Rosie's Portillo Style Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 cups + 1 tablespoon dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, generous
• 1 1/3 cups hot water

Procedures

1. 1
   Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9" cake pans, or a 13" by 9" baking dish.
2. 2
   Using an electric hand or stand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl on medium-high speed until thick and very light in color; about 6 to 8 minutes. Don't be shy about this—you can't overbeat whole eggs like you can with whites.
3. 3
   Add the mayonnaise and vanilla extract, and beat on medium speed until combined.
4. 4
   Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt, and beat on low speed until combined. The mixture will look thick and fudgy.
5. 5
   Add the water and mix on low speed until it's incorporated. The batter will be much thinner. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and bake for about 30 minutes (check it at about 25 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6. 6
   Allow the cakes to cool on a rack, in their pans, for 10 to 15 minutes or until they are cool enough to handle. Invert them onto the rack and allow to finish cooling to room temperature.
7. 7
   Enjoy! The cake may be frosted at this point if you like; I used my chocolate butter cream frosting recipe, which is incredibly easy to make and works wonderfully with this cake.