Start now be preheating your oven to 350 degrees.
Ingredients:Cake:
2 cups of all purpose flour
2 cups of sugar
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 pound butter (YES - that's 2 sticks of butter) - just do it alright already and stop griping about the butter
4 heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder (now I found that I REALLY like the Nestle brand over brand Hershey)
Directions for cake portion: Mix flour, sugar and salt together - blend with fork (no need for mixer here) and set these three dry ingredients off to the side
In another bowl, mix the milk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda together, again - mix with a fork and set aside.
In the meantime - put on 1 cup of water (YES WATER) and bring it to a quick boil... while waiting for the water to boil move on to the next step.
Go to a saucepan on the stove top and melt the two sticks of butter (I like to melt on medium heat - don't want to burn the butter or the cocoa) - as the butter is beginning to melt - put in your 4 heaping tablespoons of cocoa and whisk well together. When the butter is completely melted pour the boiling cup of water in the mixture. Allow the mixture to bubble for a moment and then turn off the heat once it's mixed well together.
Pour the chocolate mixture in with the flour, sugar, and salt dry mix you previously set aside - stir well and let it sit to cool a bit. Because your next step will be to pour in the egg, milk, liquid mix you also set aside - if the mix is too hot - it will "cook" the eggs and make em' lumpy. Doesn't take long to cool though.
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| When you are all done with the mixing together - pour in jelly roll pan or a cake long cake pan - you don't want this to be too thick. Put in the oven and let it cook for 20 minutes _ I used a long cake dish so I ended up cooking mine for 30 minutes - if you are doing a thin layer in a jelly roll pan - you will need to do only 20 minutes. Icing Ingredients: 1 3/4 stick of butter (get over it already) 4 heaping tblspns of cocoa 6 tblsps of milk 1 pound of powdered sugar 1 tsp of vanilla 1 cup of finely chopped pecans (optional - although I wouldn't dare leave these off)  1 full bar of finely chopped chocolate - (you could use a Hershey plain milk chocolate bar, a Mr. Goodbar, a Kit Kat, or the Crispy bars or heck your favorite candy bar) I chose to use 6 small individual squares of Ghirardelli Luxe Milk Crisp {which can be found at the ghiarardelli chocolate store in the Shops of Grand River in Leeds} 8 fl. oz. of Heavy Whipping Cream |
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat (use the same one as before - just wash it out first - I find this makes me feel more responsible and productive). Add the cocoa powder, add the milk and vanilla as well, and the powdered sugar, stir until the powdered sugar is dissolved, now fold in your finely chopped pecans and chocolate pieces.
Pour the entire content of liquid heavy cream into a bowl and use your mixer in the whipping cream. Whip it until it begins to form peaks. Since learning this trick I haven't been able to go back to pre-packaged whip cream. It's so much lighter and fluffier. 
Once your Heavy Cream becomes stiff "whipped cream" fold it into your cooled chocolate icing mixture. 
By this time your cake should be ready and cooled from the oven. I let my cake cool a good bit before pouring the icing over the top. I also take a fork and make a TON of holes in the baked cake - so that when I do pour over my icing - it seeps into the cake instead of just sitting all lady like on top of the cake. Trust me you will want this icing in every nook and crevice of this cake. 
Once your cake has cooled - pour the icing over the top of the cake (it will NOT be a firm icing like it came out of some prepackaged container at the grocery store. Pour the icing over the top of the cake - do NOT spread it. This cake is NOT FOR SISSIES! It is only for the MOST SERIOUS of cake and chocolate lovers. If you think you can handle it - go ahead - it will "Make Your Day" - maybe even your year! Yes it's that good! I keep a cover on the pyrex dish I use to keep this in and keep it in the fridge bc of the heavy whipping cream .
