Have you seen the new cherry flavored M&Ms? They are delicious!

I bought a pack on sale after Christmas knowing they would be great on top of a chocolate cake–perfect for Valentine’s Day!

I was looking for simple cake recipe and ran across the chocolate cake and frosting recipe on the back of my Hershey’s cocoa box. Since it only uses one bowl I gave it a try and was very pleased with the results. The cake was moist without being too dense and the frosting complemented the cake well. I also topped the cake with chocolate ganache to make it extra special.

You can leave off the M&Ms if you can’t find them but I think they add the perfect punch of cherry flavor to take the cake up a notch.

Note: I halved the cake recipe to make two 6-inch rounds but used the full frosting recipe. You may want to double the frosting to top an 8 or 9-inch cake.

Chocolate Cake

From Hershey's
Makes one 8 or 9-inch two layer cake

Ingredients:

For the cake:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup boiling water

For the frosting: (you may want to double if you like a lot of frosting like me!)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the ganache:
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup half and half (or cream if you have it)
1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 package cherry M&Ms

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray AND flour two 8 or 9-inch pans.

In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Add in the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the boiling water. Do NOT use the mixer unless you want a huge mess (I know this from experience).

Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 30-35 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to cooling rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:
Melt the butter in the microwave and pour into a large bowl. Mix in the cocoa. Add in the powdered sugar a cup at a time, alternating with half of milk. Add in the vanilla and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes. If the frosting is too thick, add a little more milk.

For the ganache:
Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl.

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, bring the syrup and the half and half to a simmer. Pour the mixture over the chocolate and let stand for a few minutes, until the chocolate begins to melt.

Gently stir the cream and chocolate until the mixture is smooth. Let the ganache cool in the fridge for 10-15 minutes, stiring every 5 minutes. Pour the ganache evenly over the top of the frosting cake. Let cake set in the fridge for 10 minutes before topping with M&Ms.