geek

He ain’t pretty…but he’s my cake

ugly cake...but so tasty

In our family we start our birthday celebrations with the delightful Dexter in December and we run through them, one a month, with the exception of February, until we reach the end with the awesome Alex in April. Dexter always want’s a pecan pie and it never, ever is as good as the one I baked at thanksgiving. Dave too get’s pie…this year it was a blueberry galette, all tangy with blue fruit and crisp with buttery, sugary pastry.

My birthday in March is usually when the cake craving starts. This year Dexter suggested an ice cream cake from Culver’s. It was our hope that it would be similar to a Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake in that it would include actual sheetcake sandwiching layers of ice cream and frosted with ice cream. But alas…it was a cruel hoax and was merely a block of ice cream drizzled with toppings. Totally not what I wanted. The next attempt at acquiring a cake was from Whole Foods were I purchased a lovely chocolate raspberry cake. It was a good cake but the frosting was overpowering; stiff and overly sweet with not enough chocolate flavor. This past week we celebrated Alex’s birthday and he too wanted pie, apple is his favorite. But I made a scheduling mistake and ended up not making the dough a day ahead of time like I should have, plus I measured wrong and used too much butter. It was a good pie but the crust was too buttery and it wouldn’t crisp up. That brings us to Sunday morning.

My cake craving had yet to be satisfied and I’d been daydreaming about a cake I used to make when I was a child; a chocolate cake known as the crazy cake. It involved cocoa, vinegar and baking soda and that’s about all I remembered…but who needs a memory when there’s google? I turned up several different versions and finally found one to settle on. Most recipes for this cake are similar…flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar, vinegar, vegetable oil, vanilla, and water and always feature the instruction to mix the cake in the baking pan. This cake was popular during the WWII rationing because it requires no milk, butter, or eggs. Beyond that it’s a dead easy cake to make and it’s light, moist, tender and packed with chocolate flavor.

ugly cake...but so tasty

I’m sure there are some cake baking, cooling, and frosting skills that I could acquire if I were willing to put the time in. But I’m not. That’s why every single cake I make is ugly but delicious and this cake is no exception. The frosting is simple too and it’s the perfect topper for an old fashioned cake like this.

Old Fashion Chocolate Cake
Printer-friendly recipe

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons white vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cold water

Preheat oven to 350° F. Makes 2 round cake layers

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cocoa, salt, and sugar. Make 3 holes in the flour mixture and add the vegetable oil to one, the vinegar to another, and the vanilla to the last. Pour the water over the top and stir the ingredients together until most of the lumps disappear. Note: I could never get all the lumps out).

Fill two round cake pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is springy and a tester inserted in the center comes out dry. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack, then frost and serve.

Easy Peasy Chocolate Frosting

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
4 oz. butter, softened
Powder sugar
Milk (about 1/3 cup)

Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Add it to a mixing bowl along with the softened butter and whipp it with the whisk attachment. gradually add in sifted powder sugar until it stiffens up and starts to clump. Then add in just enough milk until you have a fluffy, light, spreadable consistency.

April 14, 2009 | Filed Under baking, cakes and tortes, chocolate, food, recipe | 11 Comments 

Pumpkin muffins …a posh nosh for elevenses

pumpkin, white chocolate, pecan muffins

Yes, I would love to be a hobbit, no not for the fashions silly, but for the delightful custom of a pre-lunch lunch called elevenses. The perfect nosh for such a demi-meal would be a crisp apple, a slice of tangy cheese, a glass of bordeaux, and for dessert I’d gladly indulge in one of these fabulous muffins. I know that much of the nation is enthralled with cupcakes but I myself have never found much about the cupcake to love. I admittedly do not care for frosting and at least one-third of any cupcake’s glamour seems to be based on the mighty pile of frosting that adorns it, that alone would be enough to stop me from eating one. But lets face it, the cake portion, you know the other two-thirds, is usually insipid and one dimensional, nothing to admire there. But a muffin, well a muffin can be anything and everything all at once…the only skill needed is that of restraint; restrain yourself from over stirring the batter and restrain yourself from combining too many oddball ingredients.

These pumpkin, pecan, white chocolate muffins are perfection and I’m quite proud of them. I’m sure someone has made them before but I created this recipe myself and I even remembered to write down the ingredients as I worked. I urge you into your kitchen to whip up a batch for your elvenses which should then be properly followed by a hike through the countryside and then a nap. I bet you too will see the appeal of living like a hobbit.

pumpkin, white chocolate, pecan muffins

Pumpkins Muffins with White Chocolate and Pecans
Printer-friendly version

4 oz. Butter softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
8 oz. pureed pumpkin
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
2 tablespoons yogurt
milk to ¾ cup
2 cups whole wheat white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400°. Butter a 12 count muffin pan.

Using a mixer cream the butter until smooth. Add the brown sugar and again cream until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, pumpkin, salt, and spices and mix well. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into the butter/egg mixture, stir very little to combine. Add the 2 tablespoons of yogurt to a measuring cup and top off with milk until it measures ¾ of a cup; stir to combined the milk and yogurt. Add the yogurt milk to the batter along with the pecans and white chocolate chips and stir very little to combine. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top and a knife comes out relatively clean. Cool for about 5 minutes and then remove from muffin tin and cool on a rack.

October 11, 2008 | Filed Under baking, cakes and tortes, food, muffins, recipe | 23 Comments 

Chocolate amaretto torte…and 5 sordid facts

chocolate amaretto torte

I’m a lucky girl, I bake my birthday cake and when I turn it out onto the rack I discover a heart-shape on the bottom of the cake. Yep, that’s right…it’s my birthday weekend. I’ll actually turn 47 on Monday but in this family we celebrate for a whole weekend. It usually involves a movie, dinner, bookstore, scones…all the delights of our modern world, and all with my 3 favorite people on earth. As an added bonus my best buddy Teresa came for a visit and we yakked and giggled and shopped…it was great.

chocolate amaretto torte

Speaking of great, this torte is fabulous. It reminds me of the See’s dark chocolate, marzipan…my first/second favorite See’s in the world (it’s involved in a mortal deadlock with my other favorite, the scotch mallow). If you love dark chocolate and almonds this cake is for you. It’s moist and dense, and full of flavor. I actually followed the recipe exactly and it really does take only 15 minutes to put it together and worth every single second. Look it up in Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking, From My Home To Yours and give it a try. But ignore the part about whipped cream for a topping…this cake just cries out for a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream.

Leena over at Leena Eats tagged me for the 5 sordid facts meme and since it’s my birthday I will comply…her wish is my command…mostly because she wants to name her first child bacon and I wish my name was bacon. Here goes…

  1. I love the smell of fresh money…literally. When we lived in SF in the 80’s the ATM’s would be filled every Friday with brand new fresh $20s and I’d make a withdrawal and then take a moment to inhale the sweet scent of fresh money…good times!
  2. Brett who??? I live in Wisconsin, but I’ve never watched the Green Bay Packers play football…it’s just not my deal.
  3. Kozy Shack Rice Pudding is fabulous and I love it. When I made my own rice pudding it just sucked.
  4. I love earthworms…not to eat, but to hold in my hand, and for the great work they do in my flower garden.
  5. I absolutely adore the concept of time travel. As a result I’m an avid fan-girl of Dr. Who and I can’t count the number of times that I wished for my very own Tardis.

Cheers my friends…have a good weekend.

March 7, 2008 | Filed Under baking, cakes and tortes, chocolate, food, memes, sweets | 10 Comments