASTER’S CHOICE® Instant Coffee
Hot Chocolate Frosting
8-ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 packets NESTLÉ® Hot Cocoa Mix
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F
Liberally spray an 8×8-inch glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Add the cocoa powder, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
Add in the Nestle Coffee-Mate Espresso Chocolate Coffee Creamer, oil, vanilla, and egg. Whisk vigorously for one minute to thoroughly combine.
Add one packet of Nestle Taster’s Choice Instant Coffee to the boiling water and stir to dissolve.
Pour the hot coffee into the batter and whisk well to combine. The batter will be thin.
Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish.
Plan the pan in the oven and bake for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and cool before frosting.
While the cake is cooling, you can prepare the frosting.
Add one cup of the whipped topping to a large bowl along with two packets of the Nestle Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix. Whisk until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides to make sure all the powdered mix is incorporated.
Add the remaining whipped topping and gently fold with a spatula until thoroughly combined. Once it’s combined, you can put it right back in the same container. Keep in the refrigerator until time to serve.
** As an alternative to covering the cake with frosting, we served individual pieces, lightly sprinkled them with powdered sugar, placed a dollop of frosting on top, and sprinkled with grated chocolate.
Notes:
Always use a good quality cocoa powder. The result will be a better tasting product.
Substituting Nestle Coffee-Mate Espresso Chocolate Coffee Creamer for milk gives the cake an extra chocolatey flavor that is enhanced by the addition of a coffee. Adding coffee to chocolate baked goods enhances the flavor and results in a more chocolatey flavor.
We used the extra creamy whipped topping for this, which is a thicker and creamier. If you store doesn’t have it, regular whipped topping works just fine.
If you use a metal baking pan, lower the temperature to 325°F
To prevent overcooking the cake, test for doneness around 20 minutes and every 5 minutes thereafter.
When folding the whipped topping, use a large spatula and scoop from the bottom to the top. Fold gently so you don’t completely deflate it. Never vigorously stir!
What did Madison think? She thought it was amazingly delicious!! Thank you, Dollar General for helping me save and allowing me to make a delicious treat for my family and friends. If you’ve never shopped at Dollar General before, I suggest checking them out and download some coupons to save on your favorite Nestle products.
