My Dad’s Favorite Chocolate Birthday Cake
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!
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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
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.
Just baked this cake and was concerned because it took so long to bake, 55 min. It wasn’t dry as I feared but it wasn’t sweet at all. In fact, almost no flavor. I baked it for a church dinner tomorrow and now trying to figure out what I can do to save it. Maybe I’ll drizzle some caramel topping over it. So disappointed.
Such a heartwarming story! I lost my dad a few years ago at 93 years of age. We had always celebrated our birthdays together since they were only a few days apart. He loved chocolate cake, too! I think I will make it this year – Feb 5th – to commemorate our years of shared birthdays! Happy Birthday Dad! Love you and miss you every day!
Hi Michelle, I just finished baking this cake (it looks awesome by the way), but it turned out much more moist than I had anticipated. It’s almost as if I haven’t even put it in the oven – only the sides are cooked. I know I followed the recipe very precisely, so I’m wondering what went wrong. I really want to make this cake again, so do you have any suggestions for next time?
It sounds like the cake simply didn’t finish baking. The time to bake is usually on target, but a lot of ovens can vary in temperature, so it’s important to use the visual cues as well. If a toothpick inserted into the center came out with a few moist crumbs, then the cake is done and will finish setting up as it cools. If the toothpick still has batter on it, then it needs to be baked longer.
I hope you don’t mind me commenting on your site! I haven’t baked this cake, but am planning to, substituting pecans because I’m allergic to walnuts. I would think that it would be easy to get the cream cheese layer too thick in the middle and, if you did, that could certainly add to it not baking all the way through. Whenever I bake anything that stays real moist when it is done, like fudge brownies, I always try to get as much batter as I can into the corners and edges. It always settles back into the center, to some degree, but helps avoid having it a lot thicker in the middle than anywhere else.
I also think this is a lovely tribute to your father! It reminds me of how blessed I am to still have mine around at 84.
I just made this! It’s so moist and delicious I just can’t get enough of it.
Hi Michelle,I’m a newbie baker but I’d like to make this cake for a friend of mine. After reading some of the comments above, I hope the layers will turn out fine, (“woven” as you’d said). I really liked the recipe especially because it has such a rich history behind it. I’d like your thoughts on this: instead of the walnut-sugar topping, would it be ok if I used chocolate ganache?
Hi Blessy, I think a chocolate ganache would be great! Let me know how you like it!
Hi, i LOVE your recipes and website!
I wanted to make this for my sister because it’s her birthday tomorrow, but i wanted to do it in a round tin. What size tin do you think i should use?
thanks!
Hi there, unless you use a really large round pan, it’s not going to be big enough for this batter. A 9×13-inch pan holds 14 cups, while a 10-inch round pan only holds 11 cups. You would need no less than a 14-inch round pan, and I couldn’t guarantee you if that size would work, as I haven’t tried it.
Wow, this looks amazing! :D
I made this yesterday to take to a friend’s house for dinner. Everyone really enjoyed it. For us, it served more than 8-10. It’s a pretty dense cake. The only hiccup for me was that I had to almost double the baking time. I was afraid the cake would be dry around the edges, but the finished cake was very moist and yummy!!! Thanks for sharing this recipe and the story about your Dad.
I am going to make this for my Dads Birthday this week. Thank you. x
Hi!
It looks beautiful, and i made it, but the cream cheese filling just disappeared from the middle part and came up…I was worried because when i was doing this cake the cake batter was more havy than the cream chees part and i think the top batter just pushed the cream chees filling up… could you help what could be the problem?
Thank you :)
Hi Daniella, As you can see from the picture, the cream cheese layer kind of “wove” its way through my cake – in the middle in some spots, closer to the top in others. The best method I’ve found is to really slowly pour the cream cheese filling, trying to distribute it into as even a layer as possible without touching it. Then, do the same when you pour the second half of the cake batter on top of the cream cheese. Slow and even. Hopefully that helps next time around! Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, though (mine never is!) – it will surely still be delicious!
Looks like quite a cake. I usually make Birthday Pie in this house as most people don’t like cake. I would make it for me though. I will keep this recipe for December when I turn 52!