Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

CAKE:
Solid vegetable shortening for greasing the pans
Flour for dusting the pans
1 package (18.25 ounces) devil's food cake mix with pudding
1 cup sour cream
3⁄4 cup water
1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FILLING:
Sweetened Cream
FROSTING:
Perfect Chocolate Frosting


Directions
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease three 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pans aside.

2. Place the cake mix, sour cream, water, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well combined. Divide the batter among the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula, and place them in the oven. If your oven is not large enough to hold them on one rack, place two pans on the center rack and the third in the center of the highest rack.

3. Bake the cakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 20 to 25 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the layer on the highest oven rack. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow to cool completely, 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the Sweetened Cream.

5. To assemble, place one cake layer, right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with half of the whipped cream, spreading it to within 1⁄2 inch of the sides. Place the second layer, right side up, on top of the first layer and spread with the remaining whipped cream, spreading it to within 1⁄2 inch of the sides. Place the third layer on top, and cover the cake lightly with waxed paper. Place it in the refrigerator to chill.

6. Prepare the Perfect Chocolate Frosting.
7. To finish the assembly, spread the top and the sides of the cake with the frosting, using clean, smooth strokes. Slice and serve. Store this cake, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.