Hundred Dollar Chocolate Cake is deliciously moist chocolate cake topped with fluffy, marshmallowy 7-minute frosting for a dessert perfect for summer parties or a weeknight at home!
Oh my heavens, friends. The last few weeks have been CRAY-ZAY. How have y’all been? All you mothers out there: did you have an excellent Mother’s Day? Mine was pretty darn great. The hubs got me a spa gift card that is burning a whole in my wallet–especially every time I look down at my not-so-ready-for-flip-flops feet. A pedicure is LOOOOOOOONG overdue, but I’m waiting until next month, when I’ll be flying off to Belgium for a work trip. CANNOT wait. I haven’t been to Europe since my honeymoon and it’s calling to me. Viens ici, Erin! And viens I shall.
But back to Mother’s Day. Something I love about the day is that it makes me think of how the moms in my life—even special women who may not be moms—have played an important role for me. Let’s face it—being a mom or straight up a woman—is HARD. I’ve especially been dealing with some personal issues of my own lately, and just knowing there are powerful, supportive, selfless, you-fill-in-the-blank-here women around me gives me peace and strength to forge ahead. When we all work together to help one another, I’m convinced there’s nothing we can’t do or overcome. We are women! Hear us ROAR!
One woman whom I miss dearly is my maternal grandma (“Grammy”). Whenever I would visit her in Florida, she would greet me with an exuberant “Hello, Honey!” She was mom to 7 kids and a fantastic artist. One myth in our family is that she (or someone she knew) paid $100 for this chocolate cake recipe, thus the name Hundred Dollar Chocolate Cake.
It’s like a light and fluffy homemade version of devil’s food cake with an extra surge of chocolate flavor brought on by none other than a cold cup of coffee. Now, I admit I’m not a coffee drinker. Give me a scoop of coffee ice cream and I will most assuredly down it. And might even sneak a bite of yours. 🙂 But hot coffee doesn’t appeal to me in the least. So I grabbed a jar of instant coffee from Trader Joes, mixed a teaspoon of that with a cup of cold water, and voila. Coffee.
Now lemmie tell you about the frosting. I mean, the fluffy, marshmallowy wonderment resting atop this delightful cake. It’s a seven-minute frosting that is oh-so-dreamy. Now is this Hundred Dollar Chocolate Cake a messy cake? Look at the pictures. It is. All the more reason to inhale it without concerning yourself with manners or even plates. Just grab a fork and DIG IN. And guess what? You don’t need to serve this with ice cream. This baby is perfect as her gloriously indulgent self.
- CAKE:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup mayonnaise (I used olive oil mayo)
- 1 cup cold coffee
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 7-MINUTE FROSTING:
- 3 Tbsp cold water
- 2 egg whites
- ⅛ tsp cream of tartar
- Pinch of salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp light corn syrup
- Make the cake. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 13x9" baking pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, and baking soda.
- Add mayonnaise, coffee, and vanilla and stir until combined.
- Pour cake batter into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the frosting. Mix first 5 ingredients in top of a double boiler.*
- Beat 4-7 minutes until mixture stands in peaks. Remove from heat, exchange hot water at bottom for cold water, and put double boiler together again.
- Add vanilla and corn syrup. Beat until peaks hold. Spread over chocolate cake. Enjoy!
WOW and you are giving this for free to us!
I’m guessing still we will call it a $100 chocolate cake!
That’s look yummy, but I have my doubts with the mayo (not like it at all)… glad you mentioned you used olive oil mayo at least, but… Do you think that if I use butter instead the cake will be too different? Not a $100 anymore?
Thanks for the replying
Hey, Kelly! I know what you mean about the mayo. It was a popular addition to cakes in my grandmother’s era. It really does yield a moist and fluffy cake and you won’t even know it’s there. But if you want to substitute, try sour cream or Greek yogurt–just avoid non-fat versions, as they contain more water than their higher-fat counterparts. If you decide to use a substitute, please let me know how it turns out. I’d love to add it as a tip and credit you! 🙂 Thanks for visiting!