Surprise Chocolate Cake

From: Cooking With Heinz Ketchup

Ingredients:
2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
Chocolate frosting

In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add milk, ketchup, shortening, and vanilla. Beat at low speed until combined. Add eggs and beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Spread batter evenly in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until done (it took mine 25 minutes). Cool. Frost with your favorite frosting.

Chocolate frosting recipe:
From: Here

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
6 Tbsp butter
5 Tbsp evaporated milk (I used regular milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa, and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. If necessary, adjust consistency with more milk or sugar.

Verdict:
Well, it got a thumbs up from everyone who tasted it. My opinion is, I've made much better cakes. I felt like I could really taste the cinnamon for some reason. I'm not sure why that is. On the other hand, I loved the frosting. I love the not-overwhelming-sweetness of homemade frosting, and this didn't disappoint. So, in the end, I would make the frosting again, but I'll stick with some of my other tried and true chocolate cake recipes in the future.