The Perfect Chocolate Cake

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 16
• 1 (18 1/4 ounce) package 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 vanilla extract

Recipe

• 1 place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350. lightly greased three 9 inch round cake pans and dust with flour. shake out excess flour.
• 2 place the cake mix, sour cream, water, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. stop machine, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. increase the mixer speed to medium and beet 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. the batter should look well combined. divie 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 the spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 20-25 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 incert each onto a rack, then invert again onto another rack so the the cakes are right side up. allow to cool completely, 30 minutes.
• 4 frost and fill with frosting and filling of your choice.