Cake from scratch

Tolgonay's recipe

(rough translation and reformatting of recipe sent by Tolgonay)

(see below for a different version)

Ingredients

• 200g butter
• 1½ cups sugar
• 1-2 cups cocoa powder
• 1 cup milk
• 4 eggs
• <1 tsp baking soda
• vanilla to taste
• flour to thicken
• nuts or raisins as topping
• powdered sugar as topping

Instructions

Top view of Tolgonay's cake

1. Mix butter, sugar, and cocoa
2. Add milk and mix until it starts to boil
3. Leave until it gets just a little warm
4. Mix in eggs, baking soda, vanilla
5. Add flour to thicken
6. Pour into pan
7. Bake in oven at about 100-120°C (≈215-275°F).
8. After 5-10 mins add crushed nuts or raisins on the top
9. Let bake until knife comes out dry
10. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top

How I actually did it

Ingredients

Jonathan's cake after it came out of the oven

• 1 4oz stick butter
• ~¾cup vegetable oil
• 1½ cups sugar
• ~1 cup Nesquick® (didn't have cocoa powder, oops)
• 1 cups milk
• 4 eggs
• ~1 tbsp baking powder (didn't have baking soda, oops)
• ~1 tbsp vanilla
• ~3-4 cups flour to thicken
• Chocolate and butterscotch chips as topping

Instructions

Jonathan's cake after it's been attacked some

1. Mix butter, oil, sugar, and cocoa in pot on low-medium heat until completely liquid
2. Add milk and mix until it starts to boil (get as much sugar dissolved as possible)
3. Stick in fridge for a while until cool (a little warm is fine)
4. Mix in eggs
5. Mix in baking soda(/powder), then vanilla
6. Add flour to thicken (no more than 1 cup at a time)
7. Pour into pan
8. Bake in oven at about ~300F. (I started at 275 and kept turning it up by 25° or so, gradually. I may have gotten to 350° in the end, but I forget)
9. After ≥10 mins add chocolate chips and butterscotch chips to top
10. Let bake about an hour+ until knife comes out dry
11. Add frosting?

Original Russian as sent by Tolgonay

Side view of Tolgonay's cake

"200 г маргарин (или слив. масло) + 1,5 стакан (или 1 ст.) сахара) + 1-2 стакана какао= перемешать, + 1 ст.молоко=мешать все это до кипения. Взять с газа и поставить, чтобы масса стала чуть-чуть теплой. Потом в эту массу добавишь 4 яйца+1 неполная чайная ложка соды, ванилин по вкусу+ мука немного=пусть получится жидкая масса. Эту массу положишь в форму кекса или в сковородку и положить в духовку (100-120 градусов). Потом через 5-10 минут положишь изюм или орехи в эту массу. Кекс готов или нет, можно узнать, положив в кекс нож. Если нож сухой, то кекс значит готов. Сверху кекса положить сахарную пудру."