Dark Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse Frosting

I threw a baby shower for a friend of mine the other night, and I wanted to make her a homemade chocolate cake. So, I went on the allrecipes website and looked up what chocolate cakes were highest rated, and then I looked for a good chocolate mousse filling/frosting. I found a recipe for a dark chocolate cake and a wonderful chocolate mousse and put them together, and it was delicious! The entire cake was eaten, and everyone talked about how much they liked it. The cake recipe called for making it in 3 cake pans, but I didn't have them, so I divided it between 2 9x13 pans and made a rectangular cake instead.

Ingredients
Cake:

• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting:

• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Directions
-Preheat oven to 350. Grease 3 - 9 inch round cake pans or 2 - 9x13 baking dishes. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
-In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Spread batter evenly between prepared pans.
-Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

-In a large bowl, mix together sweetened condensed milk and melted chocolate. Gradually stir in the water, then instant pudding until smooth. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
-Remove the chocolate mixture from the refrigerator, and stir to loosen. Fold in whipped cream and return to the refrigerator for at least another hour.
-Place one layer of cake onto a serving plate. Top with a thin layer of the mousse, then cover with the remaining cake layer. Frost with the remaining mousse, and refrigerate until serving.

Tip: I did part of my preparation the night before. I made the frosting totally. Then for the cake, I went ahead and mixed the cocoa and boiling water and place in the fridge, so it would be completely cooled by the next morning when I made the cake. Then, in the afternoon, I frosted my cake and put the whole thing in the fridge until it was time for the party. So yummy!!!!