My Dad’s Favorite Chocolate Birthday Cake
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Today is my dad’s birthday. He would have turned 59 today, and I’m sure the day would have been filled with all sorts of jokes about how he was only one year away from being really old and over the hill. However, life happens, as it tends to do, and my dad passed away 13 years ago, a week shy of his 46th birthday, due to complications from leukemia. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about him, and miss him. This past Christmas, my grandma and I were talking about recipes, and she asked if my mom ever gave me the recipe for my dad’s favorite birthday cake. I couldn’t remember it, so my mom dug it out for me, and I decided that this year I would make his favorite cake to commemorate his birthday. My mom’s recipe card was titled simply, “Mom Norris Choc. Cake”. Let me tell you – my dad had some tremendously good taste when it came to cake, as this is not your ordinary chocolate cake. It’s a rich, moist chocolate cake with a river of cream cheese filling running through the middle, and it’s topped with a combination of chopped walnuts and sugar. It’s amazing. And I’ve decided that I’m going to make this every year on April 12th.
I asked my grandma where she got this recipe, and she said that one of the women she worked with back in the 60’s shared it with her. She made it, and my dad, who was in his early teens at the time, loved it, and so she made it for his birthday every year after that. Once my parents got married, my mom took over making it for him each and every year. I couldn’t remember the cake, and my mom said she stopped making it when my sister and I were pretty young since my dad got a “borderline cholesterol” blood result from the doctor and he had to start watching what he ate. Incidentally, that result did not stop him from sneaking Snickers bars at work. Many times we would stop by his office to visit, and my sister and I would see the wrappers in his waste basket. We relished ratting him out to my mom, of course. What little snitches we were!
Celebrating my dad’s birthday is, of course, bittersweet. There are so many things I wish I could share with him and do with him on a daily basis that I can’t, but I am grateful for each and every day that I got to spend with him. He was a jokester – I was doused with cold water more times than I can count, he continually hid rubber snakes for my mom to find (she is absurdly afraid of snakes), and he even won a Friday joke contest on a local radio station. I think he secretly loved having a tomboy daughter – he played catch with me and hit me grounders to practice fielding when I played softball. We threw footballs back and forth. He would change clothes after work and challenge me to a game of H-O-R-S-E out back. And I’m sure he loved nothing more than seeing me, his 8-year-old daughter, pour into his hockey equipment (helmet, shin guards, gloves, and all), grab my street hockey stick (pink blade and all) and declare that I would be the first girl hockey player ever. We always had tons of fun, and I never doubted how proud he was of whatever I was doing.
This cake is for him – to celebrate what an awesome dad he was and for the time I got to spend with him.
Happy Birthday, Dad! I love you and miss you.
One year ago: Classic Egg Salad
Two years ago: Honey-Vanilla Sour Cream Pound Cake[/donotprint]
Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Filling & Walnut-Sugar Topping
Ingredients
For the Walnut-Sugar Topping:
- 2 cups (234 g) chopped walnuts
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
For the Cake:
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (500 ml) cold water
- ¾ cup (163.5 ml) vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Filling:
- 16 ounces (453.59 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup (133.33 g) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan; set aside.
- 2. Make the Walnut-Sugar Topping: Combine the chopped walnuts and the sugar in a small bowl; set aside.
- 3. Make the Cake Batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the water, vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and, using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix together until just combined and there are no traces of dry ingredients. Set aside.
- 4. Make the Cream Cheese Filling: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until soft and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar and continue mixing until light and fluffy, another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs and the salt and beat until thoroughly combined and smooth.
- 4. Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared pan. Slowly pour all of the cream cheese filling over top, trying to distribute it as evenly as possible (do not try to spread it after you pour it). Pour the remaining cake batter over top of the cream cheese filling. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the walnut-sugar mixture.
- 5. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Let cool completely before serving.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Hi i baked this cake but the top part is not like a cake rather hard n rubbery. Is that normal?
Hi Aadila, No, it should definitely just be the consistency of cake!
This cake is AMAZING!! I made it as my first ever from scratch cake for my own 40th birthday and it will be my favorite from now on!! Thanks for sharing
It took my oven a full hour to bake which made me nervous but the end result was fantastic!!! I made it for my dad’s birthday and both him and my mom said it was the best dessert they have ever had. Thank you so much for sharing!
HI michelle. I’m so sorry to hear your dad passed away. You are such a strong women with an excellent taste in food! I love you recipes and hope that your new baby will grow up knowing what a great grandad he would have had. If you ever are looking for a good book to read that reminds you a bit of him try drums, girls, and dangerous pie. I really think you would love it!
Wow, Michelle! You are awesome in every way! LOVE your stories (especially this one about your Dad), your recipes, the photography, your tips and links, etc., etc.!!!! Thank you for sharing of yourself and blessing so many!!!
What a lovely post!! :) I’m making this today for my dad’s birthday,but i have a question which is the proper way to grease a pan for this cake. Can i use vegetable oil or butter.please help. Thank you :-)
Hi Claudia, You should use butter or solid vegetable shortening, not oil. Enjoy!
Would it be okay to replace the vegetable oil in this recipe for butter? and if yes, in the same amount (3/4 cup – how many grams is that, more or less)? Many thanks! Debby
Hi Debby, I would not recommend substituting melted butter for the vegetable oil, as it will affect the texture of the cake.
BEB – I’m so sorry to hear about you losing your dad. I can’t even imagine the pain you still must feel. I’m so happy though; you know your dad loved you and was very proud of “you.” You are so admirable for your amazing delicious recipes! I always go to you first when, I need a creative treat or dish to make. Can’t wait to make some of your Christmas baking, recipes!
I’ll admit, I’m a bit late to the party..I was searching recipes this afternoon and stumbled onto your website. After rushing to the store to purchase ingredients, I have spent the evening reading your recipes and blog. This particular post touched me as I lost my husband to brain cancer 5 years ago when our daughter was only 2. Each year we bake his favorite cake on his birthday. This has become tradition for us and has been healing and a way to make happy memories in his absence. I wanted to send my love to you and tell you I’m certain your father would be proud of the person you are. From reading the comments, it’s obvious you bring much joy to many hearts and tummies! Although my jeans may disagree after I’ve have some time to try out these recipes!! I look forward to many yummy treats thanks to you. :)
This cake looked so gorgeous that I have to tried it. What a disapointment!!! After 35 min I removed it from the oven and it was still completely raw. I left it for another 20 minutes and test, to find out that it is still very whobbely the whole middle part. I left it another 10 minutes, then let it cool in an half open oven and thought it will now be right. I left it outside to cool completeley and try to cut out a piece, what a mass. I now have it back in a 350 deg oven and will see what happened. It should be disaster, how can a cake cool down completely and then baked again. Are you sure the recipe is complete? No eggs in the cake batter? Can youy solve the problem? this is quite an expensive cake not toi get it right, What could have got wrong?
It’s 2013 April 12th today! I’m also going to be baking this today =))
It’s all my favourites!!! walnut! chocolate! cream cheese!! But I want to make it less sinful …. Can I substitute the vegetable oil for extra virgin olive oil?
I would definitely recommend that you do not substitute olive oil for vegetable oil; they are very different and the olive oil could impart a heavy, off taste to this cake.
So I’ve been a big fan of your work for quite a while – I quickly got addicted to Snickerdoodle cupcakes. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe and the story. My dad passed at 49 due to complications from leukemia and we just passed the 10 year mark which wasn’t easy… isn’t easy. I think making his favorite cake for his birthday this year will be a beautiful way to remember him – especially since it would have been… should have been… his 60th. Thank you for the idea.
Hi Allison, I’m so sorry to hear about your dad; thank you for sharing your story. My dad would have been 60 in a few weeks as well. I’ll be thinking of you.