Easy chocolate cake recipies from scratch that dont include baking soda, lots of salt, or shortening?!

* 2 cups white sugar
* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 3 teaspoons baking powder
* .5 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup milk
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 cup boiling water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two nine inch round pans.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Basic Chocolate Layer Cake

?5 tablespoons butter
?3 1/2 squares Baker's chocolate, melted
?1 teaspoon vanilla
?1 cup milk
?2 1/2 cups flour
?1 cup sugar
?3 eggs
?3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugar together
2. Add melted chocolate and eggs to the butter/ sugar mixture and beat until smooth.
3. Add a half cup of the flour into which the baking powder has been blended.
4. Then add the milk and vanilla and the remaining flour, alternating them.
5. The cake batter will be stiff enough to drop from a spoon (which may seem stiffer than other cake batters)
6. Beat until smooth
7. Bake in 2 square or round cake pans, for 20-25 minuts at 350 degrees (325 for a dark coated pan) or until the cake springs back when touched with a finger.
8. When the cake is totally cool, frost the bottom layer, then add the top and frost the outside.

AND FOR THE FROSTING...

Chocolate Cinnamon Frosting

Makes 3 cups or 24 (2-tablespoon) servings.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 teaspoon McCormick? Pure Vanilla Extract
3 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
1 tablespoon McCormick? Cinnamon, Ground
1 box (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and melted chocolate; mix well.

2. Stir cinnamon into confectioners' sugar. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended after each addition and scraping sides and bottom of bowl frequently.

3. Beat in milk until light and fluffy. If frosting is too thick to spread, gradually beat in additional milk. Store in refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

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Low Sodium Chocolate Cake

1/2 c. skim lowfat milk
1 1/2 tsp vinegar
1 c. water
1/2 c. low sodium corn oil margarine
4 Tbsp. cocoa
2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
Egg substitute equivalent to 2 Large eggs
2 Tbsp. low sodium baking pwdr
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c. low sodium corn oil margarine
6 Tbsp. skim lowfat milk
4 Tbsp. cocoa
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 x (1 lb.) box confectioners' sugar
1 c. minced pecans
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix lowfat milk and vinegar together. Set aside to sour. Bring water, margarine and cocoa to a boil. Mix flour and sugar in bowl and blend in warm cocoa mix. Add in egg substitute, sour lowfat milk, baking pwdr and vanilla. Bake 50 min in 9"x13" pan lightly greased with margarine. Five min before cake is done, heat margarine, lowfat milk, cocoa and vanilla. Fold in confectioners' sugar and nuts. Spread topping on cake immediately after removing cake from oven.

Paddy's Kitchen