Celebrate With The‘Best’ Gift— The Very Best Chocolate Cake (NAPSA)—Americans are in love with chocolate cake! Research showsthat it’s a favorite for most of us—in fact, chocolate cake is more than seven times as popular as white cake! Chocolate’s roots come from the Americas, where it was first used as a drink, often flavored with chili pepper. Chocolate drinks became known to Europeans in the early 1500s, who flavored chocolate drinks with spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. But while chocolate has been popular for centuries, chocolate cake only became popular in the U.S. in the middle of the 20th century, when high-quality baking chocolate became more widely available to American home bakers. This year, Nestl is celebrating its 150th anniversary. Nestl’s products include everything from coffee and prepared meals to sparkling water and pet food, but the company is probably best known for its chocolate products and confections, such as NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Dark Chocolate Morsels, NESQUIK and BUTTERFINGER. So to mark this special occasion, Nestl is offering its “best” gift—its recipe for the “Very Best Chocolate” Cake. “Chocolate cake is great for any celebration, whether a birthday, anniversary, holiday or a spontaneous gathering with loved ones,” said Jenny Harper, manager of Nestl’s Baking Test Kitchens. “This chocolate cake recipe is easy to make with commoningredients, and it’s so delightfully delicious it is perfect to make any occasion more special. We couldn’t think of a better gift to share for our 150th birthday!” The “Very Best Chocolate” Cake from NESTLE* TOLL HOUSE Prep Time: 30 minutes Bake Time: 33 minutes Refrigerator Time: 1 hour Makes 16 servings CAKE: 1% cups granulated sugar 1% cupsall-purpose flour %4 teaspoon baking soda teaspoonsalt , 1 cup strong NESCAFE Coffee . 1 cup (6 ounces) NESTLE TOLL HOUSE? Dark Chocolate Morsels \% cup vegetable oil Y% cup sour cream, room temperature 2 large eggs, room temperature 1% teaspoonsvanilla extract FROSTING: 24 cup heavy whipping cream 5 tablespoons unsalted A chocolate cake can be a great way to celebrate a special birthday or any occasion. butter, cut into 44-inch pieces 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 3 tablespoons water teaspoon salt . 1% cups (10 ounces) NESTLE TOLL HOUSE? Dark Chocolate Morsels % teaspoon vanilla extract FOR CAKE: PREHEAToven to 325 F. Grease two 8-inch-round cake pans. Line bottoms with wax paper. COMBINEsugar,flour, baking soda andsalt in large bowl. Bring coffee to simmerin small, heavy-duty saucepan. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup morsels; whisk until chocolate is melted and smooth.Coolslightly. WHISK vegetable oil, sour cream, eggs and vanilla extract in another large bow] to blend. Add chocolate-coffee mixture; whisk to blend well. Add onethird of chocolate-sour cream mixture to dry ingredients; whisk to blend well. Add remaining chocolate-sour cream mixture in 2 more additions, whisking well after each addition. Divide batter equally between prepared pans. (Batter will be thin.) BAKE for 33 to 35 minutes or until wooden picks inserted in centers come out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 min- utes. Run knife around edges of cakes. Invert onto wire racks; remove wax paper. Cool completely. Spread frosting between layers and over top andsides of cake. Store any leftover cake in refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving. FOR FROSTING: BRINGcream,butter, sugar, water and salt to simmer in medium, heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Immediately add 13 cups morsels; let stand for 2 minutes. Whisk until melted and smooth. Add vanilla extract. Pour into medium bowl. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour or until thick enoughto spread.
